Week 4 takeaway No. 1: The New Orleans Saints are a playoff squad in the making.
Week 4 takeaway No. 2: The Miami Dolphins have work to do.
"We'll find out a lot about what kind of team we have by how we respond," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said after Monday night's ugly 38-17 loss to the Saints, per The Associated Press.
Like the Arizona Cardinals one week ago, the Dolphins (3-1) discovered that the Saints (4-0) won't be pushed around on defense. Miami's line wasn't up to the challenge, as New Orleans sacked quarterback Ryan Tannehill four times and hit another 10 times. If defensive end Cameron Jordan and outside linebacker Junior Galette weren't plowing into the pocket, it was Tyrunn Walker and Martez Wilson. All four recorded sacks.
"I just don't feel that team was as good as everybody was saying they were," Galette said, per the AP. "We just abused the offensive line all game."
We picked Saints coordinator Rob Ryan as one of our summertime "Making the Leap" candidates because New Orleans represented both a challenge and an opportunity. Ryan has taken over a defense that was historically bad last season and reformed it into a multiple-front beast that overpowers opponents. The Saints' offense was fine, as always, but Monday night's hammering of the Dolphins bears Ryan's fingerprints.
Miami now finds itself in self-examination mode with the Baltimore Ravens just five days away. As for the Saints, the party is just beginning.
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