Oh Yeah!! It is time now for the Dolphins (5-6) to face the Patriots (8-3).
To be the team, you got to beat the team..
The Dolphins, who last week beat the Seahawks at home, play host to the Patriots on Sunday and with win keep their playoff hopes alive..
Last week, Rookie Phenom Ryan Tannehill delievered his 1st comeback victory and now, he and his runningmates face the DAMN NEAR UNSTOPPABLE Tom Brady and the Patriots.
Tom Brady, is a LEGEND PERIOD!!! The best way I can describe Tom Brady is this: He is a SURGEON on the football field. He is so ACCURATE AND PRECISE, it isn’t fair. He slices and dices secondary with so much ease.
I am in AWE watching him operate. He has made a living dissecting defenses. The Patriots, whether you like them, love them or hate them, need to be looked at, as a genuises for the way they build their teams.
Coach Bill Belichick is a master of talent evaluation. He finds guys and plugs them into the system and on the field, Brady helps get them recognized.
For years, the ACHILLIES’ HEAL of the Patriots, was they can’t run the ball. Well, now they can, which makes them even more tough. Last year, they drafted RB Stevan Ridley out of LSU and he is producing..
Team up Ridley, with WR’s Wes Walker and Brandon Lloyd, and TE’s Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, their offense is the BEST IN THE BUSINESS. Thankfully, Gronk is out for the year with an forearm injury.
Look at these stats: http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ne/new-england-patriots
They are 4th in passing yards (292.1), and 6th in rushing yards (143.7).
Individual stats for the leaders of the Patriots: http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/stats/_/name/ne/new-england-patriots
Brady: 274-420 (65.2%), 3299 yards, 24TD’s, and JUST 3INT’s. SICK!!! His career low is 4 ints in 2010. Good Lord. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/sfl-dolphinspatriots-by-the-numbers-20121128,0,295308.story
Ridley: 206 carries, 939 yards (4.6Avg), 8TD’s
Welker: 80 catches, 961 yards (12.0 Avg), 3TD’s
More offense stats show how unstoppable they are: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/sfl-dolphinspatriots-by-the-numbers-20121128,0,295308.story
* New England has scored 219 points in its last five games (43.8 average) and is
on pace to break its NFL record for points in a season, when they amassed 589 in 2007.
* The Patriots are converting 53.2 of third downs heading into Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. THAT’S JUST RIDICULOUS!
* New England’s offense is 2nd best offense when it comes to scoring touchdowns in the red zone (67.3%). Only New Orleans (73.5%) is better.
Even though their offense is off the chains, their defense is an ENIGMA. They rank 30th (289.4) in the league, but they are 10th (100.8) in the league against the run.
Here are stats to prove why ENIGMA is the right word from: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/sfl-dolphinspatriots-by-the-numbers-20121128,0,295308.story. Some of the stats compare the Dolphins and Patriots.
* The Patriots have scored eight defensive and special teams touchdowns this
season.
* The New England Patriots are plus-24 in turnovers. That’s 11 more turnovers than the 2nd best team (Bears). Dolphins are negative-10. Ouch!
That iare some crazy numbers, but this is where the mystery sets in: The Patriots defense is allowing 6.06 yards per play on first down, which ranked them 28th. Miami’s averaging 5.32, which ranked them 15th.
They create turnovers and produce points, but their SECONDARY gives up a ton of yards, as do Miami’s.
If you look at their schedule, they have lost 3 heartbreakers (by 2,1,1). They could be 11-0, but they are 8-3. In those 11 games, they have given up 20 or more points (8 times). The Dolphins, if they get in rhythm, can score points in hurry.
That rhythm will come from Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill has held his own in 1st 11 games as a pro. He has played well in plenty of those games, but he still is a ROOKIE QB and has to improve in certain areas, such as: 3rd down passing and 4th quarter passing rating.
* Tannehill has the WORST third-down passer rating in the NFL amongst starters (59.1). 60.4 percent completion, one TD and 6 Ints.
* His 4th quarter passer rating has improved to 81.4, which ranks him 26th in
NFL. Russell Wilson (95.5),RGIII (88.3). Luck (67.7).
Can he compete with Brady tommorrow? Sure, he can.. Last week, he engineered a SUPER IMPRESSIVE 4th comeback with 1:42 to go. His 1st game-winning drive of his career. He did it against a solid defense in the Seahawks. Turning the ball over is never a good thing, so Tannehill need not throw any interception. Last week, was the 1st time his team won, when he threw an INT.
Last week, we saw a much needed return for the Dolphins on offense and that was the return of the running game featuring Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas. They dominated the Seahawks and that opened up the passing game. I called Reggie out last week, and he responded big-time.
The passing game, saw a possible big-time target for Tannehill in the person of Charles Clay. Clay had 6 catches, 84 yards and a beautiful TD catch for 29 yards. Hopefully, he can produce like that again. A pass-catching Tight End, would be a big-time weapon for Tannehill.
We also saw Tannehill throwing more to Davone Bess. According to http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/sfl-dolphinspatriots-by-the-numbers-20121128,0,295308.story, Bess is fifth in the NFL in third down receptions, catching 22 passes for 231 and one touchdown on that critical down.
He has scored four touchdowns in the eight games he’s played against New England. 41 catches for 526 yards.
Bess, is surpassing Hartline as Tannehill’s number 1 option to throw too.
Now, to my keys to the game. They are the same as always, but with a different look to it. I got everyone RIGHT last week.
On offense:
1) The 5 R’s = RUN REGGIE, RUN REGGIE RUN!! Give him the ball, and TURN HIM LOOSE!!!
2) Take shots downfield. The Patriots’ pass defense can be shredded. The play-calling has to be open to anything. Play-Action fakes, flea-flickers, roll-outs.
3) Protection, Protection, Protection. Got to keep him upright.
Defense:
1) Get to Brady!! The front-seven needs to make Brady UNCOMFORTABLE in the pocket, so that way turnovers can be forced, which maybe an IMPOSSIBILITY. Brady has thrown ONLY 3 INT’s, and the Patriots have coughed up the ball only 8 times all year. But, maybe they can get 1 or 2.
2) CB’s (ESPECIALLY SEAN SMITH and NOLAN CARROLL), need to not give up big plays. Brady is a MASTER SURGEON. If these guys are not FOCUSED, Brady will shred them like a paper-shredder. They need to cover these guys and not miss any tackles.
3) STOP STEVAN RIDLEY. The run-defense came out of HIBERNATION last week, and stopped the beast in Marshawn Lynch. Ridley is a solid runningback, and the Dolphins know they have stop him.
On Special Teams:
1) Punter Brandon Fields, if forced to punt; must pin the Patriots deep in their own territory.
2) Kicker Dan Carpenter, has to make his FIELD GOALS. He made the GAME-WINNER last week.
3) Marcus Thigpen has to the give the Dolphins’ good field position.
To me, the biggest KEY TO THE GAME is COACHING. Can Joe Philbin OUTCOACH the master in Bill Belichick?? We know all the game is won by the players on the field, but it is the coaches who put their plan in motion and make decisions to benefit their team.
Coach Philbin is no stranger to Coach Belichick. In Week 15 of the 2010 season, Philbin as an OC for the Packers unleashed backup Matt Flynn on the Patriots.
The Packers did a great job of opening up passing lanes for Flynn by establishing the run early and making Flynn’s throws easier.
A diagram of his throws by direction, via ProFootballFocus.com, gives some insight into how Philbin felt most comfortable attacking the Patriots defense, and how it translated onto the
field.
They have recently turned things around in the running game, but will that continue against the Patriots defense which ranks 10th against the run?
On the other hand, New England’s dominance against the run could be another
reason to dip into the game plan that worked so brilliantly in 2010. The Patriots do not have good cover linebackers, which has prompted them to rush the linebackers a bit more frequently.
A matchup with the Patriots may seem like uncharted territory for Philbin, but his experience against them could pay dividends if he is able to draw on it.
Being an OC is one thing, but being a head-coach is another. Philbin has done a wonderful job as coach of the Dolphins, but he is true-test will be tommorrow.
As always, I believe the Dolphins will win this week and make a STATEMENT, that they can hang with the best. They win in a close one (30-27) and get to (6-6) and still remain in the playoff picture. UPSET OF THE WEEK!!!!!!
The Dolphins do pick Brady off in this one, and the Patriots can’t contain Tannehill, Bush and Bess. Brady gets sacked 3 times.
I believe Tannehill will do AWESOME (25-35, 300 yards, 3TD’s, 0INT’s); Bush goes off (20 carries, 100 yards, TD; 4 catches, 40 yards); Bess goes for 10 catches, 110 yards, TD.
Go Dolphins!!!
