Patriots vs. Dolphins: 5 Second-Half Adjustments New England Must Make

Overall the New England Patriots look to be in decent shape so far in their Monday night matchup against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.

Many picked the Patriots to win by at least one touchdown, but the game may end much closer than just seven points. 

Entering the second half, New England needs to make several adjustments, and here are the biggest five that they must do if they want to come out of Miami with a victory. 

Need To Contain Reggie Bush

Reggie Bush has been a difference-maker for Miami and New England needs to contain him.

Bush is obviously Miami's best offensive weapon and he's producing not only on the ground but in the air.

The Dolphins are involving Bush somewhat in nearly every other play—whether it's a run in between the tackles, a sweep or throwing the ball to him when he's in space. 

With under six minutes left in the half, Bush has ran for 32 yards on eight carries while snagging four balls for 26 yards. 

Need To Solidify Their Interior Defensive Line

When Miami's moving the ball, it's usually going right up the middle, right past Vince Wilfork and Company. 

New England's interior defensive line has performed rather poorly tonight against the Dolphins, with Albert Haynesworth struggling to stay on the field and Wilfork has virtually been transparent.

Everyone knows that Miami is a run-first offense, and New England's defensive front needs to be much tighter in between the tackles.  

Wide Receivers Need To Beat Miami's Pass Coverage

New England's offense started off fast but have slowed down towards the half as Miami continues to come up with big stops.

Their offensive line appears to be doing a fine job and Tom Brady has had plenty of time each passing play to find the open receiver—but the receivers have not been getting open. 

Entering the second quarter, Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez appear to be all struggling to find holes in Miami's pass defense and it's resulting in too many incompletions. 

New England simply has too many offensive weapons to be covered on a regular basis. 

Need To Get Defense off of the Field

This was a bigger problem in the first quarter as New England started to improve in the second quarter. Either way, New England's defense has spent way too much time on the field.

Miami has been able to control the clock and has forced Tom Brady to stay off the field as much as possible—which has resulted in New England's defense getting gassed and becoming vulnerable. 

Need To Put Pressure on Chad Henne

The only two plays that I can remember New England actually putting pressure on Chad Henne was on the first play, when Henne found Brandon Marshall for a 25-yard gain and Rob Ninkovich drilled Henne into the ground, and on the goal line when Henne was sacked by Andre Carter. 

Other than those two plays, Henne has been given too much time and is finding the open receivers. 

New England needs to put more pressure on Henne as their secondary can't cover their receivers for a long length of time.