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| ARI at WAS | ATL at NO | BAL at BUF | CHI at PHI | IND at JAX | KC at OAK | MIN at DAL | NE at MIA |
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Week 7 Game Recap: New England Patriots 49, Miami Dolphins 28
What you need to know
| New England Patriots |
The New England Patriots continue to dominate their opposition in every way possible. The Patriots put up 42 first half points led by QB Tom Brady's five touchdown passes against the struggling and winless Miami Dolphins.
The game was never in question as the Patriots once again seemed able to score at will. They quickly and efficiently moved the ball down the field throughout the first half and when needed in the second half. It appears as if the Patriots passing game is able to turn it on and off as necessary. The two deep touchdown passes to WR Randy Moss were thrown into double coverage but the tall receiver was able to leap and rip the ball out of the air on both occasions. The defensive backs for the Miami Dolphins did not stand a chance.
RB Laurence Maroney returned to action but was limited. He was featured mostly early in the game but only took six handoffs from QB Tom Brady. RB Kevin Faulk, RB Kyle Eckel, and RB Heath Evans also saw action but the New England Patriots' running game was held to only 22 attempts due the passing game's relentless attack.
The only worrisome aspect of the Patriots' play was the apparent ease in which the Miami running backs ran. Even before the game was out of hand RB Ronnie Brown was running well against the Patriots' defense, and QB Cleo Lemon ran the ball in from four yards out early on in the contest.
CB Willie Andrews returned a kickoff 77 yards in the second quarter.
| Miami Dolphins |
The Miami Dolphins were dominated in nearly every way by their division rivals the New England Patriots.
To make matters worse for Miami, the star player of their team, RB Ronnie Brown went down with a leg injury in the third quarter and did not return to action. He injured himself attempting to tackle DB Randall Gay on an interception return.
QB Cleo Lemon was mostly inaccurate -- often overthrowing or throwing behind his receivers. Despite the lop-sided score Cam Cameron did not play rookie QB John Beck.
On the bright side for the still winless Dolphins was the great play of their offensive line and the big yards tallied by the running game.
With the recent trade of top WR Chris Chambers to the San Diego Chargers, WR Ted Ginn and WR Derek Hagan saw increased targets. The Dolphins attempted to use Ginn as a deep threat but QB Cleo Lemon was unable to hit him with the deep ball.
What you ought to know
| QB Tom Brady, Pass: 21 - 25 - 354 - 6 TD / 0 INT |
Brady continued his dominating season with six touchdown passes against the hapless Miami Dolphins, a new career high. Five of those touchdowns came in the first half as the Patriots looked effortless while throwing the ball down the field. Brady threw two jump balls to WR Randy Moss in which the athletic wide receiver timed his leaps perfectly and snatched the ball from the air despite being in double coverage on both catches.
He started out perfect on his first eleven passes before intentionally grounding it while escaping pressure. With only 1:31 left in the first half, Brady led the team 71 yards in 66 seconds to make the score 42-7 at the half.
Brady was removed from the game after the third quarter but following QB Matt Cassel's interception he returned. He once again led his team down the field with precision going 59 yards on four plays culminating with the sixth touchdown pass of the day. Brady and the offense appear like they can turn it on and score at will. The team seemed to ease up after the six first half touchdowns, but after a couple of quick scores by the Dolphins, the Patriots were able to score again with ease and put the final nail in the coffin.
| QB Matt Cassel, Pass: 0 - 2 - 0 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
Cassel relieved QB Tom Brady on the first possession of the final quarter. He made only two pass attempts, including an interception to DL Jason Taylor which was returned for a touchdown. Cassel stared down his receiver for too long and Taylor easily jumped the route and ran it back for a score. Cassel did not return to the game following the pick.
| QB Matt Gutierrez, Pass: 1 - 1 - 15 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Gutierrez came into the game for garbage time against the Miami Dolphins. He completed his first NFL pass.
| RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 6 - 27 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) |
Faulk, like the rest of the Patriots' running backs, was quiet in the victory over the Miami Dolphins. Faulk was mostly used in spread formations including shotgun early in the game but with the success of the passing game, QB Tom Brady had little need to check down to his reliable receiving back.
| RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 6 - 31 - 0 |
Maroney returned to action for the first time in three weeks. He only touched the ball six times in the first half and spent the rest of the game on the sideline. Since the game was out of hand, it may have just been a precautionary measure to keep him out of the game as he did not seem to be in pain on the sideline.
| RB Sammy Morris |
Morris did not play against the Miami Dolphins due to injury.
| WR Wes Welker, Rec: 9 - 138 - 2 (12 targets) |
Welker had another big game for the Patriots. He continued to work mostly over the middle on slant and in routes but with the attention paid to WR Randy Moss he is easily able to create separation and make big plays for his team.
| WR Randy Moss, Rec: 4 - 122 - 2 (6 targets) |
Moss made two highlight reel jump ball catches in the first half. The duo of QB Tom Brady and Moss is producing big results and they show no signs of slowing down. On each of the two touchdown catches, Moss was in double coverage but the result of the play was never in question as the Miami DBs stood no chance against the taller wide receiver. Moss' leaping ability, size, and sure hands are wreaking havoc on opposing defenses and so far nobody has an answer. On the second touchdown pass, Moss caught the ball with one hand.
| WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 3 - 51 - 1 (5 targets) |
Stallworth is making an impact in New England. Despite being overshadowed by the success of WR Randy Moss and WR Wes Welker, Stallworth is producing for the Patriots. On the first drive of the game, Stallworth caught a ball over the middle and then proceeded to break two tackles and spin past another defender before trotting into the end zone. Stallworth's ability to produce yards after the catch is making the New England passing attack even more deadly.
| WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) |
Gaffney's only catch was a skillful, stumbling grab along the sideline in the first quarter.
| TE Kyle Brady, Rec: 3 - 10 - 1 (3 targets) |
With TE Ben Watson inactive for the game, TE Kyle Brady was the featured tight end. He caught one of QB Tom Brady's six touchdown passes in the first quarter but had no more receptions for the remainder of the game.
| TE Ben Watson |
Watson did not play against the Miami Dolphins due to injury.
| PK Stephen Gostkowski 0 - 0 FG, 7 - 7 XP, 7 points |
PK Gostkowski attempted no field goals and was a perfect seven for seven on extra point tries.
| NE Rush Defense |
The New England rush defense allowed a ton of yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns to a collection of Dolphins. RB Ronnie Brown ran well against the defense before leaving the game with a leg injury. RB Jesse Chatman also racked up the yards while averaging over ten yards a carry on seven attempts.
On fourth and one early in the game RB Ronnie Brown was mostly untouched through the line of scrimmage as he took off for 19 yards. QB Cleo Lemon also easily squeezed through the defense for a four yard touchdown run early on, as well.
However with the score escalating quickly -- the Patriots moved to a base defense for most of the game.
| NE Pass Defense |
With inexperienced QB Cleo Lemon taking the snaps for the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots pass defense was generally untested. DB Randall Gay made a leaping interception deep in the end zone and ran the ball back to midfield, although most of the gain was nullified by a holding call on DB Asante Samuel.
The team recovered a fumble by QB Cleo Lemon when he bumped into one of his blockers, and they also sacked Lemon three times for a combined loss of 33 yards.
| QB Cleo Lemon, Pass: 24 - 37 - 236 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 16 - 1 |
Lemon was generally unimpressive in the loss to the Patriots. He overthrew or threw behind his wide receivers on a number of plays and put up a chunk of his yardage in garbage time. On the first possession of the game for the Dolphins, Lemon turned the ball over by fumbling while holding the ball with just one hand as he bumped into TE David Martin in the backfield.
Lemon overthrew WR Ted Ginn Jr. twice -- once on a deep route over the middle and once in the corner of the end zone. Ginn Jr. was open in both cases. Lemon did make a nice throw down the sideline to WR Marty Booker in the first quarter -- placing it where only Booker could grab it. Lemon squeezed through the line easily on his four yard TD run up the middle. After starting seven for seven on completions, he threw five consecutive incomplete passes and they game quickly slipped away from the Dolphins.
The Dolphins opted not to give QB John Beck some NFL playing experience against the Patriots.
| RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 17 - 76 - 0, Rec: 5 - 33 - 0 (6 targets) |
Brown ran the ball with determination and was effective both as a runner and a receiver against the tough Patriots' defense. On a key 4th and 1 early in the game at midfield, Brown was basically untouched through the line of scrimmage as he pulled off a beautiful 19 yard run. Brown and the offensive line were the only bright spot of the day for the struggling Miami Dolphins. If not for the running game, the Dolphins may not have managed to put anything on the board.
Brown left the game with a leg injury in the third quarter after attempting to tackle DB Randall Gay during an interception return. An MRI is scheduled for Monday.
| RB Jesse Chatman, Rush: 7 - 73 - 1, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
In the wake of RB Ronnie Brown's leg injury, RB Jesse Chatman entered the game and ran well. The Dolphins' offensive line was impressive creating holes for their running backs and Chatman took advantage. Chatman appeared inspired as he averaged 10.4 yards per carry. He left the game temporarily with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter but returned to score the Dolphins' fourth and final touchdown.
| RB Patrick Cobbs, Rush: 3 - 14 - 1, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) |
Former New England Patriot RB Patrick Cobbs entered the game while RB Jesse Chatman was sidelined temporarily with an ankle injury.
| WR Derek Hagan, Rec: 4 - 56 - 0 (6 targets) |
Hagan is another wide receiver for the Dolphins whose role should increase with WR Chris Chambers' absence. He was mostly quiet until the second half when the Patriots' defense had already eased up the pressure.
| WR Marty Booker, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (8 targets) |
Lemon threw the ball behind Booker on a number of occasions, limiting the wide receiver's production. Booker should slide into the number one receiver spot for the Miami Dolphins with WR Chris Chambers' recent departure.
| WR Ted Ginn, Rec: 3 - 37 - 0 (8 targets) |
The Dolphins expect WR Ted Ginn role in the offense to increase with WR Chris Chambers being shipped off to San Diego. However, QB Cleo Lemon's inaccurate arm may prevent Ginn Jr. from developing into the team's deep threat for now. On the only deep attempt of the day, Lemon overshot Ginn who had beaten DB Ellis Hobbs. Ginn was also overthrown while he was wide open in the corner of the end zone later in the game.
| TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 4 - 42 - 0 (4 targets) |
Peelle was slightly more productive than TE David Martin but all of his catches came in the second half when the Patriots' defense had switched to a base defense with little pressure.
| TE David Martin, Rec: 3 - 22 - 0 (3 targets) |
Martin was not a major factor in this game.
| PK Jay Feely 0 - 0 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Feely connected on all four of his extra point attempts. He did not attempt a field goal.
| MIA Rush Defense |
The Dolphins' rush defense was mostly untested by the Patriots. A collection of running backs attempted only 22 rushing attempts in the drubbing.
| MIA Pass Defense |
The pass defense for the Dolphins was completed destroyed by the relentless and punishing passing attack of the Patriots. DB Will Allen, DB Cameron Worrell, and DB Renaldo Hill were utterly overmatched by WR Randy Moss on both his touchdown catches in double coverage. QB Tom Brady appeared to be able to throw the ball where he pleased despite the lack of a Patriots' running game.
DL Jason Taylor's interception return for a touchdown came off QB Matt Cassel. The backup quarterback made no effort to disguise the target of the pass and the veteran defender took advantage.
The tackling from the defensive backfield was also sub par as WR Donte Stallworth shrugged off numerous weak tackle attempts while running after the catch. Brady also faced little pressure in the pocket. The team's only sack was a coverage sack, as Brady simply ran out of time before Porter tackled him. DB Renaldo Hill hurt his right knee on the second touchdown pass to Moss.
