NFL Week 1 Game Preview: Miami Dolphins vs Indianapolis Colts

Back here on HQ Spotlight on CBS Sports Network. The NFL is going to be here before we know it. And we have a loaded week one slate for you on CBS. The Dolphins, they have not won a playoff game in quite some time since 2000. And they’re trying to change that narrative. It all starts on the road against the Colts where it’s not Anthony Richardson who’s getting the nod at QB1, it is Daniel Jones. A reminder, you can watch that one on 1:00 Eastern on CBS and of course streaming on Paramount Plus. And as you see it there, Charles Davis is going to be on the call for that matchup. Charles, thanks so much for joining us here on Spotlight. We’re going to go through some of the top storylines that you’re watching for this matchup. And a story line that has really carried over from year to year is the health of Tua Tonga Vioa. And right now, we’re fortunately talking about a healthy Tua, right? So, how successful can this offense be if Tua stays healthy? It can be extremely successful if he’s healthy. He’s one of the most accurate throwers in the league. every year he’s vying for the completion percentage title. You know that if he stays healthy, he’s going to pile up yardage and it’s shown by the the the decline in terms of yardage of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Wadd last year when two of missed a number of games. Neither one of them got to a,000 yards. They’re perennial thousand yard people. And Tyreek Hill 1,700 yards backto-back years prior to last year. So they need that quarterback. They need their guy out on the field. and when he’s there, they’re extremely dangerous. And of course, his ability to throw the football so well does help them open up the run game in addition to that. So getting to a back necessary for the Miami Dolphins. Behind him, Zack Wilson trying to resurrect his career. And the third guy’s Quinn Eure, the seventh round draft pick out of Texas. They need number one on the field. And we see it there, the split with and without Tua last season for the Dolphins. This next topic, Charles, it goes hand in hand, right, with the health of Tua, a revamped O line, including their second round pick and Jonas Savvya. Yeah, boy, you did that so well. Thank you so much, Jack. I I will be working on it prior to Sunday. But remember, he was a left tackle in college and now he’s moved inside to guard, which was the projection when he went through the draft process. And he has pretty much assumed a starting spot about the time they called his name at the draft. But Patrick Paul at left tackle taking over for Toronto Armstead. That’s a key position. And then on the other side, it’s Austin Jackson, who they thought was going to be a left tackle, has become a right tackle and a very good and dependable one, but he’s missed a lot of the preeason. So, he is to his backside blindside protector. They need him to play well. James Daniels has come over from Pittsburgh coming off of an Achilles injury. And Aaron Brewer is a scrappy, tough guy in the middle. They just have not played a lot together in the preeason, Jacqueline. They need to go ahead and get that cohesiveness and continuity going right out of the gate against a tough Colts front. Yeah, protecting Tua is priority number one. You know, uh Charles, when I was at Dolphins camp with Pete, um Jonah was saying that that Tua has a really nice voice. They like to like jam out and and and make music together, which I thought was was kind of fun, right? Like your old line and your and your QB just just making some music, right? All right. So on defense, oh boy, the huge headline has been how injured, how depleted this secondary is and and we saw it all off seasonason, right? It seemed like every other day they were having to sign a new corner because of because of all that, but kind of taking away from the fact that there really are some really talented edge rushers that they have there in Miami. And you’re exactly right and they’re going to need them because back in the secondary, their number one corner right now is Storm Duck, right? and Storm played pretty well for them last year, but he’s not what you call a household name. Like for most of us, if you say Jaylen Rams, oh yeah, Jaylen Rams, he got it. Storm Duck. Storm Duck. Well, that’s no fault of his own. He’s going to make his own name, but he needs that help from the guys up front. And boy, what a group they’ve got. Bradley Chub, Jaylen Phillips, both coming off of injuries. They expect to be dynamic off the edge as they round into form. Chop Robinson, their first round pick last year, really played well the second half of the year. He’s got double-digit sacks written all over him for his career starting this year. And then how about him picking up Matthew Judon as a veteran guy who can come in and wants to show the world he still has some gas left in the tank. Nice move by Chris Greer, the GM. But what helps power all four of them and they’ll use them in a rotation. Sometimes three on the field at the same time, eventually maybe even four, is Zack Cer, their defensive tackle inside who had a monster year last season. I believe he’s gone backtoback double digit sacks. Zack Cer plays so well for them inside that will help the guys on the edges get more one-on-one opportunities to attack quarterbacks. And we’ve talked about a lot of these big names on the roster, Charles, but overall, who is your impact player that we need to be watching for the Dolphins? It’s a player who missed a lot of the preeason, but when he’s on top of his game, he strikes fear in the heart of every defenses defense that he plays against. That’s Devon Achan. And as fast as you say his name, he’s faster than that because when he gets to top speed, look out. Whether it’s on a run or catching the ball in the back field, he does both of them equally well. He doesn’t have the same numbers as Jamar Gibbs overall, but he’s a similar type of a back. And all they want to do is find just a sliver of space for him because a sliver of space can turn into a lot of real estate when the ball is in his hands. He’s coming off of a calf injury. They expect him to be full go on Sunday. And if he is, he should cause a lot of problems for the Indianapolis defense. All right, let’s talk more about the Colts, right? Because we know that Daniel Jones, that is the starter for this game at least. So, here’s more from head coach Shane Styen on what Daniel Jones brings to this team. Yeah, I think he’s been great. I think he’s been a pro from the day he walked in here. The way he’s worked, um, people have seen it, uh, throughout the building, his teammates, um, the coaches, um, and I think that adds to it. um a guy that’s always prepared and ready to roll and the way he works um that creates an edge in itself. So, we’re excited for his opportunity along with the rest of the guys, you know, come Sunday. So, Charles, we were all kind of scratching our heads, right, when they brought in Daniel Jones because we know, you know, they they’ve said they believe in Anthony Richardson, right? And this seems like a pivotal year for him. They named Daniel Jones the starter, but is there still maybe some sort of quarterback battle that that could be happening behind the scenes? like do you see them just sticking with Daniel Jones or how do you think it plays out? We’re still asking these questions and they’re great questions. Jacqueline, let’s go back to the combine because that’s what Chris Ballard, the general manager, told the world. Guess what, folks? We love Anthony Richardson, but there’s got to be competition for the position now. Okay. He hasn’t done enough to hold on to it where we just roll with him and I will go get him competition. Of course, we all, as you just mentioned, scratched our heads. So, who you going to go get? Like, who’s going to be the competition? And it became Daniel Jones. And people forget after he left the Giants, he spent that time in Minnesota. Spent time with Kevin Oonnell, the quarterback whisperer, the guy that helps resurrect careers. Can that little bit of time in Minnesota have an effect on Daniel Jones? We’re soon to find out. He came in, won the job this summer. Anthony Richardson is not done. Okay, they’re not going to give up on him. We’ve seen too many quarterbacks get resurrected. He’s too young. But Daniel Jones gives them a chance to win and win right now they believe. And let’s face it, Jacqueline Shane Stiken third year as a head coach. Chris Ballard as a general manager. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2020 under new ownership with Carly Ers Gordon now running the team in in thestead of her father who passed away. Yeah, they need to win. And they think Daniel Jones gives them that now. He will have the job and I don’t think they’ll pull him on two interceptions or anything like that. But behind the scenes, Anthony Richen needs to keep working and preparing himself for his next opportunity because when it comes, he’ll have a chance to hit and hit big because his talent is incredible. Yeah. And he’s got to stay healthy, right? Because when he wasn’t out there getting hurt last year, the Colts kind of had some some average, I want to say, quarterback play. And even with that, they were still able to get eight wins in large part because of the supporting cast that’s around them, right, with the receivers. And there’s also some really high hopes for their first round draft pick in Tyler Warren. Are you expecting him to be an instant playmaker here, Charles, in this system? I do. I absolutely do. And they’re trying to keep a lid on it there. They’re trying to keep weights in their shoes so they don’t elevate and just just grin all the time. But this kid has everything you’re looking for. They’re trying to figure out all the different ways they’re going to move him around, get him the football. But they’re also trying to temper themselves so they don’t do too much too fast and overburden this young man. But I will tell you, I don’t know that you can overburden him. I think he’s going I think he’s a star in the making. I don’t know exactly how fast it’s going to happen. I think sooner rather than later. He can play everywhere. He loves the game. Good route runner, competes for the football. You name it. This is what they’ve been looking for. A tight end that they can depend upon who can catch the football. The last great one that they had who did it for a while was Jack Doyle. And before him, obviously, we’re going to Dallas Clark. And that’s who we remember the most. And he wore Dallas Clark’s number in college. you can’t wear it now with the Colts. But all that being said, he’s big time. Michael Pitman, Josh DS, um you know, you’re looking at Adnai Mitchell, right? All those players out wide. That’s a big deal for them. They got to find ways to give him the ball. And by the way, Alec Pierce averaged about 23 yards a catch last year. Push that ball downfield, Danny Dimes. And we’ve seen him do it before, so we saw flashes of it in the past, right? Um, and there is a new D coordinator in town for Indie. They get Lou Interumo from Cincinnati. So, how is their defensive philosophy going to shift under him in his first year there in Indianapolis? Yeah, Dr. Lou likes to play from backwards forward. All right. I remember DJ Reer when he was with the Cincinnati Bengals. I was asking about uh Dr. Lou and what was going on and he’s like, man, he’s back there with his babies. He’s back there in the secondary with his babies. Those are his guys. He wants a safety tandem. that is like a shortstop second base. Okay, you have what they call what he calls unconscious competence where everything is happening. They know all their moves. They’re in the right spots all the time. Everything works. He had it with Jesse Bates and Von Bell in Cincinnati. He certainly hopes he’s going to get it with Cam Binham who came over from Minnesota and Nick Cross that he has now. Kenny Moore is one of the better slot corners in the in the game. They need to play well, but they’ve had to reach out and get Xavian Howard, formerly the Miami Dolphins, who’s coming in, hasn’t played in what, almost two years with these legs, you know, get rested and be ready to go. He will probably start at one of the corners on Sunday. But this is what Lou wants to do. Play with a lot of defensive backs, less linebackers, and hope that his front can create some pressure and help out that secondary. But when you’re talking about how they’re going to do it, they won’t be static. They’ll move around a lot. They’ll disguise a lot. You know, with with Gus Bradley is much more of, hey, here’s cover three. Beat us. With Dr. Lou, you’re gonna see a whole lot of different things coming at you, Charles. So many amazing storylines. We cannot wait to watch the Dolphins and the Colts. And we’re going to hear you on the call as well. Sunday, September 7th, 1 p.m. Eastern time on CBS. We appreciate it, Charles. We again, we have a loaded slate for you guys over on CBS for the week one slate. And by the way, before the games kickoff, make sure you check out the NFL Today Plus Mandara, Kyle Long, Matt Ryan, and Antonio Pierce at 10 a.m.

Charles Davis joins CBS Sports HQ Spotlight to preview Dolphins-Colts in Week 1.

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