Week Two finds the Raiders visiting Miami to take on the 0-1 Dolphins in a matchup of winless teams. The two teams met late last year with the Dolphins winning easily 34-14, jumping out to a 34-0 lead. The Raiders play their first of five games on the East Coast and have not fared very well in the past playing at 10:00 Pacific Time. They will have to wake up early if they want to avoid an 0-2 start before games with Pittsburgh and Denver. Let's take a look at the matchups and predict a winner.
Raiders Offense vs. Dolphins Defense
The Raiders offense last week at home versus the Chargers failed to execute any explosive plays, resulting in only one offensive TD near the end of the game. They took a hit in the passing game with news this week that Jacoby Ford could be out the remainder of the season as he had surgery on his injured foot that has been giving him troubles all offseason. They will be getting Denarius Moore back and should help with the vertical passing game. The Raiders will look to rely on Darren McFadden in the running game and passing game. McFadden leads the NFL in receptions with 13 and the Dolphins will look to minimize his impact on the game with their strength on defense, their front four. The Dolphins held the Texans, who have the same zone-blocking scheme, to just 83 yards rushing last week. The Raiders look to get back on track this week as they were held to 45 yards rushing last week against the Chargers.
Advantage: Raiders
Raiders Defense vs. Dolphins Offense
The Raiders defense last week was a huge bright spot as they were put in tough situations time and time again and held their ground. They only allowed 31 yards rushing to the Chargers and limited big plays in the passing game. They currently stand in 5th place in overall defense after giving up 258 yards to the Chargers. The front four will be the unit that sees the most action against the Dolphins as they look to avoid another 3 Int performance from their rookie QB Ryan Tannehill. They will rely heavily on the running game with Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas, who was successful running the ball in their meeting last year. They will be facing a different defense this year however as HC Dennis Allen brings in a more diverse scheme and looks than they've ever had in the past. The Raiders will be without their starting CB Bartell as he was also put on the IR this week.
Advantage: Raiders
Special Teams
The Raiders last week found out the hard way what it means to lose their Pro Bowl long-snapper Jon Condo as they botched three punt attempts inside their ow territory which led directly to 9 Charger points. They brought in Nick Guess, formerly in Chargers camp, to fill in if Condo cannot go this week. They are also without Jacoby Ford for possibly the entire season, which will hurt their kickoff returns. The Dolphins have a good returner in Marcus Thigpen, who ran back a punt last week for a TD and averaged 27 yards per return on kickoffs.
Advantage: Dolphins
Prediction Raiders 24, Dolphins 13
Record to Date: 0-1
Raiders Offense vs. Dolphins Defense
The Raiders offense last week at home versus the Chargers failed to execute any explosive plays, resulting in only one offensive TD near the end of the game. They took a hit in the passing game with news this week that Jacoby Ford could be out the remainder of the season as he had surgery on his injured foot that has been giving him troubles all offseason. They will be getting Denarius Moore back and should help with the vertical passing game. The Raiders will look to rely on Darren McFadden in the running game and passing game. McFadden leads the NFL in receptions with 13 and the Dolphins will look to minimize his impact on the game with their strength on defense, their front four. The Dolphins held the Texans, who have the same zone-blocking scheme, to just 83 yards rushing last week. The Raiders look to get back on track this week as they were held to 45 yards rushing last week against the Chargers.
Advantage: Raiders
Raiders Defense vs. Dolphins Offense
The Raiders defense last week was a huge bright spot as they were put in tough situations time and time again and held their ground. They only allowed 31 yards rushing to the Chargers and limited big plays in the passing game. They currently stand in 5th place in overall defense after giving up 258 yards to the Chargers. The front four will be the unit that sees the most action against the Dolphins as they look to avoid another 3 Int performance from their rookie QB Ryan Tannehill. They will rely heavily on the running game with Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas, who was successful running the ball in their meeting last year. They will be facing a different defense this year however as HC Dennis Allen brings in a more diverse scheme and looks than they've ever had in the past. The Raiders will be without their starting CB Bartell as he was also put on the IR this week.
Advantage: Raiders
Special Teams
The Raiders last week found out the hard way what it means to lose their Pro Bowl long-snapper Jon Condo as they botched three punt attempts inside their ow territory which led directly to 9 Charger points. They brought in Nick Guess, formerly in Chargers camp, to fill in if Condo cannot go this week. They are also without Jacoby Ford for possibly the entire season, which will hurt their kickoff returns. The Dolphins have a good returner in Marcus Thigpen, who ran back a punt last week for a TD and averaged 27 yards per return on kickoffs.
Advantage: Dolphins
Prediction Raiders 24, Dolphins 13
Record to Date: 0-1
A cream puff opponent, but expect the Raiders to play down to their competition. The discipline is improving bit by bit, but still lots of silly mistakes and penalties at inopportune moments in the game. The Dolphins are somewhat better than last year's version, but still should be an easy victory if the Raiders keep their cool.
ReplyDeleteThey definitely played down to their opponent. They looked gassed in the second half though in a very warm climate and a short week since the Monday Night game. Their running game is a concern. They had the same issues with McFadden running the ball in this scheme the last time Knapp was coordinator. Don't expect a lot this week against the Steelers.
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