Miami Dolphins can beat the New England Patriots and this is how

When the Dolphins do not have the ball, it will fall into the laps of the Miami defense. Not just the front four or the linebackers or the secondary. It will fall on all of them. Matt Burke needs a stellar game plan to confuse Tom Brady on every play. They will need to take out Rob Gronkowski and force Brady to throw elsewhere. It will not be an easy task.

Against the run: Miami has been good against the run through three weeks but I believe that New England will be their toughest challenge of this young season. When Belichick wants to run the ball, they run the ball and do it well. It takes pressure off Brady and opens the passing game both short and deep. This should be a focus for Belichick heading into the game.

The Dolphins have speed on defense as well and Belichick will try to counter that speed by getting his running backs more involved than they have been. Miami needs to find a way to take the runners out of the game and then they will need to watch for the running backs out of the backfield. The Patriots backs are very good pass catching runners and they have exploited the Dolphins defense with this in the past.

Tom Brady: If there is one thing we know about Tom Brady is that he buckles under pressure in the pocket. While he is not a huge threat to run he will if the pocket collapses and the Dolphins have a history of giving up yards to immobile quarterbacks. Getting pressure on Brady is a game changer. It takes him out of rhythm and he tends to force his throws. Once he is agitated he starts to make more mistakes. The problem is that it is difficult to get pressure on Brady. His quick release is a problem but the Patriots tend to simplify their offense when they face big pass rushing threats off the edge.

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Miami should expect the Patriots to quickly attack the middle of the field in the five to ten yard range and let the receivers gain the yards after the catch to move the chains. Last week Miami struggled with Jordy Nelson in this area and Belichick will try to exploit that early and often. This is the biggest area that Miami’s defense needs to focus on as it will change the make-up of the game good or bad, quickly.

Defensive line: While the line is depleted Miami’s front four are playing exceptionally well especially as the game progresses. Like the offense they need to get off to a fast start as well. Stopping the run up the middle and helping to push back the pocket for Cameron Wake and Robert Quinn is a key to their success but it’s the linebackers that will need to step up.

Linebackers: Through three games rookie Jerome Baker has been fantastic but the same can not be said about fellow OSU linebacker Raekwon McMillan who has struggled in both passing and rushing situations. While Kiko Alonso has been playing his best football since arriving in Miami he has to be mindful of his lowered shoulder hits.

Secondary: This could very well be the match-up that has been waiting for rookie Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Dolphins should have Reshad Jones back and if they do, this frees up Fitzpatrick to play a pivotal role in taking away key areas of the Patriots offense. Specifically the middle of the field where Belichick will try to exploit.

Xavien Howard is having a Pro-Bowl caliber season so far and he covered Raiders receiver Amari Cooper like a blanket. It’s unclear if Miami will pit him one on one again this week or place him in a specific coverage scheme like they didn in week one and two. Regardless Howard’s ability to stop receivers should force Tom Brady, especially if under pressure, to look elsewhere and that takes away one receiving threat. Will that be Phillip Dorsett or newly acquired Josh Gordon? Belichick told the media he has not decide on whether Gordon will play. Of course Belichick would never voluntarily give out that information.

Penalties: The Dolphins were flagged far too many times in week three and those penalties on both sides of the ball cost the team points. Against the Patriots they will sadly be fighting the referees as well. The Patriots tend to get a lot of calls in their favor and the Dolphins need to find a balance of high-energy and smart play. The incident with Akeem Spence in week three, his ejection, can not happen against the Patriots.

Miami will also need to be mindful of Brady’s cadence and quick snaps with substitutions. Players need to get off the field as quickly as possible and the defensive substitutions must come quickly before the Patriots get to the line.

Miami can not afford to give up first downs on third downs. It’s simply an invitation to the Patriots to score points.

Offensively pre-snap penalties and holding have cost the Dolphins drives. Miami has yet to prove they are capable of moving the chains when faced with 3rd and long situations. This has to change.

While most of this is obviously a given each and every week it’s increasingly harder to make up for mistakes against the Patriots who tend to build momentum off other teams penalties. Last week the Dolphins were able to overcome those issues, they won’t likely be able to do it against the Patriots.

Overall: Miami must exploit weaknesses in the Patriots defense taking a little bit from both the Jaguars and Lions games while mixing it up with their speed. This will force the Patriots to adjust and when they do Adam Gase needs to be ready to change it up to meet those changes and force them to do it again.

Defensively they need to keep Tom Brady out of rhythm and continually take away the running backs out of the offensive game plan. New England must be forced to play one-dimensional and that is a task that Matt Burke has to complete.