Miami Dolphins can beat the New England Patriots and this is how
By Brian Miller
Start: The Dolphins have gotten off to slow starts in each of their first three games. The Dolphins have struggled to find an early rhythm but this week they can’t afford a slow start. The Patriots want to get things moving early and attack often. For Miami getting behind early could create a problem they may not be able to overcome. In other words, the Dolphins can’t afford a shootout or an early deficit of more than seven or ten points.
Special Teams: The player to watch the most here is punter Matt Haack. Last week Haack was brilliant in pinning the Raiders deep and flipping the field position. New England can not be put into short field positions. While they have the ability to sustain long drives, those drives are time-consuming but also afford the Dolphins opportunities for turnovers and stops.
Ryan Tannehill: Tannehill has been a major surprise to everyone outside of Miami and he needs to continue playing at this level on Sunday. Smart decisions mixed with positive runs will keep the Patriots guessing on defense and slow them down. It’s not clear if they will have all of their defensive unit available for Sunday due to injuries but Tannehill has to take whatever they give him and then make them pay for their coverage by exploiting the areas they are not protecting. Tannehill doesn’t need to throw three or four touchdowns but he needs to have the type of game that balances the offense and keeps the Patriots moving backwards.
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Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore: Last week the Dolphins running game was atrocious. The Raiders bet the farm that by taking away the Dolphins running game they could beat Miami by forcing them to pass. That didn’t work. The Patriots should realize now that Miami can win both through the air and on the ground so focusing on one singular aspect won’t necessarily lead them to a win.
Gore has been money in passing situations and the Dolphins are picking up the needed first downs to win the game but more importantly sustained drives using the running game eats clock and keeps Tom Brady off the field. This is a major component of the Dolphins attack on offense.
Receivers: The Dolphins receivers need to keep doing what they are doing. Playing solid and sound football with good routes and reads. Dropped passes are drive killers and the gimmick plays run last week won’t beat the Patriots unless the Dolphins receivers can exploit the Patriot defense on every series. This will set those types of plays up.
Offensive line: The Line has played very well through three games but last weeks run blocking left more than a little to be desired. This week they will face a New England front that isn’t great but is very good. They play the Dolphins well and collapsing the pocket and forcing Tannehill to make ill-advised throws will be their goal on Sunday. The Patriots will try to take away both the passing game, through pressure, and the running game through a stacked front. The offensive line needs to give Tannehill the time in the pocket to make the throws and provide running lanes to open up the offense completely.
Speed: Miami has more speed on offense than just about any other team in the NFL. They will need to use this speed to wear down the Patriot defense on every play whether it is with Kenyan Drake, Albert Wilson, or Jakeem Grant. Add the deep balls to Kenny Stills and the Dolphins could be forcing the Patriots to run far more than they have in three weeks.