The New York Giants (2-11) and Miami Dolphins (3-10) will square off on Sunday afternoon in Week 15.
The Giants opened the week as 3.5-point home favorites, and the spread hasn’t changed at all as of Sunday morning, with Big Blue still at -3.5
With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Dolphins Wire managing editor Kyle Crabbs.
Giants Wire: What happened with Josh Rosen and that entire situation that led to Ryan Fitzpatrick earning his starting job back? Miami seemed relatively sold on Rosen, who many believe has gotten a raw deal early on in his career.
Kyle Crabbs: By the time Rosen got into camp and the coaching staff really had the chance to get their hands on him, it became apparent pretty quickly that Rosen’s prior coaching hadn’t adequately prepared him for life as an NFL quarterback.
Rosen had zero experience in identifying the MIKE and making protection calls at the line of scrimmage — which resulted in irregular results in live game action and slowed Rosen’s ability to read and react.
By halftime of the Washington game in Week 6, it was clear Rosen’s inconsistencies here were preventing the Dolphins from getting an assessment on the rest of their roster, which is the primary objective for 2019. As a result, the switch to Fitzpatrick was made.
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What are the major reasons that Miami’s ground game has been unable to get on track this year?
The Dolphins have two primary issues regarding the running game — they’re not particularly talented in the backfield and the offensive line provides zero push up front.
That will serve as one of the Giants’ primary advantages in Week 15. Their defensive line play should dictate the line of scrimmage against a bunch of blockers that simply can’t reset the line of scrimmage with any consistency.
And Miami often finding themselves chasing the opposition on the scoreboard every week doesn’t help, either.
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On a team with limited talent, DeVante Parker is excelling and playing at an All-Pro level. What have you seen as far as his development and what makes him such a dangerous receiver?
Parker has always had the potential to put what we’re seeing this year on display but for much of his career, there have been whispers about Parker’s professionalism and commitment to his craft.
This season, it seems as though Brian Flores and the rest of Miami’s coaching staff really nailed their messaging to Parker, who overhauled his season preparations and is finally healthy and playing with confidence. He’s worth every penny of the four-year, $40 million extension Miami gave him on Friday if he continues to sustain the level of play we’ve seen in 2019.
Another big factor in his success has been the chemistry he’s struck with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick trusts Parker to go up and make a play on 50-50 balls and Parker is routinely finishing those targets.
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The Dolphins are near the bottom of the league in nearly every defensive category. For a moment, let’s forget what they do wrong… What does Miami do right on the defensive side of the ball and what is an area of strength that the Giants should be wary of?
Miami’s strength on defense is on the inside. The interior four in Miami’s front seven are the foundation on which the rest of the unit will be built in the future: DL Christian Wilkins, DL Davon Godchaux, LB Jerome Baker and LB Raekwon McMillan.
Miami’s run defense has been much better after the Week 5 bye week and these four are playing better each week. If the Giants want to run the ball successfully against Miami, they’re most likely to find success probing off tackle or around the outside and testing Miami’s dwindling cornerback depth in the run game.
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Ryan Fitzpatrick has not fared particularly well against the Giants and has the second-worst TD:INT ratio of his career against them. Would you expect that trend to continue on Sunday or will Big Blue see a different side of Fitzmagic this time around?
You never know what you’re going to get with Ryan Fitzpatrick each week but to his credit, this has been one of the most consistent performances of his career.
Fitzpatrick is the spark plug for Miami’s offense and his lapses in judgement are less frequent than in years past. Expect to see Fitzpatrick take some calculated chances but a multi-turnover game is something he’s only done three times this season.
Make sure you check out Kyle Crabbs for all of your Dolphins needs over at Dolphins Wire.
