Ravens vs Dolphins: Preseason Week 2 Preview

On Thursday, the Baltimore Ravens will clash with the Miami Dolphins in what will likely be the last time the projected starters will see any action until the regular season. There is something new this preseason; teams no longer have to do staggered cuts to trim the roster from 90 players to 53, which give bubble guys more opportunities. However, the final cut day will be more frantic, given that coaches and the front office staff have to make quick decisions on keeping players versus mulling things over in season’s past. This is also an opportunity for players who may have surprised coaches with their play from week one.

Dolphins: What To Look For

Jay Cutler will make his debut for Dolphins on Thursday night in a much talked about move, since previous signal caller Ryan Tannehill tore his ACL in practice. The move seems to make sense, considering Adam Gase helped Cutler to his best season as a Bear in 2015. However, the knock on Cutler appears to be his lack of love for the game; the incident that has stuck with him is the 2010 NFC Championship game in which he took himself out of the game after an MCL sprain. Many Bears fans have never forgiven him for taking himself out of a game in which Cutler’s fellow teammates were currently playing with something ailing them. The Jay Cutler era begins tonight for the Dolphins, but this may be more of a blip in Dolphins history instead of a legacy.

Ravens: What To Look For

Ryan Mallet will have another chance on Thursday to try and solidify his spot as the backup to Joe Flacco. In the first game, Mallet did not look like a solid replacement, as he under threw wide receivers, and appeared to be struggling with the passing attack. Flacco was supposed to return to practice this week, but still has yet to see the field. The longer he sits out, the more serious his back issues will likely become. Mallet will supposedly have Jeremy Maclin and Mike Wallace to throw to on Thursday, and there may be a Danny Woodhead sighting as well. With potentially a full complement of starting wide receivers and backfield, the coaching staff may be able to get to see how Mallett performs.

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The Ravens are trying to figure out if Mallet can succeed for a few games if called upon for Flacco. The Dolphins are hoping to continue where they left in 2016 with a 10-6 record. One thing is for certain, and it’s that both offenses have a lot of question marks; the Ravens with mounting injuries, and the Dolphins hoping that Jay Cutler can capture lighting in a bottle. It should be fun to see how the Ravens defense will perform against the speed of the Dolphins offense on Thursday, especially with how the Ravens performed last week.

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