Opposing Player Spotlight: Tennessee Titans Football is back!

Week 1 Albert Wilson Jersey , Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season has finally arrived, and this week, the Miami Dolphins will be taking on the Tennessee Titans at Hard Rock Stadium.Each week of the upcoming season, I’ll be highlighting one player on the opposing team that Dolphins fans should be watching out for. This week, that player is Tennessee Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews.Stat ReviewIn subsequent weeks, I’ll be analyzing a player’s production from previous games of the upcoming year, but given that it’s week 1, we’ll take a look at Matthews’ statistics from last season. In 2017, Matthews started 14 games for the Titans and corralled 53 receptions for 795 yards and four touchdowns. He was the team’s top wide receiver and was 12 yards shy of being Tennessee’s most productive pass catcher overall (behind tight end Delanie Walker, who had 807 yards).Looking AheadThis year, the Titans will be looking to Corey Davis to become the team’s top pass-catching threat Cheap Reshad Jones Jersey , meaning Matthews will likely be seeing some time in the slot. That being said, the Titans like to run two-tight end sets, and will also be pushing Matthews outside while revolving Walker and fellow tight end Jonnu Smith between the hashes. With that in mind, Miami’s defense will need to keep track of Matthews and where he’s lining up. Dolphins fans should remember from Matthews’ four years in Miami that the 28 year-old vet is capable of doing damage all over the field.Key MatchupDue to the likelihood of Matthews moving around the Titans’ formation, we have two matchups to look out for here, and both will be quite intriguing. When Matthews is lined up in the slot, he’ll likely be covered by Dolphins rookie defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Dolphins drafted Fitzpatrick with the 11th overall selection because of the former Alabama star’s ability to cover defenders anywhere on the field. The first-year pro is naturally a free safety, but showed during his time with the Crimson Tide and during the preseason that he is a very capable nickel corner as well.When Matthews is outside, he’s likely to be covered by fourth-year vet Bobby McCain given that Miami’s top corner, Xavien Howard will probably be responsible for covering Corey Davis. McCain was given a sizable extension this offseason because of his excellence in the slot, but with Cordrea Tankersley and Torry McTyer failing to impress during the preseason Cheap Mike Gesicki Jersey , McCain was moved outside and Fitzpatrick was awarded a starting position in nickel formation. Matthews will be McCain’s first true test as a boundary defender.The Dolphins First Loss I wasn’t looking forward to writing after the Miami Dolphins first loss of the season. My typical Monday after losing a game consists of me avoiding social media and all sports related broadcasts. I don’t work in an office setting type of job, so I am lucky enough that I can avoid most face to face interactions with people until later in the day. Now, that is just how I am after a regular game loss. You know, when we put up a fight or showed some kind of effort and still lost. That’s an easier loss to swallow. After the display the Dolphins put on yesterday, I’m going to need an extra day or two this week avoiding any football related discussions. What can I say about the Dolphins game yesterday? The loss to the Patriots hurt. It hurt a lot. We were bad. Very bad. It was embarrassing. This is normally where I spend some time raving about a certain player or two and going over the best plays of the game. You typically hope to still have some positive points to discuss from a game, right? Here are my thoughts on it. The GoodWe didn’t get completely shutout. We had one touchdown during the last few minutes of the game thanks to Frank Gore. Oh and that was with the help of our backup quarterback. The BadKilgore and Bobby McCain were taken out of the game because of injuries. Losing like we were was bad enough, but to have injuries added to it was the final nail in the coffin.And The Very, Very, Very Embarrassingly UglyOur team did not show up. We were humiliated. It was probably the worst game under Coach Gase and Tannehill. Remember last season’s game against the Ravens? This hurt worse. Oh, and let’s not forget that Monday Night game against the Panthers. I know I won’t, because I was at that game. This was worse. Why? Last year we had Cutler. We went into each week being thankful if we didn’t humiliate ourselves. There wasn’t much hope for our team last season. It was fine. Those type of games Cheap Jerome Baker Jersey , at least I hoped, were in the past. I was wrong. I will admit I came into this week thinking we had our chance. Many of us did. It was our time to finally win in Foxborough. We can show everyone that the Dolphins have changed. We are not the same Miami Dolphins. Well....yeah. We showed we have some work to do.Tannehill looked bad. Our offensive looked bad. Our defense looked bad. The coaching was bad. Our injuries are really bad. Our entire team as unit looked bad. The Patriots outplayed us in every aspect. I really can’t say much else about Sunday. It was rough.Final ThoughtsI posted on Twitter that I was going to take a couple days to be embarrassed and frustrated about that game, but then it would be time to move on. You know why? We are still leading our division. At least for now. We are 3-1. It’s our first loss. If we’re being honest, I think we all knew it would be a long shot to win four straight games right off the bat. Yeah, we have to listen to Patriot fans and the national media call us a joke all week. It’s cool. Just shake it off. The Dolphins can learn from this game or not. I think they will. It’s one loss. We still have 12 more games. A lot of football is left. Our next game will be tough. We play the Bengals in Cincy. I will be going to the game. Who else is going? I’m meeting up with a bunch of Dolphins friends from all over the country. I’ve been looking forward to this game for months. My dad is joining me and it’s probably the only game he is attending this season. The one game he attended last year was the Falcons game. Remember, we came back from behind and won. Maybe attending games with my dad brings us good luck? Either way, I believe our team can win this one. This is an important game for the Dolphins. Can they prove that yesterday was just a fluke? I hope so. If we can win this upcoming Sunday, it will be the confidence booster our team needs when they head back home the following week to face the Bears. Let’s hope I can write a more positive piece next week. I like writing after a win. We may not have a victory Monday this week, but I’m hopeful we will next week.See you all next Monday. Go Dolphins!