New England @ Miami Preview

It seems like Miami has had New England’s number at home for quite some time. The Dolphins are currently riding a 3 game winning streak against the Patriots. Miami actually swept them last year.

The debate as to who made the Patriots great, (Bill Belichick or Tom Brady) is coming to a resounding conclusion. Even though they both contributed to the Patriot Dynasty over the years. Nobody can argue that Brady has had the better outing since their divorce.

Bill Belichick seems concerned about this upcoming game with his unusual move to have the Patriots in Florida to practice on Tuesday. This is 4 days ahead of their normal departure for away games on Saturday.

Miami will unveil their Post Flores team featuring the Darling Hire of the off-season and first time head coach Mike McDaniel and with a very tough 4 game opening for the season how long will he be a darling? The first 4 games will be a test to see if Miami is a legitimate contender. Every team they face are potential playoff teams. ( vs New England, @ Ravens, vs Buffalo, @ Cincinnati)

On To The Matchup

• Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
• When: Sept 11, 2022
• Time: 1 p.m. ET
• Weather: 89°F / Rain
• Point Spread: Dolphins (-3.5)
• O/U  45.5
• TV: CBS

Matchup: on Offense:

This seems like a tale of two stories as Miami spent the off-season loading up on offensive weapons (Tyreek Hill, Chase Edmonds, Terron Armstead, Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Teddy Bridgewater) as well as bringing in a Offensive minded HC Mike McDaniel after parting ways with Brian Flores who to his credit built this young defense that has returned completely in tact.

The Patriots on the other hand have been critisized by the way they have handled their offense after losing their long time OC Josh McDaniels. This is just like the poor way Brian Flores managed the offense in his last season with that stupid Dual O/C move. (Flores never had a decent offensive staff) Belichick has one upped him by having his senior football advisor and offensive line coach Matt Patricia be the OC or so it appears. It is a complete mystery as to what they are actually doing on offense in New England.

There are no stats to rely on because this is the first game of the season so it should be interesting to see how things unfold. I caution being overly confident in the outcome because who can really count out Belicheck?

Matchup: on Defense:

Both Teams have TOP Defenses and that just might be how this game plays out a defensive battle and low scoring game. Miami’s Defense has upgraded with the addition of Melvin Ingram and Trey Flowers. This adds quality depth to an already impressive defensive unit with young rising stars like Jevon Holland, Brandon Jones and Jaelan Phillips.

The Strategy:

This game will be a filling out process as both teams will show things that neither has shown to date. The team that adjusts most effectively will have an edge. Turnover is crucial to winning, because whoever wins the battle usually wins.

Run the ball and Stop the run. 

When teams can do both well, it opens up so many doors like the play-action passing game and time of possession, both of which are fundamental to winning games.

My Take:

I am truly excited about this 2022 Miami Dolphins team, a team on paper that is a playoff, if not SB contender. They should win more than they have the past two years. In those two years, they were knocking on the door to the playoffs only to collapse in season-ending games.

I still feel Miami’s defense should be the backbone of our success especially early on. Hopefully, the offense will match the play of the defense, which I consider one of the top 10 if not the top 5 defenses this year. If they do the Dolphins will make some noise this season.

This Sunday we will see where they are in the early stages of the season. We will also hope to be able to get the win against a team that people should not underestimate.

Prediction  

Miami 20, New England 10