Well, it's the worst Sunday of the NFL season for 20 of the 32 teams around the league, as today will be their final quarters of football until August. Unfortunately, the Fins are one of those 20 teams yet again this season, as they were eliminated from playoff contention last week.
However, as I wrote about earlier this week, things are brighter in Miami than they've been in a long, long time, and a win today in Foxboro would send the Fins into the offseason with more momentum than they've had in years.
So, for one final time in 2012, I present to you my five keys to a Miami Dolphins victory today. Enjoy.
1. Contain Wes Welker. This is something the Fins have been unable to do since, well, he became a Patriot. Earlier this year, Welker had 10 catches in the first half in Miami, and was seemingly WIDE open on every play. Containing Welker today will go a long way in upsetting the almighty Patriots.
2. Hit, hit, hit Tom Brady. The Fins did a brilliant job of this earlier this month, sacking Brady four times and pressuring him on nearly every play. Expect Cam Wake to play a huge role in today's game, as he's only 3.5 sacks away from the franchise record of 18.5. IF Wake and others can rattle Brady early on, then the Fins will have a chance in this one.
3. Continue utilizing Reggie Bush in multiple areas. Bush recorded three TD's a week ago against Buffalo, and two of them were through the air. Mike Sherman has done a brilliant job the last three weeks of using Bush in the passing game, as it constantly creates mismatches for opposing defenses, and can open up holes elsewhere for other guys. Bush will be pivotal today if the Fins hope to win.
4. Go play-action heavy with Ryan Tannehill. This one is simple, according to ESPN Tannehill has completed 67.1 percent of his passes off play-action this season. That is the highest completion percentage in the AFC East, and yes, that's even higher than the Greek God himself, Tom Brady. Tannehill also has six touchdowns off play-action passes compared to just one interception. His QBR is an impressive 90.2, and he averages 10.33 yards per attempt. Enough said.
5. Pride. This team has a chance to finish a season at .500 for the first time in four years, and doing it against a playoff bound New England team would be huge. Finishing this season with three straight wins, including a road win against a Super Bowl contender, to get to 8-8 would do wonders for the Fins heading into the offseason, and would give them a signature win to end the year with. Playoffs or not, this is a big time game today for the Miami Dolphins.
PREDICTION
This is my final Miami Dolphins prediction of the year. If you remember, I predicted the Fins would go 8-8 this season in my preseason picks, so I obviously have to pick Miami here! What the heck, they're playing well right now, and an upset wouldn't surprise me. I'm going Dolphins.
Final: Dolphins 26 Patriots 25
The live blog starts at 4:25, so follow along. And don't forget to check back right before game time for any last minute news, including the inactives.
Also, I just wanted to extend a thank you to all my readers who have made this season such an enjoyable one. The blog has grown on a weekly basis, and is nearing 10,000 page views. Once again, thank you for all the views, and for making this site a success!
Go Fins!
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