Three Match-Ups to Watch Against the Dolphins
By Evan Massey
Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis, IN – The Indianapolis Colts will take on the Miami Dolphins in Week 2 of the 2013-14 NFL season, and there are quite a few different match-ups to watch for. In this article, we are going to break down the top three match-ups to keep an eye on heading into this Week 2 match-up.
Mike Wallace vs. Vontae Davis
Vontae Davis is a former Miami Dolphin who had a rough tenure with the ‘Phins before being traded to the Colts prior to the start of last season. Mike Wallace on the other hand is a brand new addition to the Dolphins, and had a rough debut in Week 1 vs. the Browns with just one receptions for 15 yards. Wallace also made headlines following that performance vs. Cleveland with his displeasure in Miami’s coaching staff. He wants to see the football much more often during their second game against Indianapolis.
These two guys are certainly going to be fun to watch. Davis is known for being a play-maker, while Wallace is known for the exact same thing. That being said, the burning deep speed ability from Wallace will be a difficult match-up for Vontae Davis, but he’s got a lot of speed himself. This match-up certainly could be a key to which team takes the 2-0 record following Sunday.
Colts Defensive Line vs. Ryan Tannehill
The Colts are facing an up and coming quarterback in Tannehill, and despite the indisputable talent he possesses, he can be rattled with a solid pass-rush. Indianapolis has players who are more than capable of being play-makers in the backfield, and they need to step up for Indianapolis in order to disrupt Miami’s offense.
It will be very interesting to watch how the Dolphins’ offensive line is able to work together to protect Tannehill. They are certainly an O-Line that many analysts believe have a lot to prove. They will have the opportunity to do that this Sunday vs. a Colts defense that is more than capable of putting pressure on the quarterback.
Colts Wide Receivers vs. Dolphins Secondary
The Colts have a very good roster when it comes to wide receivers, but they were unable to show it in Week 1 vs. the Oakland Raiders. Reggie Wayne put up good numbers, but both Darrius Heyward-Bey and T.Y. Hilton had semi-rough games. Hilton especially has been thought of as the X-Factor for the Colts offense, but he wasn’t targeted many times in Indy’s first game.
Andrew Luck will need to work with his receivers much better throughout the entire game vs. the Dolphins in order to beat Miami’s secondary. There’s no doubt that the Dolphins defense is a bit overpowered by the Colts offense, but that’s exactly what everyone said about Oakland’s defense as well. This is the key match-up for the Indianapolis side of things. The Colts need all of their wide receivers to step up and play to their potential for the offense to reach its full potential.
This game should be a very good one between two talented, up and coming teams, and those are three of the main match-ups to keep an eye on. Miami is looking for a statement win, while the Colts are looking to prove those with high expectations for their season right. Sunday afternoon is going to be a fun game to watch.
Evan Massey is an Editor at Naptown’s Finest. Follow Evan and Naptown’s Finest on Twitter.