Two things, firstly, the Patriots philosophy is to funnel everything to the middle and have a good spine that hits and tackles. Secondly, they go after the football aggressively between the 20's. Their defense is designed to create takeaways and they don't mind bending but not breaking to do so. Their philosophy will not change.
How to stop us,
1) Shut down the run game.
The Dolphins have either been dominant with the run game or completely shut down. If you can make us one dimensional, we're a lot easier to play. So, do what you can to completely shut down the run.
2) Coverage not pressure.
Our OL is better this year than in years past. We are not guaranteed to give up a lot of pressure. So, pick your spots with the blitzes. Don't go all blitz all the time. Our WR's and TE's are not exceptionally fast with the exception of Stills and the guys who rarely play (Grant, Drake). Play tight coverage and keep a safety on the back end. Rush with 4, force Moore to be consistently accurate. We all know that Moore is a gunslinger ... he will throw TD's and he will throw INT's. He is a little like Jay Cutler in that regard, but with a better attitude and weaker arm. Gase has had success with QB's that are gunslingers (Cutler) and weak arms (Peyton), so a defense's best bet is to make him be consistently accurate. Eventually the pass rush will get there.
It's not rocket science. We are a team that has become decent in all phases of the game. If you LET us run, we will, and we will begin to dominate in the 4th quarter. If you LET our WR's go 1v1, it's only a matter of time until you get burned. But, if you can get us into 3rd and 4+ and play good coverage ... we can be stopped. Also, this opportunistic defense will have chances to create takeaways. It's on them whether they secure the takeaway and on their offense whether they convert those chances into points.
Our offense is not great. It wasn't great with Tannehill, and it's not great with Moore. Our defense is not great. It wasn't great with Reshad Jones and it's not great with Rambo. Our special teams is not great. It has allowed a lot of big plays and fumbled. But, it has also created a lot of big plays by guys like Grant, Drake, Hull and Aikens.
But when you look at our team as a whole, we're a good football club who is competent to above average in every area. Each game Gase finds a unit that can succeed and they succeed. For 9 of the last 10 games one of those three units has stepped up when needed and won us the game. We're not a juggernaut. We're not a dominant team. But, we are getting the most out of our personnel. We are rising to the challenge. We are fearlessly competing without ever giving up. We are getting the scores late when needed. We are generating first downs to seal wins. We are getting INT's and huge defensive stops to seal victory. We are getting timely special teams moments of dominance. We are finding a way to win.
It's not particularly complicated how to beat any of our units. But come prepared ... because any weakness will be exposed. Gase has these guys playing with ferocity. Juice, Suh, Kiko, Albert, Ajayi, Aikens, Howard ... there's simply no quit in these guys. If you're going to beat us ... then bring it. Because we're not giving up.
