The bye week meant rest and recuperation for the New York Giants’ banged-up defense, and the winless Miami Dolphins now get the luxury of facing the league's sack-leading squad (tied with Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings at 21) with all the familiar faces back on the field.
“They have all of them back,” Miami coach Tony Sparano told the media Wednesday. “That group is really an active group, good pass rushers. Not sure how they’re going to use them with all of them right now.”
Among the returners for the G-Men's pass-rushing squad is defensive end Justin Tuck, who missed three games with neck and groin issues. Jason Pierre-Paul has been impressive in his absence, grabbing two sacks in the last three games, giving him 7.5 for the year thus far.
The bye week also allowed fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora to rest his ailing knee, and with linebackers Michael Boley and Mathias Kiwanuka both slated to start, expect to see a plethora of blitz packages from the rejuvenated squad.
“They cause a lot of problems with just those guys so we need to be sharp up front,” Miami quarterback Matt Moore said Wednesday. “And they obviously have the ability to add guys on whether it’s linebackers and secondary players. Just to add more pressure. So need to be sharp in the protection part of the scheme this week.”
Moore has been sacked 11 times in the three games he's played this year, and the Dolphins’ offensive line is third-worst in the league in sacks allowed, giving up 22 so far. Moore has been sacked nearly 12 percent of the time he drops back. And for a team that holds a mere 24 percent third-down conversion rating, things could get ugly quick.
“Third down they (Giants) have a big pass rush,” center Mike Pouncey told the media Wednesday. “We have to lock in (Thursday) on our third-down day and get fully prepared for this game.”
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