New England Patriots vs. Miami: 5 Questions With Dolphins Expert
FOXBORO — As Michael Corleone once told a beleaguered Frank Pentangeli in 1974’s The Godfather Part II, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
The New England Patriots (2-5) are headed south to take on the Miami Dolphins in their Week 8 matchup at Hard Rock Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.
For the Pats, Sunday’s contest marks their second straight AFC East Divisional game, following last week’s 29-25 upset victory over the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. New England will be looking to settle the score this week in the second meeting between the two teams. The Patriots lost to Miami 24-17 in Week 2 in Foxboro.
In anticipation of this showdown between the division rivals, Alain Poupart, publisher of FanNation’s All Dolphins, sat down with Patriots Country to provide some interesting insight from behind enemy lines.
1: Offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn was having a productive year before being placed on injured reserve was having a productive year for Miami before being placed on injured reserve due to a quad injury. How confident should Miami be in reserves Lester Cotton and Robert Jones to provide protection on Sunday and beyond?
Poupart: Isaiah Wynn indeed was having a very good season for the Dolphins before he was injured in the Sunday night game against the Eagles, and Cotton's performance as his replacement against the Eagles certainly didn't inspire a lot of confidence. Of course, we could say he was going against a great interior defensive line, but the fact remains he simply didn't play well and that has to be a concern for the Dolphins moving forward. Robert Jones has been a solid player in spot starts before, but it does look as though Cotton will get first shot against the Patriots.
2: Though he had his struggles against the pressure of the Philadelphia Eagles defense last week, Tua Tagovailoa has played at an MVP-caliber level of resilience for much of the season. How should he be expected to rebound against New England this weekend?
Poupart: Tua's performance against the Eagles actually was a lot better than his final stat sheet might suggest. That said, the Dolphins offense has simply looked different at home, even though the caveat there is the home opponents have been Denver, the Giants and Carolina. But based on what they've done at HRS this season, it's fair to expect another game with big numbers for Tua and the Dolphins offense.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones
Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
3: Despite his numerous troubles to date, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones turned in his best performance of the year in navigating Bill O’Brien’s offense last week against Buffalo. Still, Jones can be skittish when pressure forces him to fear the rush, rather than progress through his reads. How will Miami’s defense look to keep him out of his comfort zone?
Poupart: Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's M.O. for most of the season has been to blitz little and play soft coverage, but he sent extra rushers at Jalen Hurts on Sunday night with varying results — the pick-six came on a corner blitz, but then Hurts made some big plays after escaping pressure. I would expect maybe a few blitzes here and there against Jones, but certainly nothing over the top. The plan of attack also depends whether Xavien Howard can return from his groin injury after he sat out the Eagles game and whether Jalen Ramsey is ready to make his season debut after a second week of practice.
4: Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was held to five catches for 40 yards and a short-yardage touchdown in Week 2. Much of the Patriots’ success was due to the stout coverage of rookie Christian Gonzalez, who is now on injured reserve. With Jonathan Jones expected back in the lineup, along with J.C. Jackson back in the fold, can the Dolphins (specifically Hill) exploit the Pats' changes in their secondary?
Poupart: Go back to my answer about Tua as it relates to home games. Hill has four games with 150-plus receiving yards this season, including all three home games. Because they don't have to deal with hostile crowd noise at home, Hill does a lot more pre-snap motion in home games and his ability to get a running start at the snap has made him borderline “uncoverable.” As is the case with Tua, I think it's more likely than not that he'll put up big numbers against the Pats on Sunday.
5: With the Dolphins firmly in a position to contend for a deep playoff run, do you expect them to be buyers at the trade deadline? If so, who/which position may they target?
Poupart: Yeah, the Dolphins certainly have to be thinking Super Bowl run with the roster they have and the moves they've already made, but they'll be limited to a certain degree by their cap situation. I still would expect them to explore trade possibilities if for no other reason than they've shown a willingness to make bold moves. Logic would suggest the positions they should target as the defensive line, maybe inside linebacker and the offensive line, though it's not easy to find teams willing to part with quality O-linemen.
Patriots Country also provided Pats insight on Sunday’s game for All Dolphins. The second part of this joint interview may be found HERE.
