The Patriots have to worry about these offensive weapons for Dolphins in Week 1
BOSTON -- There's just something about Miami that's long been a bugaboo for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Under Belichick, the Patriots went 8-2 vs. the Jets at the Meadowlands, and they've gone 9-3 against the Jets at MetLife Stadium. In Buffalo, the Patriots own a ridiculous 19-3 record over the Bills since 2000. That's a 36-8 record on the road against those two divisional opponents.
Yet in Miami, the Patriots have been subpar. To say the least.
The Patriots are famously just 9-13 in Miami since 2000. Contrast that with the Patriots' 17-5 record vs. Miami in Foxboro during that same span, and there's obviously some Miami voodoo at play whenever Belichick's team travels to South Florida.
That, however, does not count as actual information for the upcoming football game, which will be played by football players and coached by football coaches. With that in mind, here's a quick look at which Dolphins players will require the most attention from those players and coaches as they prepare for Sunday's Week 1 matchup with Miami.
WR Tyreek Hill
The Dolphins made the second-most significant veteran addition at wide receiver in the whole NFL this offseason, adding 28-year-old speed demon Tyreek Hill.
It's not yet clear exactly how Mike McDaniel and offensive coordinator Frank Smith plan on employing this very unique weapon, but he figures to play a central role in the offense.
The Patriots have had their hands full with Hill plenty in the past. Hill caught seven passes for 133 yards and a touchdown in his first game against the Patriots in 2017, before catching seven passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns vs. the Patriots in 2018. In four career regular-season meetings with the Patriots, Hill has averaged six catches for 100.25 yards with five total touchdowns -- and those performances came against a secondary that included Stephon Gilmore. Even though Jonathan Jones often handled Hill duty, Gilmore helped neutralize the second-best threat in Kansas City's offense. With Gilmore gone, even if Jones can handle Hill, the rest of New England's defense figures to be stressed across the board due to Hill's presence.
WR Jaylen Waddle
As a rookie, Jaylen Waddle caught 104 passes for 1,015 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games. Pretty good!
His rookie season was bookended with games against the Patriots. He caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in a win in Foxboro in Week 1, scoring what proved to be the winning touchdown. And he caught five passes for 27 yards and another touchdown in a home win in Week 18.
And he did all of that without a player of Hill's caliber in the offense. Assuming good health for all (Waddle has been dealing with an injury, but McDaniel feels good about his availability for Sunday), it's a bit frightening to ponder what Waddle will be able to do in year two.
"TE" Mike Gesicki
More of a wide receiver than a tight end, the 26-year-old Gesicki is entering his prime. He's gotten better each year, catching 22 passes as a rookie, 51 passes in year two, 53 passes in year three, and 73 passes last year. He's upped his receiving yards every year, too, from 202, to 570, to 703, to 780.
He caught the soul-crushing, game-winning touchdown in Foxboro in the 2019 regular-season finale, but has otherwise been largely kept in check during his games against the Patriots. In seven career games, he has just 11 receptions for 106 yards and the one touchdown. Gesicki's place on the Miami roster has been in question this summer, but as he enters a contract year, he'll surely be motivated to post his best NFL season for the fifth straight year. Covering the 6-foot-6 tight end/receiver hybrid won't be an easy task.
Everyone Else
The quarterback is obviously Tua Tagovailoa, who was just voted as a team captain for the first time. It's still unclear what kind of NFL quarterback Tua will be ... but he is 3-0 as a starter against New England, albeit with some unimpressive stats. ... At running back, the Dolphins have Chase Edmonds, Myles Gaskin, and Raheem Mostert. Mostert is intriguing. He had the best year of his career with McDaniel as his run game coordinator in 2019, but he's coming off a season where he played just one game due to a knee injury that required surgery. ... Behind Gesicki at tight end, they have Durham Smythe, who caught 34 passes for 357 yards last year. ... And when the Dolphins want to go with some power run sets, they have fullback Alex Ingold, who's set to return from a torn ACL suffered last season.