The Miami Dolphins remain alive in the AFC playoff picture, but the team will need a lot of help and a win over the Jets in Week 12 to have any shot of getting in the playoffs. Lamar Miller remains the starter for Ryan Tannehill, while Jay Ajayi could be a sleeper pick in Week 12, while DeVante Parker has been a major bust behind Jarvis Landry and Rishard Matthews.
The Dolphins come into the week after a loss against the Cowboys and now the team is 4-6 on the season and 12th in the conference behind the Jaguars, Raiders, Jets, Bills and Texans. The Dolphins have the same record as the Jags and Raiders, but they need some major help if they want to get into the mix for one of the AFC wild card spots. The Dolphins had high expectations coming into the season and so far things have not worked out as planned, with Joe Philbin getting fired and the offense not performing up to what was expected for 2015.
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the latest loss sparked a "take ownership" meeting for the Dolphins on Monday, with interim head coach Dan Campbell saying that there were many "guys that were frustrated." Jackson reports that Ndamukong Suh was "one of the most vocal players" during the meeting and that he was "angry and direct and blunt with his teammates." Suh signed a record contract in the offseason and after a slow start he has been playing better, but overall the defense has struggled.
The offense has been inconsistent this season and after averaging over 40 points in the first two games under Campbell, the team has scored 7, 17, 20 and 14 points over the last four games. Lamar Miller has played well since Campbell took over and he is averaging five yards per carry this season, but he did not get much work against the Cowboys, going for 44 yards on just seven carries. Moving forward Campbell could try and get rookie Jay Ajayi more involved, as that could help open things up for the offense.
Ajayi is averaging 6.8 yards per carry on 15 carries in three games and while he won't overtake Miller as the starter for fantasy owners, he is a solid backup or flex option. Ajayi had two catches for 23 yards in the game and against the Jets this week he could be a sleeper pick despite a tough defensive matchup. The Jets have been struggling and Miami is in a must-win situation if they want to stay alive for the playoffs.
The Palm Beach Post writes that DeVante Parker continues to struggle for the Dolphins, as he had just four snaps against the Cwboys. Parker was a first round pick, but his year got off to a tough start with foot surgery and he has been slow to catch up. The Dolphins have Jarvis Landry and Rishard Matthews as the top receivers for Tannehill and Parker has not been doing enough to justify playing time over Kenny Stills and Greg Jennings. Parker has great potential, but this season so far he has been a bust.
