Five Things the 49ers Need to Know about the Dolphins
The 49ers play extremely well when they know their opponent -- they're undefeated against the NFC West. But when they face a team outside their division, they're just 3-4.
This Sunday, they'll play another team they don't know so well -- the Miami Dolphins. To help the 49ers find out more about them, I asked AllDolphins Editor Alain Poupart five questions:
1. What has Mike McDaniel done to improve the offense in general and Tua in particular?
POUPART: "The massive jump in production from the Dolphins offense in 2022 is the results of several factors, most of which have to do with McDaniel. Where he doesn't necessarily is the one who should get the credit is the addition of Tyreek Hill, whose absolutely stupid speed opened up all kinds of possibilities from a scheme standpoint. And that's where McDaniel has shined, designed a scheme that takes advantage of that speed and all it entails (the way defenses are afraid of it) to produce a scheme that's resulted in receivers running wide open downfield on a staggeringly regular basis. All of that has made Tua's job easier in that if guys are open in the short or intermediate range, Tua is accurate and will get them the ball. More importantly, McDaniel pumped Tua with confidence from the time he was hired, a stark contrast to previous head coach Brian Flores, who wasn't a big fan."
2. How will McDaniel attack DeMeco Ryans and the 49ers defense?
POUPART: "It's the passing game that's carried the Dolphins offense and there's no reason to think that will change anytime soon. But the issue for the Dolphins now is that left tackle Terron Armstead is dealing with a pectoral injury that very possibly — if not likely — will keep him out of the game against the 49ers and the pass protection has been awful in the three games where he's missed at least half the game because of injuries. If the Dolphins can't protect Tua, that's going to severely limit the ability to throw 15-20 yards downfield, where they have thrived all season. I certainly would expect a lot of quick passing in this game to combat the 49ers pass rush, particularly if Armstead can't play."
3. What are Tua's strengths and weaknesses?
POUPART: "That's actually a pretty easy question, and I would preface it by saying that despite the dramatically better production this year they're still the same. His strengths always have been great accuracy in the short-to-intermediate range and quick decision-making in the pocket. The weakness remains the lack of ideal arm strength, which will manifest itself most if he has to make a throw under duress without the ability to set his feet. That, however, hasn't happened very often this season because the pass protection for him generally has been very good. The lack of arm strength hasn't prevented him from hitting some long passes this season, but the truth is that he's underthrown Hill on practically every bomb he's thrown his way this season — then again, Hill is so fast, he's easy to underthrow."
4. Will Terron Armstead play, and how would his absence impact the game?
POUPART: "While the nature of Armstead's injury (pectoral strain) almost always results in missed game action, Mike McDaniel said this week he wasn't ready to rule out the possibility of Armstead playing against the 49ers. That said, he didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday, which isn't unusual this season as he's been dealing with a toe injury all year, but more importantly it's really difficult to envision him playing against the 49ers, particularly because of the risk of aggravating the injury. As mentioned before, his absence would be huge because there's just a massive drop-off behind him — as evidenced by the times he's been out. Right tackle Austin Jackson also likely won't play, so the best guess is the Dolphins will start with the same lineup with which they finished the Houston game last season, with Greg Little at left tackle and Brandon Shell at right tackle. Where Armstead's absence will be most felt is in pass protection, clearly, and it might take the deep passing game out of the equation for Miami."
5. Is the Dolphins defense good or bad? Why? What about the pass rush?
POUPART: "The Dolphins defense has been inconsistent. The stats aren't terribly impressive, but the defense was most responsible for the wins against New England (20-7 with a defensive TD), Buffalo (gave up almost 500 yards but only 19 points), Pittsburgh (16-10) and maybe even last week against Houston when Xavien Howard returned a fumble for a touchdown and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel returned an interception to the 3-yard line to set up another TD. What stands out about the Dolphins defense is the stark contrast between its performance at home and on the road, with the six lowest point totals allowed all at home and the five highest all on the road. As for the pass rush, it's coming off a very good game against Houston, but the Texans are a really bad team. The addition of Bradley Chubb at the trade deadline has helped this area, which was severely lacking before that, and given the Dolphins a nice trio of edge pass rushers along with veteran Melvin Ingram and 2021 first-round pick Jaelan Phillips."
