GL to all on your plays, but please check the injury report prior to game time. Miami will be at full strength, while New England will be missing a few pieces, and several others will be questionable.
These two teams previous game in 2008 has been mentioned several times, as it was the first display of the Wildcat formation. Miami not only utilized a unorthodox offense formation, but much more importantly, discovered a variety of ways to keep Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams on the field at the same time. Their rushing sucess has been predicated upon the pressure their two back system puts on opposing defenses. In New England early in the season, (When the Patriots D was rolling, and at full strength, and at home) the Dolphins imposed their will on the line of scrimage, and exposed an aging Defense. In this game we find two hungary teams, in a "Must Win" game. It has been mentioned throughout this post, and in various other threads, that the number 1 reason to take NE here is because of the Belichek "Revenge Factor", as well as his past successes at beating a team a second time in a season after a previous loss. No doubt he is a Defensive game plan guru... HOWEVER... He has some very very serious problems, that game planning alone will not be able to solve...
NE has long been quite diligent at public deception, most specifically in regards to injury reporting, Last week the Patriots lost Adalius Thomas (NE's leader in sacks, as well as a key component in their pass and rush defense) for the year. Already waiting for Thomas on vacation is another key run stopper, Rodney Harrison.. Those guys are gone for sure, but take a look at who may be out for this game, and at the very least, not at 100% after a grueling Jets home game:
DE - Ty Warren - Warren was an unexpected, game time scratch against the Jets a week ago. Warren is the run stopping, space eater that makes a 3-4 D work as well as the Pats have used it in the past. Without Warren, the Jets were able to control the line of scrimage whenver they needed to. Check his status close to the game, he very well could be out for this...
DE - Vince Wilfork - Wilfork is the true anchor of this defense, clogging the middle, and taking on two blockers every down. He had a reported missed practice for an injury, followed by an "Non-Injury Related" absence. This sounds very odd, and I will be monitoring his status as we get close to the game. Wilfork looked gassed at the end of the Jets game, and may be injured. Wilfork is the most indispensable piece of this defense.
DE - Richard Seymour - Various reports of a Toe injury on his plant foot... aka Turf Toe... Seymour is being relied upon to get to the QB (Especially, after the loss of production Thomas provided). Toward the end of that game Setmour appeared to fade. If he has injuried his plant toe, his pass rush will suffer a great deal..
LB - Tedy Bruschi - Late practice injury addition with a Knee injury. He is a warrior, and will most likely play this one no matter what.. If the Knee slows him down, those holes will take a bit longer to close... If he does not practice on Friday, I would be very concerned about his status for Sunday.
Friday's practice should provide a clearer picture. Losing the services of just one of these players would be difficult to overcome. Miami's offensive line has continued to improve, and will be up to the challenge presented by an old, injury depleted, Defensive football team. Should a combination of these players fail to perform near 100%, or are unable to play, the facts will be these:
A clearly healthier Miami team will dominate both sides of the line of scrimage. Miami's rush defense has been getting the attention of their challengers, as they are the 4th ranked AFC rush defense (Ahead of Tennessee...). Miami's 3-4 has been stuffing the run with base personel, while still getting after the QB. Mr. Joey Porter leads the NFL with 13.5 sacks. He has set the tone for this D, and they are playing mean. Porter will pressure Cassel all day, as the Patriots banged up running game will be grounded to a halt by a healthy, ulltra motivated defense that has a big chip on their shoulder. Will Allen should be feeling better, and will be up in Moss's routes.. He is a quality cover man, and the Miami pass rush should create a couple of mistakes in the passing game.
I agree that Coach Belichek is a Guy that likes revenge motivation, and always prepares his team on the second look... But don't forget who is running the Operations down in South Florida. The Tuna has surrounded himself with a Terrific Coaching staff who know exactly who is going to be coaching on the other sde this Sunday. Parcells knows Belichek as well as any other man in the NFL. And with Dan Henning and hs staff, the Dolphins Offense will continue to used a variety of sets, designed to keep the pressure on a depleted Patriots Defense.
I completely believe that Miami will be as prepared, and motivated for this game as they have all season. Without a Patriots pass rush, Chad will be able to wait for his receivers to work a thin secondary.. The Phins will rise to the change in this game, as they will control this game at home.
Check the injuries.. I love Miami here as my biggest play of the week. Miami -1.
BOL on all your plays!
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