How did Miami do it?

[BigOrangeJetFan]

Never mind all the talk about how we beat the Pats 17-14, what I want to know is: how did Miami destroy the Pats 21-0? Liar-boy Nick really had a plan that game. It's too simple to say that he had Brady's signals. THere has to be more to it than that. What can we do to kick some Pat butt the way the Fins did that game?

[JetCane]

Great question. I think a lot of the factors that determined that game are described in this writeup:

Miami 21, New England 0

Preview - Box Score - Recap

By STEVEN WINE, AP Sports Writer

December 10, 2006

MIAMI (AP) -- As Tom Brady prepared to take a snap, he shouted and pointed across the line, anticipating a blitz from end Jason Taylor lined up at middle linebacker.

Maybe Brady's teammates didn't hear him. They failed to block Taylor, who swooped up the middle untouched to force a harried, errant pass.

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It was that kind of day for Brady and the Patriots, who lost to the Miami Dolphins 21-0 Sunday.

"We just couldn't do anything right," Brady said.

The roving Taylor led a disruptive defense that sacked Brady four times, forced him to fumble twice and limited him to 78 yards passing. New England totaled 12 first downs and 189 yards, both season lows, and lost three fumbles, giving them 11 turnovers in the past three games.

The Patriots committed nine penalties. Their best play was an illegal forward pass.

"To get a shutout against a team like that is huge for our defense," said safety Yeremiah Bell, who had nine tackles and forced a fumble by Brady.

The last Miami team to shut out New England was the perfect-season Dolphins of 1972.

By the second quarter, Brady's frustration was evident. When the Patriots were stopped for the fifth possession in a row in the opening half, he screamed at teammates as he trotted off the field, and again after he reached the bench.

"He was pretty frustrated," Miami defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday said. "We saw him yelling at his linemen. It was a little bit uncharacteristic of Brady -- he's usually so cool and calm in the pocket. But we were able to fluster him a little bit."

Brady fell to 7-5 against the Dolphins, compared with 70-20 against the rest of the NFL.

The Patriots (9-4) missed a chance to clinch their fourth consecutive AFC East title. They still lead the division by two games, but the loss snapped their three-game winning and hurt their chances of earning a first-round bye in the playoffs.

They lost on the road for the first time in six games this season.

Miami (6-7), virtually eliminated from the playoff race a week ago, won for the fifth time in six games.

"Hats off to them to be playing at that level when their future is kind of cloudy," Patriots defensive end Ty Warren said.

New England played without leading rusher Laurence Maroney, inactive because of a back injury, and lost top receiver Benjamin Watson in the third quarter with a leg injury.

And Taylor didn't make things any easier for the Patriots. He kept them guessing by lining up at different spots and frequently harassed Brady.

"He's the best player we've played against all year," Belichick said.

"He's relentless out there," Brady said. "He's got a great knack for the ball."

Taylor made six tackles, sacked Brady once, forced a fumble and broke up a pass.

The Patriots averaged only 2.0 yards per pass play. They did reach the end zone once, but the score in the fourth quarter was negated by a penalty for passing twice.

With Miami leading 13-0, Kevin Faulk ran right on an apparent sweep, then threw back across the field to Brady. The quarterback threw long to Daniel Graham for a 33-yard score. But after a lengthy discussion, officials ruled Faulk's throw was a forward pass rather than a lateral.

"If that was a touchdown, it's a whole different game," Taylor said. "The dynamic of the game is changed drastically."

Instead, Brady lost a fumble on a safety blitz three plays later, and Miami drove 61 yards for the clinching touchdown.

Sammy Morris rushed for a career-high 123 yards and a score for the Dolphins. Marty Booker caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Joey Harrington.

Defense and special teams did the rest. Poor field position hurt the Patriots, who started their first eight possessions at the 30 or worse. Three punts by Miami's Donnie Jones were downed inside the 5-yard line.

Against the Patriots, Taylor said, a shutout was especially sweet.

"There's a rivalry here," Taylor said. "It's a division game. It's a team I consider one of the best two or three in the league. But it's great to get a shutout any time."

Notes:@ Patriots NT Vince Wilfork left the game in the third quarter with a leg injury. ... The shutout was the Dolphins' first since Sept. 3, 2000, when they beat Seattle 23-0. The last time the Patriots were shut out was Sept. 7, 2003, when Buffalo beat them 31-0.

[#27TheDominator]

Never mind all the talk about how we beat the Pats 17-14, what I want to know is: how did Miami destroy the Pats 21-0? Liar-boy Nick really had a plan that game. It's too simple to say that he had Brady's signals. THere has to be more to it than that. What can we do to kick some Pat butt the way the Fins did that game?

I think the Dolphins have a better defense than us. That's how they did it.

[AFJF]

They did it because the NFL defesive player of year, had arguably his best game of the season. If any of our players on defense are able to harass Brady the Taylor did, we'll have no problem winning this game. Only problem is, I don't see anybody on our defense doing what Jason Taylor did. JMO.

[Maxman]

Still serves as a reminder that this team is not as good on offense as they have been. It won't be an easy game for the Jets. It is actually a lot to ask of them at this point.

But it can be done.

[SoFlaJets]

I agree with Max and have been saying it since watching that 2nd game of the season loss at home.We were still that 4-12 team at the time and our defense still hadn't "gotten" the nuances of the Mangini defense yet.It really showed on that 4th quarter 7 plus minute drive by Brady that ended with the Bryan Thomas block of Noodle leg's FG.I believe we now make those stops.

Also,Kendall was hurt and our OL was nowhere as cohesive as it is now.

Derrick Frickin BLAYLOCK was our RB that day-you remember Mr.Tiptoe up to the LOS and fall down.We weren't utilizing our rookies (Leon,Brad) either.As crappy as we were that day we STILL almost won. NE has suffered some key defensive losses since then too-I say it's a winnable game

[spjets]

i agree....

they need to pressure pressure and more pressure Brady..

like they did in game 2 this year...

Still serves as a reminder that this team is not as good on offense as they have been. It won't be an easy game for the Jets. It is actually a lot to ask of them at this point.

But it can be done.

[faba]

I saw a little of this game and the Dolphins were all over Brady- they had great pressure on him all the game- the blitzes did this for us the last time in Foxboro so I would expect to see more of that this game from Sutton.

[SoFlaJets]

I saw a little of this game and the Dolphins were all over Brady- they had great pressure on him all the game- the blitzes did this for us the last time in Foxboro so I would expect to see more of that this game from Sutton.

again and I can't stress it enough our outside LBers have to stay at home because Brady will either be looking to dump it off (like he has been doing the 2nd half of the year)-everybody has to come in with arms high trying to swat or tip the ball and get a turnover that way.

Also,by KEEPING the OLBers at home we can stop the run because when they have had success in both games it was by running up the gut and then bouncing it outside the tackles

We have a great shot here because the Pats are now playing offense like the Jets with the dink and dunk-and who better to prep the defense than the master at it?...Chad