Miami Dolphins at the Dallas Cowboys: What to Watch For

After the first two months of this season this game looked brutal for Thanksgiving day, but because of the Miami Dolphins improvement (especially Matt Moore’s) over the last month this game suddenly is at least interesting.  What will I be watching today?

Mike Pouncey vs Jay Ratliff

Pouncey plays in the A.F.C. East where all of the teams at least some 34 (Patriots less than the Bill and Jets this year), but he hasn’t faced a nose tackle like Jay Ratliff. Ratliff is not a typical monster nose tackle, he’s a quick, strong gap penetrator. He offers a unique challenge and I’m interested in seeing how Pouncey plays today.

DeMarco Murray vs the Dolphins 7th ranked rush defense

DeMarco Murray has had some huge games this year rushing for 6.0 yards per carry this season and two times going over a 100 yards rushing in one game (and one time over 200 yards rushing). But the teams he’s done real well against are the Rams (254 yards), Seattle (139 yards), and Buffalo (135). Seattle is a pretty good run defense, but the rest are not that great. It’ll be a good matchup to watch today.

Demarco Murray has been a revelation in fantasy football, but with the return of Felix Jones and the Dolphins ability to stop the run he could be a risky start today.

Tyron Smith vs Kendall Langford, Koa Misi

All of the accolades for rookies always goes to the position skilled players. We hear about Cam newton and Andy Dalton. We all know about A.J. Green, and DeMarco Murray, but the offensive linemen are always ignored. In the games I’ve watched this year Smith has shown that he was absolutely worth the 9th overall pick. This is probably the biggest stage that Smith has got to play on all year though it’s not the biggest game.

Other storylines in the game

There’s really not a whole lot for the young players in this game, but here are some interesting storylines.

When Bill Parcells went to Miami he brought along with him a very heavy Dallas influence. Including Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano. This game probably means a great deal to Sparano. All year people have talked about (myself included) the team won’t play hard for him because he’s a lame duck coach. Today the Dolphins could put that talk to rest, and who knows maybe even save their head coach’s job.

The Dolphins infustion of speed vs the Cowboys

The Cowboys are stout up font, but they can be taken advantage of down field. In the off-season the Dolphins the team really focused on adding speed to their offense with the additions of Reggie Bush and Clyde Gates. I’ll be watching to see if the Dolphins offense is able to create any big plays vs the Cowboys

Can anyone block DeMarcus Ware?

DeMarcus Ware has been a terror all year. He already has 14 sacks this year, the Cowboys have 26 total. If Long can block Ware, the Dolphins might actually have a chance to win this game (which could be very low scoring).

Prediction:

Cowboys to win this game on Thanksgiving day and to start overtaking the Giants for first place in the N.F.C. East