Four Questions + One Prediction with Alain Poupart of All Dolphins

Alain Poupart covers the Miami Dolphins for All Dolphins on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. He answered five questions from All Panthers to preview Sunday's matchup between Carolina and Miami.

1. What's the formula to slow down the Dolphins offense? Is there anything in particular they have issues with?

In the two games where the Dolphins didn't put up ridiculous numbers, against New England and Buffalo, defenses made sure not to give up big pass plays and played very soft coverage. And then the Bills had even more success (after Miami's first two drives) because they were able to beat the Dolphins at the line of scrimmage.

2. Where is Miami's defense vulnerable?

The Dolphins' defense actually hasn't been great this season, though it did come up big at key moments in the first two weeks in the wins against the Chargers and Patriots. More often than not, the Dolphins' biggest issue on defense has been stopping the run and it seems as though Vic Fangio's more passive scheme (as opposed to the attacking style of DC Josh Boyer last year) has maybe not brought out the best in key front seven players like Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler. The pass rush also has been sporadic, though the Dolphins are coming off a seven-sack performance, albeit against the porous New York Giants offensive line.

3. One player Panthers fans may be unfamiliar with that could have a big impact

That's always a tough question to answer because I just don't know which players the Panthers fan base is or is not familiar with. I'm going to guess I should exclude here guys like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Raheem Mostert, so then maybe I'll go with running back Salvon Ahmed, who watched from the sideline last week as rookie sensation De'Von Achane again broke long runs but now is on IR with a knee injury. So Ahmed figures to get those carries and he's got enough speed to do some damage as well if the blocking up front continues to be as good as it has been.

4. What's the biggest difference in Tua since his early career struggles?

That one is easy: He's got a track team around him, a head coach who fully believes in him, and a scheme perfectly suited to his skill set. In terms of his own play, this might surprise you, but I actually don't think I see a lot of difference because he's always been accurate, he's always a quick release and he's never had a big arm. The one difference related specifically to him is a level of confidence that's several degrees higher than it was in his first two seasons.

5. Score Prediction

Dolphins 33, Panthers 13...The Dolphins are two-touchdown favorites for a reason and they're particularly explosive at home where they've worn teams out in the second half in the South Florida heat. I think you could make an argument for (maybe) a reasonably close contest if the game were to be played in Carolina, but this is just another mismatch for the Dolphins. They defeated the New York Giants by 15 last week and that was despite being minus-3 in turnover ratio. Can't imagine the Dolphins will be that sloppy again.

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