Game 15: Dolphins at Patriots
In the second meeting of the season between the longtime rivals, the Patriots would love a repeat of their offensive performance from their season-opening 38-24 victory at Miami.
The Dolphins? They’re looking for redemption, and maybe a little bit of revenge, too.
The Patriots racked up 622 yards in the season-opening victory, 517 of them coming courtesy of Tom Brady’s right arm. Brady completed 32 of 48 passes for four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, in becoming just the 11th quarterback in NFL history to throw for 500 yards or more in a single game. Dolphins defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said the performance was the worst he’s seen in his 25 years as an NFL coach.
The Dolphins that will take the field at Gillette Stadium today look considerably different than the team the Patriots faced on September 12. Coach Tony Sparano was fired Decemb er 13 and replaced by interim coach Todd Bowles, who won his debut last week at Buffalo. Matt Moore took over at quarterback for the injured Chad Henne (who did throw for 417 yards in the opener) in Week 4 and has played well, with 12 TD passes to just 6 interceptions, 2,081 yards, and an 88.7 rating.
Reggie Bush, who had just 38 yards rushing in his Miami debut in the opener vs. the Patriots, has emerged as a legitimate three-down running back. The reining AFC offensive player of the week after a 203-yard effort against the Bills, he needs just 27 yards today to go over 1,000 rushing for the season. He’s also a very difficult matchup in the passing game, with 41 receptions on the season. The Patriots, with their 32d-ranked pass defense, will also have to contend with receiver Brandon Marshall, who has 70 receptions for 1,021 yards and five touchdowns. He had arguably his best game of the season in the opener, with seven catches for 139 yards.
Game information:
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Records: Patriots 11-3 (clinched AFC East); 5-9 (fourth place AFC East)
TV/Radio info: WBZ-TV Ch. 4 (Ian Eagle calls play-by-play; Dan Fouts is the analyst); 98.5 FM The Sports Hub (Gil Santos, Gino Cappelletti, Scott Zolak).
Storylines: With Matt Light inactive, the Patriots have done some reshuffling of the offensive line. In warmups, Logan Mankins, who has played nothing but guard since entering the NFL in 2005, is lining up at left tackle. Nate Solder is on the right side with Sebastian Vollmer again inactive with a back problem. Donald Thomas has been lining up at left guard, with Dan Connolly at center and Brian Waters at right guard. If this is how the Patriots align during the game, it means Solder will be matched up with speedy Dolphins weakside linebacker Cameron Wake, who has 7.5 sacks this season, while Mankins will have the critical duty of protecting Tom Brady’s blind side … Deion Branch will likely start at receiver after missing last week’s game with an injury. It will be interesting to see how that affects the playing time of Chad Ochocinco, who played a season-high 54 snaps last week and scored his first touchdown as a Patriots … Mark Anderson should see significant time at right end in place of Andre Carter, who was placed on injured reserve after suffering a quad injury against the Broncos … With starting tight end Anthony Fasano inactive, Jeron \Mastrud becomes the starter while Will Yeatman, who was in training camp with the Patriots, is elevated to the backup.
Projected lineups:
Patriots offense (projected based on pregame warmups): WR Wes Welker, LT Logan Mankins, LG Donald Thomas, C Dan Connolly, RG Brian Waters, RT Nate Solder, TE Rob Gronkowski, WR Deion Branch, QB Tom Brady, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB Danny Woodhead.
Patriots defense: LDE Shaun Ellis, DT Vince Wilfork, DT Kyle Love, RDE Mark Anderson, LB Ron Ninkovich, LB Jerod Mayo, LB TBA, CB Devin McCourty, CB Kyle Arrington, S James Ihedigbo, S Sergio Brown.
Dolphins offense: WR Brandon Marshall, LT Jake Long, LG Richie Incognito, C Mike Pouncey, RG Vernon Carey, RT Marc Colombo, TE Jeron Mastrud, WR Brian Hartline, QB Matt Moore, FB Charles Clay, RB Reggie Bush.
Dolphins defense: LDE Kendall Langford, NT Paul Soliai, RE Randy Starks, SLB Koa Misi, ILB Karlos Dansby, ILB Kevin Burnett, WLB Cameron Wake, LCB Sean Smith, RCB Vontae Davis, FS Reshad Jones, SS Yeremiah Bell.
Inactives:
- Patriots: T Matt Light, LB Brandon Spikes, S Patrick Chung, T Sebastian Vollmer, DL Ron Brace, RB Shane Vereen, QB Ryan Mallett.
Dolphins: RB Steve Slaton, T Will Barker, G/C Ryan Cook, G Ray Feinga, TE Anthony Fasano, DE Ryan Baker, QB Pat Devlin.
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