5 Reasons Why The Saints Will Lose to The Dolphins

Last week I brought about positivity and optimism to New Orleans Saints fans and it paid off! As the Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers with ease. But now I've got to be the bearer of bad news and negativity and give you the five reasons why the Saints will not prevail this weekend...

The Saints and Miami Dolphins square off across the pond this weekend in our second week of early morning London action. Cheerio!

If you're looking for a more positive spin on the Saints this weekend check out Steve Peloquin's five reasons why they will defeat the Dolphins.

1). Unpredictable Running Backs Balance

I've been talking about this, this entire week. I feel the Saints would be better offensively if Adrian Peterson didn't play. We know that Sean Payton has a big time crush on rookie running back Alvin Kamara and I would like to see him not have to hide his feelings because of AP. And by this I mean I'd like to see how dynamic the offense could look with Mark Ingram in more of a lead back role and Kamara getting more run being mixed in on passing downs. I think with Peterson able to go this week will again weigh down the running game giving Payton one more thing to worry about, other than where he's going for tea and crumpets after the game.

2). Homecoming for Jay Ajayi

Its been a rather quick rise for Dolphins tailback, Jay Ajayi. He was drafted in the 5th round in the 2015 NFL draft but has turned into a breakout star as of last season when the fins former star running back, Lamar Miller departed for Houston. Ajayi is also a London-born player and has become the face of the NFL for the United Kingdom. Motivation in sports is a HUGE factor and I'm having a sneaky suspicion that Ajayi will be more than motivated to have a standout game in front of his hometown crowd. This could present plenty of problems for a shaky defense in the Saints already. Beware of Ajayi in this one, if the Dolphins want to win this game it'll start and end with their star tailback.

3). Fins Receivers Have Huge Game

The Miami Dolphins employ two very talented wide receivers as well as a former Saint. DeVante Parker and Jarvis Landry are the two big names and can both beat you in different ways. Parker is the big, strong, lean wide receiver that Jay Cutler loves to throw to. He stands at 6'3", 209lbs and will be a handful to deal with for the Saints secondary. Landry on the other hand is smaller, quick, and elusive who will wear down your will with catch after catch underneath and when you leave extra men to cover him that's when Parker will burn you. The Saints are ranked 30th in the league in pass yards in which they allow 311 yards per game. In addition, Kenny Stills who's an ex-Saint is on the Dolphins and I'm sure there's going to be a fire and desire in his belly to play well. As Saints fans know, Stills is capable of taking off the top of the defense at any moment. If the Dolphins win he'll have one or two big, long catches in this one.

4). Fins Defensive Line Comes to Play

The Miami Dolphins have some guys along their defensive line who can really cause problems for opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks. Ndamukong Suh is a big problem right in the middle of that line and doesn't have any sacks yet this season. So clearly he's due. Cameron Wake, he's a physical specimen with 82.5 career sacks, and can really get after it from the edge, even at the advanced age of 35. As far as linebackers go, Lawrence Timmons will be back this week and just in time to create havoc after his... well, we'll call it a mini vacation. Two starters for the Saints on the offensive line, Terron Armstead and Zach Strief are questionable to return from injury this week and if they're unable to go the Dolphins could make Drew Brees very uncomfortable all day long.

5). The London Factor

Over the years that we've introduced our game to the folks across the pond things have rarely gone how we thought they would in terms of how we thought the game would play out. I think last week is a prime example. The Baltimore Ravens were favored to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yet, Mercedes Lewis had THREE touchdowns, yes you heard that correctly. The Jags went on to rout the Ravens 44-7. Sometimes the time change really messes with you and the different atmosphere being in London, your body is not used to it and one team will handle it better than the other. The Saints are favored in this game and that could be cause for concern as we've seen in London games.

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