3 sneaky keys the Miami Dolphins need to turn to get their groove back against the Patriots

After losing last week to the Eagles, the Miami Dolphins are looking to bounce back against a division rival in week 8. These three keys to victory could make that happen.

Let it be said that winning is much better than losing. After every one of the Dolphins wins this year, I felt much better than games where Miami lost. So, I think, it would be not just a good idea but a great idea if the Miami Dolphins went ahead and beat the New England Patriots this week. I, firmly, feel everyone of us would like that to happen.

Now, I realize that I broke some real ground with that opening paragraph. I just feel it needed to be said.

This past week since the Dolphins lost on Sunday night to Philadelphia has been a bit of a warzone. You have the folks, who aren't Miami fans who can't stop throwing it in our faces that the Dolphins haven't beaten a "legit, real, team with a winning record" this season. Not much you can say to that because that is accurate although if you go ahead and look at every team that is considered to be "elite" you'll find that they lost below 500 teams except I think the Chiefs who coincidentally the Dolphins play next week.

Then you have Dolphin fans on the frontlines taking that barrage and firing back with lines such as, "You lost to the Jets, or Patriots or you lost two in a row" Feel free to research what teams those are.

Then you have this small group of folks who think that maybe it's not even the middle of the year and trying to write the epitaph of a 5-2 especially when many guys are slated to come back from injury is a waste of time and that maybe just maybe let's watch some more football.

I consider myself to be in that small minority. It sort of feels like this group is the Ralph Nader of the discussion of whether the Miami Dolphins are good or not. Sure, we'll try and be reasonable but we don't make a dent in anything or be heard. Classic Nader factor.

My position is that the Miami Dolphins do have flaws. There are some units on the team that are barely just okay. There are some injuries, such as the potential Tyreek Hill one that are floating around that as of this writing aren't resolved at all, which freaks us all out.

We saw what happened when another good football team that plays physicality got in the Dolphin's grill and made them a bit one-dimensional. We know that if the Dolphins play like they did on offense against a team like the Eagles later in the season it probably won't end up well.

But as I said in the beginning, the "who is actually elite and good" conversation is a revolving door because besides the Chiefs and Eagles, everyone has two losses and besides the Dolphins everyone else has some real bad blemishes on their ledger.

Now we're in week 8, nearly the halfway point, and the Miami Dolphins have the New England Patriots coming to Miami. This is a Patriots' team that really did the Dolphins a solid and beat the Bills last week which looks even better after Sunday night. This Patriots team is starting to settle in just a bit and now has a taste for wins. Nothing about Sunday will be easy. Five weeks ago, the Patriots were a weird Mike Gesicki lateral to Cole Strange from having 1st down in the red zone with a minute left.

And as I said, the Dolphins potentially could be down the league leader in receiving yards in Tyreek Hill. Personally, I think he's going to play and that everyone is taking what Tua said a little out of context but who knows?

WRITER'S NOTE- Anything can happen but Tyreek Hill practiced today.

The Dolphins will be wearing their beautiful white throwbacks on Sunday so that should give this team a boost and will certainly enrage fans like myself who know they should be wearing them every week.

Also on Sunday, Tua will be putting up his undefeated streak of beating the Patriots on the line. Tua-led teams haven't lost and I would like to keep that streak going.

Every game has those obvious keys or elements that need to happen such as winning the turnover battle, winning in the trenches, making more explosive plays, getting to the QB, taking care of special teams, football jargon, football jargon, football jargon, etc. This article is about those somewhat, or at least to me, somewhat under-the-radar keys that the Miami Dolphins need to sweep the Patriots, get their mojo/grove back, stay on top of the AFC East, and head to Germany with first place in the entire AFC on the line. Let me know if you have any other sneaky keys to the game.