The Miami Dolphins (4-4) are set to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-8) underneath the lights of Raymond-James Stadium on Monday night. The Dolphins are coming into this matchup after taking a wild, overtime win against Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday. The sweetness of the win turned bitter very quickly with the emergence of the Jonathan Martin bullying case and the indefinite suspension of starting offensive lineman Richie Incognito.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been dealing with their own woes, as they haven't been able to successfully win a game this season. On top of a winless year, elite running back Doug Martin has been sidelined with a shoulder injury. Head Coach Greg Schiano may be in the hottest seat of all the coaches in the league at this point, so you know he's desperate to break into the win the column.
Here are five things the Miami Dolphins must do to prevent that.
1) Stop the Run
The Buccaneers upgraded running back Doug Martin's injury status to "questionable" this week. Even if Martin doesn't play, the Bucs found success with backup running back Mike James. James is coming off a 158-yard rushing effort and even THREW a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks, who had to come back from twenty-one points down to get the win. The Dolphins must be able to contain the run better, as they allowed an average of 4.7 yards-per-carry last week including an epic 35-yard scamper from Bengals' Running Back Giovanni Bernard.
[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehZLNbpuAc4[/embed]
2) Pressure QB Mike Glennon
One of the multiple bright spots in Tampa Bay's loss to Seattle on Sunday, was the play from rookie quarterback Mike Glennon. Glennon's numbers weren't great, (17/23, 168-yards, 2 TD) but they were efficient for a rookie who has been thrown in the lion's den quickly this season. The Dolphins need to create a pressure similar to last week, where they were able to sack Andy Dalton three times (including the game-winning safety in overtime) and force him to throw three interceptions.
3) Limit WR Vincent Jackson
Vincent Jackson is the Buccaneer's sole vertical threat, and he is security blanket for Mike Glennon. Jackson is second in the NFL (only behind Bengals' AJ Green) in targets with 94 so far this season. Seattle did a great job last week of only allowing Jackson two catches on his four targets. As a result, Glennon was forced to use other targets, like rookie TE Timothy Wright out of Rutgers. Taking Jackson out of the picture is a key to success for the Dolphins' secondary, as it eliminates the only obvious vertical threat the Bucs have to offer.
4) Protect Ryan Tannehill
Amidst the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin drama, one fact remains prominent about the Miami Dolphins' Offensive Line: they can't protect the quarterback. Ryan Tannehill leads the league in sacks taken with 35, four more than the next quarterback on the list, Ben Roethlisberger. When the Dolphins have protected Tannehill, he has preformed exceptionally, and the importance of giving him time to throw does not decrease this week.
5) Be Smart with the Football
All of the Dolphins' four losses (with the exception of one - Baltimore) have been games where they committed more turnovers than their opponent. Winning the turnover battle can never be stressed enough - it's instrumental to winning games. A simple formula to losing is to turn the ball over and give your opponent additional chances to score points.
If the Dolphins can make sure to do these five things, they'll be able to come away with a crucial victory in spite of the negative publicity currently surrounding the team.
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