Are the Dolphins the real deal? Rob Ryan and Solomon Wilcots assess their chances against the Patriots
Watch the Dolphins @ Patriots, live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm on Sunday
Sunday 30 September 2018 18:57, UK
The AFC East belongs to the New England Patriots.
Or, at least, that's the way it has felt since the turn of the millennium and the beginning of the Patriots dynasty with that first Super Bowl success in 2001. They've claimed four more since, along with the division for the past nine seasons running.
Might the tide be turning on the east coast? The Miami Dolphins have raced out to a surprise 3-0 start this season, while the Patriots have stuttered, beaten by 10 or more points on back-to-back Sundays. The two now meet in Week Four, live on Sky Sports.
However, this is not the first time the Patriots have stumbled in September, nor their divisional dominance been questioned during their remarkable run. For example, New England's record in September over their five Super Bowl wins is a combined 10-6 - returning winning records in only the 2004 and 2016 campaigns - as opposed to a stunning 55-9 thereafter.
This is a team that comes hot down the stretch. So surely no need to panic, right?
"This Patriots team are more limited at the skill positions on offense that I can ever remember," former NFL safety Solomon Wilcots tells Sky Sports. "They don't have a receiver that can stretch the field.
"That has got to be disappointing for the offensive coordinator, and for a quarterback like Tom Brady, used to having more options on the table and weapons at his disposal.
"They tend to rearrange the chessboard every single offseason - Bill Belichick has talked about this - and they kind of don't know what they have until they start playing. Then they coach really hard, start playing the right people, those players develop and gain a better understanding of what they need to do."
Rob Ryan, linebackers coach with the Patriots during their first two Super Bowl wins, agrees. "I think the big comeback for New England is going to come in Week Five, when they get Josh Gordon fully integrated, get Julian Edelman back from suspension. Right now, they've got absolutely nothing going on third down for their offense.
"They've got to change things completely because, the last two weeks, they've played so poorly. They've got a lot of improving to do."
It appears to be the perfect time to play the Patriots. But are the Dolphins the real deal and as good as their record suggests? Miami have so far beaten the hardly-terrifying trio of the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders.
"At 3-0 it's easy to get carried away, but they were losing for a while to the winless Raiders," adds Solomon. "They came back and won the game, thanks to some really creative plays by head coach Adam Gase, but they've still got some improving to do.
"I believe in them as a team. They're very well coached. But I still need to see more. On the road in New England, that certainly would be impressive if they were to emerge 4-0."
Gase, and his inventive play-calling on offense, is a real asset for Miami. And there can be no doubt that he has shaped this team in his own image, with the third-year coach getting rid of multiple big names from the dressing room, with the aim of getting everyone pulling in the same direction.
Gone is Jay Ajayi - in a trade to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, last year - while Ndamukong Suh (Los Angeles Rams) and Jarvis Landry (Cleveland Browns) followed him out the door this offseason. It appears to be working.
"The Dolphins, they needed a fast start," suggests Ryan. "They got rid of a lot of good players over the past year. But the team is really pulling together.
"I was there for 10 days in training camp and I was so impressed with the entire building. Gase's leadership is off the charts.
"Going in, I had a perception of what things would look like, and it wasn't like that at all. He has got a staff all pulling in the same direction - no hidden agendas - and the players believe in what they're doing.
"And, let me tell you, it's so much easier to keep everybody pulling together when you've got your people in that building and you taste success."
As well as getting his own people in, Gase has also benefitted from the return of his starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, who had to sit out the entire 2017 season to injury.
Gase arrived in Miami with the reputation as a 'quarterback whisperer', having been offensive coordinator during Peyton Manning's record-breaking 2013 season with the Denver Broncos - 5,477 yards and 55 TDs! - and also coaxed a career-high passer rating out of Jay Cutler during his one year with the Chicago Bears.
Solomon believes Gase is at it again, noticing an improvement in Tannehill's fundamentals in 2018.
"Gase is a game-changer," he says. "He has proven that he can take an average quarterback and make him good. A good one great.
"I have noticed that there is an up-tempo to the offense and how Tannehill is running it. He is processing information more quickly, and the fundamentals in his footwork are phenomenal. He is always in a position ready to get the football out, and out quickly. He is also getting it out accurately, hitting receivers in stride.
"Even though he sat out all of last year, he was still in the meetings, and was coming to an understanding of how Gase wants the game to be played."
With that in mind, can the Dolphins spring an upset on Sunday in New England? And, if they do, is it now their division to lose?
"No. It's a great story, but it's early in the season," says Ryan. "Even if the Dolphins do get off to a 4-0 start, that's still only a quarter of the season done.
"They're going into a hostile environment in New England, and the bear is wounded. You've still got to respect what they've got - they've got the best coaching staff in football and nothing is going to be easy there.
"It's a huge game for Miami. The Patriots, of course, are going to do the best they can to beat these guys, but they've got better things to come as the season goes on even if they lose.
"I was on a Patriots coaching staff that started off 1-3, in 2001, and we won a Super Bowl. We won another two years later having started 2-2 and then won 14 games straight. Believe me, that building is going to work until they get it right. It's just a matter of time.
"Having said all that, this is when you want to catch them. Miami are coming in strong - a good, young, hot team - and the Patriots are wounded. But they're going to fight; it should be a great game to watch."
It should indeed.
Watch the Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots as part of our Sunday-night NFL triple-header, live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm.
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