Rather than start another thread on the same subject, here are some other Patriots-Dolphins previews.
It Is What It Is » Ten things you have to know about Patriots-Dolphins
2. The Patriots offensive line against the Dolphins defensive front: The New England offensive line has struggled at times over the last month-plus as Tom Brady has been knocked around pretty good. Despite a repeated emphasis on getting the ball out as fast as possible — which will almost certainly be a priority this week for several reasons against some very good pass rushers — the New England front will be asked to keep Brady clean in a the face of an very good group of pass rushers. Keep an eye on the edges, as Patriots left tackle Nate Solder missed one day of practice with a concussion he suffered against the Browns, while Marcus Cannon and Will Svitek has combined to hold down the right side with Sebastian Vollmer on injured reserve. Olivier Vernon (11.5 sacks) Randy Starks (3 sacks), Jared Odrick (4.5 sacks), Paul Soliai (2 sacks) and Cameron Wake (7.5 sacks) are all impressive in their own right, both against the run and the pass, and will provide the Patriots with another stern test.
4. Under the radar opponent who Patriots’ fans need to know: Charles Clay. “The Claymaker” has become an absolutely vital piece of the Miami offense. The Tulsa product — who checks in at 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds — caught 34 passes in his first two seasons with the Dolphins, but has really clicked with quarterback Ryan Tannehill this year, hauling in 60 passes for 678 yards and six touchdowns. He’s not just a pass catcher, but Bill Belichick went out of his way to praise his work as a blocker who has been able to nullify some pretty good defensive ends over the course of the year, including Carolina’s Charles Johnson. Considering that the Patriots have struggled at times when it comes to containing relatively anonymous tight ends (Jordan Cameron had nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown last Sunday), New England needs to make containing Clay a priority.
Short video and predictions with from Miami beat writers; they're split 3-3 on the outcome.
Preview: Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots - Sun Sentinel
Y! SPORTS - Patriots-Dolphins Preview
Miami set a season high for points scored despite the tough conditions last week, and it will go up against a Patriots defense that ranks 24th in total defense at 372.3 yards per game. New England has just four sacks in the last three games, but the Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill has been sacked a league-high 48 times.
Tannehill threw a career high-tying three touchdown passes last week - two going to Charles Clay, who finished with seven catches for 97 yards.
Clay has emerged as one of Tannehill's top targets, and his 678 yards are 114 short of breaking Randy McMichael's single-season franchise record for a tight end set in 2004.
"He's a heck of an athlete that makes small plays and big plays," Tannehill said.
Clay had five catches for 37 yards in the last meeting for Miami, which hasn't beaten New England since a 22-21 home win Dec. 6, 2009.
One thing’s for sure: The Dolphins are getting the Patriots at the perfect time, or as good a time as it ever is to get the Patriots. Rob Gronkowski’s season-ending knee injury against the Browns last Sunday ostensibly puts Tom Brady back in a situation he’d rather not repeat. Gronk missed the first six games of the 2013 season as he was recovering from other injuries, and when he’s out of the lineup, New England’s offense regresses to a frightening degree — from second to 22nd in the NFL in points scored, from fourth to 30th in red zone efficiency, from third to 19th in passing yards per game and from second to 16th in first downs per game. Since 2010, Brady has 5.1 touchdowns per interception with Gronk in the game and 2.2 without.
So, what to do? The Pats will likely do what they did when Gronkowski was injured before — go to more three- and four-receiver sets and target running back Shane Vereen more often. Vereen had a career-high 17 targets last week in a game that New England had to score two touchdowns in the final minute to win. Spackling the passing offense will likely be enough during the regular season. Even if the Dolphins take this game, the Pats have a serious lead in the AFC East, including a tiebreaker win over Miami in October.
As for the Dolphins, it’s all about keeping the faith and getting into the wild-card round. They’ve won three of their last four games and turned their season around. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has improved of late, and that’s opened things up for a formerly moribund run game.
The most important player on the
Patriots roster this season is
Tom Brady. It will always be Tom Brady. No one will argue with you that it's not Tom Brady if you tell them it's Tom Brady. The second most important player on the Patriots roster this season is
Rob Gronkowski. However, there's one problem, Gronkowski isn't actually on the active roster anymore because
he tore his ACL and now he's on injured reserve. Can the Patriots win without Gronkowski? Yes. Do I think they'll win this game? No.
Dolphins 27-24 over the Patriots.
