The Patriots are all-time 17-43 in Miami, and there is no sugarcoating it. Like games in Denver, the Patriots have traditionally saved their worst football in these places …they have sucked there, plain and simple.
It is time for a change. Earlier this week on our podcast, despite Miami playing like a trainwreck in Indy, I couldn’t get past all those years of misery and picked the Dolphins to circle the wagons before going backing to sucking again.So, before today’s game, I’ll drink the Vrabel Kool Aid this week, I really want to believe that Vrabel and company are going to turn this crate around. So, go down south this week, put Harold Landry in a Freddy Krueger mask and kick the Dolphins ass, and we’re going to start the hype train. New England 24-20…there.
It has been a bad week, health wise, which is also a bad time for my PTS to raise its ugly head. Oh well, TFB for me and for the many that overpopulate my texts and DMs who unleashed their normal spate of BS that I have always tried to let roll off my back. This week, you may have gotten a GFY reply …or three. Sorry to say, there won’t be any apologies forthcoming. Enough of that… Let’s talk about some football.
Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News:
Tom Brady:
The Colin Cowherd podcast this week with Brady was football gold. Not Patriots Gold, but football gold. Brady broke down what a QB has to learn to be successful in the NFL, and physical talent, as he pointed out, is just one part of it.
Brady talked at length about how QBs aren’t getting the education of how to learn the position of QB from a mental perspective. He talked about how in 2001, after the death of Patriots’ QB coach Dick Rehbein in training camp, how Bill Belichick would give the QBs folders from a defensive perspective on how to attack certain areas of an opponent, and which ones not to try.
Its insight mere mortals don’t get to see often at all. And it was some awesome stuff to listen to.
Kurt Warner chimed in on how rare that is; “All I’ll say is this is incredible & maybe part of why he became the GOAT (I’m sure he would have been great without also)!! I never got any of this stuff in all my years playing… never had a defensive coach sit down with me on coverages, never talked to a personnel guy about tendencies, had a number of OCs/QB coaches that had never played position to know the nuances of it, etc… there is no doubt in my mind this approach is uncommon, but teams should consider how valuable it could be for their QBs!”
Uncommon? That was Bill Belichick. Oh I forgot, the great unwashed in the arena, scream that it was all Tom.
Zak Kuhr: With Defensive Coordinator Terrell Williams having to step away from football for health related issues again, Kuhr, the Inside Linebackers Coach, will call the plays in Miami.
During Williams’ absence this spring and early summer, Kuhr coached as the de facto DC and will step into those shoes again.
“Zak Kuhr will call the game defensively and I’ll help him like I always do,” Vrabel said. “But I’m excited for that. I think we’ve been prepared all week for that…”
Vrabel added that he “expects to have an update on Williams next week,” after which time the team will “go from there” regarding the duties moving forward.
On Thursday, speaking to the media, Kuhr said, Kuhr told reporters on Thursday. “Vrabes does a good job hiring good people. What I love about him as a head coach and even as a person is, really his mindset is everyday, ‘How can I help? How can I make somebody better? How can I help you this situation?’ It’s all about working together and helping whoever needs help and reaching a common goal.”
Christian Gonzalez: The Patriots’ star cornerback is scratched again this week as he has yet to practice since late July after injuring his hamstring in practice.
It now appears that Gonzalez’s injury was much more serious than previously reported or he has re-injured it during the rehab. This is a troubling development.
Ja’Lynn Polk: The Patriots have traded the wide receiver, currently on injured reserve along with a seventh round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints for a 6th-round draft pick. Less than a year and a half removed from arriving with great hope to a franchise starved for talented wide receivers, Polk will now be added to the list of WRs who failed in New England.
Polk had off-season shoulder surgery, was eventually cleared and re-injured the shoulder in the first preseason game against the Washington Commanders. Polk was the 37th pick in last year’s draft and never had the impact hoped for with his draft position and the fact that he was highly touted during the draft lead up. He caught 12 passes for 87 yards and two TDs in his short Patriots career. Perhaps a change of scenery among a team decimated by injuries at WR will jump start his career.
Deatrich Wise: So sorry to see Wise get hurt in Green Bay and being lost for the season. Wise tried to block an extra point and had players roll up on his leg. Wise spent eight years with Patriots, signing with the Commanders this spring.
Patriots No Huddle Podcast:
Derek, Mike, and I discussed the Week 1 loss against the Raiders, and in our next podcast, made our picks for the Miami game. We also picked the results of the Thursday night game and other games this week. You can find our podcasts on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify. Please take a look and leave us a review.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position.
This will be displayed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
Players and Matchups To Watch:
The Patriots are looking to shake off a Week 1 loss to Las Vegas and get off the schneid against the Dolphins. Miami also lost in Week 1, an embarrassing 33-8 thumping by the Colts.
Miami has won four straight against New England, the last time they won five in a row against the Patriots, you’d have to go back to the end of the Pete Carroll and beginning of the Bill Belichick eras (1999-2001).
Here (from a Patriots perspective) are five players to watch.
TreVeyon Henderson — The Patriots’ running game was abandoned in the second half last week, and one way to control the tempo and beat the heat and humidity today is to run the football.
Rhamondre Stevenson wasn’t effective last week, so Josh McDaniels could opt to get the faster rookie Henderson more involved earlier. Miami was gashed on the ground last week in Indy, allowing play-action passes, where Daniel Jones picked them apart. Henderson, in the passing game, can be a weapon.
I would use some pre-snap motion (which Miami has killed the Patriots with) and use Henderson and Gibson more in the first half, saving Stevenson as the closer.
Harold Landry — One way the Colts held the Dolphins’ offense in check last week was to take away QB Tua Tagovailoa’s first read, something that made the Dolphins’ offense go when it was working.
If Tua is forced to go through his progressions, the Dolphins offense isn’t nearly as good and can be disrupted. Landry was brought in to do the disrupting and had a stellar debut with 2.5 sacks against the Raiders.
Both starters on the right side (blind side for Tua) are out this week. Landry will be called on to take advantage of that. He has had good success (albeit in limited games) against Miami, with five sacks and eight QB hits in three games
Stefon Diggs — Lost in the mix of an overall very uneven game for the Patriots’ offense was the game of Diggs, his first game action in nearly a year since tearing his ACL last October.
Diggs had six catches for 57 yards and is getting on the same page with QB Drake Maye, as their chemistry will only continue to grow as they work together in game action. Diggs, historically, has given the Dolphins a hard time, averaging about six catches for 80 yards with seven touchdowns in nine games.
Diggs may see a lot of former Patriots’ cornerback Jack Jones or Rasul Douglas in this one. With the Patriots trying to find some success against Miami in the air today, Diggs could be a factor as he rounds back into form.
Milton Williams — Slowing down the run against Miami amid all the motion is a big key for the Patriots’ defense, and the best way to do so is to get penetration upfront. Williams had a good game for the Patriots last week in his debut.
Facing a backup guard this week, they’ll need a big game out of Williams to stop the run and disrupt the quick passing of Tua with those first-read throws that attack the middle of the field.
The Patriots blitzed on 43.5 percent of Geno Smith’s throws last week. This week, with the aforementioned absences on the right side of Miami’s OL, the Patriots may be able to get home more with a four-man rush and drop more into coverage. This will be a big game for Williams, as he can be a big factor for the Patriots to break their O-fer against Tua.
Drake Maye — Maye had an uneven game against Las Vegas in Week 1, despite throwing for 287 yards. Maye only faced Miami once last season, a 34-15 blowout loss in Miami. He completed 22-37 passes for 222 yards with one TD and one INT in that game, where he was sacked four times.
Maye is still learning Josh McDaniels’ offense, but he has to be more consistent moving forward. He missed too many open receivers last week, and after watching Daniel Jones light up Miami’s secondary (the Colts scored on every possession), it would be nice to see Maye do the same thing.
Coincidentally, in that game last year, Patriot tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper combined for nine catches for 103 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown to Hooper. It will be interesting to see if Maye can continue his chemistry with Kayshon Boutte again this week.
NFL Week 2 Predictions:
Week 2 picks usher in a change (mentioned above), I said on Thursday’s podcast that I was taking Miami over the Patriots in Miami. Okay, I’ll drink the Kool-Aid, which I’ll probably regret. But let’s go…
Thursday Night Football:
Green Bay over Washington 1-0
Sunday Day Games:
Dallas over NY Giants
Cincinnati over Jacksonville
Detroit over Chicago
New England over Miami *** Change from Thurs podcast***
LA Rams over Tennessee
San Francisco over New Orleans
Buffalo over NY Jets
Pittsburgh over Seattle
Baltimore over Cleveland
Denver over Indianapolis
Arizona over Carolina
Philadelphia over Kansas City
Sunday Night Football:
Minnesota over Atlanta
Monday Night Football:
Tampa Bay over Houston
LA Chargers over Las Vegas
Last Week 11—6
2025 Season 11—6
2024 Season 204—68
2023 Season 178—94
2022 Season: 178—92—2
2021 Season: 183—88—1
2020 Season: 169—86—1
2019 Season: 162—93—1
“Yeah, I mean, I think to have a successful offensive play, it takes really everybody. It takes the play caller, right? Getting the play in efficiently, it takes us being able to identify the players that we need to block, the ones that we’re not going to be able to block, and the ones that when we block them and we’re in combination, that we have to move them, and then the backs have to have to run where they’re not.
“And we say that. So again, it’s not just the players that we have that we’re handing the ball to, it’s everybody. Again, we have a lot of confidence in the running backs, but also, we have to be able to have a great execution in any scheme, whether that’s a zone scheme a gap scheme.
“So again, the bottom line is we have to run the ball better and we have to run it more efficiently because then I think that all opens up some more of the stuff that we’re doing, can do and want to be able to do so that it’s not just a drop-back passing game…
” Yeah, it just wasn’t one of our better days. Again, we just have to take advantage of the plays that we do call and hit it when we have guys open, and just being able to start the second half, being able to go down there and continue that drive, unfortunately, not turn it over and be able to create some momentum in that situation.”
Mike Vrabel answered a question about the lack of a running game in Week 1, where the team just abandoned it.
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“Somebody asked me what success looks like, and I said, ‘Yeah, you can judge it by wins and losses during the season, but success for me in the offseason is going to be that the players believe in what we’re doing, and they believe in the message, they believe in the teaching, and they believe in the connections that we’re making.’” — Mike Vrabel
