Miami Dolphins:

Bill Belichick speaks to reporters following Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins.

Tom Brady speaks to the media following the Patriots loss to Miami on Sunday.

Expect the New England offense to perform much better than it did last week. Let’s give credit where it is due: the Jet defense is one of the best in the NFL. The Patriots should have much better success on third down than they did last week, which will lead to more scoring opportunities – and at the same time keep the Patriot defense off the field, allowing them to be less gassed and more effective.

One nice thing about the final week of the season for football fans is that two networks televise both an early and late game, plus restrictions that prohibit another game being televised while the local team plays a home game are lifted. There was a time when this was actually standard operating procedure: the AFL would televise two games on NBC, and the NFL would televise two games on CBS. Once the two leagues merged that ended though, and now pro football fans are forced to either pay big bucks or watch crappy games between losing teams far too often.

Grissom has shown some promise in very limited action as a rookie, the talented and versatile 6’4, 265-pound lineman from Oklahoma will get a chance to shine on Sunday.

there remain matchups that can be utilized once again especially in the middle of the field with Rob Gronkowski and James White, in lieu of Lewis.

With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October.

Landry is the first Dolphin WR ever to have a 100-catch, 1000-yard season.

With the Patriots no longer playing a meaningless Week 17 game the Pats began Sunday evening as an eight point favorite, and by the end of the night the line was up to nine points. In the NFC Arizona clinched a bye, but their domination over Green Bay coupled with Seattle’s loss to the Rams caused that line to have a swing of a full six points, from the Cardinals being 2½ point underdogs to Arizona being favored by 3½ points.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was particularly proud of the fact that all seven Pro Bowlers were ‘home-grown’ talent that the Patriots developed.

Harmon has transitioned into a fine safety for the Patriots with a distinct role; one that he’s excelled on. Now he’ll have to take over DMac’s role for the time being.

In both conferences the race for the number five seed is nearly as meaningful as getting a first round bye. Both of the number five seeds will most likely be playing against a team with a .500 (or losing record). On the other hand the number six seed will have to go on the road against a ten or eleven-win club.

the big news was the return to the Patriots practice this week of both Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. They were both filmed (not so coincidentally), beside each other during warmups with a smiling Belichick behind them.

Look no further than the Patriots third-down percentage the past two games to see that the running game is slowing down the offense. New England is 5 for 28 on third down percentage the last two weeks including just 2 of 13 against Denver.

Given how Sunday’s games finished, tonight’s showdown against Rex Ryan’s Bills definitely still has some key things to keep an eye on.