Patriots@Dolphins game thread

I'm not on the bandwagon yet, but I'm certainly softening up my opinion on the coaching staff. This was a pretty well-coached game, and while the team hasn't dropped its habit of failing to put teams away when they have a late advantage, they've done the work in the clutch.

I think it's still too early to crown Tannehill, but his December play has been pretty damned good. 73 of 113 for 843 yards, 8 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a 103.2 QB rating if I've got that right. That's certainly something to be optimistic about. Today was another rough pocket presence day, but in the context it's pretty hard to give a ****.

They may have found their mark in terms of the run game, albeit a bit late. The 11-package shotgun run plays are by far and away their best runs, and maybe the only package that seems to work with any consistency, either with Lamar Miller or Daniel Thomas. Miller I think also gets credit for putting his body out there on the line a week after a concussion in blitz pickup vs. a team that can send some weight at you.

Mike Wallace had a pretty good game, and the really nice thing was that he managed to be so productive on possession-oriented catches that he's done such a horrible job on this year. It seems like the coaching staff has really buckled down and drilled some of these basic routes, as we've seen Wallace, Clay, and Matthews alternatively nail some routes/catches/toe taps that were the purview of Hartline up until late.

Nada from Clay today, two targets and one catch. It was a big one, but I'm curious why they went away so much from them against a team I'd think would be pretty vulnerable.

The offensive line had a pretty inoffensive game today, all things considered. They weren't great in either aspect, but they got the job done. I think Sam Brenner definitely improves the coherency of the line. He's not as good as Incognito, but he fits what they're trying to do much better which is a big issue with the failures, I think.

The holds that the Patriots get away with on Cameron Wake are amazing. I know the Patriots line is drilled with how to get away with it, but holy ****, it's brutal almost every game.

I think the defensive line had a damn good game, given the circumstances. Soliai going down with three active defensive tackles meant the team was forced to over-work Starks and Odrick and rotate that speed package in heavily, and they didn't fall apart or get torn up as bad as they have the last couple Patriots games in the run game.

It's usually hard to tell injuries that aren't obvious at the games, but I'm making the assumption Phillip Wheeler just plain got benched for Jelani Jenkins? It seems like week to week Wheeler and Ellerbe are working hard to outdo themselves in terms of awfulness. Jenkins is a work in progress, but at least you're putting him in a position to hopefully get play time at this point.

Kevin Coyle I think deserves loads of credit for the situation with the defensive backs today, and all year round in general. I've got my concerns with him, but with our top 3 cornerbacks down, he made it work. Will Davis sucked, but Michael Thomas was a safety signed off another teams practice squad less than a week ago, and he came up big when it counted.

Also, three cheers to Brandon Fields for not getting mortified punter face over the fumble today. Perhaps he was simply stunned, but he took it stoically