Patriots – Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor’s Edge?
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Dolphins RBs vs NE Front Seven – Razor’s Edge New England
The Dolphins Lamar Miller continues to be underutilized in the Dolphins offense which is a head scratcher. He’s averaging 4.9 yards per carry but the Miami offense is pass happy and as a result, they’ve suffered. Miller is a very talented back who is a free agent in 2016 and could be trying to showcase his talents for would-be suitors. Jay Ajayi has played well since getting onto the field and will see considerable snaps.
The Patriots were gashed by the Jets last week, as Gang Green ran right at them. Even with Dont’a Hightower hobbled with a knee injury and Pat Chung missing, it was alarming to see the Jets offensive linemen winning the battle upfront. They’ll have to rebound this week and they should with the big men stopping the play at the point of attack. Look for Alan Branch and Malcom Brown to have big days inside in run support.
Dolphins WRs vs NE Secondary- Razor’s Edge New England
Ryan Tannehill has two big targets in Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker who are clearly the future. Parker missed considerable amounts of time but is finally getting untracked. Landry gets double the looks of everyone else and is their go-to guy. Look for Logan Ryan to draw him with over the top safety help. Malcolm Butler will draw Parker in a one-on-one matchup.
The Dolphins offensive line has struggled to protect Tannehill who continues to be sacked at an alarming rate. This is a matchup the Patriots edge rushers, Chandler Jones and Jabaal Sheard should thrive in. Rob Ninkovich may miss this game due to injury. One thing to watch for are big chunk passing plays, which the Patriots the past month have been apt to allow, something they were not doing earlier in the season.
The Dolphins also have Rishard Matthews, Kenny Stills and the also underutilized Jordan Cameron at tight end. The key here for New England is to limit Landry’s catches and force Tannehill to look elsewhere, where he gets impatient and still makes too many mistakes.
Special Teams- Razor’s Edge New England
The Patriots have two of the most reliable kickers in the business with Stephen Gostkowski and Ryan Allen. Gostkowski has been nearly automatic in the field goal department and hasn’t missed an extra point since 2006, his rookie season.
The coverage units are solid and after a month where the turnovers in the return game were hurting them, they got a solid performance from Keshawn Martin. He’ll probably be their guy for the rest of the season and playoffs with Edelman and Amendola hurt.
Miami’s two rookies in the kicking game; punter Matt Darr and kicker Andrew Franks are having solid seasons. The Dolphins have Landry returning both kicks and punts and their coverage units are ok but not outstanding. This will be another opportunity for the STs units to get untracked for the playoffs and generate some solid field position.
Next up, our prediction on who wins and why…
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