Dolphins vs. Titans: Full Miami Game Preview
After a turbulent two weeks filled with coaching shake-ups, rumors and innuendo, the Miami Dolphins are ready to finally take the field in order to improve upon their atrocious 1-3 record.
The Dolphins have a new head coach and defensive coordinator, as well as a mission to save what looked like a promising season at the start. That mission begins Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, who have the same 1-3 record but with a lot less outside noise and a lot more promise.
A win puts the Dolphins at 2-3, and while that's obviously not an ideal position, it's something they can build upon going forward, knowing that a win against Houston gets them to .500 prior to a Thursday night matchup with the New England Patriots.
A loss knocking them back to 1-4 only adds to the well-earned and much-deserved narrative that the franchise is a complete mess at this point, as the noise will only grow louder.
Here's a preview of Miami's Week 6 matchup against the Titans in a game that could be the turning point of what has been a horrendous season.
Location: Nissan Stadium; Nashville, Tennessee
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Week 4 Results and Recap
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The Dolphins lost to the Jets 27-14 in London, in a game that wasn't anywhere near as close as the score would indicate.
Miami's run defense, much-maligned not just through this season but dating back to the second half of last season, continued its atrocious play by allowing Chris Ivory to run for a career-high 166 yards to go with a touchdown. The secondary wasn't any better, as Brandon Marshall pulled down seven catches for 128 yards, while Ryan Fitzpatrick, despite his best efforts, only turned the ball over once.
Sadder still, Fitzpatrick wasn't sacked once during the game, as the Dolphins have now gone three games without a sack, while Ndamukong Suh, Olivier Vernon and Cameron Wake still haven't recorded an official sack all season.
On offense, Miami elected to run the ball all of 11 times for 59 yards while passing the ball 44 times. Ryan Tannehill played atrociously, completing only 19 passes for 198 yards, getting sacked twice and throwing two interceptions to go with the two touchdown passes he threw.
If there was a positive side of the game, it was in the performance of Kenny Stills, who had five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, including a 42-yard reception. The Dolphins also found some success with the deep ball, but that success came in the form of drawing pass interference penalties.
Despite all of that, Miami still had chances to get within a touchdown of the Jets, and possibly even win the game. Unfortunately, too much Greg Jennings (not enough DeVante Parker), too much bad blocking and too many bad decisions by Tannehill negated whatever hope the Dolphins might have had.
The game would lead to the dismissal of head coach Joe Philbin, which we will talk about more in the next slide.
News and Notes
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Dolphins Revamp Coaching Staff
Most of the news from the past two weeks has to do with the revamp of Miami's coaching staff.
Philbin was fired the day after the London debacle, replaced by tight ends coach Dan Campbell, per Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com.
Later on that week, as reported by Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Al Saunders would be brought aboard as an offensive consultant. Saunders won't replace Bill Lazor (who has worked under Saunders in the past), but he might be able to add a few wrinkles to help jump-start what has been an anemic offensive attack.
Salguero would later deliver the news that defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle would be relieved of his duties, to be replaced by defensive backs coach Lou Anarumo. This won't change Miami's defensive philosophy much, but the hope is that it will spark a defensive unit that has been atrocious all season long.
It's the best Miami could possibly hope for when changing coaches during the season.
Dolphins Expected to Go After Sean Payton
The real coaching changes will likely occur after the season, and one name the Dolphins might be interested in is New Orleans head coach Sean Payton, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Payton has two years left on his deal with New Orleans, meaning unless the Saints fire him outright after the season, Miami would have to send draft picks and cash to the Saints in order to make said hire.
According to Bleacher Report's Jason Cole, Payton is "intrigued" by the possibility of going to the Dolphins, but Cole also mentioned the Indianapolis Colts as a possibility for Payton as well.
If the Colts job is open, that would be a better situation due to the team's place in the AFC South and its situation at quarterback with Andrew Luck. The Dolphins situation isn't as attractive with Tannehill at quarterback (by less attractive, I'm referring to the fact that Luck is better and younger than Tannehill and has more upside), and their place in the AFC East looks a lot tougher than the AFC South at this time.
Then there's the fact that Payton has two years left on his deal with the Saints, which, as mentioned above, means the team Payton would go to would have to part with valuable draft picks. With Miami's deficiencies in talent on both sides of the ball (specifically along the offensive line, linebacker and secondary) and a possible veteran purge at the end of the season, Miami will need those picks going forward.
Campbell Emphasizes Competition at Practice
Campbell has already become a fan favorite for a variety of reasons, especially on the Dolphins' Twitter where he has become their version of Chuck Norris.
One reason he is so well-liked is he appears to talk the way you'd expect and want a football coach to talk, emphasizing toughness and all of those other football qualities.
This is reflected in how he runs practice, with Chris Perkins of the Sun Sentinel describing Wednesday's practice as one "emphasizing competition."
Campbell had the first-team offense competing with the first-team defense.
"We went good-on-good today," Campbell said. "We went Miami vs. Miami."
Wednesday was Campbell's third practice as Dolphins head coach. The first one included one-on-one drills (including Oklahoma drills), while the second one involved a tug-of-war.
While these types of practices might make Campbell popular among fans and give the impression that he wants to make the team tougher, we will have to wait until Sunday to see the final results. If they look the same as they did under Philbin, Campbell's Internet fame will turn into Dolphins Twitter infamy quicker than you can say "check out these guns."
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury | Status |
| Branden Albert | LT | Hamstring | Questionable |
| Dion Sims | TE | Concussion | Probable |
| Zackary Bowman | CB | Shoulder | Probable |
| Cameron Wake | DE | Hamstring | Probable |
| Brent Grimes | CB | Knee | Questionable |
| A.J. Francis | DT | Back | Questionable |
| Chris McCain | LB | Shoulder | Probable |
Injury status provided by MiamiDolphins.com.
The main concern injury-wise seems to be in the secondary, an already-thin unit that has Zack Bowman and Brent Grimes banged up.
The good news is, according to Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel, that Grimes and Bowman might be available to play.
Prior to practice on Wednesday, Grimes had told Kelly: "I feel pretty good now. Anytime you get hurt it's a little scary. But it worked out. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, and that's a positive."
Bowman seems to be ready to replace Grimes if Grimes can't go, thus ruling him in for Sunday's game despite his status.
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Key Matchups
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Titans WR Kendall Wright vs. Dolphins CB Jamar Taylor
Jamar Taylor is going to have the opportunity to fully prove himself for the rest of the year, and it starts with a matchup against Titans wide receiver Kendall Wright.
Wright has been the Titans' leading receiver so far, pulling down 16 receptions for 242 yards and two touchdowns. As Dorial Green-Beckham continues to emerge (he'll be covered by either Grimes or Bowman, depending on who plays), Wright will have less targets but should still be a major part of Tennessee's passing attack.
Titans LT Taylor Lewan vs. Dolphins DE Olivier Vernon
Where has Vernon been all season long?
Vernon, like Wake and Suh, is still looking for his first sack in a contract year. It won't get any easier on Sunday, as he'll be lined up across from Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan.
Lewan has been great this season, as Pro Football Focus graded him out at 4.0 so far this season, with a pass-blocking grade of 3.0 and a run-blocking grade of 3.8. The downside to Lewan is he has allowed two of the 14 sacks the Titans have allowed this season.
Titans DT Jurrell Casey vs. Dolphins C Mike Pouncey
The Titans defense is an impressive 3-4 unit coached by legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, and Tennessee's aggressiveness is most apparent up the middle in nose tackle Jurrell Casey.
Casey has 3.5 sacks this season, while Pro Football Focus graded him out at 14.4, with a 5.1 grade against the run and a 9.8 grade in pass rushing.
Center Mike Pouncey will have to contain Casey. Pouncey has been Miami's best offensive lineman, and before you make a remark about how that would only make him the "healthiest option at a fast food establishment," the PFF grades back this up, as he is graded at 4.5 overall.
X-Factors
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Miami Dolphins X-factor: DeVante Parker
In Week 4, Parker was my X-factor, as a good effort against Buffalo made it look like he was poised to break out against the New York Jets.
He didn't, but that's on the coaches for not playing him and trusting Jennings too much.
Will they attempt to use the rookie whom a first-round pick was used on against the Titans? They should.
The Titans have the top pass defense in the NFL, allowing only 166.5 yards in the air per game, but they do have one flaw, and that is when they get beat, they get beat deep.
Using Parker deep would benefit the Dolphins, for deep passes can lead to pass interference penalties. With Parker's skill set and ability to jump up and catch the ball, some of those penalties could come with completions.
Tennessee Titans X-factor: Dorial Green-Beckham
I was a big fan of the playmaking ability of Dorial Green-Beckham, despite being put off by some of his personal problems.
So far with the Titans, we have only seen said playmaking ability, and the Titans will likely use that as Green-Beckham will go up against a cornerback much shorter than him. Beware, Dolphins fans, as this could be the game DGB breaks out big in the NFL.
Prediction: Titans 23, Dolphins 20
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Do not be fooled by the Titans' record.
It's identical to Miami's, but these are two completely different teams going in different directions.
The Titans seem to be trending up. While they have but one win on the season (against an atrocious Buccaneers team in Week 1), they have had a habit of keeping it close against decent teams, losing to the Indianapolis Colts at the last second (due to a bad play call), then losing by one to a Buffalo Bills team that slaughtered the Dolphins two weeks earlier.
Their defense is aggressive and excellent, while their offense is a work-in-progress. Despite that work-in-progress status, it's still an offense capable of beating the Dolphins, especially with screen passes and the athleticism of rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota.
This is not a good matchup for the Dolphins at all. While they should be more inspired and able to keep the game close and entertaining, and while they should play their best game of the season, they will not come away with a victory.
Prediction: Titans 23, Dolphins 20
Stats provided by NFL.com, and advanced statistics provided by Pro Football Focus.
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