Five Things To Watch Against The Dolphins

It's time to squish the fish, Buffalo! This week's match-up against the Miami Dolphins is a huge one for the Bills, who need a win to avoid falling 1-2 in the standings, and to falling last in the AFC East after 3 weeks of play. The offense has looked functional, despite some average offensive line play, while the defense has had one dominant week and one extremely mediocre week. This is a huge AFC East showdown, starting at 4:25 on Sunday. Let's take a look at some things to watch.

Tyrod Taylor: Through 2 weeks, he has posted stats of 4 TD's, 3 INT's, 437 passing yards with a completion rate of 75.5%. He's also added 84 yards rushing and a TD on the ground. The glaring issue with that stat line is the 3 INT's that he has thrown, all of which came against the Patriots. He's a player to watch because the coaching staff, as well as the fans, need to see what he can do as he enters his first road game. Taylor has been playing pretty well, but he needs to learn to trust his offensive line more, as well as learning to step up in the pocket, as opposed to running left or right. The 5th year QB took 8 sacks last week, and that's not a good sign. Tyrod needs to make quicker decisions as well as maintaining solid pocket presence. If he can improve those aspects in his game, he will have a productive season as well as a successful day in Miami.

Offensive Line: The offensive line has not been terrible, but they have not been doing well either. Not all the players have been playing up to par. One of the key players not performing well has been LT Cordy Glenn. He's been the anchor on the left side of Buffalo's line for the past few years, but as of late he's seemed slow. Glenn's been getting shoved around and has also been taking a lot of poor penalties. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a surprisingly solid link on the line has been LG Richie Incognito. He returned after not playing football in over a year, and he's quietly making his presence known. Over the first 2 weeks, Incognito has been perfect on pass plays, giving up 0 pressures on 65 pass attempts. If more of these guys on the line can play like Incognito has, this line will be successful on Sunday by opening holes for McCoy, and keeping Tyrod protected in the passing game.

Lesean McCoy: It's time for Shady McCoy to prove why he's the bellcow of this offense. He needs to shine sooner or later. He's been semi-productive in his 2 weeks so far, putting up 130 yards on the ground and 73 yards on 6 receptions. He needs to do more though. This week he's due for a big play or a breakout game with Buffalo. He hasn't been 100% with his nagging hamstring injury, so hopefully in the next few weeks he will put up a big game for this offense.

Ndamukong Suh: Miami's huge offseason addition, who is getting paid $114 million on his current contract, has been invisible after 2 weeks. The Buffalo Bill's offensive line will have a tough matchup though, as Suh will look to finally make his presence known. He may be matched up against Incognito or Miller depending on where Suh lines up, so either one of them will have their hands full.

The Defense: The Bills defense had a pitiful week 2, letting Brady and company do whatever they wished. The corner's were always getting beat and the pass rush was non-existent. The pass rush surely wasn't helped by Brady's quick release time either. This defense needs to bounce back and shut down Miami; a team featuring Ryan Tannehill at QB and some solid WR's in Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings, and Jarvis Landry. Rex needs to gameplan better and gameplan with the solid staff he has. The Bills must prove this week they are the defense to beat.

The Bills will need to have a solid game on both sides of the ball to bounce back after last week's disappointing loss. It will be Buffalo's first game on the road. Buffalo must quiet the stadium early and keep the foot on the throttle throughout the game. If the Bills can lessen the penalties, play better defense, and prevent turnovers on offense, I am confident the Bills will win this game. Thanks for reading, and as always, let's go Buffalo!