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A pair of sentences would probably not have been considered as a possibility at the moment: the Miami Dolphins are 3-0. The New England Patriots are 1-2.
But Sunday, when the Dolphins went to Foxborough, Massachusetts, for their first game of two games against the Patriots, they have to face the team of Bill Belichick at home, which is not an easy task. The Patriots went 118-27 to Gillette Stadium after Belichick's 18 years and over as the team's leader, including six years with a perfect 8-0 record at home. His only season of defeat in front of the home crowd came in his first year as head coach of New England in 2000.
And with the arrival of Miami Sunday with unshakable confidence after dominating the season with victories against the Tennessee Titans, the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders, the feeling of a game declarations are being prepared. A win against the Patriots on the road would not only give the Dolphins their first win at Gillette Stadium since 2008, it would also allow Miami to climb to 4-0 for the first time since 1995.
Belichick acknowledged the success of the Dolphins this year and highlighted the ability of coach Adam Gase to attack the defenses and his awareness of confusing weekly patterns to exploit the weaknesses of the defending opponent while creating a balanced attack.
"He's doing a really good job of creating challenging patterns," Belichick said. "As good as the ones we faced. They are a difficult team to prepare. There will be things for which we will not be prepared. There will be new wrinkles. They create explosive games.
This weakness this week could very well attack the defensive patriots. New England ranks second in the league in three weeks, averaging 143.3 rushing yards per game. That included the 167-yard surrender by the Houston Texans race in the first game of the season and 159 extra yards against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
As for quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Belichick said he was doing "pretty much everything". This is a good summary, with Tannehill placing fourth in percentage completion (73.0) and third in quarter (121.8) among the quarterbacks that started each of the first three games. The only quarterback with better scores in both categories: quarterback New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees.
"There is obviously a lot of confidence in him as it should," said Belichick. "He did a great job for them."
Some notes from Belichick's conference call with Miami journalists:
▪ The coach mentioned wide receiver Danny Amendola, now on the Dolphins list after spending five years with the Patriots, calling him "tough, smart, reliable. He played his best football in critical situations and in big games. "
In five years with New England, Amendola had 230 receptions for 2,383 yards and 10 touchdowns in 69 regular season games (29 starts). Amendola has 11 assists for 100 yards thanks to her first three games with the Dolphins.
"He's still up," said Dolphin receiver Albert Wilson about Amendola. "He is a great energy for the team. No matter who we play, what the games mean, the pre-season, the training, it's always on fire. We are behind him and we make sure he goes and we continue to push.
▪ Belichick said the Patriots were taking a wait-and-see approach with receiver Josh Gordon available for Sunday. On September 18, the Patriots traded with the Cleveland Browns against the very talented Gordon, who was in trouble on the pitch. The Patriots only dressed three big receivers to Phillip Dorsett, Chris Hogan and Cordarrelle Patterson last week against Detroit. Julian Edelman will serve the final game of his four-game suspension for violating the NFL's drug policy this week.
▪ Belichick highlighted the collective speed of the Dolphins receivers, Wilson and Jakeem Grant, and said they could easily burn a defense if they had a head start.
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