OK, this is an important game again. By next week, though...
who knows?
Heading into the season, it seemed logical that a Week 9 matchup between the
defending AFC East Division champion (Miami) and the team that had won the
crown and advanced to the Super Bowl a year prior (New England) would be vital
in terms of the fight for 2009 supremacy.
And then for a while, it wasn't.
A 3-0 start by the New York Jets - which included a win over New England -
coupled with the Patriots' generally shaky beginning and an 0-3 stumble by the
Dolphins, had everyone within Rex Ryan's gravitational pull claiming both the
reigning and recent champs had become mere green footnotes.
Those tides, however, have turned yet again.
Ryan's suddenly punchless gang has tumbled to four losses in five subsequent
games - twice to the Dolphins - leaving a 3-4 Miami squad just two games off
the pace of a 5-2 New England team that found itself to the tune of 94 points
in two games before last week's bye.
A New England win, and the division is again the playpen of Mssrs. Brady,
Belichick and Moss.
A Miami win improves its record in the East to 4-0, narrows the first-place gap
from two games to one and goes a long way toward proving coach Tony Sparano's
claim - following last week's encore against the Jets - that the road to the
division title will still show flecks of teal and orange.
Sparano is 7-2 in his tenure against the AFC East, and has won five straight.
Kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for
his role in the 30-25 triumph, in which he scored on runbacks of 101 and 100
yards, becoming the first player in league history with two 100-plus yard
scores in the same game.
Elsewhere, the Dolphins were outgained as a team, 378-104.
"All you've been preaching all week long with these guys is to keep grinding
and finish games, keep grinding and finishing games, keep your head down and
finish games," Sparano said. "They did that. We had a great week of practice.
It didn't show in some phases, but they fought, they fought hard during the
course of this game. Their effort was outstanding all over the place.
"I think we have a heck of a challenge ahead of us but this team will be
excited about it. We gave ourselves something to be excited about right now. We
will just put our head down and keep grinding the way we do."
The Patriots, meanwhile, return from a brief tour of the NFL's laughingstock
department, which resulted in a 59-0 shelling of the then-winless Tennessee
Titans - in which Tom Brady threw for six touchdowns - and a 35-7 rout of the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers before a packed house at London's Wembley Stadium.
In those two, New England outgained its foes, 1,033-426, registered 50 first
downs to 19 against, and saw Brady complete 52-of-66 passes for 688 yards and
nine touchdowns.
"When we go out and execute well, we score points," he said. "It's a much more
concerted effort in practice to get those things done. It's pretty easy for me
to evaluate how I played and why I did something that nobody else would really
know."
SERIES HISTORY
Miami holds a 48-36 lead in its all-time regular season series with New
England, including an unconventional split of last year's home-and-home. The
Dolphins earned a shocking 38-13 road victory at the Patriots in Week 3 of
last season, but were dealt a 48-28 setback in the return matchup in South
Florida during Week 12. The Pats swept the 2007 home-and-home with their
longtime AFC East rival. The Dolphins have not won back-to-back games at New
England since 1999-2000.
In addition to the regular season series, the teams have met three times in
the postseason, with New England holding a 2-1 advantage there. The Patriots'
most memorable postseason victory over Miami came in the 1985 AFC
Championship, when New England escaped with a 31-14 triumph en route to its
first-ever Super Bowl appearance. The clubs also met in AFC First-Round
Playoff matchups in 1982 and 1997, with Miami winning the former (28-13) and
New England taking the latter (17-3).
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is 10-10 against Miami in his head coaching
career, including 10-8 while with New England. Sparano - a native of West
Haven, CT - is 1-1 versus both Belichick and the Patriots as a head coach.
WHEN THE DOLPHINS HAVE THE BALL
Already the drafted heir apparent before the injury to Chad Pennington, Chad
Henne has thrived in divisional games, going 3-0 while completing 46-of-69
passes for 468 yards, four touchdowns and a 105.2 passer rating. He has, of
course, never faced the Patriots. Ronnie Brown was a nightmare for Belichick &
Co. in his last trip to Foxboro, unleashing the Wildcat offense to the tune of
113 rushing yards and a franchise-record four TDs. He's scored seven times in
his last six games, and, along with Ricky Williams, comprises the only tandem
in the league with five rushing TDs apiece. Williams has a 5.4-yard average on
78 carries in 2009. In the air, wideout Devone Bess leads the team with 30
catches for 206 yards and tight end Joey Haynos scored his first receiving TD
last week.
New England was on the receiving end of the Wildcat when Miami headed north
last season, allowing 38 points and losing for the first time in the regular
season since 2006. The Patriots held the Dolphins to 28 in a 20-point win later
in the season. So far in 2009, they've given up a stingy 285.7 yards per week,
good for third in the AFC. Only 109.7 of those yards have come on the ground,
compared to the 153.4 the Dolphins have racked up through seven weeks. Always
opportunistic, the Patriots have forced a turnover in 15 consecutive games.
Safety Brandon Meriweather had a pair of interceptions - including a 39-yard
return for a touchdown - against the Bucs, while rookie cornerback Darius
Butler goes for a third straight game with a pick. Also, recently-signed
veteran (and ex-Dolphin) Junior Seau aims for his 25th consecutive win as a
member of the Patriots.
WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL
Just around the time people started questioning whether Brady was back from
last year's knee injury, he started answering. The Michigan alum has connected
on 117-of-173 passes for 1,438 yards, 13 TDs and a 113.3 passer rating in his
last five games, and aims for a third straight game against Miami with at least
three TD passes. In his last two against the Dolphins, he's been good for nine
touchdowns and a 124.2 rating. On the other end, former Dolphin Wes Welker
leads the team with 46 catches - all in the last five games - and goes for a
third straight 100-yard outing. He leads the league since 2007 with 269
catches. Oh, and Randy Moss is good, too. He had eight catches for 125 yards
and three scores the last time he faced Miami. On the ground Laurence Maroney
has a team-high 265 yards and Kevin Faulk became the 26th back in history last
week to reach 400 receptions.
Stopping teams hasn't necessarily been the strong suit for the Dolphins, who've
allowed 20 or more points in five of seven games - including 46 against New
Orleans. Passing has been the avenue of choice for foes, who've averaged 236
yards per game through the air and completed 56.7 percent of passes while being
intercepted six times. Pressuring the passer has paid off with 19 sacks,
including 5 from returning veteran Jason Taylor. Taylor leads all active
players with 126 sacks and has 12 career sacks against New England. Linebacker
Joey Porter has eight sacks in his last four games against the Patriots,
including a career-high four last September. Will Allen, who's gone for the
season due to injury, is the only Dolphin with multiple interceptions and
Yeremiah Bell leads with 48 tackles.
FANTASY FOCUS
The big offensive names are easy calls - Brown and Williams for Miami, Brady,
Moss and Welker for New England. All should at least get the chance to thrive,
if not actually succeed. Miami has given up points to opposing tight ends all
season, which makes New England's Ben Watson a mildly attractive option as
well. And Ginn, with his return prowess, is a proven commodity in the right
slot. Defensively, the Patriots probably deserve more respect.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Ever the optimist, Sparano is rightfully claiming the road to the AFC East goes
through his Dolphins. However, what he doesn't mention while hanging his hat on
that statement is that Miami's wins were hardly inspiring of awe. The Dolphins
beat the Jets on the final play of the game in the first matchup and were saved
by Ginn in game No. 2. And the third win was against a Buffalo team that's
leaned as close to awful as respectable in recent days. Bottom line, if Brady
plays like Brady, the Pats don't lose.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Patriots 31, Dolphins 20.
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