Patriots - Dolphins Keys to the Game, Who Has the Razor's Edge?

Patriots RBs vs Dolphins Front Seven – Razor’s Edge Miami
The Patriots running game overall had a decent night in Arizona, rushing for 106 yards against a tough Cardinals defense. LeGarrette Blount accounted for 70 of those and none were bigger than his 8-yard touchdown run when he carried almost half of the Arizona defense into the end zone. But the offensive line struggled to open holes consistently and frequently Blount was hit in the backfield.

blount-td-carry-pile — LaGarrett Blount scores an 8-yard touchdown run

Miami had one of the worst run defenses in the league a year ago, allowing 126.2 yards per game. With the addition of Mario Williams along the defensive line and Kiko Alonso at MLB, they’re looking to reverse that trend. They allowed 112 yards a week ago to the Seahawks but Seattle was a team that averaged over 150 in 2015.

The key here is patience, with Earl Mitchell, Ndamukong Suh, Cameron Wake in the front line, the Patriots will struggle to consistently run the ball. But they’ll have to stick with it, like a week ago and keep the defense honest. Blount is at his best in the 2^nd and 4^th quarters when defenses wear down. Getting off to a quick start is key for the offense.

Patriots WRs vs Dolphins Secondary – Razor’s Edge New England
The Patriots passing game was pretty effective against a very good Cardinals defense a week ago. Julian Edelman got things off to a quick start and Danny Amendola made a key 32-yard catch on their final scoring drive. Newcomers Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell had impressive debuts in a New England uniform. The pass protection was good for the most part and Jimmy G. was able to move in the pocket to buy time.

Miami got three sacks against Russell Wilson which is impressive and they got consistent pressure on him until the final drive of each half, which coincidentally were scoring drives for Seattle. Suh, Williams, and Wake were all effective and they’re going to try to do the same against Garoppolo on Sunday.

They will have to if they want to win this matchup because even without Rob Gronkowski, who probably won’t play again this week, the Pats have plenty of weapons to attack the Miami secondary. Byron Maxwell and rookie Xavien Howard are the starting corners with Bobby McCain holding down the slot. Reshad Jones is among the better safeties in the NFL while Isa Abdul-Quddus is the free safety.

It all comes down to whether Garoppolo has time to throw because this is a matchup they can easily win. The Patriots have the versatility where they can move their receivers around to find favorable matchups. I’m looking for Edelman and RB James White to have big games this weekend for the Patriots passing game.

Next up the Miami offense:

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About Steve Balestrieri

A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)

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