Tag: Brian Flores

NFL Best Bets: Three underdog locks for Week 11

Our weekly NFL underdog betting staple continues into Week 11, where Ken Pomponio features three teams likely to upset their underdog odds

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NFL Week 10 was wild, a memorable week and a surprise-filled week which featured nine of 13 underdogs covering the mid-week lines.

We weren’t on either of the big underdogs (Atlanta Falcons +11.5 in New Orleans, Miami Dolphins +9.5 in Indianapolis) who not only covered but also won outright, but we did go 3-0 to snap a run of three straight 1-2 weekly finishes and up our season record to 18-12.

Now it’s back to board to find more underdog value, utilizing, as usual, Wednesday’s posted point spreads from BetMGM.com.

Get some action on the games by betting at BetMGM. New customer offer: RISK-FREE First Bet (up to $500!) paid in free bets.

Dolphins (+6) vs. Buffalo Bills

Nov 10, 2019: Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Brian Spurlock – USA TODAY Sports

Don’t look now, but the Dolphins’ tanking mission is suddenly headed the wrong direction.

Behind the fearless play of veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and an energized, no-name defense, Miami is 2-0 in November and has covered in five straight outings after a brutal 0-4 against-the-spread start in which the Dolphins were outscored 163-26.

The Bills, meanwhile, have gone 2-2 after a 4-1 start, including a tighter-than-it-looks 31-21 home win over the Dolphins in Week 7.

Keep riding with Fitzpatrick and Co. here as the oddsmakers have been slow to adjust to the new-and-improved Dolphins. They’re playing hard for a first-year coach in Brian Flores, who clearly doesn’t include “tanking” among his best career interests.

Philadelphia Eagles (+3½) vs. New England Patriots

Feb 4, 2018: Eagles coach Doug Pederson (left) and Patriots coach Bill Belichick reunite Sunday. Matthew Emmons – USA TODAY Sports

It hasn’t proven to be wise wagering against Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Co., who are 10-3 in their last 13 games ATS dating back to Week 17 of last season — and coming off the bye in this one.

But the host Eagles are coming off their bye, as well, and they are 4-2 after starting off 1-2.

Philly is sure to be fired up for the teams’ first meeting since Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, and while the Pats are sure to be focused coming off their first loss followed by the bye, we’ll take a solid team getting a field goal and the always-tempting half-point hook at home.

Arizona Cardinals (+11½) at San Francisco 49ers

Oct 31, 2019: Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray faces the 49ers again. Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports

If it seems like we just saw this NFC West matchup, it’s because we did, two weeks ago in the desert as the visiting Niners prevailed in a much-tougher-than-expected 28-25 contest on Halloween.

In between, San Fran suffered its first loss, falling to the visiting Seattle Seahawks 27-24 in an overtime duel Monday night that arguably has been the best NFL game this season.

The 49ers also continue to battle the health bug with tight end George Kittle and receiver Emmanuel Sanders likely to be game-time decisions. And quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is battling some obvious shakiness after completing only 24 of 46 passes Monday for 248 yards, a touchdown and an interception, along with two lost fumbles.

Rookie QB Kyle Murray and the Cards, meanwhile, are 3-6-1 straight up but have been one of the league’s best ATS squads at 7-3, including five covers in their last six outings.

We were on Arizona last week in Tampa, and we’ll go with the Cards again here Sunday afternoon in San Fran where the home team is simply giving too many points.

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9 things to know about the Bills’ Week 11 opponent, the Dolphins

The Bills and Dolphins will complete their 2019 pair of games on Sunday in Week 11 from South Florida. These aren’t your father’s Dolphins, and they’re not your Dolphins from like a few weeks ago when Buffalo topped Miami in 31-21. Things have …

The Bills and Dolphins will complete their 2019 pair of games on Sunday in Week 11 from South Florida.

These aren’t your father’s Dolphins, and they’re not your Dolphins from like a few weeks ago when Buffalo topped Miami in 31-21. Things have changed in three short games since then.

With that, here are nine things to know about the Bills’ Week 1 opponent, the Dolphins:

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott and Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores meet following the game at New Era Field. Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Red hot Dolphins

The Bills were huge 15.5 opening favorites against the Dolphins in their first meeting. Buffalo took a 31-21 win and didn’t cover that. Actually it was nearly just a three-point win had it not been for a goofy onside kick score from Micah Hyde late.

But since then, it’s been smooth sailing for the Dolphins. After topping the New York Jets for their first win of the season, 26-18, Miami beat the Colts last week 16-12.

Yes, the tanking Dolphins are on a winning streak. Buffalo is still the favorite, but hey, if they’re hot, they’re hot. Along with their winning streak, the Dolphins have led in four-straight games as well, dating back to that loss in Buffalo.

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Watch Dolphins’ Brian Flores break down Ryan Fitzpatrick TD vs. Colts

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores broke down some of the dynamics of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s rushing TD against the Indianapolis Colts.

Sunday afternoon wasn’t exactly the best showing thus far in 2019 by the Miami Dolphins — but it was enough to get the job done en route to a 16-12 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The key play for Miami? Ryan Fitzpatrick’s scrambling score in the 1st half to put the Dolphins up 10-0, a clutch play against a fast, physical Colts defense who didn’t yield much to Miami all game long — even before the Dolphins were blanked in the 3rd quarter.

Head coach Brian Flores met with Kim Bokamper in the aftermath of Miami’s victory over Indianapolis to break down the play that ultimately ended up being the difference maker for the Dolphins. The first note from Flores? This is an extremely difficult red zone defense to navigate, which made Fitzpatrick’s leg work a must in order to crack the end zone.

Perhaps the most interesting note from Flores’ time with Bokamper is the continued messaging that Ryan Fitzpatrick is a special personality, one that draws excitement and inspiration out of his teammates. No, Fitzpatrick isn’t the most physically gifted quarterback. Heck, Josh Rosen has more physical gifts as a player. But Fitzpatrick is the one who transcends talent and brings the “energy and enthusiasm” that Flores wants to see out of his Dolphins’ team.

So as the Dolphins move forward and look for their answer at quarterback, that connection figures to be an intangibles component Miami refuses to budge on. Nor should they. If Fitzpatrick can have this kind of success over the past month for Miami, imagine what a young, charismatic quarterback can do for Miami when the Dolphins decide it is time to add talent.

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Dolphins’ Brian Flores focused on improving today, not the future

Head coach Brian Flores isn’t worried about how winning in 2019 will impact the search for a new starting quarterback.

If you’ve been following the Dolphins closely this fall, you’ve probably heard someone mutter it over the course of the last two weeks.

“They can’t even tank right!”

As has been well established over the course of the Dolphins’ 2019 calendar year, the Dolphins are, in fact, not tanking. There’s been a managerial focus on collecting assets and creating salary cap space with the understanding that such an approach is probably going to hinder the Dolphins’ on-field product. Such an approach requires everyone to be on the same page — the Dolphins have done a very good job of ensuring that thus far in to their rebuild. But Miami wasn’t dedicated to slapping their players and fans in the face by giving up on 16 games, they’ve been playing to win.

And through a hard-nosed, disciplined approach, the Dolphins have started to do exactly that. Miami now sits at 2-7 and with the 4th overall pick in the current 2020 NFL Draft order. Is that going to cost Miami the chance to draft a quarterback? Potentially — but don’t tell that to Brian Flores, because he doesn’t care.

“My job is to put this team in the best position to try to go out there and be productive and try to win football games,” said Flores yesterday during his press availability.

“I think every head coach, every general manager, every organization is thinking about things long-term, as well as short-term. We’re no different, but right now my goal is to get each one of those guys in that locker better (and) as good as they can be. That’s the goal for me and our coaching staff.”

For most rebuilding teams, the worry would be concerns. But most rebuilding teams don’t have a war chest of 1st-round draft picks. And with 7 losses already this season, Miami will have the mobility they need to attack the draft. That luxury allows Flores the opportunity to make sure he’s developing his football players and — as he said himself — get his guys as good as they can be.

With more time, some of this year’s contributors will become fixtures for the next several years of the Flores era — and hopefully a dynamic turnaround into a winning program. That has value, too.

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Vision for Dolphins’ defense coming to life in recent weeks

The Dolphins’ defensive efforts have improved over the past month — bringing to life Miami’s vision for a fierce unit in South Florida.

The Miami Dolphins made a bold change of directions this past February when they decided to hire former New England Patriots head coach Brian Flores to serve as the next head coach of the Dolphins. Cam Cameron? An offensive mind. Tony Sparano? Blue collared — but still a former offensive line coach. Joe Philbin and Adam Gase? Two more offensive “visionaries” who turned out to be false promises.

When Miami hired Flores and the subsequent effort to open the season was nearly 100 points allowed in the team’s first two games, it was a gut punch. Here we go again, many surmised. But while it is too early in the process to determine what kind of head coach Brian Flores will ultimately be, we now know he’s definitely not a flop, as recent performances would indicate.

The Dolphins defense has come alive despite playing without three of their best players at the open of the 2019 season — defensive backs Xavien Howard, Reshad Jones and Minkah Fitzpatrick are all off the field for Miami, with Fitzpatrick traded and Jones and Howard battling injuries. The pass rush potency isn’t anything other than bottom shelf by NFL standards. And yet this defense is playing stout over their last 5 games.

Miami has conceded an average of 326 yards per game over their last five games. The team has forced 5 turnovers in their last three — after producing just two over the first six games. Eight sacks in the last four games versus five in the first five. And the defensive scoring is down considerably. Since Miami’s Week 5 bye week, the Dolphins defense is allowing under 19 points per game (18.8) if you adjust for Buffalo’s onside kick return for a touchdown and the New York Jets’ safety after an interception near their own goal line.

This is what the Dolphins envisioned this summer — even with the concessions in talent during a rebuilding year. Dolphins LB Jerome Baker said yesterday that this is the defensive vision Miami has been striving for since the summer.

“Yeah, if you just look at it, I just believe in ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and ‘P.G.’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham),” said Baker.

“These past few games have just been what they’ve been coaching us up to do and we’ve definitely been having fun playing this defense. Just got to continue.”

It isn’t just fun to play — it’s fun to watch.

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What Ryan Fitzpatrick was mad about during latest Dolphins’ win

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Flores mad about NFL concussion policy during win vs. Colts.

The Miami Dolphins will host the Bills in Week 11. Once thought of as an easy win, the home team is actually on a two-game winning streak as Buffalo enters the game on the heels of a loss to the Browns.

Former Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to a 16-12 win over the Colts. Albeit was a win over backup-QB led team as Brian Hoyer started, a win is still a win.

But Fitzpatrick wasn’t all happy after this one. Why?

Late in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick was forced to undergo a concussion test. The NFL spotters made the call to yank him from the game.

Fitzpatrick didn’t like that.

Colts defender Grover Stewart caught Fitzpatrick with a helmet-to-helmet hit causing the concussion test. But Fitzpatrick’s problem was the timing of the test, not the test itself.

Stewart hit Fitzpatrick, then two more snaps took place for Fitzpatrick, including a sack. There was then a field goal by Miami, an ensuing kickoff, and a quick Hoyer interception. At that time, Fitzpatrick was trying to go on the field but was pulled back to the sideline for the test. He wanted the test to be somewhere a bit earlier when he wasn’t needed on the field.

“I understand why they call down and have spotters. But I sat out the game for five minutes,” Fitzpatrick said.“I understand the process, but if they are going to do it they need to do it right away.”

After the interception, backup Josh Rosen handed the ball off three times and the Dolphins added another field goal. So things weren’t all bad but sending in an ice cold backup doesn’t help.

Miami head coach Brian Flores was also unimpressed and was seen upset on the sidelines as the situation unfolded.

“Once they call down it’s out of everyone’s hands,” Flores said. “They call down when they call down.”

In the win Fitzpatrick was 21-for-33 passing for 169 yards with an interception. He added another 23 yards rushing and a score on the ground in the win.

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Brian Flores’ work is Dolphins’ most exciting development

The Miami Dolphins are showing signs of live under head coach Brian Flores, with a lot of young players showing impressive growth.

What a weird season, when there’s pessimism after two consecutive wins for a team whose roster is as thin and talent deficient as a what we see this year in Miami. Dolphins fans everywhere should be thrilled with the work of Brian Flores and his coaching staff — given the way they’ve seen players buy into their process and approach. The Dolphins came into the year with over 60% of their roster brand new in 2019, but many of them coming as former busts or as undrafted free agents.

That gave the general public the perception that the Dolphins are something of an “island of misfit toys.” There were jokes that the Dolphins would lose to XFL teams and college teams. The morning shows bemoaned the Dolphins for putting players on the field and risking their health because they’re not good enough to be on the field.

Suddenly, this same group of players (sans CB Xavien Howard, S Reshad Jones, C Daniel Kilgore, RB Mark Walton and others) is good enough to win two consecutive football games in the NFL?

Maybe the Dolphins just took a lot of low-risk, high-reward investments instead? And Miami certainly hasn’t hit on all of them — QB Josh Rosen and DL Robert Nkemdiche are the two notable swings and misses. But what about LB Vince Biegel? What about OL Evan Boehm? Moving Bobby McCain to safety? DE Taco Charlton? The Dolphins are seeing several of their young investments really flip the switch and become constant plus contributors, which is an indication that Miami’s coaches are connecting with their players.

These are all players who can be contributors for Miami in 2019, 2020 and beyond — which is a root approach to this season for the Dolphins. Find who you can build around, who is a complementary player, and develop them. Polish them and get them comfortable with the Dolphins’ playbook and their role.

Seeing that come to life? That’s exciting, because it means Miami’s vision for what this team could and should look like two years from now is rooted in reality and not a pipe dream. And that deserves to be celebrated.

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