{"id":3976,"date":"2015-12-31T07:44:45","date_gmt":"2015-12-31T12:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=3976"},"modified":"2015-12-31T07:44:45","modified_gmt":"2015-12-31T12:44:45","slug":"patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> travel down to South Florida for their final regular season game of the 2015 season to take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS with the announcing crew of Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon on the call. The game can also be heard on the Patriots flagship radio station of 98.5 the Sports Hub with the voice of the Pats Bob Socci on the call with Scott Zolak.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins (5-10) have been one of the bigger disappointments of 2015. They were expected to not only vie for a playoff spot this season but push the Patriots for the AFC East crown. After going thru an initial burst of two wins with interim coach Dan Campbell, the Fins are floundering and in the midst of a double-digit loss season. Big changes are coming for Miami this offseason.<\/p>\n

New England (12-3), had a tough overtime loss against the Jets 26-20 on Sunday. However, with a win on Sunday, the Patriots clinch home field advantage for the AFC playoffs. Injuries continue to haunt the Pats as the team lost LT Sebastian Vollmer on Sunday. His replacement LaAdrian Waddle later went down as well.<\/p>\n

The team was already without their two starting safeties (Devin McCourty and Pat Chung), two top wide receivers (Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola), and top two running backs (LaGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis) among others. Chung\u2019s replacement Jordan Richards was hurt on the first play of OT and his replacement, Tavon Wilson was victimized on the very first play for a 48-yard gain that set the Jets up for the win.<\/p>\n

We here at\u00a0PatsFans.com<\/a>\u00a0are continuing our \u201cRazor\u2019s Edge\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 column in 2015 to give a quick break down on some of the key matchups of the game and what you can look for in how the game plays out.<\/p>\n

Series History:\u00a0<\/strong>The Patriots and Dolphins will meet for the 101th<\/sup>\u00a0time on Sunday. The series was dominated by the Dolphins in during the middle years especially in Miami but the Patriots under Bill Belichick have turned the tide in recent years.<\/p>\n

The teams have split their matchups the last two seasons with each winning at home. Miami won the season opener last season with the Patriots taking a December matchup in Foxboro. The Patriots blew out Miami on a Thursday night game earlier this season.<\/p>\n

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor\u2019s Edge.<\/p>\n

First up is the Patriots offense:<\/p>\n

Patriots RBs vs Dolphins Front Seven –\u00a0<\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge Miami
\n<\/em>The Dolphins have a very strong defensive line, which is one of the strengths of their team. Ndamukong Suh is a guy who can disrupt things inside but he\u2019s been a disappointment this season overall. Which Suh will show up on Sunday? The Dolphins rush defense has been awful in 2015 allowing more than 129 yards per game. If the Dolphins have packed it in for the winter, then the Patriots could gain an edge.<\/p>\n

The Patriots due to injuries to the offensive line and the running backs have not been able to run the football with any consistency this season. This week Steven Jackson and Brandon Bolden will split the carries as they utilize James White primarily as a pass catcher.<\/p>\n

It would be nice to see Jackson get some extended reps this week as he tries to recapture his form. He looked pretty close to his 2014 form last week, not the dominant guy from a decade ago but not a guy who was finished either. That is good news, now they need to get him the ball.<\/p>\n

Patriots WRs vs Dolphins Secondary –\u00a0<\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>Brady has been victimized by injuries to his skill position players and a carousel at the offensive line where the starters not only change week to week but frequently in-game as well.<\/p>\n

With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October. But with Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola on the shelf, the unit has struggled. Look for Rob Gronkowski to be a big target again versus this Miami weak secondary. Gronk had a big game in October and they\u2019ll try to isolate him on the linebackers which is a mismatch.<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s pass defense is among the worst they\u2019ve fielded in quite some time. Brent Grimes has struggled in 2015 after two Pro Bowl seasons and has suffered from off field issues as well as his wife Miko keeps making waves on social media which has turned into a distraction. But overall the Dolphins don\u2019t cover well (with the exception of Reshad Jones) and don\u2019t get after the passer well, especially since Cameron Wake went down in the earlier Pats game.<\/p>\n

Next up the Dolphins offense:<\/p>\n

Dolphins RBs vs NE Front Seven –\u00a0<\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>The Dolphins Lamar Miller continues to be underutilized in the Dolphins offense which is a head scratcher. He\u2019s averaging 4.9 yards per carry but the Miami offense is pass happy and as a result, they\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

The Patriots were gashed by the Jets last week, as Gang Green ran right at them. Even with Dont\u2019a Hightower hobbled with a knee injury and Pat Chung missing, it was alarming to see the Jets offensive linemen winning the battle upfront. They\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n

Dolphins WRs vs NE Secondary-\u00a0<\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s catches and force Tannehill to look elsewhere, where he gets impatient and still makes too many mistakes.<\/p>\n

Special Teams-\u00a0<\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>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\u2019t missed an extra point since 2006, his rookie season.<\/p>\n

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\u2019ll probably be their guy for the rest of the season and playoffs with Edelman and Amendola hurt.<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Next up, our prediction on who wins and why\u2026<\/p>\n

Prediction:
\n<\/strong>Games in Miami are always tough for the Patriots. The place has been a house of horrors for them since the early days of the AFL. Whether it is the heat and humidity or something else, the Pats seem to always play poorly there.<\/p>\n

But this matchup regardless of how banged up they are favors the Pats. Miami\u2019s rushing defense is particularly awful this season and their pass defense is nearly as bad. Their offensive line has problems protecting Tannehill and they pass far too much with a pair of talented running backs in Miller and Ajayi for their own good.<\/p>\n

Look for the Patriots to be aggressive in getting after Tannehill who is beat up. He had his leg wrapped after the Colts game last week and had blood in his urine. His toughness isn\u2019t questioned, but his decision making is when under pressure.<\/p>\n

The Patriots should generate enough offense to put them behind early and cruise to the #1 seed in the AFC. \u00a0Patriots 27-13<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[185,34,132,37,402,18,55,16,490,732,17,24,63,15,45,403,44,70,8,38,247,248,733,489,117,36,310,13],"class_list":["post-3976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2015-nfl-season","tag-bill-belichick","tag-brandon-lafell","tag-chandler-jones","tag-dan-campbell","tag-danny-amendola","tag-devante-parker","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-jarvis-landry","tag-jay-ajayi","tag-julian-edelman","tag-lagarrette-blount","tag-lamar-miller","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-ndamukong-suh","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-picks","tag-predictions","tag-reshad-jones","tag-rishard-matthews","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-ryan-tannehill","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"\nPatriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge? | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-31T12:44:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg?fit=1145%2C640&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1145\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SteveB7SFG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@patsfans\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\"},\"headline\":\"Patriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge?\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-31T12:44:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1551,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2015 NFL Season\",\"Bill Belichick\",\"Brandon LaFell\",\"Chandler Jones\",\"Dan Campbell\",\"Danny Amendola\",\"Devante Parker\",\"Jabaal Sheard\",\"Jarvis Landry\",\"Jay Ajayi\",\"Julian Edelman\",\"LaGarrette Blount\",\"Lamar Miller\",\"Malcolm Butler\",\"Miami Dolphins\",\"Ndamukong Suh\",\"New England Patriots\",\"NFL\",\"Patriots\",\"Patriots edge rushers\",\"picks\",\"predictions\",\"Reshad Jones\",\"Rishard Matthews\",\"Rob Gronkowski\",\"Rob Ninkovich\",\"Ryan Tannehill\",\"Tom Brady\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Patriots Commentary\",\"Patriots News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/\",\"name\":\"Patriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-31T12:44:45+00:00\",\"description\":\"With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/10\\\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg\",\"width\":1145,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"Stew Milne - USA TODAY Sports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/31\\\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Patriots Commentary\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"description\":\"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"PatsFans.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/patsfans\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@patsfans.official\"],\"foundingDate\":\"2000-06-17\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\",\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steve Balestrieri\"},\"description\":\"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)\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/steve.balestrieri\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/SteveB7SFG\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/sbalestrieri\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Patriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge?","description":"With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/","next":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Patriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge? | PatsFans.com","og_description":"With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/","og_site_name":"PatsFans.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","article_published_time":"2015-12-31T12:44:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1145,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg?fit=1145%2C640&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Balestrieri","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SteveB7SFG","twitter_site":"@patsfans","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/"},"author":{"name":"Steve Balestrieri","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da"},"headline":"Patriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge?","datePublished":"2015-12-31T12:44:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/"},"wordCount":1551,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg","keywords":["2015 NFL Season","Bill Belichick","Brandon LaFell","Chandler Jones","Dan Campbell","Danny Amendola","Devante Parker","Jabaal Sheard","Jarvis Landry","Jay Ajayi","Julian Edelman","LaGarrette Blount","Lamar Miller","Malcolm Butler","Miami Dolphins","Ndamukong Suh","New England Patriots","NFL","Patriots","Patriots edge rushers","picks","predictions","Reshad Jones","Rishard Matthews","Rob Gronkowski","Rob Ninkovich","Ryan Tannehill","Tom Brady"],"articleSection":["Patriots Commentary","Patriots News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/","name":"Patriots \u2013 Dolphins II, Key Matchups; Who Has the Razor\u2019s Edge?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-31T12:44:45+00:00","description":"With a fully loaded receiver core Brady would pick this unit apart, much like he did in October.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg","width":1145,"height":640,"caption":"Stew Milne - USA TODAY Sports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/patriots-dolphins-ii-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Patriots Commentary"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","name":"PatsFans.com","description":"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization","name":"PatsFans.com","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"PatsFans.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","https:\/\/x.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/patsfans\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@patsfans.official"],"foundingDate":"2000-06-17"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da","name":"Steve Balestrieri","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Steve Balestrieri"},"description":"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)","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","https:\/\/x.com\/SteveB7SFG"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/author\/sbalestrieri\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-Week-8-Chandler-Jones-Sack-XNNFkTZf.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3976"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3978,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3976\/revisions\/3978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}