What Was the Biggest Factor in Sunday’s Loss?

Rick:  The biggest factor for me in the Patriots’ loss to the Dolphins last Sunday was the fact that Miami dominated the game in the trenches. Knowshon Moreno and Lamar Miller had a field day against the Patriots’ front seven and their inability to tackle. This allowed the ‘Fins to run for 191 yards in the victory. As far as the offensive line goes, the team did miss Logan Mankins, but that wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game. Cameron Wake is one of the elite pass rushers in the game and he made his presence known in the second half. These teams in the AFC East know the formula to stop the Patriots is to pressure Tom Brady and the Dolphins did just that. Even though the Bills and Jets are 1-0 as well, it felt like a statement win for Miami with their new duo of running backs and Mike Wallace having seven catches and a touchdown against Revis, which came as a surprise.

Kyle:  The biggest factor in the Patriots loss was Tom Brady’s inability to make plays with his legs. When you look at the new generation of quarterbacks (Newton, Wilson, Kapernick, Rogers, Stafford) they can all move in the pocket and make plays out of the pocket. That means that pass rushers can’t just pin their ears back a pile drive the offensive linemen back into the QB’s face. With no threat of #12 escaping, a team like Miami can just let the dogs loose up the field. Granted, the offensive line didn’t cover itself in glory, but, the quarterback needed to be the guy making plays and he didn’t.

Raj:  People will blame the defense and others will blame the offensive line. I for one, blame Tom Brady. In recent season openers, he hasn’t been sharp but he was awful in this one and I can only wonder why. The good thing is he usually rebounds well but just judging by his decision making in last week’s game, I think it demotivated the entire team. After all, we’ve seen when Brady plays well, so do the others. Sadly this also applies if he doesn’t play well.

Derek: Holding a 10-point lead at half-time, the Patriots offense should have been able to do enough to make this game a nail-biting loss at worst.  The fact that they got completely shut-out and shut-down in the second half and ended up losing by 13 points is a testament to the ineptitude of the offensive line on Sunday.  Brady found himself getting hit and hurried from all angles.  The pressure clearly got to #12 as he appeared skittish and inaccurate even on the few occasions where the Dolphin’s defense wasn’t bearing down on him.   The run defense wasn’t pretty either on Sunday, but when a 10-point lead turns into a 13-point loss, that’s clearly a case of the offense completely falling apart.

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