Pats haven't looked so great against the Lions in tonight's game. If Henne can manage the offense, I believe we can beat them in the opener. Would be an excellent way to begin the season! After watching the Lions beat them down in the first half, it becomes obvious NE has vulnerabilities not taking anything away from the Lions: 1) Stafford looked like Peyton Manning in tonight's game, however 2) they played without a viable running game to support his effort & we have a running game 3) the Lion's defense beat up the patsy starting offensive line, hitting Brady often & hard. our defense is a serious force to be reckoned with as well, probably better than the Detroit defense post season is not regular season however I think a Patriot win is not the sure thing everyone seems to think it is... Miami by 3 in the opener
let me post it first: the Patriot defense was missing important pieces however the real weakness that was exposed was on offense, starting with their offensive line, extending throughout their game right up to Tom Brady. their offense got beat up & Brady failed time & again to rebound. the Patriots were in offensive disarray, after being man-handled by the Lion's defense the match-up I judged them on was a legitimate first half of a starting Patriot offense against a starting Lion's defensive unit
I wrote: 2) they (the Lions) played without a viable running game to support his effort & we (Miami) have a running game we are in agreement on this point unless you are implying that Miami has no running game. my response to that would be: 1) I'll watch today's game with the Buc's later tonight & have a better idea of how we're developing 2) my guess is if there is a problem in the running game, it is on the offensive line not the running stable. and if this is the case this is a problem that will have to be resolved before anything can be effected on offense. I believe we have the talent & coaching available to fix it. everything is predicated in an effective offensive line. they have to get their act together for the opening game...
I think the Jets showed the way to attack the Patriots, and I am not sure the Pats really did anything to counter that - adding Ochocinco was a strange move. It will definitely be a big game for Henne. He is looking good in the preseason after a rough start. Now will he step up and lead this team to victory over a division rival when the score actually matters? Or will he revert to 2009 form and wilt under the pressure? Here's hoping he has turned the corner.
i think we get smoked the first game. i'm just hoping for 2-2 going into gm 5. if we get that i think we make the playoffs. our oline will come around eventually but not by week 1
I'll watch the game in about an hour, I'm sure he looked sharp & this is a very good thing. I especially like the second week in a row bit... no darts, no panties, just do it Chad!
I am going to gout on a limb here and assume you did not watch our game tonight edit: I should of read the rest of the thread before I posted
I'm starting to believe Henne limiting his mistakes and managing games won't be good enough. He's going to need to carry us on his shoulders. Our O-Line is as bad as any in football.
I'm in the greater Tampa area so I watched the Lions & Patriots first then a few hours later the Tampa /Miami game. I watched them both, watching the first halves of both games twice (recorded). its 400:am & I'm through with it good nite ladies until we me again
You can't really take anything away from a Pats/Lions preseason game. The Pats are a team gearing up for a Superbowl run they aren't going to show anything in the preseason and the Lions are a young team still working on getting their plays down, they have to execute a somewhat real game plan versus the Pats just giving young guys playing time and trying not to get their starters hurt. I'll say this much, our Specials Teams had better show up against the Pats opening week.
I see the Dolphins losing to the Patriots by at least two touchdowns in the season opener. I just don't see the Dolphins being able to compete on a week to week basis against the better teams in the NFL. In looking at their regular season schedule, I honestly don't see but 3-4 games in which they will be favored to win. I have stated all along that I don't see them winning more than five games this coming season. While Henne does seem to be playing better right now, I still will withhold judgement on him until the games actually mean something. I see absolutely no improvement on the offensive line and if the Dolphins can not run the ball, there is no way they have the passing game to beat the Patriots or any of the other better teams on their schedule this season. I still feel that Sparano and Ireland will be gone after this season and whoever is hired to replace them will once again start a new rebuilding program. With the Patriots and the Jets in their division. The Dolphins are still several years from being a legitimate contender in the AFC to make the playoffs.
