Ravens vs. Dolphins: Full Miami Game Preview
Mathematically, the Miami Dolphins are still in the playoff race at 4-7, but they're hanging by a thread with five games left in the season—four of those games being at home.
Also at 4-7 and hanging by a thread is the Dolphins' Week 13 opponent, the Baltimore Ravens. While the Dolphins are coming off a crushing blowout loss to their heated division rival New York Jets, the Ravens are coming off an emotional last-second Monday Night Football victory over the Cleveland Browns.
While the Dolphins still have the luxury of having their starting quarterback (if one can call that a luxury with his play this season), the Ravens are without their starter, Joe Flacco, who is out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL.
That might be good news for the Dolphins' chances on Sunday, as Flacco is a career 4-0 in the regular season against Miami and 1-0 against the Dolphins in the playoffs.
Despite the Ravens being Flacco-less, the Dolphins still face an uphill battle on Sunday for their fifth win of the season and their first against Baltimore since 2007.
Here's a preview of Sunday's matchup of two teams that have failed to live up to expectations in 2015.
Location: Sun Life Stadium; Miami Gardens, Florida
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Week 12 Results and Recap
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The Miami Dolphins showed just how far away they were from being able to compete with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills last Sunday, as they lost to the Jets 38-20.
The Jets dominated every facet of the game as Miami looked lost, unprepared and uninspired, and New York looked like a well-oiled football machine that was able to do just about anything it desired.
One reason Miami lost was its inability to run the ball, yet "inability" might be the wrong word to use. You can't really tell if a team is unable to run the ball if it only has nine rushing attempts. Miami could pass the ball, but two of those passes led to turnovers, and much of the yards and points that came through the air would come while the game was already well in hand for the Jets.
The Dolphins were able to stop the Jets' powerful run game all but two times, but those two big runs from Chris Ivory were crucial, as one put the Jets in position to score, while the other was a touchdown. The Jets' aerial assault was also huge, as Brandon Marshall feasted on Brent Grimes to the tune of nine receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
The game was a failure for the Dolphins in every way possible, and their performance should be shown to Pop Warner football teams throughout the country as an example of how not to play the game of football.
AFC East Standings
New England Patriots (10-1)
New York Jets (6-5)
Buffalo Bills (5-6)
Miami Dolphins (4-7)
AFC Wild-Card Standings
5. Kansas City Chiefs (6-5)
6. Houston Texans (6-5)
7. New York Jets (6-5)
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
9. Oakland Raiders (5-6)
10. Buffalo Bills (5-6)
11. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7)
12. Baltimore Ravens (4-7)
13. Miami Dolphins (4-7)
News and Notes
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Bill Lazor Out as Offensive Coordinator, QB Coach Zac Taylor Takes Over Play-Calling
Play-calling has been a maddening issue for the Dolphins all season, and it appears to annoy Dan Campbell as much as it does the fans.
After watching an anemic offense again fail to get anything done when it mattered, Campbell made the decision to fire offensive coordinator Bill Lazor on Monday, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
The reason for the firing was Campbell's frustration with the Dolphins offense, including this point of contention tweeted by the Miami Herald's Adam Beasley. Campbell wanted to run the ball more, but Lazor did not and would not.
Taking over for Lazor is the quarterbacks coach, Zac Taylor. Taylor has worked with Tannehill since his days at Texas A&M, and in addition to running the ball more, Beasley reported Taylor will give Tannehill more latitude to make play-calling suggestions and audible at the line of scrimmage.
At best, it's a cover-your-butt move by Campbell to deflect some blame off of him for the team's offensive woes. At worst, it's a sign of further dysfunction in Davie.
Will it make much of a difference? Not one bit. The Dolphins are out of it barring a miracle 5-0 run to end the season while the teams ahead of them in the AFC standings choke away their spots.
Dolphins Sign C Jacques McClendon in Response to Mike Pouncey Injury
The Dolphins might be without Mike Pouncey on Sunday, and Jamil Douglas' performance at center against the Jets was uninspiring.
This led to the Dolphins bringing back Jacques McClendon, per Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post, as the Dolphins signed the veteran center on Tuesday.
To make room for McClendon, Miami released linebacker James-Michael Johnson.
The move makes sense, as Douglas had quite a few low snaps on Sunday, including three that got away from him, and Pro Football Focus graded him out at minus-6.5. It was his first game as a center; he had played either tackle or guard in college and in his short NFL career.
McClendon has bounced on and off the Dolphins roster all season, so it's expected that he knows Miami's offense well.
DeVante Parker Declares Himself Starter for Sunday
Miami Dolphins first-round pick DeVante Parker saw a good amount of snaps against the Jets last Sunday, and he capitalized with four catches for 80 yards and a long touchdown reception that saw him make a few Jets defensive backs miss him.
Along with the injury to Rishard Matthews, this is why Parker is declaring himself a starter against Baltimore, per Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel.
Parker has the necessary bravado to take the job on, saying, "I think I just need to show people what I can do, because I haven't been getting as many reps as I wanted. But now I have a chance to show people what I can do."
On the other hand, Campbell isn't so quick to commit to Parker. Along with the implication that Parker will compete with Greg Jennings and Kenny Stills for the starting receiver slot alongside Jarvis Landry, Campbell had the following criticism for Parker:
"I thought he was shaky early in the game, [and] in the middle of the game [Sunday]. There were some plays that you would like his routes to be much more sharp than they were. He needs to reach out for the ball and use his size. But as the game went on he got more comfortable and he adjusted pretty well to the speed of the game.
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The best way to get Parker more comfortable is by giving him more reps. With the season the way it is, and with Baltimore's shaky pass defense (ranked 24th in the NFL, allowing 258.6 passing yards per game with an average of 7.4 yards per catch), why not start him over Jennings while using Stills as the third receiver?
If anything, it makes more sense to do that than to continue to limit Parker's snaps. The Dolphins have a gifted receiver with the potential to be a true No. 1 threat, but he has to develop and can only do so with more time on the field.
Injury Report
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Rishard Matthews
Per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Campbell announced at his Monday afternoon press conference that Matthews will likely not be cleared in time for Sunday's game.
Matthews was listed as not practicing, per Wednesday's injury report, as he suffered a rib and chest injury early last Sunday after a horrendous Tannehill pass led to a big hit from Jets safety Calvin Pryor.
With Matthews out, the job of second starting wide receiver is a competition between Parker, Stills and Jennings. On the previous slide, I noted how Parker feels he should be the starter, and I agree: He fits the role better than Stills, and at this point, he is a better player than Jennings.
Mike Pouncey
There was some good news on the injury front for the Dolphins, as Pouncey's foot injury suffered against the Jets was ruled to be not too serious on Monday, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Campbell said Pouncey would be day-to-day, and Pouncey did not practice with the team on Wednesday.
If Pouncey is unable to go, either Jamil Douglas or the newly re-signed Jacques McClendon will start in his place.
Earl Mitchell
According to the Dolphins' injury report, Earl Mitchell didn't practice on Wednesday, and he's listed as day-to-day, per Jackson. If Mitchell is unable to start, expect rookie Jordan Phillips to get a chance, especially with the release of C.J. Mosley, per Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel.
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Key Matchups
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Ravens ILB C.J. Mosley vs. Dolphins RBs Lamar Miller and Jay Ajayi
The Dolphins should run the ball more against Baltimore on Sunday, but they will have a huge test running on Ravens inside linebacker C.J. Mosley.
Mosley is one of the top run-stopping linebackers in the NFL, with Pro Football Focus ranking Mosley 14th overall against the run.
Miller and Ajayi will have to follow their lead blockers and ensure that the ball-hawking middle linebacker winds up behind them instead of meeting them behind the line of scrimmage, as he's wont to do.
Ravens TE Crockett Gillmore vs. Dolphins LB Koa Misi
Miami's issues covering tight ends didn't continue against the Jets, who instead decided to use their wide receivers to do most of the damage.
It will be a different story against the Ravens, as tight end Crockett Gillmore will get plenty of targets with Matt Schaub at quarterback.
Gillmore's best game came two weeks ago against the Rams when he caught five passes for 101 yards, and with the Dolphins' reputation of not being able to cover the tight end, Baltimore will look upon Gillmore to help carry its offense. Koa Misi's job is to limit Gillmore, but you'd be forgiven if you questioned his ability to do so.
X-Factors
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Miami Dolphins X-factor: DeVante Parker
The Ravens defense isn't the force it used to be, and the best way to exploit it is to go vertical.
The Ravens are ranked 24th against the pass, and Pro Football Focus has them graded out at a minus-14.5 in pass coverage. The Ravens have also allowed 48 passes of 20 yards or more, with eight of those passes being of 40 yards or more.
The receivers who can help Miami exploit this the most are Parker and Stills, and Parker can help out the most due to his big 6'3" frame to go along with his speed and athleticism.
Baltimore Ravens X-factor: Crockett Gillmore
Miami's inability to cover tight ends is well-known throughout the NFL, and it should certainly be well-known by Ravens coach John Harbaugh, a coach who is 5-0 against Miami (including in the playoffs).
Add in the Ravens' receiving unit not being the unit it once was, and there's every reason why the Ravens will rely on Gillmore to carry most of the receiving load on offense.
Gillmore has 32 catches for 405 yards and four touchdowns this season and could feast on a Dolphins linebacker unit that has struggled to cover the tight end all year long. Keep an eye on him.
Prediction
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The Ravens have had an extremely un-Raven-like season thanks to key injuries on both sides of the ball, while the Dolphins have had the most Dolphin-like season you could imagine.
Despite the issues with both teams, there's still a faint hope that either team can get a playoff berth, but that hope essentially dies with a loss for either team.
The Ravens may be without Flacco or Terrell Suggs, but they're still the Ravens. They are still the type of team that gets under the Dolphins' skin, and they're physical up front and have a scheme on both sides of the ball that can exploit all of Miami's weaknesses.
This won't change, at least not this week, as the Ravens will leave South Florida with a victory for the third season in a row and the fifth time since 2008.
Final Prediction: Baltimore 27, Miami 10
Statistics courtesy of NFL.com, and advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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