Behind Enemy Lines: Analyzing Seahawks Week 4 Matchup With All Dolphins

Heading back to Florida with a six-game losing streak in the "Sunshine State" dating back to 2006, the Seahawks will look to stay undefeated against a pesky Dolphins squad. AllDolphins insider Alain Poupart breaks down Seattle's Week 4 opponent.

Putting their undefeated 3-0 record on the line, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks will make the long trek from the Pacific Northwest to South Florida to square off with Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins in an interconference battle.

After losing its first two games, including falling just short in a shootout with Buffalo in Week 2, Miami righted the ship with a convincing 31-14 over Jacksonville last Thursday to enter the win column for the first time in 2020.

With the Seahawks seeking their first win in Florida since way back in 2006, I spoke with AllDolphins insider Alain Poupart to get some much-needed insight on the state of the Dolphins heading into an intriguing Week 4 matchup.

1. It really does seem like Ryan Fitzpatrick seems to get better as his beard gets longer and with each additional team he joins. In all seriousness, Pete Carroll said he’s playing as well as he’s ever seen him play. What is it about "Fitzmagic" that has allowed him to continue to win over locker rooms and in particular serve as a galvanizing leader for this young squad?

Alain Poupart (AP): It’s very simple: The dude just has a great personality and he’s just one of the guys. There’s no arrogance about him, which makes sense because of his career arc as a seventh-round pick and longtime backup and he just gets it. He’s smart (did you know he went to Harvard?) and has great self-deprecating humor, as he showed during his postgame interview on NFL Network last week. Most importantly, he goes all out and his willingness to throw his body around scores big points with his teammates.

2. The Dolphins added Matt Breida and Jordan Howard in the offseason, but instead of those two, Myles Gaskin has emerged as the team's starting running back. Brian Flores called him a "perfect Dolphin." What have you seen from the former Washington star and how has he bolstered the offense?

AP: I think “bolstered” the offense might be stretching things a bit because it’s not as though the running game is lighting up the stat sheet. That said, Gaskin clearly has outplayed Howard and Breida so far this season, which is why he’s become the feature back. No one would have seen that coming heading into training camp, but from the first practice of camp that was open to the media it was clear he was a different back than he was as a rookie — quicker, stronger, more decisive. Gaskin also has played a big role in the passing game. Now, how long Gaskin remains as the No. 1 back is unknown, but it’s a great story as it’s happening.

3. Much like the Seahawks, at least statistically, the Dolphins have struggled to muster much of a pass rush. Have the signings of Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah simply not panned out so far? Has anyone else emerged as a viable threat to turn the heat up on opposing quarterbacks?

AP: The pass rush actually became a major topic in South Florida after the first two games because it was nonexistent, though in the opener against New England, there weren’t that many opportunities because the Patriots rushed for more than 215 yards. But after the disaster against Buffalo when Josh Allen had all day to throw and took advantage of it to the tune of 417 passing yards, the pass rush came to life against Jacksonville. In addition to four sacks, the Dolphins had constant pressure on Gardner Minshew and affected him in a big way. Lawson and Ogbah both were bad in the opener, but had gotten progressively better each week. The Dolphins don’t have a pass-rushing stud, per se, but rather rely on a variety of players, most of them coming on the blitz.

4. In another similarity between these two teams, injuries have ravaged both secondaries. Cornerbacks Byron Jones and Xavien Howard have been banged up. How in the heck do the Dolphins compensate in the secondary if one or both of those players can't go against Wilson, Tyler Lockett, and DK Metcalf?

AP: As of Friday afternoon, it’s not looking good for Jones, who was listed as doubtful on the final injury report. Jones was injured four snaps into the Bills game after the Dolphins began the game matching him up on Stefon Diggs and Howard on John Brown. After Jones left the game, the Dolphins kept Howard on Brown and put rookie first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene on Diggs — with poor results. Diggs beat up the rookie, though there was some logic in keeping Howard on Brown because Brown killed the Dolphins last year. With Jones out against Jacksonville, there was more zone coverage than normal for the Dolphins defense and I could see them doing more of that against the Seahawks. If they match up anybody one-on-one, the logical move is putting Howard on DK Metcalf. I’m not sure the Dolphins have a slot cornerback good enough at this point to consistently cover Lockett one-on-one in the slot.

5. Moving away from scheming and Xs and Os... if there's one kryptonite for Russell Wilson, it's ironically rain. Sunday's forecast sounds like it will be a wet one. Do you envision that being a major advantage for the Dolphins if the forecast holds true and why?

AP: There’s no data to support the idea that the Dolphins benefit from rain or even thunderstorms. They’ve had success in such games and they’ve had failures, such as the Buffalo game. What I will say is that everybody will lose if there’s another lightning delay as there was against Buffalo in Week 2 and, of course, who can forget the 2018 season opener when two long delays made the game last more than seven hours.