In his first two games as the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Dan Campbell has had little trouble with defeating his opponents. In his first game replacing former coach Joe Philbin, the Dolphins defeated the Tennessee Titans 38-10 in Nashville. Last week in their first home game in nearly a month, Miami destroyed the Houston Texans 44-26 as the Dolphins led 41-0 at halftime.
On a short week, Campbell and the Dolphins (3-3) will face their biggest challenge of the season as they will travel to Foxboro to take on the undefeated New England Patriots.
Last week against the New York Jets, the Patriots (6-0) trailed heading into the fourth quarter. But New England’s 14 points in the final period won them the game 30-23.
The last time the Patriots and Dolphins faced each other, New England defeated Miami 41-13 at Gillette Stadium. Miami holds a 52-47 series advantage over New England, which includes a 1-2 record in postseason play.
Miami at New England
Kickoff: 8:25 p.m. EST
TV Channel: CBS or NFL Network
Spread: New England -8.5
Three Keys to the Game
1. Cameron Wake and Dolphins defensive line
The Dolphins defensive line was considered one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL during the first four weeks of the season. The unit went without a sack and that contributed to their 1-3 record over that span. The last two weeks however, Miami’s defensive line has looked like a different group.
In their first two games after their bye week, Miami has recorded 10 sacks, which includes six by Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Wake. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has had his problems against Wake in the past and he knows firsthand how great he is.
“He’s such an explosive player off the edge, and he’s just a ball hawk,” said Brady. “Last year, that was a big turning point in the game when he strip-sacked me and they got the ball on a short field, and he’s done that again the last couple of weeks. So not only can he get the edge and sack the quarterback, but usually he can create turnovers for their defense. So he’s just, he’s a dominant player. He’s been to the Pro Bowl I don’t how many times. It’s been a lot. Playing against him, he’s got the respect of everybody on our team, our coaches, and he’s just, he’s a force and it’s hard to slow him down.”
Wake has 8.5 career sacks against the Patriots. So Brady and the Patriots offense will have to know where Wake is at all times during the game.
2. Can the Dolphins limit Rob Gronkowski touches?
There isn’t any player in the NFL like Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski. He is too fast for linebackers to keep up with him, but he is too strong and big for most safeties to cover.
Campbell knows the Dolphins will have to show different looks to the Patriots offense in order to slow down Gronkowski’s touches.
“Yeah, you have to mix some things up with him, said Campbell. “You can’t just – and that goes for that offense and Tom Brady – you can’t just give them the same look the whole time. Now, you got to do what you do best. But you can’t just sit there where he knows every time exactly what you’re in. But we have some guys on this team that can plan man to man pretty good. We’ll have other answers schematically as well.”
Last December against the Dolphins, Gronkowski burned the Dolphins for eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. While Campbell joked earlier this week about putting the entire defense on Gronkowski, he probably would if he could.
3. In-game adjustments
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is the best in the NFL in making changes during the course of a game. For Campbell, this is only his third game as an NFL head coach. Even though there’s such a different in coaching experience, Campbell isn’t worried about people comparing him to Belichick.
“Bill Belichick is one of the greatest coaches that’s ever coached,” said Campbell. “I mean that’s just the bottom line. With everything that he has done. He is better than anybody at finding those mismatches, taking away your best players. And he’s always been this way. You say, ‘Look, if you’re going to beat us, you’re not going to beat us with your impact players.’ That’s what he’s done, that’s how he’s always done it. It’s a heck of a recipe; it’s worked. So I don’t look at it it’s me versus him. This is the Miami Dolphins versus the New England Patriots.”
While no one is expecting Campbell to outcoach Belichick, he will have to be aware of his adjustments throughout the game. If he isn’t it could be a long night for the Dolphins.
Final Analysis
It is hard to deny, Miami is a different team ever since Campbell has taken over as head coach. The team is playing more as a unit and has a different aggression and toughness about them. Even though they’ve had their way with the first two opponents in the Dan Campbell era, the Patriots are a different animal.
Brady is playing some of the best football of his career at age 38-years-old and their offense mirrors the Patriots team from 2007 when they began the season 18-0 before losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. While the Dolphins defensive line is playing much better, Brady’s quick release will make it tough for Miami to get a hand on him.
Patriots and Dolphins have traditionally played one another tough and tonight shouldn’t be any different. Dolphins’ running back Lamar Miller has been a huge difference in the Dolphins offense the last two weeks but expect the Patriots to limit his big plays. If Miami has any chance to win this game, quarterback Ryan Tannehill will need a signature game.
New England is 71-0 at Gillette Stadium when leading at halftime, so it is important for Miami to get off to an early start. Dolphins should keep it close much like the Jets did last week, but New England should pull away in the second half.
Prediction: New England 37, Miami 23
You can follow Antwan at Twitter @antwanstaley
