New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins: Twitter Reaction and Postgame Quotes

The peals of thunder that quickly rolled through southern Florida prior to kickoff portended a furious second-half storm of points by the Miami Dolphins, who dispatched the visiting New England Patriots 33-20 in convincing manner on Sunday.

On a day that saw Tom Brady slapping his favorite target in the first half and slapping the turf in the second, a determined Dolphins offensive and defensive line bested their respective New England counterparts.

Here are the initial reactions from the first Patriots loss of the year.

Tweets by Dre

"

#Patriots obviously taking a precautions with Dobson's foot. Didn't think he'd be avail for week 1, but changed mind after preseason finale

— Mike Loyko (@NEPD_Loyko) September 7, 2014"

After playing so many snaps in the last preseason game, it came as a surprise to see Aaron Dobson on the inactive list. It is quite possible that his availability took the Patriots' coaching staff off guard and they didn't have him integrated into their plans. His presence was sorely missed as the Patriots didn't have any threats outside the numbers.

"

Touchdown Lamar Miller. Leaked out into the flat, Ninkovich couldn't keep up. Nice opening drive for #Dolphins, awful start for #Patriots

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 7, 2014"

The start couldn't have been much worse for New England. Following a poor snap from Danny Aiken and a blocked Ryan Allen punt, the Dolphins executed a beautiful misdirection play for the touchdown.

"

Gronk was on the field for the last 6 plays after only getting 2 of first 11 snaps.

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) September 7, 2014"

"

Death, taxes, & Gronk TDs

— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) September 7, 2014"

"

Gronkowski played 2 of 20 snaps while the Dolphins turned a 20-10 deficit into a 30-20 lead.

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) September 7, 2014"

Gronkowski was a big part of the second New England drive of the day—which resulted in a Shane Vereen touchdown—using his size and strength to bully his way for a first down and pushing the line on some key running plays. He followed that up with a touchdown catch, dragging across the field and uncovering from Brent Grimes.

The second half of the game wasn't as kind. Gronkowski didn't see much of the field, and Brady wasn't able to connect with him with any sort of consistency.

"

Revis has covered Wallace, Hartline and Clay so far at LCB. #Patriots playing a lot of zone

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 7, 2014"

Revis had an up-and-down day, giving up a few catches—including a touchdown to Mike Wallace—when he was seemingly in very good position. It will be interesting to see how he is used going forward.

"

Rotation alert: Wendell at center, Connolly at right guard, Devey to sideline.

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) September 7, 2014"

Belichick experimented along the interior offensive line, with Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Marcus Cannon and Jordan Devey all seeing some time. A cacophony of failure was able to be heard all the way back in New England as the centers and guards couldn't handle the power and quickness of the Dolphins defensive line. Former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia couldn't have been impressed.

"

Dominique Easley making his #patriots debut with this snap

— shalise manza young (@shalisemyoung) September 7, 2014"

First-round pick Dominique Easley saw his first action on the last play of the first quarter. He saw time at defensive end, defensive tackle and on the nose. At the end of the day, his impact was minimal. He was credited with one tackle on the day.

"

Disappointed in #Patriots front 7 today. #Dolphins OL is dominating them in run game. Confusing scheme for this personnel. Average pass rush

— Derek Havens (@PatriotsHaven) September 7, 2014"

It's tough to say anything good about the run defense. Knowshon Moreno gashed the front seven for 134 yards, and Lamar Miller added another 59.

"

Remarkably, every AFC East team won today except the Patriots.

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 7, 2014"

It's never good to be down a game to your division rivals. The Patriots are going to need to work a lot harder than many fans anticipated to earn Brady a 12th division title.

Anything You Say Can Be Used as a Quotation Device

"

We didn't do anything in the third quarter led us to being one dimensional in the 4th - Tom Brady #patriotstalk

— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) September 7, 2014"

Brady hit it right on the head. The Dolphins didn't have to respect the run going down the stretch and loaded up on the receivers. All the play-action plays did was make it easier for Cameron Wake and company to sack the quarterback.

"

Vollmer was asked about missing Mankins' leadership: "You can look for Logan all you want. He's not coming back."

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) September 7, 2014"

The Logan Mankins trade is an easy excuse for New England fans to make, but it is a bit of a stretch with the complete breakdown from left tackle to right tackle that they saw on Sunday.

"

Revis said it was cramping he was treated for second half

— shalise manza young (@shalisemyoung) September 7, 2014"

It's never good to see a prized free-agent acquisition on the sideline, but the heat and humidity are going to cause cramping in even the best of athletes.

"

Vince Wilfork on 2014 season: "It's not how you start, it's how you finish. But we started (expletive)."

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 7, 2014"

"

"We've got 16 rounds. Got to keep fighting" Rob Ninkovich. #Patriots

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) September 7, 2014"

The Patriots have been 0-1 before and survived but not since 2003. It will be interesting to see how the younger Patriots handle adversity.

Observation Deck

Logan Ryan and Jamie Collins—two pieces of the 2013 NFL draft trade that netted the Minnesota Vikings Cordarrelle Patterson—each forced fumbles with vicious hits.

Dont'a Hightower looked good rushing the quarterback. Despite getting called for a dubious roughing call, he was in Ryan Tannehill's face all day. Alfonzo Dennard's first-half interception was made possible by Hightower's pressure not allowing Tannehill to step into the throw. Hightower can still get better setting the edge, but I thought his play was positive.

Completing the linebacker trio was Jerod Mayo, who racked up double-digit tackles in his first game back from a torn pectoral. 

Danny Aiken—released and re-signed during the preseason—was iffy again. His low snap to Ryan Allen caused the blocked punt to open the game. Allen could see some competition this week.

Stephen Gostkowski was as good as ever. His leg was live on kickoffs, and his accuracy hasn't dipped from last year.

Pat Chung looks like he may be the primary kick returner. Each safety seems to have a distinct spot on special teams where they are being asked to excel.

I'm not sure if Jordan Devey has compromising pictures of somebody, but I don't understand how he is seeing time on the field. Expect rookie Bryan Stork to see the field sooner than later, shifting Connolly to guard.

Brady throwing the ball 56 times—he completed only 29—is not the path to victory for New England. Vereen and Ridley need to see more than 15 combined carries, although the Dolphins defensive line may have dissuaded offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels from pursuing a losing gambit.

Stats and figures courtesy of NFL.com.