What to Watch For: Patriots at Dolphins

Antonio Brown

The biggest storyline with Patriots, and maybe in the entire NFL, coming into Sunday’s game is will Antonio Brown play.

Brown officially joined the Patriots on Monday and then was accused of sexual assault and rape by his former trainer on Tuesday, as GoLocalProv reported.

Despite the charges, Brown has practiced with New England all week and is with the team in Miami.

“We'll do what's best for the team,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said during his press conference on Friday.

When pressed, Belichick added, “I'm not going to hand out a copy of the game plan here. We'll do what we think is best for the team.”

During practice this week, Brown took part in drills with the starters and caught numerous passes from Tom Brady.

On one particular play, Brown ran a route where he cut inside and then quickly back out, leaped up and caught Brady’s pass at its highest point in the corner of the end zone.

“Well, he's a very productive receiver. I think that he's done a lot of things in the league as a great player over a long period of time,” said Brady during his press conference on Wednesday.

If Brown does play on Sunday, it will be in a limited role as he is still learning the offense.

“The systems that he's been in have been quite different. Jon [Gruden] does the West Coast offense, which there's very little carryover from their system to our system. Not bad or good – just we've had players before. It's just not all going to carry over, and a similar thing in Pittsburgh. You know, he's working hard to pick it up, and we're working hard to get it to him,” said Belichick.

If and when Brown does play, he will join a Patriots receiving corps that includes Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Jakobi Meyers, and Phillip Dorsett.

PHOTO: Patriots media website

Teacher vs Pupil

The Patriots will see a familiar face when they take on the Dolphins on Sunday - Miami head coach Brian Flores.

Flores was named the head coach of the Dolphins during the offseason after spending the last 15 years of his career coaching under Bill Belichick in New England.

“Obviously, there's a lot of familiarity with us and some of their players and coaches, but really, all of that aside, it's fairly common every week that there's some type of crossover there,” said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on Wednesday.

Flores will be the ninth former Belichick assistant to face the Patriots since 2000. If you add in Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel, who played under Belichick, that makes ten.

The Patriots are 14-10 in those games for a winning percentage of 58.3, including losses in each of the last two (Mike Vrabel and Matt Patricia).

“Brian's a great coach. So, he's been sitting in these meetings for 15 years too, learning from Coach [Bill] Belichick. So, he knows what we're trying to do; we know what they're trying to do. I think we've faced that before over some years when Josh [McDaniels] was in Denver, when Matty P’s [Matt Patricia] in Detroit, Eric Mangini was with the Jets, Romeo [Crennel],” said Brady.

Not to mention, the Patriots have lost five of their last six games in Miami, including last year’s wild finish.

Brady added, “it’s a challenging place to play. I think it's challenging when they come up here; I think it's challenging when we go down there. It's just, I think, dealing with a lot of different elements and showing mental toughness. Last year, I thought we played a pretty good game, but what coach reiterates is 60 minutes. In football, a lot of crazy things happen. You can't assume that – you know, these guys are extremely skilled and they're great players.”

PHOTO: Patriots media website

Minkah Fitzpatrick

Following Miami’s 59-10 loss to Baltimore, it was reported that multiple players on the team were seeking trades.

One of those players is second-year defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the Dolphins have given Fitzpatrick permission to seek a trade.

Mortensen reports that Miami is seeking a package that includes a first-round pick in 2020.

New England is reportedly one of the teams that could have interest.

According to Pro Football Focus, last season Fitzpatrick allowed a passer rating of 69.0, which is ninth among corners.

Fitzpatrick posted 0.84 yards allowed per coverage snap, ranking 12th best among corners.

In the slot, Fitzpatrick allowed a passer rating of just 53.4, the best in the league.

“In the past, we've seen Minkah do a lot of different things. He's played corner, he's played nickel, he's played safety, he's played what we call the "money" position. It's kind of a linebacker in sub defense. Certainly, in college, he was an outstanding blitzer, as well as, doing all of those things for Coach [Nick] Saban at Alabama. So, he has a wide variety of skills; he's a versatile player,” said Belichick on Friday.

On Sunday, Fitzpatrick could see time against Julian Edelman in the slot or on the outside against Antonio Brown or Josh Gordon.

PHOTO: Official NFL headshot

Pats Running Game

The Miami Dolphins defense was gashed by a trio of Ravens running backs last week in Baltimore’s 59-10 victory.

The Dolphins gave up 265 yards rushing and allowed three players to have over 55 yards, including Ravens' lead running back Mark Ingram, who had 107 yards on just 14 carries.

Meanwhile, last week against Pittsburgh, the Patriots rushed for 99 yards on 29 carries, with big bursts coming from Brandon Bolden and James White.

Second-year player Sony Michel rushed for just 14 yards on 15 carries.

One concern that would affect the Patriots rushing attack would be the reshuffled offensive line.

Marcus Cannon has been ruled out for the game meaning there will be more tweaking.

Earlier this week, the Patriots signed offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse to a roster spot to add depth.

Newhouse was drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.

“He's got experience. He's played both sides. He's, again, a guy that's played good football during his time in the league, and he was available. That's the main thingm” said Bill Belichick during his press conference on Friday.

It is unclear if Newhouse will see action in the game.

PHOTO: Jeffrey Beall/Wikipedia

Pats Defense

After giving up just three points to the Steelers last week, the Patriots defense should be able to put up another big performance against the Dolphins.

“Offensively this is a very talented, skilled group of players – backs, tight ends, certainly receivers. They have a lot of weapons. They have a lot of ways that they can make big plays and score a lot of points. So, we'll have to do a real good job of defending this group,” said Belichick on Friday.

Against Baltimore, the Dolphins managed just ten points, while quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick completed just 14 of 29 passes for 185 yards.

Miami’s top receiver is Davante Parker after they traded away Kenny Stills and let former Patriot Danny Amendola walk.

Parker had three catches for 75 yards last week.

On the ground, Miami looks to Kenyan Drake, who was only handed the ball four times last week and got 12 yards.

The Patriots gave up less than 300 total yards against the Steelers while recording one sack and an interception in the game.

PHOTO: Jeffrey Beall/Wikipedia