Predicting Patriots vs Dolphins Week 1 - PatriotsLife roundtable
It's pretty obvious that when you poll a couple Patriots bloggers, they are probably going to pick the team to win.
Still, we differ greatly on how we think the game will go. Here's a roundup of some of our writers predictions for the season opener - Miami vs New England.
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Patriots by two
The Pats often tend to struggle early in the year. Struggle by their standards anyway. Last year's game in Buffalo was a good example of a team with much less talent pushing New England to the limit. The team has a lot of new pieces they will be trying to work into the mix, and they'll be in the territory of an enemy that is faily familiar with them.
In the end the talent will win out, but it won't be a cakewalk like it might seem on paper.
I will pick the Patriots over Miami by two points, 23-21.
Patriots by four
The trip to Miami has never been easy for the Pats, no matter how good they've been (or how bad Miami's been) during the Belichick/Brady era. On paper, this game is a mismatch in New England's favor, but the combination of uncertainty on the offensive line, Brady's injured calf, and Miami's strong pass rush creates a scenario where an upset is plausible.
While I expect parts of this game to be a struggle in the Florida heat, I also don't think the Dolphins have enough playmakers to consistently move the ball against a healthy and talented New England defense, no matter what tempo they play at. In the end, a strong running game combined with a few timely throws from Brady will be enough for the Pats to squeak out of South Florida with a win. Bold prediction of the day: Rookie Dominique Easley will have a bigger impact in his return from a torn ACL than Rob Gronkowski, who will play well but in limited snaps.
24-20 Patriots.
Paul Murphy (@_prmurphy)
Patriots by 11
Patriots will feel no pressure from weak line backing corps of the Dolphins.
Shane Vereen will look Gale Sayers turning the corner on swing passes. He will even throw a 33 yard TD pass to Julian Edelman.
Dominique Easley will play sparingly, but record his first NFL sack.
Darrelle Revis will give up a second quarter TD to WR Mike Wallace, but the defense looks vastly improved over last year.
QB Jimmy Garappolo will see action for one series of handoffs.
New England 31 Miami 20
Patriots by 14
The Pats will win this game with relative ease because the offense will dominate the Miami defense while the new look defense will shut down Miami's offense.
While Gronk will have a limited role in the passing game, I believe he'll score at least one TD during his limited time on the field. Julian Edelman and Shane Vereen will also have a major role to play, each scoring at least one TD apiece. On the defensive side, I believe Revis will struggle early against Mike Wallace, but shut him down as the game goes on. The defensive line, led by returning veteran Vince Wilfork, will be able to effectively silence Miami's run game while Revis handles Wallace. And Tom Brady will look like Tom Brady, throwing for 3 touchdowns in a winning effort.
Final score - Patriots 35 Dolphins 21
Patriots by 25
The Patriots have only lost one opening matchup with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, and that fact will remain intact for next season. The Dolphins have a slew of issues all over the field between a revamped offensive line, suspensions, and injuries. That doesn't spell good things for the home team. Speaking of the location, I understand Miami can be a trap location, but thanks to the schedule the weather in New England is similar enough to negate that advantage. This isn't a murder, its a mercy killing.
Final Score: Patriots 28 Dolphins 3
Patriots by 17
I got the Patriots winning 30-13. I know the Patriots historically have had a hard time in Miami but I try not to let the past dictate my prediction because every year is a new year. Miami's pass rush against our offensive line could potentially cause problems, but with Gronk being back (even in a limited role), we have too many weapons for someone not to be open quickly so Brady can get rid of it fast. While we're on the topic of Brady and the offense, I don't see the "calf problem" being an issue. Let's not forget Brady played with broken ribs just a couple years ago.
Onto the defense. We have a rising cornerback in Malcolm Butler, who I believe will start, and an established all-world player in Darrelle Revis. Chandler Jones looks poised to have a true breakout season, Vince Wilfork looks very healthy coming off his injury, and we have an exciting rookie in Dominique Easley. Not to mention a fantastic linebacking corps and the always under-appreciated Rob Ninkovich. This is the first time in a long time where the fans and media are truly excited and expect this defense to perform like the ones of our Super Bowl years, if not better. They certainly have the talent. I don't see a finicky Miami offense being able to score more than 13 points, especially with an inconsistent Ryan Tannehill under center only being able to utilize one side of the field on every play.
Patriots by four
A not-so-great AFC East may not get the most respect around the league, but they sure beat the heck out of each other. Although the Pats clearly are the better team on both sides of the football, they are going to squeak by in this one.
New England's division rivals tend to bring their A-game to their matchups against the predominant king of the division. The Dolphins will come out strong as they have likely had this game circled on their calendar for a long time, with extra time to prepare since it's the first game. Expect a slower start from the Patriots, but a strong finish to get the W.
Patriots win 24-20
Jesse Gaunce (@JesseGaunce)
Patriots by 14
If Brady's calf doesn't severely impact his play, the Patriots win this one, 30-16.
Rob Gronkowski will play and be targeted 7 times for 101 yards and a touchdown, and Brandon LaFell will also make a big time impact.
It's likely we'll see Darrelle Revis covering Mike Wallace for the better part of the day, which could mean that Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill will look to Brian Hartline to shoulder the load in the passing game.
It won't be enough, however, as the defense will stand tall when it needs to, and create a sizable amount of pressure to throw Tannehill off balance more than once.
Patriots by seven
Scariest game on the Patriots schedule in my opinion, partly because we haven't seen the Pats play in eight months and partly because of Miami.
After the Logan Mankins trade to Tampa Bay we don't know what the offensive line will look like, and the Dolphins front seven is legit. Plus, the Pats and Tom Brady struggle when they take their talents to South Beach.
I still think the Pats win 27-20, but I also think we see a bit of the future with the continued development of Ryan Tannehill as the next elite QB to call the AFC East home.
Patriots by 14
I say the Patriots will win by 14 points.
This is based on the fact that Brady will play and Gronk will also be in the starting line-up, or at least have some sort of an impact on the game. Miami has proven a little tough in past years for the Patriots, and they do look like they have a decent team this year from what they have shown in training camp. But I thoroughly believe that Brady is able to connect to Dobson enough times and that Revis has a big enough game so that the Pats pull off a win by at least two touchdowns.
Patriots by 20
Assuming Brady's calf is not an issue the offense will be able to move the ball against the horrendous Miami run defense. I also see Ryan Tannehill having a career worst game with Revis blanketing Wallace. Easley will surprise everyone and have two sacks and/or tackles for loss. Look for a lot of turnovers for the Patriots defense that will set up Brady and company for good field position.
Final Score: Patriots 30 Dolphins 10
Andrew Ludwig (@aludwig25)
Patriots by 23
I see the defense taking tremendous strides this season and becoming an elite squad. Their defense will put pressure on Tannehill and we never be able to settle into the game. Mike Wallace will be completely taken out of the game by Darrelle Revis, while Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins tally two sacks each.
Look for the Patriots to get exotic with their defensive schemes as they will have a lot of versatility with Darrelle Revis locking down a weapon on his own.
The offense, with Gronk back, will be able to put up points fairly easily against the Dolphins, while Tim Wright has a coming out party with all of the attention being put on Gronkowski. Stevan Ridley will go back to his old ways and run for a hundred yards as the Patriots dominate the Dolphins in all aspects of the game.
Patriots by 13
Regardless of Brady’s injury, I say the Patriots win this one by a score of 30-17.
With regards to Tom’s calf, this wouldn’t be the first time that reports have surfaced throughout the week about an injury to our star quarterback, only for them to be completely disproven come game-time (some may remember the shoulder scare last year). Unfortunately for Mike Wallace, I think he put some bulletin board material up there for Revis this week, and I’ll be surprised if he catches anything for significant yardage. Chandler Jones will dominate (which I think will happen a lot this year), and Jamie Collins will impress.
Gronk will be Gronk on his limited snaps (1 red zone TD), while Amendola and Dobson show why they were picked up last summer and go for some big yardage.
Patriots by 14
After being down at halftime, the Pats finally shake off the rust in the second half by scoring early and often. Reminding Dolphin fans that they are still the same old Dolphins and the closest they will ever get to winning a Super Bowl was in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
Patriots beat the Dolphins 31-17.
