It's looking like the Patriots will be forced to start a rookie at Right Tackle in Nate Solder. Not entirely sure how healthy Matt Light is at LT either and that is some cause for concern tonight. The rest of the Patriots offense looks pretty much as you remember it from last season. Not quite the pass-happy, we'll hang 40 on you any and every time out team of a few years ago, Brady is still going to do his thing but it is toned down and adjacent to an effective running game.
Defensively, the Pats are a mixed bag. Veterans like Shaun Ellis, Albert Haynesworth and Leigh Bodden have been added to a unit that was so young last year that it wasn't nearly as good as the talent on paper suggested it could be. The secondary is far and away the weak link despite a decent assembly of talent. If Devin McCourty turns the corner from young, playmaking corner who is often getting burnt when not making highlight reel plays to a lockdown defender the defense could make the leap. The strength of the unit comes at the linebacker position where Jerod mayo is rapidly turning into one of, if not the best, middle linebackers in the sport. Alongside him, Brandon Spikes can be awful in coverage, but crushes running backs.
Not sure I have the firmest grasp on the Patriots this year but it's hard not to see all signs pointing toward another season of double-digit wins.
The Miami Dolphins aren't the least talented team in the NFL. They do however look like a team that might be just a few small steps from coming apart at the seams. For one, they have a lame duck coach. Secondly, they have a quarterback who did everything he could last year to prove that he, to be frank, sucks. Third, and the cause of most of the turmoil in Miami this offeseason, is the new ownerships apparent obsession with making the team flashier. Nothing makes that more apparent than the offseason move to bring in Reggie Bush of all people. To bring some grind-it-out-ness to Bush's flash they selected big back Dan Thomas out of Kansas State. You may or may not know how much I have hated on Thomas for some time now, so it has not broken my heart to hear of all his struggled in the pre-season. Amazingly, it appears, in 2011, that the Dolphins will be forced to use Reggie Bush as their main back.
Defensively, the Dolphins might not be the scariest team in the league but they are quite talented. Cameron Wake is as good as advertised. Karlos Dansby is an elite linebacker. By way of Randy Starks the D-Line holds its own and the secondary grades out as one of the best in the NFL.
Overall, I just can't get a good enough grasp on this game to place a bet. The value seems to lie in Miami with a solid o-line, good defense, at home, catching a full touchdown. On the other hand, I don't see them being able to run the ball which means you're relying on Chad Henne to improve (possible) and a solid defense to hold Tom Brady down enough. It's just playing with fire and I don't like it.
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