W2W4: New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins in Week 17
By Hal Bent
When the Patriots Run the Ball:
The New England Patriots have struggled to run the ball in 2015. Part of the problem is simply replacing the running game with the short passing attack. This made sense when the Patriots had Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Dion Lewis all healthy. But with all three injured the Patriots have struggled to move the ball on the ground and are at the bottom of the league with just 1,334 yards rushing (29th in the NFL) and just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt (28th in the NFL).
Lewis is out for the year, Amendola has been slowed by a knee injury, and Edelman is likely out until the playoffs taking away their primary short passing threats. While New England ramped up the running game for a while with LeGarrette Blount it did not last. Unfortunately, Blount joined Lewis on injured reserve with a hip injury.
In their stead the Patriots have turned to special teams ace Brandon Bolden and receiving back James White. They tried practice squad fullback Joey Iosefa one week at running back and now have imported veteran Steven Jackson to take the load off of Bolden. If Jackson can add anything it would be a plus. However, he looked a step slow and had just 15 yards on 7 carries last week against the Jets.
While New England has struggled to run the ball, Miami has been terrible trying to stop the run. Miami is 30th in the NFL with a whopping 1,949 yards allowed as teams repeatedly pound the ball into a front seven that was supposed to be a strength. The Dolphins spent a ton of money ($114 million over six years) to pry Ndamukong Suh away from Detroit. Unfortunately, he has made about the same impact as Jared Odrick made last year in Miami and cost half as much.
Defensive tackle Earl Mitchell has a calf injury and is questionable for Sunday’s game and the Dolphins will lean on inexperience second round draft pick Jordan Phillips inside. The loss of Cameron Wake has affected not only the Miami pass rush but he was an underrated run defender as well.
At linebacker, the Dolphins have the versatile Kevin Sheppard. Beyond him, Jelani Jenkins has struggled, Koa Misi is on injured reserve, and have been forced to play undrafted rookie free agents Neville Hewitt (a Marshall linebacker who overcame long odds to make the team) and Zach Vigil (from Utah State and contributed primarily on special teams).
Look for the Patriots to try run the ball more than usual, particularly if they can get a lead and get Steven Jackson a chance to shake off some rust. The Dolphins have held teams under 90 yards rushing just three times this season. If there was ever a chance for the Patriots to get some work in on the ground, this is the game.
ADVANTAGE: NO ADVANTAGE FOR EITHER TEAM
Next: When the Patriots Pass the Ball