The Dolphins lead the all-time series 49-39, including a 1-2 record against the Patriots in the playoffs. Miami is 32-11 at home against the Patriots, including a 1-1 playoff mark.
Since 2001, half of the Patriots’ 12 divisional losses have come against the Dolphins. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has lost 49 games in New England, with eight of them (16.3 percent) coming against Miami.
When and Where
Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Land Shark Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
Records
Patriots 7-4 (3-1 AFC East)
Dolphins 5-6 (3-2 AFC East)
Skinny
Wes Welker gets it. With the way the Patriots have played in two of their last three games, the wide receiver won’t put any shine on their muddy outlook. They’ve got to get better, and they’ve only got five games before the playoffs to figure it all out.So when Welker was asked if he was shocked that some people are writing off the 2009 Patriots, Welker gave an honest response.
“No, I’m not surprised at all, not with the way we’ve been playing,” said Welker, who had a season-low 32 receiving yards against the Saints on Monday. “We have a lot of things that we need to take care of, and that’s the bottom line. We realize that, and we just have to move forward from it.”
The Patriots are realistic about another factor: Teams don’t win Super Bowls because of their performance in November. Three of the last four Super Bowl champions — the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3), the 2007 New York Giants (7-4) and the 2005 Steelers (7-4) — had not found their peak when November finished.
However, it works both ways. The 2001, 2003 and 2004 Patriots were a combined 11-1 in November, and they were 33-2 from November through their Super Bowl victories. While not every Super Bowl winner hits its stride, the Patriots have never slipped up this late in the season prior to a championship.
“Looking at our record, depending on what you define what you were, talking about championship years, obviously, we’re not at that point yet,” said tight end Ben Watson. “If you’re talking about last year, we’re on track, but each year is different. We still feel like we’re a good football team. We feel like our record shows that there’s a lot of room for improvement. Coming off the weeks that we’ve lost games, that’s been our goal — to improve each week. We’d definitely be the first to say that, as a team, we need to improve.”
Projected Starters
PatriotsOffense
Quarterback: Tom Brady
Wide receiver: Randy Moss
Wide receiver: Wes Welker
Running back: Laurence Maroney
Running back: Kevin Faulk
Tight end: Ben Watson
Left tackle: Matt Light
Left guard: Logan Mankins
Center: Dan Koppen
Right guard: Stephen Neal
Right tackle: Nick Kaczur
Defense
Left defensive end: Ty Warren
Defensive tackle: Vince Wilfork
Right defensive end: Jarvis Green
Outside linebacker: Tully Banta-Cain
Middle linebacker: Jerod Mayo
Middle linebacker: Gary Guyton
Outside linebacker: Adalius Thomas
Left cornerback: Darius Butler
Right cornerback: Leigh Bodden
Strong safety: Brandon Meriweather
Free safety: Brandon McGowan
Specialists
Kicker: Stephen Gostkowski
Punter: Chris Hanson
Long snapper: Jake Ingram
Holder: Chris Hanson
Kick returner: Julian Edelman
Punt returner: Wes Welker
Dolphins
Offense
Quarterback: Chad Henne
Wide receiver: Ted Ginn
Wide receiver: Greg Camarillo
Tight end: Joey Haynos
Tight end: Anthony Fasano
Running back: Ricky Williams
Left tackle: Jake Long
Left guard: Justin Smiley
Center: Joe Berger
Right guard: Donald Thomas
Right tackle: Vernon Carey
Defense
Left defensive end: Kendall Langford
Defensive tackle: Paul Soliai
Right defensive end: Randy Starks
Weakside linebacker: Joey Porter
Inside linebacker: Channing Crowder
Inside linebacker: Akin Ayodele
Strongside linebacker: Jason Taylor
Cornerback: Vontae Davis
Cornerback: Sean Smith
Strong safety: Yeremiah Bell
Free safety: Gibril Wilson
Specialists
Kicker: Dan Carpenter
Punter: Brandon Fields
Long snapper: John Denney
Holder: Brandon Fields
Kick returner: Ted Ginn
Punt returner: Davone Bess
Stat Sheet
Patriots
The Patriots are playing back-to-back road games for the only time this season.
The Patriots are an NFL-best 24-2 in December since 2003, and they’re riding a 12-game winning streak in December.
New England has a 42-12 regular-season record against the AFC East since 2001, which is the best intra-division record in the NFL in that span.
Quarterback Tom Brady has completed 246 of 424 passes for 2,779 yards, 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 15 games against Miami. Brady is 10-5 in those games.
Brady needs 268 passing yards to become the 31st player in NFL history to reach 30,000. Brady had 332 yards last month against Miami.
Running back Laurence Maroney has a career-high eight touchdowns in his last six games. He went eight games without a touchdown prior to this stretch, and he had eight touchdowns in his previous 24 games.
Maroney has 58 rushes for 307 yards (5.3 yards per carry) and two touchdowns in four games against the Dolphins.
If Maroney scored a touchdown against the Dolphins, he’ll match Curtis Martin’s team record of seven consecutive games with a score. Martin accomplished that feat in 1996.
Wide receiver Randy Moss has 43 receptions for 694 yards and nine touchdowns in eight career games against Miami. Moss has also thrown a 13-yard touchdown pass against the Dolphins.
Moss needs eight receiving yards to reach 1,000 this season, which would make him and Jerry Rice the only players in NFL history with 10 seasons with 1,000 receiving yards.
Prior to giving up 480 total yards, 367 passing yards and 38 points to the Saints, the Patriots were ranked sixth in the league in total defense (296.7 yards per game), sixth in pass defense (187.3) and second in points allowed (16.4). Now, the Patriots are 12th in total defense (313.4 per game, an increase of 16.7 yards), 10th in pass defense (203.6, 16.3) and seventh in points allowed (18.4, 2.0).
The Patriots became the first team in NFL history to play seven teams without a loss in one season, including the season opener against the Bills.
Wide receiver Wes Welker has 37 catches for 446 yards and two touchdowns in five games against the Dolphins.
Welker has nine consecutive games with at least six catches. Marvin Harrison has the NFL record with 16 in a row.
Dolphins
The Dolphins’ Wildcat attack has been placed on the backburner in the two games since running back Ronnie Brown was placed on injured reserve. Ricky Williams has rushed eight times for 25 yards and two touchdowns out of the Wildcat formation in those two contests, and his one pass attempt was intercepted. Additionally, quarterback Pat White has not attempted a pass in that time, and he has only rushed once for two yards.
Before Brown’s injury, the Dolphins ran about 15 percent of their plays out of the Wildcat formation. In the last two games, though, they’ve used the Wildcat in nine of their 130 offensive plays (6.9 percent).
Wide receiver Ted Ginn has caught 18 passes for 208 yards in five career games against the Patriots.
Williams leads the Dolphins this season with 792 rushing yards, 5.1 yards per carry and nine touchdowns. He’s got a pair of three-touchdown games in 2009, and he has rushed for 100 yards in three consecutive games.
Williams has 202 rushes for 781 yards and five touchdowns in 10 career games against New England. He’s also got 15 receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown in those contests.
Quarterback Chad Henne has completed 144 of 249 passes for 1,512 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, and he is 5-3 as a starter. The second-year quarterback has completed 19 of 34 passes for 219 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in three career appearances against the Patriots.
Wide receiver Greg Camarillo has 17 receptions for 232 yards and two touchdowns in five games against the Patriots.
Linebacker Joey Porter has 4.5 sacks in his last two games. He has 32 total tackles (27 solo), 11 sacks and four forced fumbles in eight career games against New England.
Linebacker Jason Taylor has six sacks and two forced fumbles this season. In 23 career games against the Patriots, he has 87 total tackles (53 solo), 12 sacks, three interceptions, 11 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Black and Blue
(From Thursday’s practice report)
Patriots
Running back Fred Taylor (ankle) did not participate.
Safety Bret Lockett (groin) did not participate.
Wide receiver Sam Aiken (hip) had limited participation.
Linebacker Eric Alexander (groin) had limited participation.
Tight end Chris Baker (shoulder) had limited participation.
Linebacker Tully Banta-Cain (shoulder) had limited participation.
Nose tackle Ron Brace (ankle) had limited participation.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman (forearm) had limited participation.
Defensive end Jarvis Green (knee) had limited participation.
Right tackle Nick Kaczur (ankle) had limited participation.
Center Dan Koppen (knee) had limited participation.
Left tackle Matt Light (knee) had limited participation.
Running back Sammy Morris (knee) had limited participation.
Right guard Stephen Neal (ankle) had limited participation.
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich (knee) had limited participation.
Left tackle Sebastian Vollmer (head) had limited participation.
Defensive end Ty Warren (ankle) had limited participation.
Outside linebacker Pierre Woods (groin) had limited participation.
Quarterback Tom Brady (right shoulder) fully participated.
Defensive back Shawn Springs (knee) fully participated.
Tight end Ben Watson (knee) fully participated.
Center Jake Grove (ankle) did not participate.
Defensive end Lionel Dotson (ankle) did not participate.
Safety Yeremiah Bell (thumb) fully participated.
Running back Ricky Williams (chest) fully participated.
This Date in Patriots History
In 1998, the Patriots beat the Steelers 23-9 in Pittsburgh. Terry Glenn catches nine passes for 193 yards and is on the receiving end of an 86-yard scoring strike from quarterback Drew Bledsoe. It is the longest touchdown of each player’s career. Bledsoe completes 21 of 34 passes for 327 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, and Robert Edwards rushes 28 times for 66 yards and one touchdown.
The Patriots are 2-4 on this date, including a pair of losses in Miami.
Overheard
“We don’t go out there and try to punt, you know. We’re not trying to go out there to give the ball back or turn the ball over. We’re trying to go out there and score points, and when we don’t, it’s frustrating for everybody.”
–Quarterback Tom Brady, when asked about the offense’s inefficiency in the fourth quarter
Press Box
PatriotsThe Patriots must improve in four areas.
The Patriots can’t win in December.
Here is how the Saints stopped Randy Moss and Wes Welker.
Dolphins
Tony Sparano sent a message to his team this week.
Is Taylor made for New England?
Henning defends Williams’ arm, hypes Hartline.
NFL
Marques Colston is the NFL’s “Quiet Storm.”
Here is a good look at how the playoff seedings will shake out. The Pats’ position may surprise you.
The league’s concussion policies are torn, and a player with a very high-profile could get cut next offseason.
Outlook
For starters, the Patriots need to outfit the Dolphins’ running game with some cement shoes. Wildcat or not, Miami’s identity is on the ground, and the Dolphins are ranked second in the NFL in rushing attempts (33.7 per game), third in rushing yards (156.1 per game) and second in rushing touchdowns (17).Ricky Williams has been most effective in the traditional running game this season, so the Patriots should expect to see him take plenty of handoffs from quarterback Chad Henne. Even further, though, the Patriots ate up the Dolphins’ Wildcat attack in their first meeting this season because they’ve got a smart defense that can snuff out an offense that — despite its uniqueness — is very easy to read once the ball is snapped. It’s as simple as this: Watch the guards. If they push directly forward, it’s a dive. If they pull to a specific direction, that’s where the running back is taking the ball. Class dismissed.
With that, Pats head coach Bill Belichick expects to see backup quarterback Pat White to handle a few more snaps, especially when the Dolphins run their speed sweep — when Williams motions from the slot receiver position into the backfield, takes the handoff and runs off tackle. Plus, White has successfully run the option against the Patriots earlier this season, so Miami offensive coordinator Dan Henning would be foolish not to give it a whirl Sunday.
Naturally, the Patriots can expect to see another wrinkle with the Dolphins’ gimmicky offense because Miami is predictable with its unpredictability. Just a hunch, but maybe they’ll use wide receiver Ted Ginn in the Wildcat this weekend.
Miami’s passing game is still a work in progress. Henne is a talented quarterback with a live arm, but the second-year pro has only started eight games and his wide receivers are an average group as a whole. If the Patriots jump ahead early and force Henne to rely on his arm, things will get out of hand. After all, he threw three fourth-quarter interceptions last week in Buffalo after the Bills built their lead.
The Dolphins have been inconsistent on defense. On one hand, rookie cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith are definitely developing and showing they’ll be quite the tandem for years. Plus, linebacker Joey Porter has recorded 4.5 sacks in the last two games — not because he has improved individually (because, from the sounds of it, he hasn’t), but because the Dolphins have been better in coverage and that’s led to a better team pass rush.
However, Miami has allowed 71 points in the last three weeks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills, and those offenses would consider it a compliment to be called marginal.
Don’t think the Saints have drawn up a blueprint to halt the production of wideouts Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Granted, New Orleans played exceptionally well, but it also had the talent and game plan that allowed it to jump way ahead on the scoreboard. They’re going to be ticked off Sunday, and they’ll resume their aerial assault on South Beach.
Miami has basically served as the Patriots’ Bermuda Triangle for decades upon decades, but this isn’t like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. It’s cut and dry. The Patriots are better, and they’ve been dominant after defeats this season. There’s no logical reason why that won’t continue.