1. New England’s tight ends have to be a major concern for safety Yeremiah Bell and the linebackers.
Visanthe Shiancoe of Minnesota and Dustin Keller of the Jets both led their teams with six receptions apiece against the Dolphins. The Patriots have a pair of rookies at the position in Rob Gronkowski and former Gator Aaron Hernandez, but the two have solid numbers between them, Hernandez catching 13 passes for a team-high 211 yards and Gronkowski snagging five for 58 and two TDs.
When asked about repeatedly being targeted by opposing offenses, Bell said, “If you were out there wouldn’t you do the same thing? Tight ends are having success, so you should come back to it.”
If there’s a positive in all this, it’s that all of Keller’s catches came in the first half, so the Dolphins apparently made some good adjustments as the game went on. With the biggest key to victory Monday night being stopping Tom Brady, keeping the tight ends under wraps will be significant.
