Patriots Head to Land Shark Stadium

Maroney has 8 touchdowns in the last 6 games.

Patriots (7-4) @ Dolphins (5-6)

Sunday 1:00 PM - CBS

Favorite: Patriots -4

Over/Under: 46 1/2

With week 13 upon us, we are reminded at just how fast the NFL season goes. An NFL season can be long and arduous. Coaches are always looking to inspire their players to play with a "one game at a time" mentality. One way coaches facilitate this attitude is by dissecting the NFL season into quarters, and week 13 represents the last of the third. Essentially this is the beginning of the end.

Over the last two years the NFL has been far from predictable, but there has been one unanimous truth. The teams that play their best football at the end of the season are the teams that win Super Bowls. While that statement seems obvious, it speaks volumes about the competition in the NFL today. In 2007, 18-0 meant nothing to a wild card Giants squad that played every playoff game on the road. They simply saved their best football of the season for the playoffs. Last seasons NFC wild card the Arizona Cardinals finished 9-7 and lost three of their last five games. Despite the poor record and no home field the Cardinals still represented the NFC in the Super Bowl.

The point is, the Pats are 7-4 compared to the Colts' 12-0 record, and you know what, IT DOESN'T MATTER. While the obvious goal is to lock in a bye week and home field advantage, it is not synonymous with winning championships.

The Patriots line up this week against a Miami Dolphins squad that is still fighting for a playoff berth. The Fins stand at 5-6 and with a win versus New England, they move to one game back in the division with four games remaining. On the other side, if the Pats win they will be in good position within the division with a remaining schedule that features Carolina, at Buffalo, Jacksonville, and at Houston.

The Dolphins play tough football, but they also have talent and are very well coached. Nonetheless, if the Patriots stick to our keys of the game, we think they will be just fine.

1. Be prepared for anything. Most Patriot fans need zero reminding of 2008's butt kicking that featured the debut of the "wildcat." The team has seen the wildcat a few times now and they will be prepared for it. Nonetheless Tony Sparano will employ wrinkles in the offense. During our last match-up we saw Pat White run the option, Chad Henne attempt a reverse pass, and its worth noting Ricky Williams has a howitzer for an arm (he was drafted as an OF out of high school by the Phillies). The Dolphins one deep threat is Ted Ginn Jr., but typically there WR's feast on 5-10 yard hitches and outs. Look for the corners to play aggressive on the line and for the safeties to be active.

2. Stop the run. The Fins are without arguably one of their best linemen in Jake Grove. Grove would have lined up over Vince Wilfork at center, but instead backup Joe Berger will get the start. The Fins offense is run first, pass second. While Henne has a strong arm and is maturing nicely, forcing him to win the game is what the Pats need to do. Without Ronnie Brown (out for the season), look for Belichick to take Ricky Williams out of the game.

3. Find a rhythm on offense. Last week it was clear the Pats had no rhythm on offense. They were an atrocious 4-13 on third down, and did not adapt well to playing from behind. The Pats shouldn't have trouble moving the ball against the Dolphins, especially through the air (323 passing yards in their first meeting). This is a great match-up from Brady, Moss, and Welker. Look for them to attack the Fins through the air, early and often. They need to limit mistakes by not turning the ball over (interceptions and fumbles), and keep the penalties down (they had none last week, but five in their first meeting with Miami).

It was a tough, divisional game the last time these two teams met. The Patriots were down by one in the third quarter before coming up with 11 unanswered points to finish the game. Hopefully the Pats travel well down to Miami on the short week and shake off the rust from MNF.

INJURIES:

PATRIOTS:

Did Not Participate
S Bret Lockett (groin) doubtful

Limited Participation
LB Eric Alexander (groin) questionable
TE Chris Baker (shoulder) questionable
LB Tully Banta-Cain (shoulder) questionable
WR Julian Edelman (forearm) questionable
DE Jarvis Green (knee) questionable
T Nick Kaczur (ankle) questionable
C Dan Koppen (knee) questionable
T Matt Light (knee) questionable
RB Sammy Morris (knee) questionable
G Stephen Neal (ankle) questionable
LB Rob Ninkovich (knee) questionable
RB Fred Taylor (ankle) doubtful
T Sebastian Vollmer (head) questionable
DE Ty Warren (ankle) questionable
OLB Pierre Woods (groin) questionable

Full Participation
QB Tom Brady (finger/right shoulder) probable
CB Shawn Springs (knee) probable
TE Benjamin Watson (knee) probable

DOLPHINS:

Did Not Participate
C Jake Grove (ankle) doubtful
LB Joey Porter (knee) questionable

Limited Participation
DE Lionel Dotson (ankle) questionable

Full Participation
S Yeremiah Bell (thumb) probable
RB Ricky Williams (chest) probable

EXTRAS:

• The Pats will wear their throwback jerseys for the final time this season. New England is 2-1 when rocking the old school unis with the lone loss coming in Denver.
• Fred Taylor returned to practice today for the first time since injuring his ankle in week 4 against Baltimore. Many feared Taylor would be lost for the season when he underwent surgery, but luckily the Pats had some roster flexibility to buy time for the veteran Taylor to get back into the lineup. Don't expect him back for a couple of weeks, but coupled with Sammy Morris returning the duo could provide a fresh set of legs for the playoff run.