What to watch for on Sunday!
By Matt DeLucia
If we already didn’t have enough to look forward to in this weekend’s game with the Miami Dolphins, we do now thanks to Joey Porter. What to watch for on Sunday with the Dolphins and the Patriots. You know it’s funny, when teams get ready to match-up with the Patriots, there’s always one moron on the opposing team that has to run their mouth. Joey Porter’s comments the other day “it shouldn’t be that hard to beat” the Patriots without Tom Brady and also basically guaranteeing a victory for his team.
Joey sorry to say but you just added your name among the others that guaranteed their teams victory over the Patriots. Remember the Steelers Anthony Smith and also the Cowboys Patrick Crayton from last year, they talked the same type of smack and it didn’t work out that well for them either.
1 – The Patriots Offense:
Look for Matt Cassel to run the same type of game plan as he did last week vs the Jets. Play conservative till he gets fully integrated into the system. That means having a balanced attack of running and passing plays. The Patriots open up the run with the help of Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris and that takes pressure off of Cassel. It will also then open up the field for Randy Moss to do his thing and Wes Welker to run wild across the middle. Throw in a healthy Ben Watson with his pass protection off the line and the ability to catch in the open it’s a win win situation all around. Let’s not forget TE David Thomas, a nice fill in when needed, and also WR Jabar Gaffney who could just become a favorite target of Cassel’s in the coming weeks.
2 – The Dolphins Offense:
What can I say about the fins offense, not a heck of a lot comes to mind. Chad Pennington’s not that bad of a quarterback. He’s just unfortunately on a very bad offensive team. Their best WR’s are second year man Ted Ginn Jr and Derek Hagan who have been non-factors all year. Someone tell me why they brought in Ernest Wilford, I thought he was suppose to give them a deep threat go to receiver.
The teams only bright spots on offense so far are RB’s Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown as well as TE Anthony Fasano. The combo of Williams and Brown can make life easier for their QB, if only they can run the ball productively and of course holding onto it also helps. Fasano in my opinion could really become a top 10 TE in the league if he had a better team and QB with him.
3 – Defense:
I’m looking at the team’s defenses and wondering which one will play and outshine the other’s. We’ll have that answer in just a little over 48 hours from now. The keys for either defense is to force that turnover. Make the other’s QB feel pressured and try and make something out of nothing. Of course this is a Patriots site so there’s really no question who I think ultimately wins this aspect of the game. It’s all Patriots, but with a few moments of brightness for the fins and their fans.
4 – Chad Henne:
For everyone that was dying to see a former Michigan alumni here’s your chance. Sorry it won’t be Brady for this one. It’ll be none other than Chad Henne the rookie backup quarterback for the fish. With Pennington’s injury history and the fins lack of production on offense. The time is better is fast approaching to throw the young Henne out there and see what he has to offer the NFL and his team.
5 – Bill Parcells:
The “Big Tuna” as he’s better known for makes another return trip to his former team. We all have our favorite memories of him, taking the Pats to the big game back in 1996. Calling a certain Patriots wide receiver “a she” was truly a classic Parcells moment. And who can forget the crying “about not being able to buy the grocery’s”. Welcome back Bill sorry it won’t be a fun day for you or your team.