1 Point Favorites vs. Fins

[ivanvamp]

I don't know if I agree with that. If the Dolphins offense of the first two weeks shows up rather than Sunday's offense, the Dolphins' offense is exactly what the Pats' defense needs to gain some confidence. It all depends on how Henne plays.

The one thing that is scary is that Henne and Marshall picked on Antonio Cromartie a lot. Personally, I think McCourty on Marshall might be less of a mismatch (although not much).

Again, it all depends on which Dolphins offense shows up.

The Pats gave up 24 points to what appears to be a less-than-great Bengals offense (despite their talent), 28 to the freaking Jets, and 30 to the are-you-kidding-me Buffalo Bills, at home! Even if the bad version of the Dolphins shows up, they could still put up some points.

 

[loloooooooooooo]

The Pats gave up 24 points to what appears to be a less-than-great Bengals offense (despite their talent), 28 to the freaking Jets, and 30 to the are-you-kidding-me Buffalo Bills, at home! Even if the bad version of the Dolphins shows up, they could still put up some points.

at this point I"d say the Dolphins are one of the worst offenses... they can't even utilize Marshall until now

 

[PowerRunRevival]

Even if our defense is bad, eventually they will either 1. Have a break out game that signals that they are getting a lot better. 2. Have a fluke game that makes us believe in the defense.

I think this could be the week it happens and we surprise most fans in a lower scoring (by our standards game). 21-17 Patriots.

 

[Sicilian]

The Pats gave up 24 points to what appears to be a less-than-great Bengals offense

21 of which came after the game was well out of hand.

28 to the freaking Jets

Dolphins gave up 31.

30 to the are-you-kidding-me Buffalo Bills

The defense gave up 23, and forced turnovers at crucial times.

The defense hasn't been great, but you can't just use raw numbers.

 

[BradyFTW!]

The Pats are favored on the road against a good team? Well, color me surprised.

It'll be interesting to see if the Pats can maintain gap discipline in this game. It's been an issue so far this season, largely because of talent at DE, but that's how you stop the wildcat. If Brace, Spikes, Mayo and Cunningham all show up, we could make things interesting. If not, I'm worried that Ronnie Brown will have a field day.

 

[ivanvamp]

21 of which came after the game was well out of hand.



Dolphins gave up 31.



The defense gave up 23, and forced turnovers at crucial times.

The defense hasn't been great, but you can't just use raw numbers.

If you're quoting those numbers to try to make the case that the Pats' D is actually pretty good, you're not going to get a sale at my door. They've been pretty bad on D so far. That could change. I think it will, over time. But not yet, not in this game, not in this environment.

That said, as I mentioned in my initial post in this thread, I'm usually wrong about these things so look for a 41-10 Patriots victory.

 

[Sicilian]

If you're quoting those numbers to try to make the case that the Pats' D is actually pretty good, you're not going to get a sale at my door. They've been pretty bad on D so far. That could change. I think it will, over time. But not yet, not in this game, not in this environment.

That said, as I mentioned in my initial post in this thread, I'm usually wrong about these things so look for a 41-10 Patriots victory.

I hate to do this, but look at my last line again, where I say the defense hasn't been great. Just that you can't really use the 2nd half of the Bengals game either way (if the Bengals had actually tried to win and forced some throws downfield, Pats probably would have added a pick or two, which I wouldn't really feel great about either since those aren't typical tight game situations).

Also, that for all the problems the Jets gave us, they gave the Dolphins that trouble and then some, so against the Dolphins that 28 we gave up to the Jets doesn't mean a lot.

Finally, I don't count special teams scores against the defense as a unit. Did they play well against the Bills? Definitely not, so we don't need to start blaming them for scores they didn't give up.

 

[DefenseRules]

You guys have no faith in your team at all... Just go to the Dolphins forum

That's not true. We have faith in our offense and some faith in our special teams. I for one, don't have much faith in our defense. I think many of my Patriot brethren might have the same feeling...(note the word might).
Who knows maybe they will surprise us?

 

[Rob0729]

The Pats gave up 24 points to what appears to be a less-than-great Bengals offense (despite their talent), 28 to the freaking Jets, and 30 to the are-you-kidding-me Buffalo Bills, at home! Even if the bad version of the Dolphins shows up, they could still put up some points.

First, the Pats defense didn't give up 30 points to the Bills, they gave up 24.

Second, the Bills gave up 38 points to the Pats, but only 14 to the Dolphins. Maybe the Dolphins' offense is not as good as you think. It isn't as good as the Jets or Bengals at this point.

Third, the Pats shut down the Bengals' offense until the game was out of reach. The Bengals got all their points when the game was pretty much over.

 

[Rob0729]

If you're quoting those numbers to try to make the case that the Pats' D is actually pretty good, you're not going to get a sale at my door. They've been pretty bad on D so far. That could change. I think it will, over time. But not yet, not in this game, not in this environment.

That said, as I mentioned in my initial post in this thread, I'm usually wrong about these things so look for a 41-10 Patriots victory.

It doesn't matter if the Pats defense is bad. For two games of the first three, the Dolphins' offense has almost been as bad as the Pats' offense. Going into the game on Sunday, the Dolphins had two offensive TDs in their first two games.

 

[PatsWSB47]

Our legendary defense comes through with a blocked extra point to win it as time runs out

:singing:

Pats 105
Dolphins 104

 

[DefenseRules]

It doesn't matter if the Pats defense is bad. For two games of the first three, the Dolphins' offense has almost been as bad as the Pats' offense. Going into the game on Sunday, the Dolphins had two offensive TDs in their first two games.

The Patriots defense just gave up 30 points to one of the worse offenses in the league. I don't think Miami's offense is worse than Buffalo's. I expect them to put up just as many points if not more. Our offense will have to win this one for us. I hope the offense that I saw on Sunday shows up on Monday night. Our road record is PATHETIC!

 

[Sicilian]

The Patriots defense just gave up 30 points to one of the worse offenses in the league. I don't think Miami's offense is worse than Buffalo's. I expect them to put up just as many points if not more. Our offense will have to win this one for us. I hope the offense that I saw on Sunday shows up on Monday night. Our road record is PATHETIC!

Except that Miami's offense couldn't muster more than 16 points against Buffalo, while ours put up 38. There's stats that can be thrown around for every possible scenario, none of them mean anything, especially with a division game.

Our road record is hard to argue though. I'll be skeptical of any road game until they show they can beat a quality opponent again, especially in Miami where even in lopsided years (2004), we've struggled.

 

[Rob0729]

The Patriots defense just gave up 30 points to one of the worse offenses in the league. I don't think Miami's offense is worse than Buffalo's. I expect them to put up just as many points if not more. Our offense will have to win this one for us. I hope the offense that I saw on Sunday shows up on Monday night. Our road record is PATHETIC!

First, the defense gave up 23 points. Seven points came on a kick return for a TD.

Second, the Bills were one of the worst offenses in the league the first two weeks with Trent Edwards as QB, not Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick might have been the spark to make the Bills a decent offense (I won't say good).

Third, the Dolphins offense was just as bad as the Bills' offense the first two weeks, possibly worse. Just because they had a good game vs. the Jets without Revis and Pace doesn't mean that they have corrected their problems. Cromartie is a liability for the Jets and Henne exploited it. McCourty, who will be going up against Marshall, has been less of a liability thus far.

I am not saying that the Dolphins won't shread the Pats' defense, but it is far from a guarantee. Before Sunday night, the Dolphins were on the verge of a QB controversy and could be again after Monday night. Henne has been a very inconsistent QB.

 

[sbpatfan]

The Patriots defense just gave up 30 points to one of the worse offenses in the league. I don't think Miami's offense is worse than Buffalo's. I expect them to put up just as many points if not more. Our offense will have to win this one for us. I hope the offense that I saw on Sunday shows up on Monday night. Our road record is PATHETIC!

They gave up 23 points actually, and 10 of those were with the help of Offensive / Special team blunders.

 

[NEPatriot]

We were a one point favorite a one point favorite against the NYJ. And right now the Phins are playing very good football. Right now my money would be on the Phins.

 

[DefenseRules]

They gave up 23 points actually, and 10 of those were with the help of Offensive / Special team blunders.

I stand corrected. It still wasn't a good performance, though. I expect them to give up at least 20 to Miami, but if they don't, I will be pleasantly surprised. :rocker:
I just hope that we perform better on the road this time.

 

[Triumph]

The Phins passing game really impressed me the other night.

They should be able to pass against NE. Marshall will get doubled, but Bess and Hartline will pose problems.

Two division losses in a row is going to suck for somebody.

 

[BlueThunder]

The Phins passing game really impressed me the other night.

They should be able to pass against NE. Marshall will get doubled, but Bess and Hartline will pose problems.

Two division losses in a row is going to suck for somebody.

Let's hope it's Miami and not the Bills

 

[stcjones]

The Pats gave up 24 points to what appears to be a less-than-great Bengals offense (despite their talent), 28 to the freaking Jets, and 30 to the are-you-kidding-me Buffalo Bills, at home! Even if the bad version of the Dolphins shows up, they could still put up some points.

That is the point....our offense may put up some decent numbers....but our defense will give up a ton as well....someone mentioned that doofins only put up 15 on buffalo...they also only gave up 10 pts at buffalo.....we gave up 30 to them......AT HOME....that and the fact that pats rarely play well in Miami....and I see us having a lot of trouble Monday....