New England Patriots Prepare For A “Good Football Team” In The Miami Dolphins, A Team They Have Struggled Against On The Road
The 9-3 New England Patriots take on the 6-6 Miami Dolphins this Sunday with New England hitting the road to take on their divisional rival.
Currently the Dolphins sit second in the AFC East , 3 games back of New England who defeated them 38-7 back in week 4 of the season. But since that time both teams have changed, Miami has fallen back while the Patriots are right back where they usually are, one of the best teams in the AFC.
Despite the dolphins being a .500 club Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick still respects what the Dolphins can do on the football field.
“Yeah, the Dolphins are a good football team. They have a lot of talented players. They’re well-coached. Coach [Adam] Gase does a great job of utilizing his personnel and putting together schemes and making adjustments in the game and in game plans. They attack defenses consistently very well. He’s always given us a hard time. I’m sure it’ll be tough against Miami, like it always is. Wherever we play them, it’s hard. They did a great job against us down there last year in the second game. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.” Said Belichick.
Belichick isn’t the only Patriots coach pumping up the Dolphins and it truly is smart. It is clear that the Patriots coaching staff doesn’t want their team to sleep on what is a rather solid Miami “team that plays extremely well at home” in the words of Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels said “it’s a big challenge down there” and he is certainly right, the record in Miami does not favor the Patriots. In Miami the Patriots as a franchise has a 16-37 record and 4-6 in their last 10 in Miami. It always appears that the Patriots head into Miami and either A don’t appreciate to their opponent of B pack it in at the end of a season. Seems like the coaching staff is certainly taking the right approach this time around, the question is, will the players heed their coaching staff’s advice.
