***TNF SPOILER IN THE SWAMP - MIA @ NE***
***MIAMI DOLPHINS @ NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS***
OHHHHHH BABY yet another rivalry on Prime Time and yes, there will be blood! I am stoked for tonight's matchup between AFC East rivals the Miami Dolphins and the undefeated New England Patriots as I have had this one circled for a little while now. This one has a "Phishy" smell to it and is the sole reason I chose to layoff the Jets/Pats game last weekend. Let's just say that your favorite Sludge-Head had a vision in the Muck and maybe I'm right or maybe I'm very wrong but I feel this one deep down in mah plumzzzz. The way I see it is that this spot is perfect for the Phins and it does not get any better to set up for a big upset here. I have been smiling from ear to ear all week the more I hear people talk about how there is "no way" it could happen and that the Pats are "unbeatable" at home. Let's go ahead and be honest here for a sec, this is the NFL- where ALL that is possible, CAN and WILL happen....and usually it is when you least expect it.
Since Miami has fired their awful Head Coach Joe Philbin, they have done a complete transformation. New Interim Coach Dan "Man" Campbell has completely turned this team around in an amazingly short time, it is almost like the players planned for this entire coaching change sequence to take place. Anyway, the guy is 2-0 as the new Head Coach and the Phish have completely EMBARASSED their last two opponents. I know, I know....it was against two of the worst teams in the league you say right?? I call BS on that. Again, this is the NFL and it is hard to win week in and week out regardless of who you are playing. If you don't come to play, you will be smacked around on any given Sunday (heheh). It is not their fault they played and beat up on these two teams, it was who their schedule had put in front of them, and they took care of business. In my eyes these two games were a perfect "warm-up" to the big test in tonight's game against the league's top dawg. Campbell has got these guys really believing that they ARE in fact the team that was rated so highly as a possible playoff team at the start of the season. They definitely have the talent in their personnell to be that team, and it looks as though they are realizing it during these past two weeks and have totally bought in to Campbell leading the charge. That all being said, I love the Phish in this spot tonight as I mentioned earlier, and now for the why-
Let's skip the part about the Pats being the best team in the NFL, we all know this already. QB Tom Brady is unbelievable and the way he and Coach Bill Belichek gameplan and dissect their opponent week in and week out is truly astonishing. However, I feel as though after the physical war they were in last weekend against the Jets, that the combination of playing a similar team on a short week without enough time to rest is a HUGE factor. The Dolphin's game against the Texans last weekend was over at halftime after they were up 41-0, so these starters are surely rested and ready to go whereas the Pats are beat up and will have a tougher time fending off the "crazed dawgs" tonight. Speaking of crazed dawgs, Miami DT Ndamukong Suh was acquired in the offseason mainly for this reason....to consistently get in Brady's face and disrupt the pocket up the middle. Now we all saw how the Giants laid the blueprint down in their two Super Bowl triumphs over the Pats on how to beat these guys. It is no secret that a constant pass rush and hits on Brady are the key. This is obviously easier said than done, and the Pats know this as well, hence the sped up release time and short throws, bubble screens, etc. this season. It has been almost impossble to get to Mr. Brady in time some may say, but if anyone can do it, it's Suh and DE Cameron Wake. Suh took a lot of crap in the beginning of the season and was very frustrated when he was not producing like the player that Miami believed they had paid for and he hinted toward the reason being the coaching schemes.....it looks like he was right. Since the coaching change these guys have been lights out and that defensive line has been the fierce front that was so highly anticipated during the offseason. I doubt these guys will be any more jacked up for a game than they will be tonight, and I like them to cause some chaos tonight while taking advantage of the banged up Patriot offensive line, resulting in Tommy's uniform getting a bit dirty early and often. Dolphin's Brent Grimes is a shutdown corner as well and worth mentioning, I like him to be a in a battle and keep up with Pats WR Julian Edelman all game tonight to help limit the short outlet passes for Brady, wouldn't be suprised to see an interception either caused by the panic in the pocket. Pats TE Gronk will be Gronk, an absolute beast. However this will surely be the focal point of the coverage and I think they can limit him as well as a result of the pass rush.
On the other side of the ball the Dolphins have really started to hit a stride it seems and QB Tannehill seems to be in sync with his VERY talented recieving core. These guys can flat out fly and WR Jarvis Landry is a playmaker. This guy is as explosive as it gets and will be a beast tonight against this Patriot secondary. WR Rishard Matthews has also burst onto the scene this year for them and they have some great depth with Kenny Stills and rookie DeVante Parker as well. I think Tannehill has found some confidence that he seemed to of lack earlier this year and that their passing game will be too fast for the Patriot secondary. The Pats defense is solid and obviously well coached, but the Dolphins can definitely put up some points against them through both the air and rushing attack. RB Lamar Miller is fliying high after a couple of insane performances and this team is just rolling on all cylinders at the moment. That being said their confidence is at an all time high right now and after the Jets making these guys look beatable last weekend, the Campbell and Phins have to be believing they can get the job done tonight and there is no reason that they can't. Phew! Now I know that was a lot, but that is why the SwampMan is backing the generous points tonight and believes these guys are in prime position on the big stage to stun the league here tonight! PHISH +8.5!
