FOXBROUGH, MA – The bitter taste of defeat still lingers in the mouths of New England Patriots fans, but Sunday, that taste will soon be forgotten and a new focus will be in town.
The 3-3 Miami Dolphins are in town, and dating back to the 1966 season, the Dolphins hold a 50-45 all-time record versus the Patriots, this long-standing rivalry has always seemed to serve up hard-hitting battles dating back to their days in the AFL, so Sunday’s game should only prove to be another tough game for the Patriots. Miami started the season on all cylinders, going 3-0 beating the Browns, Colts and Falcons.
Since then, Tannehill and the rest of his squad have put the brakes on, losing their last three games to the Saints, Ravens and Bills, with both the Baltimore and Buffalo games by a combined 6 points. While their start to the season was hot, their numbers and rankings would suggest why the breaks on offense have been put down, in ranking 25th in the NFL in rushing struggling to average 80 yards a game.
What was presumed to be a bright future for running back Lamar Miller, has been anything but, as Miller has struggled to get a good foot in this offense and has seen a fair share of his reps dished off to Daniel Thomas more often than not.
Mike Wallace who was brought in to give Tannehill the spark they thought he needed in free agency, has played second-fiddle to Dolphins receiver Brian Hartline, who is having a breakout year and has more touchdowns and receiving yards than Wallace.
Miami’s defense is no better almost giving up 300 passing yards a game.
The last point made you would assume bodes well for Tom Brady, but the Patriots rank 20th in the NFL in passing, it is a strange place to be for fans who are used to a dominant passing game from the Patriots.
Last week against the Jets, we saw a young QB in Geno Smith and a grind-it-out defense take the Patriots to the brink and prevail, New England had one of there more lopsided performances last week, where we saw a Tom Brady look mortal and struggle to stay in the pocket and find his receivers accurately.
A very subpar running game in Miami is a plus for a struggling Patriots run defense who ranks 31st in the NFL.
Patriots MUST or BUST: New England must protect Tom Brady, four sacks last week for a net loss of 23 yards will never be a favorable statistic for victory, Brady is a prolific pocket passer and the O-Line must play as such. Keeping Brady up right against a favorable Dolphins pass defense is a MUST for a win this Sunday.
Josh McDaniels must use his notebook to favor Brady more on Sunday, while Brady will get the blame for inaccurate throws, it is McDaniels who makes those calls and he needs go back to what made this offense so successful, not only in the past, but what got the Patriots to a 5-0 start.
More play-action will not only benefit this offense but also Brady, opening up the field for his young receiving core and tailbacks.
Steven Michelson is the New England Patriots Beat Writer for The Inscriber : Digital Magazine, please follow him on Twitter at @steveandubshow
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