Miami at Carolina

Miami’s first-year head coach Joe Philbin saw his Dolphins get down 14-0 early to in-state rival Tampa Bay last week, finally falling 20-7. Despite the fact that these are exhibition games, he took some heat after the game. I would think that despite the meaningless nature of this game, the pressure is on for him to get that first success under his belt, and this looks like a good spot for a win. The Dolphins had no trouble moving the ball vs. Tampa Bay, out-gaining them for the contest. The Fins just had trouble punching it in as they were 0-2 in goal-to-go situations. Carolina is a hyped team with Cam Newton at QB, but they were 1-3 in these games a year ago under then first-year head coach Ron Rivera. With a win in Game 1 and the hype machine at work, they are a point choice in this one. That hasn't stopped the public from throwing down on them at 60%. Rivera hasn't shown the desire to do anything special here. Although the Dolphins were beaten soundly on the scoreboard a week ago, they won the battle at the line of scrimmage, and that should be enough to get the win here. Play Miami on the moneyline.