I'm obviously biased and I think the Pats will win this game at home but I'm not going to call it a blow out. Miami has always played the Pats close at home or away since 2001 and the Pats have a 6-4 record against them in that time. The average score after 10 games is roughly 20-19 so it should be a nail biter for both sides. I know that Miami has had a pretty rough start but no matter what, even during a 4-12 season a couple years ago, they kept it close against the Pats. That said, I'm predicting a 20-16 win by the Patriots this Sunday. Thoughts?
This is also marks round 1 of my avatar bet with Dale. I'm expecting a solid W over the Phins on Sunday. I was surprised to see their D has only given up an avg of 3 ypc on the ground. I still think the Pats can run all over these guys. Clearly the biggest problem for Miami has been the play of their OL. So as long as we get a lead early it should be an easy W. If we keep them hanging around then that could build their confidence. Too early for a prediction, but I expect a double digit win. Anything can happen, but the Pats know they can put a strangle hold on this division with a win on Sunday.
The Patriots should win this game. My hope lies in the fact that the Dolphins tend to play the Patriots tough and a loss puts them at 1-4, so they might as well lay it all on the line.
There's no denying the desperation factor on Miami's side. And perhaps being on the road is almost a benefit for the Dolphins right now. Unless Ronnie Brown has a big day I just don't see how the Phins can win this one.
Here's an odd thought but if Daunte & Chambers have big games as well as Ronnie Brown then Miami might have a chance. For this to happen (and it probably won't), the OL needs to step up. Should the Pats get to a big early lead (say 17 early in the 2nd Qtr) then you can stick a fork in Miami for the game and season. In fact, the Turkey day game might be the the #1 overall pick unless the Raiders & Bucs have a Subpar bowl rematch.
The 3 ypc avg is pretty deceptive if you look at who Miami has played thus far. I believe they gave up well over a 100 on the ground to Pitt. After that they've played Tenn, Buff & Hou. Not exactly power running attacks.
Patriots 55 Dolphins 28....New England's 9th 1st Quarter sack sends Duante Culpepper to the hospital with a concussion....In the 2nd Quarter, NE's 15th sack breaks Joey Harrington's leg....in the 3rd Quarter, NE's 19th sack tears Cleo Lemon's ACL....Wes Welker enters the game at QB late in the 3rd Quarter after NE is up 55-0 and leads the Dolphins to four 4th Quarter TDs....Welkers final stat line: 14/18 212 yards 4 TDs 0 Int....and the legend of WW is in full blown Camelot mode....
hahaha, the way the Dolphins have been playing and after thier loss vs Houston i would not be so confident in them Dolphins
I know that past performances don't guarantee future performances but I still think this game will be close, based on the fact that Miami simply plays well against us. I know that they are struggling this year, possibly more than in recent years, but they gave us a hard time in '04 when they went 4-12 so we need to remember that. At the rate they are going they would end up at 4-12 again (1-3 1/4 of the way through the season) so there is nothing that really sticks out to me to make me think that we will completely dominate them. Don't get me wrong, there is a possibility this year of us breaking the games wide open but it simply hasn't happened in the past even when we were going for back to back titles and they were having a 4-12 season. I would almost go as far as to GUARANTEE a close game this Sunday. I see us winning by 10 points in the best case scenario and losing by 3 in the worst case scenario. Everyone seems to think that the Pats' D-line is licking their chops at the fact that Culpepper is getting sacked 5 times a game but that can change pretty quickly. For all we know Miami will have a lot of problems worked out by Sunday and they'll shock everyone.
If they protect the passer and the passer protects the football, the Dolphins will win the game and it wont be close....but they cant protect the passer, so the point is moo(you know, like a cow would make)....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheBeef)</div><div class='quotemain'>Patriots 55 Dolphins 28....New England's 9th 1st Quarter sack sends Duante Culpepper to the hospital with a concussion....In the 2nd Quarter, NE's 15th sack breaks Joey Harrington's leg....in the 3rd Quarter, NE's 19th sack tears Cleo Lemon's ACL....Wes Welker enters the game at QB late in the 3rd Quarter after NE is up 55-0 and leads the Dolphins to four 4th Quarter TDs....Welkers final stat line: 14/18 212 yards 4 TDs 0 Int....and the legend of WW is in full blown Camelot mode....</div> LMAO, you have a lot of faith in your team. Cheer up, things can only get better for the Dolphins from here. They'll start making things click and Culpepper will settle down. After that then the winning should start.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pats_Fan420)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheBeef)</div><div class='quotemain'>Patriots 55 Dolphins 28....New England's 9th 1st Quarter sack sends Duante Culpepper to the hospital with a concussion....In the 2nd Quarter, NE's 15th sack breaks Joey Harrington's leg....in the 3rd Quarter, NE's 19th sack tears Cleo Lemon's ACL....Wes Welker enters the game at QB late in the 3rd Quarter after NE is up 55-0 and leads the Dolphins to four 4th Quarter TDs....Welkers final stat line: 14/18 212 yards 4 TDs 0 Int....and the legend of WW is in full blown Camelot mode....</div> LMAO, you have a lot of faith in your team. Cheer up, things can only get better for the Dolphins from here. They'll start making things click and Culpepper will settle down. After that then the winning should start.</div> Wow! Props from a Pats fan. Is the world going to end? Optimist that I am; If all goes well, it will this sunday @ 12:59 p.m. EST. ROFL???
Confidence is pretty high in NE after than win at Cinci, but I'm pretty sure the players will not be overlooking Miami. Though the recent history of this series has been very close these are not the same Dolphins. Granted there's been a lot of change over in the Pats roster as well, but the primary leaders on both sides of the ball are still in place. Brady still has some adjusting to do with his new WRs. While the strong defensive front 4 needs to step up for the depleted secondary. As mentioned Miami is desperate & the best way to defeat them is mentally by getting on the board early. Utilizing the screen play effectively will keep the LBs from getting at Brady. Forcing the Phins in passing situations early should lead to turnovers. Continued success with the ground game should keep Miami's offense off the field enough to thwart any chance of a 2nd half comeback. Prediction: Pats 24 Phins 13
It does seem IMO that; 1) Miami plays to the level of competition and 2) digs themselves a hole to early their rallies against The Bills & Texans fell short. They are slowly making progress but I'm afraid that it may be too little too late.
I don't know, it just seems like a let-down week for the Patriots to me. First, they'll be riding off the high emotions of the game against the Bengals. With the players on that team (and Brady not up to par imo), it may be a tough week. You know Saban will have his team ready after last week's embarressment. This is their last chance to prove to America that they are not as bad as they've played. I'll take the upset: Miami 24 NE 20
I've been distracted the last day or so by an accident at our local air show so if I've missed anything I'll try to catch back up. http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=stor...=28144&cat=HOME http://www.krqe.com/expanded.asp?ID=17516 Anyway, I noticed that the guy was getting too close to the ground while he was performing his stunts. I remembered seeing a stunt plane crash in a vid I saw on the internet a while back so I told my mom about it. Less than 1 minute later this guy crashed in plain view. I witnessed a man die yesterday and that is something I never thought I would see. Needless to say, yesterday was a pretty eventful day for me. Anyway, I still think that the Pats and Dolphins will find some way to keep this game close. I can see how one would think that it will be a blowout based on last week's play by both teams but history tends to repeat itself. I'm still thinking 20-16, Pats.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Popcynical)</div><div class='quotemain'>For a team many predicted to go to the superbowl, Miami has not been stepping up at all.</div> Other than SI, who is predicting the Dolphins to go to the Super Bowl? Could we get a little support for this claim? A link please? (Bakes, are you paying people to come in here and say this stuff?)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DolfanDale)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Popcynical)</div><div class='quotemain'>For a team many predicted to go to the superbowl, Miami has not been stepping up at all.</div> Other than SI, who is predicting the Dolphins to go to the Super Bowl? Could we get a little support for this claim? A link please? (Bakes, are you paying people to come in here and say this stuff?)</div> Are you kidding? with my broke ass I'd have to pay them in loose change.
