***TNF IN THE SWAMP - MIA @ BAL***

***MIAMI DOLPHINS @ BALTIMORE RAVENS***

Tonight the 4-2 Miami Dolphins will take their strange three game winning streak into Baltimore to try their luck against a struggling 3-4 Ravens team. Miami has had quite the whirlwind of a season so far and we are only piercing the halfway point of the season with tonight's matchup. There is no doubt that this team has been faced with many different variations of adversity. Whether it be injuries to key positions, hurricanes, a trip to London, or personnel changes on the Coaching staff for reasons that we won't get into here, this team has managed to come together and weather the storm (no pun intended). Needless to say, all these different obstacles seemed to have forced them to become a tight knit group as we saw from WR Jarvis Landry's post-game interview after another comeback victory last weekend. He brought up all these things I just mentioned and told us all to "stop doubting us (them)." Is he right? We always knew that this team was loaded with talent and somewhat of a sleeping giant. They have all the pieces, and in my opinion just needed a real NFL QB to get over the hump. Last season they were good enough to get into the playoffs when they lost starting QB Ryan Tannehill and veteran backup Matt Moore led the team on a late season flurry to only get stomped by Pittsburgh in the first round. I was never a big Tannehill believer, and I do like Matt Moore and the leadership he brings to this team. He's a lockeroom guy and his teammates have faith in him, which is important because he will again get the nod tonight. Tannehill once again got injured during the preseason in practice and instead of handing the keys to Moore the Dolphins organization decided to bring Jay Cutler out of his short retirement to be their guy. Head Coach Adam Gase had a positive history with Cutler and some say is the reason for the better part of Cutler's career in Chicago. Long story short, Cutler has crapped the bed thus far and hasn't been able to be the guy they thought he'd be. He cracked his ribs last week during another bad outing and Matt Moore was there to save the day, throwing two touchdowns to steal a victory in the 4th quarter at home against a bitter rival in the Jets.

After all of that it sounds as if I am about to back the Dolphins am I right? Not tonight my friends. While I do like this Miami defense and how they have fought hard in every game despite their anemic offense, I think they are going to run into a brick wall tonight. Although they're on a three game winning streak, I feel as if it is a bit misleading. They were extremely lucky to hold onto the lead against a Titans team without their starting QB, they were able to take advantage of the Falcons in a lookahead spot by capitalizing on ATL's poor focus to sneak out a win, and then last week were about to lose to the Jets AGAIN if not for somewhat of a miracle comeback in the 4th quarter. While the Ravens are pretty much in the same boat as the three teams I just mentioned as they have tons of issues themselves, they're a team full of veterans who know how to answer the bell when they need to. Not many teams have been bitten by the injury bug as much as the Ravens have this season. QB Joe Flacco has looked completely lost at times and is one of the worst signal callers in the NFL so far this season! The critics are calling for his head but some of his struggles can be attributed to the fact that his WRs and RBs have BOTH been a constant carousel resulting in a lack of consistency and chemistry. The man also came off of an injury last season so I think it has taken him awhile to get comfortable in the pocket again. The first couple of weeks it looked like he was still seeing ghosts out there. The Ravens are coming off of two back to back battles with NFC North teams in the Bears and Vikings who are looking like they currently have two of the top defensive units in the league. Things won't get any easier tonight up against this Miami defense but I do like Head Coach John Harbaugh to be able to put together an effective gameplan on a short week and I am willing to bank on Flacco rising to the occasion tonight at home. The hidden beauty in the Ravens yawner of an offense is that they have probably the best FG Kicker in the game in Justin Tucker. As long as they get into the Red Zone they should get 3 points every time with this guy.

On the other side of the ball many agree that backup QB Matt Moore isn't much of a drop off from Jay Cutler. Some may even argue that Cutler should've never been brought in and Moore should've been starting this whole time. After last week's game, Dolphin fans everywhere probably feel good about Moore starting but I think the matchup has to be right for this guy to be effective and tonight, up against this stout Ravens defense, I believe he will be in trouble. The Ravens play extremely well at home on Prime Time and this defense will be JACKED up and ready to get in Moore's face. The Miami offensive line has been shaky this season and with the DT Brandon Williams back holding down the middle of that defensive line which eats up blockers and allows MLB CJ Mosley to roam free and make plays. This secondary is a smart ball hawking one with guys like CB Jimmy Smith and S Eric Weddle back there and a big reason Matt Moore has had success at times is because he isn't afraid to throw it up and let his athletic WRs try to make a play. The Dolphins have some freaks at WR but DeVante Parker will be sitting out another week and I think the Ravens have the secondary to stay with Landry and Stills and pick-off those 50/50 balls Moore will toss up. Both teams will surely try to establish the run game and I believe we are in for a defensive stalemate and this one will come down to which QB makes the plays to put his team in position to score points. On that note, I'll take the struggling former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco to man up here and get the job done against a team he historically plays fairly well against. That being said Miami doesn't have the best luck when playing in Baltimore the last few times around and I don't think that changes tonight. It has been an extremely emotional and hard fought first half of the season for the Fish, and I believe their good fortune runs out here. I don't like their chances in a hostile environment on the road, on a short week, and up against a hungry and desperate Ravens team nonetheless. The way defensive Captain LB Terrell Suggs AKA T-Sizzle was talking after another dissapointing loss last week, I think the Black Birds will take out some frustrations on the Fish tonight, leaving Miami wondering who should start at QB next week. This could get ugly tonight. RAVENS-3