Our isportsweb.com staff make their predictions below.
Advertisement
The Rams offense simply must play better and must be more explosive and it all begins with an offensive line that can sometimes be a sieve and hasn’t picked up a pass blitz once in six games. Those two have always given the Patriots tackles problems, so Sebastian Vollmer and Cameron Fleming are going to have a far greater test today on the outside than they did in their two games against the Colts and Jets.
They’ve just been done in by disappointing second-half showings. Both teams are playing well. We’re talking about old-school “Oklahoma” drills, “Man in the Middle” drills, “Gauntlet” drills, and full-contact eleven-on-eleven starters vs. starters (which is rare mid-season). When he heard about Tannehill’s incident a few weeks back, it was revealed that Brady gave his practice squad counterparts bonuses if they played well against him, out of his own pocket, per the Boston Herald.
And it doesn’t hurt that strong safety Reshad Jones has returned an interception for a touchdown the past two weeks. With Brent Grimes as the only reliable corner on the team, a lot of pressure will be put on Brice McCain and the rest of the young cornerbacks. It pretty much makes the offense one-dimensional … it’s most-likely a pass play.
New England Patriots head athletic trainer Jim Whalen, left, speaks…
Thursday night the Patriots will be hosting the Miami Dolphins in their first meeting of the season. The Dolphins led 41-0 at halftime, allowing Brian Hoyer to throw three meaningless touchdown passes. This will be another close contested game, but the trend continues for the Ravens as they are down by one possession and fail to score to take the lead.
Lamar Miller had an incredible game last week with over 230 total yards. I hope this game is a lot more interesting than it looks.
The National Football League has filed its appeal of a U.S. judge’s decision in the Deflategate case which pitted New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady against commissioner Roger Goodell. Even the vaunted New York Jets secondary could hardly slow down New England’s passing attack as Brady racked up 355 yards through the air despite his receivers consistently dropping passes. In his return Brandon Lafell returned to his inconsistent ability to catch a ball and made last year’s success look like a fluke. He was able to pick up the slack and has provided another weapon opposite Edelman.
The Dolphins have been in a fun-loving mood lately, reviving their season with back-to-back blowout wins after Dan Campbell replaced Joe Philbin as coach. However, Miami hasn’t won a game in New England since 2008.
Seattle Seahawks (3-4)- Sure, the reigning two-time NFC champion Seahawks don’t look the same, but that doesn’t mean we should totally count them out. Under Dan Campbell, the Dolphins played with a different type of swag-the kind of swag reminiscent of the University of Miami in the 80’s. Pro Bowl running back Eddie Lacy is averaging less than four yards per carry and has rushed for just 260 yards and one touchdown. The Dolphins have 10 scoring plays of 20 or more yards, including five Sunday against the Houston Texans.
The latest National Football League betting odds at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark have the Patriots as consensus eight-point favorites against the Dolphins, who have given them trouble recently.
Advertisement
On the other side of the ball, Miami has 10 sacks under Campbell after recording one for Philbin. Second, the front seven needs to contain the run, which they’ve been doing well the past two weeks and get after Tom Brady.
