Patriots vs. Dolphins: On Monday Night Football, Pats Must Not Beat Themselves
There's no better stage than ESPN Monday Night Football for the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins AFC East rivalry match-up.
Everything feels more grand in prime time, because everyone is watching.
As always, although one or two stand-out individual performances may influence the outcome of the game, there's no denying that we're watching two football teams that operate better when all the pieces are doing their jobs well.
Here are some of the top match-ups to watch for in Monday night's game.
10. Vince Wilfork Vs. Joe Berger
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The Miami Dolphins rely on their ability to run up the middle. That area is inhabited by Vince Wilfork, and he doesn't give it up easily. It will be up to Joe Berger to make his presence felt on Sunday.
Wilfork was quieted by Berger last year, only tallying five tackles in the two games. The Patriots' Pro Bowl nose tackle will have to do better than that on Monday night, as the space between the guards and centers will be of prime importance for the Dolphins' rush attack.
9. Darius Butler Vs. Himself
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If one player has failed to live up to expectations more than any other, it's Darius Butler. He was supposed to step in and be the No. 2 corner even before Leigh Bodden suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason.
However, he's botched coverages, given up a few touchdown catches, and had his share of penalties over the past two games. In fact, he didn't start the week three match-up against the Bills due to his poor play.
Back in the starting line-up this week (or so we believe), Butler will have to get down to sound fundamentals. He has the speed to keep up with Miami's quick receivers Davone Bess and Brian Hartline, but the Patriots can't afford to have half a secondary with the other half being torn up time and time again.
8. Ronnie Brown Vs. Jerod Mayo
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As mentioned in a previous slide, the middle of the defense will be of prime importance. Jerod Mayo will be counted on to make stops for the Patriots against Ronnie Brown, who loves to run right up the middle of the defense.
Mayo had 12 tackles in each game last year, and since the 38-13 beatdown at Gillette Stadium in 2008, Ronnie Brown has averaged 3.3 yards per carry against New England.
It will be up to Jerod Mayo not just to make the stops, but to do so close to the line of scrimmage. Tackles are all well and good, but giving up chunks of 4 or 5 yards as he did last week against the Bills is a recipe for disaster against the Dolphins.
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7. New England Defense Vs. Wildcat Offense
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The Patriots have had problems stopping the Dolphins when they put the Wildcat offense on the field. They always get gashed by a couple of big plays throughout the course of the game.
This goes beyond the premiere of the Wildcat when Ronnie Brown accounted for nearly 25 percent of his season stats in one game.
The ripple effect has been felt since then in small doses, but the Patriots need to tame the Wildcat early to prevent it from becoming an issue again. If they can totally shut it down on the first few attempts, the Dolphins may be much more wary to go to it.
6. Chad Henne Vs. Brandon Meriweather
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The New England Patriots have made just about every quarterback they've faced look like the next coming of Peyton Manning. Chad Henne has that potential against New England and has shown it before, throwing for 335 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in their last meeting, and led the Dolphins on the game-winning drive in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.
Meriweather was the one to grab that interception, but if he keeps playing freelance football, he won't be in position to do anything against the Dolphins. And do the Patriots really want to get ripped by all three of the AFC East's other starting quarterbacks just four weeks into the season?
5. Channing Crowder Vs. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
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News is that Channing Crowder will return from his injury this week, and that Fred Taylor will miss this week's game. That means that Crowder will face off with BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who hasn't been timid about running right at the defense.
He'll need to be effective against a Dolphins defense that has a pass rush that's salivating at the thought of laying hits on Tom Brady. Green-Ellis will need to make the Patriots offense multi-dimensional, and Crowder will have to force short gains or tackles behind the line of scrimmage to force New England to pass.
4. Brandon Marshall Vs. New England Secondary
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The Miami Dolphins noticeably lacked a big-time receiver last year, and were finally able to pick one up via trade this offseason. They just so happened to pick one up who almost single-handedly beat the Patriots last year as a member of the Broncos, pulling in eight catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns.
The Patriots secondary will have to find an answer for him, but it doesn't look promising. The Patriots have given up 92 yards per game to no. 1 receivers and rank 30th in the league in that category. It could be Marshall Law in New England's secondary on Monday night.
3. Vontae Davis Vs. Randy Moss
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Vontae Davis has logged an interception in each of his two games against the Patriots as a rookie. Most of his coverage came on Randy Moss in those games, and the series has seemingly been split.
Moss has gone off on the Dolphins just about every time he's played them, but he had six catches for 147 yards and a touchdown in the first game last season. Although Moss had two receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown in the next contest, Davis was able to hold him to no receptions after giving up the deep touchdown pass.
Given the 50-50 success so far, the Patriots should test Davis deep early on to see how he holds up under pressure.
2. Bill Belichick Vs. Tony Sparano
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Whenever two coaches from the Bill Parcells coaching tree meet up, it always makes for an interesting match-up. These two have met four times before, and split the series 2-2. Each has won a blow-out over the other, and each has won in a narrow victory.
When it comes to divisional match-ups, one of the most important factors can be play-calling. Teams are always looking to confuse their division rivals that have a lot of tape and a lot of experience, and these two coaches have done well at giving different teams different looks.
1. New England Patriots Vs. Second Half On The Road
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No second-half lead is a comfortable lead when you're the New England Patriots playing on the road.
The Patriots have been famously gawd-awful in the second half of games not played in a place with "England" in the title.
Most notable, perhaps, are Tom Brady's struggles in the fourth quarter. While it may be a bit of a stretch to say that he's worse than Mark Sanchez and Derek Anderson, the numbers don't lie. A late lead must translate into a win, and the Patriots must put points on the board in the fourth quarter to make sure that happens.
He has to. He's Captain Clutch.
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