Week 8 Scouting Report: Miami Dolphins

Things I can't believe:

1. Week 8 is here. The NFL season is (almost) halfway over. What?!?

2. It's Week 8 and the Patriots haven't played the Dolphins yet.

3. The Dolphins will take over first place in the AFC East if they beat the Patriots on Sunday.

With that said, lets take a look at the matchups in this all-important divisional showdown.

When the Dolphins have the ball:

It's all about pressure this week. The Dolphins have allowed 26 sacks through six games, a figure that would lead the league if it weren't for the existence of the Raiders. The Dolphins spent plenty of money this past offseason, but might be regretting the decision to let left tackle Jake Long leave for the Rams via free agency. Long's replacement, 2012 second rounder Jonathan Martin, has played so poorly that the team traded for Bryant McKinnie, who was only available in the first place because of how fat and out of shape he is.

It's unknown who will start at left tackle Sunday (Mount McKinnie is already on the injury report with a knee injury), but it is clear that the hits are taking their toll on second year quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill was listed as limited in practice yesterday with an injury to his throwing shoulder. While there's little doubt Tannehill will play, the opportunity should be there for the Patriots pass rushers (Chandler Jones in particular) to get hits on the quarterback and make big, turnover-producing plays.

Part of the pass protection issues in Miami has been the complete lack of a running game to balance the offense. The uninspiring duo of Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas have been unable to get going for most of the season, forcing the Dolphins to abandon the run and move towards a predictable, pass-heavy attack. The Patriots run defense struggled a little bit initially trying to replace Vince Wilfork and now Tommy Kelly, who looks unlikely to play for a third straight week, but they actually showed some improvement last week against the Jets. The Pats did allow 177 yards but on a whopping 52 attempts and, excluding Geno Smith's 6 scrambles for 32 yards and a touchdown, the defense allowed a stout 3.1 yards per carry. Expect the Mayo/Wilfork-less defense to build on that performance against a Miami run game that simply isn't very good.

One area to watch on defense is how they contain Tannehill. As previously mentioned, Geno Smith hurt the Pats with his legs when he managed to break contain. As a former DI wide receiver, Tannehill certainly has the athleticism to do the same. It will be interesting to see if newly signed Andre Carter takes some of rookie DE Michael Buchanan's snaps, as Buchanan has been noticeably out of position on a few plays recently.

The Patriots secondary will be tested a little bit by an underrated receiving corp in Miami. Mike Wallace hasn't quite had the impact the Dolphins envisioned when they signed him to a $60 million deal this offseason, but the former Steeler is still a dynamic threat that needs to be accounted for every week due to his world-class speed. Elsewhere, Brian Hartline has benefited from the extra attention paid to Wallace with a solid season, while slot receiver Brandon Gibson broke through with two touchdowns last week.

Aqib Talib's availability (the star corner has been limited in practice with a hip flexor injury after missing last week's game) is obviously something to watch leading up to the game. If Talib can't go, look for rookie Logan Ryan to continue to get playing time. Pressed into duty after Kyle Arrington struggled early with Jeremy Kerley, Ryan was impressive in extensive action against the Jets.

Ryan isn't the only one expected to step up if Talib doesn't go. Alfonzo Dennard will take over the top cornerback spot in his absence and will presumably take on much of the responsibility covering Wallace. It is also imperative for Arrington, who was having a solid season before Sunday's debacle, to bounce back strong against a pass heavy team that will use a lot of three receiver sets.

However, the most important player for the Patriots secondary this week could be safety Devin McCourty, who will be largely responsible for keeping Wallace and friends from making big plays down the field. The Patriots defense has done an excellent job at limiting big plays all year and will need to continue that against a dynamic home run hitter like Wallace.

When the Patriots have the ball:

The Patriots offensive line has surely heard the talk about their struggles recently against physical defensive lines. They'll have a chance to prove some of the doubters wrong this week with a tough Miami front seven coming to Foxborough.


Randy Starks and Paul Soliai might not have the name recognition of past Patriot tormentors Geno Atkins or Muhammad Wilkerson, but both defensive tackles are excellent, disruptive players who have given the Patriots trouble in the past. They will be aided by Pro Bowl DE Cameron Wake, who is reportedly close to 100% after fighting through a knee injury earlier this year. Another guy to watch is hyper athletic rookie Dion Jordan, who has flashed in his rotational role. It will be up to a veteran offensive line to step up and win their individual battles against good competition this week.

The struggling Patriots offense will benefit greatly if they can establish the run this week. The Patriots have generally ran well when they've tried, but abandoned the running game in both of their losses this season. Of course, running well will require good blocking against a strong defense, but the Pats did average 4.6 yards a carry in limited opportunities against a vaunted Jets front last week. If the Patriots do try to run with authority, look for Stevan Ridley to be the workhorse, with Brandon Bolden continuing to be the passing down back until Shane Vereen returns.

Establishing the run could help the Patriots struggling passing attack as well. A combination of factors (injuries, inexperience, poor pass protection, surprising inaccuracy from Tom Brady) have combined to really hurt the Patriots recently, especially on third downs. However, we know that Brady will have Rob Gronkowski, who looked very close to his beastly self in his 2013 debut last week, and it's looking like he might have Danny Amendola back this week as well. If that is indeed the case, the impetus will be on Brady to put the sluggish start to the season and come out sharp on Sunday. Once again, the play of the line will play a huge factor into whether Brady can get into a rhythm or not.

Similarly to the Patriots, the Dolphins secondary has given up yards (269 a game) but have made plays when they've needed to (8 touchdowns allowed to 7 interceptions). They've also benefited greatly from a big bounce-back year from free agent addition Brent Grimes, someone the Patriots arguably could have targeted in free agency. However, they've struggled a little bit covering opposing tight ends in recent weeks. Gronkowski's targets should be a little lower than the career high 17 he saw last week, especially if Amendola is back, but look for the big tight end to have another monster day Sunday. There isn't a player in the league that can cover a healthy Gronk one-on-one and the Gronkanator has had another week to knock some of the rust off.

Special Teams/Coaching/Intangibles

All controversial penalties aside, the Patriots special teams have been pretty good in recent weeks. Punt returner Julian Edelman shined with some nifty work last week, while punter Ryan Allen has turned into a field position weapon and Stephen Gostkowski has put a shaky preseason behind him with a rock solid year.


The coverage teams got a boost last week with the return of Pro Bowler and captain Matthew Slater. Slater stepped right back into action and made his presence felt with a standout open field tackle last week against the Jets. He'll once again be key as the Patriots look to keep the athletic Marcus Thigpen from giving the Phins good field position.

The one glaring weak spot for the Patriots special teams have been their anemic kick returns. Offseason addition Leon Washington was expected to turn this weakness into a strength this season, but remains hobbled with an ankle injury. With Devin McCourty too valuable to the defense to risk injury, the job will likely continue to fall to LeGarrette Blount, who has routinely struggled just to get the ball past the 20 yard line.

The coaching matchup pits Bill Belichick against Joe Philbin, who has quietly done a solid job since coming to Miami from the Packers. I'd take Belichick against any coach in the NFL, but Philbin is no pushover and his Dolphins will surely be prepared for Sunday.

Two big factors could play into the Patriots favor Sunday. One is the home field advantage of Gillette Stadium, where the Pats have historically dominated. The other is the surprising magnitude of this matchup. Much has been made about the Patriots rookies, but the Pats still have far more veterans who have been in these kind of situations before than the Dolphins, who never really were a threat in Tannehill's rookie season last year. Again, the Patriots have historically took care of business in these type of games, although it's worth noting that history will mean nothing if the Pats don't play well.

A final factor to watch is the fact that Miami has lost three in a row. Despite this, a win will allow the Dolphins to take over first place in the AFC East. However, a loss, especially a bad one, could throw their season into a tailspin. The Dolphins will surely be amped up at the chance to take one from their division rivals, especially in a year where the Pats appear to be vulnerable. Whether they channel that motivation into smart, focused football will play a large role into how the game turns out.