Home opener for new Dolphins coach when Miami faces Houston

Against the Titans, Miami implemented a lot of two tight end sets, pulled their guards, and even had big boy Earl Mitchell play fullback a handful of times.

The Houston Texans (2-4) are coming from a 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6. It appears inserting Dan Campbell as the interim head coach after firing Joe Philbin has rejuvenated the team as they played with increased effort in Week 6.

SS Reshad Jones (hamstring) practiced full speed Thursday and should be ready to provide his hard-hitting presence to the run and pass defenses. The team that is No. 3 in the National Football League in rush yards per carry is No. 26 in rushing yards per game because, until last week, circumstances and other issues (calling it?) prevented Miami from running effectively. All-Pro defensive end Cameron Wake had 4 sacks and helped keep Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota contained for most of the game. Having finally freed Lamar Miller, the offense is now less one-dimensional and should be able to sustain longer drives, leading to more scoring. Not to mention the fact the Titans own the 28th-ranked rushing attack.

Each and every week well before kickoff, I often see players and/or coaches from the Texans and their opponent warmly greeting each other. Tennessee has also surrendered the most fantasy points to opposing defenses.

Miller was drafted with the 97 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2012 draft and quickly became a fixture on Miami’s backfield, but he unfortunately embodied what the Philbin era was all about in Miami up until last month: Great expectations and no actual payoff when it counted. To make matters worse, top wide receiver Jeremy Maclin suffered a concussion and is looking doubtful to play this week. To win this game, they’ll also have to push the ball on the ground to open up plays for Tannehill. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s got pretty good feet.

Ryan Tannehill will need to take his time to scan the field as the Texans do an exceptional job of disguising their coverage until the ball is snapped. While both share a 1-2 record, the offense as a whole has looked much better under Hoyer than it has under Mallet.

In order to have success against Hopkins, the Dolphins must get pressure on Brian Hoyer with their front four defensive linemen in order to bracket Hopkins if he should line up on the opposite side of Brent Grimes. With turnover-prone Jameis Winston at the helm for the Bucs, more turnovers should be on the way this weekend.

Mallett went 1-3 as the starter, completing 52.2 percent of his passes for 672 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. We saw how successful the offense is once the run game is clicking, and there’s no reason to think that can’t happen again against a team that’s not too different in terms of scheme. Stopping a red hot Doug Martin should be the primary focus for Washington as the likes of Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans have underwhelmed so far. Guard Jeff Linkenbach might be on the outs with the new coaching staff. He was inactive last week for the first time all season….