3 sneaky keys the Miami Dolphins need to turn to not have a let down vs. the New England Patriots
By Matt Serniak
Life won't be as easy on offense thus McDaniel needs to take what the defense is giving him
I would love to be writing on Monday that the Miami Dolphins, once again, threw the ball all over the yard up in New England. I hope we get to see Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle just torch the Patriot's defense leaving everyone asking the question "Can anyone stop the Dolphins?"
I don't think the offense will be as awesome on Sunday night as they were last week. My reasoning for this is that I don't think Belichick will allow it. That guy would love to be the guy that puts the Dolphins in a box and have everyone kissing his rings again. I feel like he will look at this game as more than the Dolphins vs. the Patriots but the Dolphin's Need for Speed offense against his tough defense which is a defense that kept the runner-up game in the Super Bowl's offense at bay.
I think Belichick will employ the defense that many teams not named the Los Angeles Chargers doll out and that is the go two-high safeties, play a ton of zone, and keep everything in front of him daring the Dolphins to run the ball against lighter boxes, and making them conduct long-play drives.
That's fine with me because Tua is built to orchestrate 10+ play drives. Tua has no problem hitting the intermediate pass up and down the field.
But will Mike McDaniel have the discipline to take what I think the defense will be giving him and run the ball a bit more than last week, run more screens, and maybe swing passes to the backs? I'm not 100% sure. This will be a good test in the evolution of Mike McDaniel.
I believe if McDaniel comes out and grinds out 3rd downs with uneventful type plays then that will soften the defense up, make the secondary play a bit more up and then you may have the ability to go over the top.
I'm not going to be shocked if the Dolphins come out and look out of sync in the 1st quarter. That won't floor me. The Patriots play solid defense and will look to run the air out of the ball. McDaniel and Tua have to keep everyone relaxed if that happens and know they will have their chances to put points up.