Stats on Pats Weekly Article by Joshua Bonneau, southcoast247.com correspondent
Pats move to 4-1 going into bye-week
Historically (i.e. the Tom Brady era), when the Pats and the dolphins match-up, the games tend to be ugly. This one proved to be no different.
“They’re a tough team that’s hard to move the ball against…they prepare well, they have a strong defensive front seven, you know, luckily we were able to get a couple of turnovers and capitalize on those,” said Bill Belichick in a post game interview about the hard fought victory at Gillette stadium.
“We’re going to take this win going into the bye week and see if we can improve on some areas…and that’s where we’re at.”
Indeed, Bill.
The bye week is a time to regroup, to assess weakness and to make adjustments. To shore up and improve in places that have worn thin. And for starters, look towards the turf in the middle of your field. Yup, I for one think, at least from my low income vantage, that a billion dollar franchise like the New England Patriots can afford the upkeep. On Sunday, the center portion of Gillette looked like a dust bowl from some John Steinbeck novel.
Embarrassing.
But now that I’ve said my piece, let’s get back on track. Preseason, the Dolphins were the team that many ESPN pundits and sports analysts alike had picked to win the division, and to get to the super bowl. Things obviously haven’t turned out that way, and after a few critical early season losses the fish found themselves staggering into The Razor with a losing 1-3 record. So in many ways, Sunday’s game vs. the Patriots was do or die, now or never for Miami, and it was clear from the beginning that they had their backs against a wall.
Starting QB for Miami, Daunte Culpepper was sidelined in a last minute decision, and was replaced by backup Joey Harrington. Overall Harrington had a better-than-was-to-be expected day, throwing for 232 yards and leading a couple scoring drives passed the Patriots defense. But the mistakes came as costly. Patriot’s corner Asante Samuel had two key interceptions in the game, both of which the offense was able to capitalize on. Had it not been for those, however, things could have gone differently, and I would likely be sitting here talking about how the Patriots buckled to an inferior team.
Along those lines, Miami’s defense all but completely shut down the Pats run game, which was instrumental in last week’s win in Cinnci. “We didn’t play as well as an offense as we would have liked, but we’re playing some good situational football. We’re finishing the games when we needed to, making the critical plays,” Tom Brady said of his offense. Brady seemed not quite himself, throwing for only 140 yards with a number of miscues.
In the end, the Patriots were out-gained in yardage, and nearly out-played by a desperate Miami team. But in a knock down, drag out game, the only thing that matters is who comes out on top. And winning by small margins is something the Patriots have become very good at.
Stayed tuned for yet another divisional game in two weeks, when the Pats take on Buffalo.
Historically (i.e. the Tom Brady era), when the Pats and the dolphins match-up, the games tend to be ugly. This one proved to be no different.
Indeed, Bill.
Along those lines, Miami’s defense all but completely shut down the Pats run game, which was instrumental in last week’s win in Cinnci. “We didn’t play as well as an offense as we would have liked, but we’re playing some good situational football. We’re finishing the games when we needed to, making the critical plays,” Tom Brady said of his offense. Brady seemed not quite himself, throwing for only 140 yards with a number of miscues.
