Flores, who joined the Patriots as a scouting assistant in 2004 and ascended to become one of the most respected members of the coaching staff, must have felt something like vindication if not outright vengeance after the win. In Week 2, Bill Belichick had shown no mercy in routing the Dolphins, 43-0.
The Dolphins, who spent in the range of $200 million in free agency in the offseason, signed linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts, and center/guard Ted Karras away from the Patriots. The Dolphins’ desire to hoard former Patriots is reminiscent of what Bill Parcells tried to do when he bolted the Patriots for the Jets after the 1996 season.
The Patriots, meanwhile, will look as unfamiliar as they have in years, and not just because of one certain seismic departure. Yes, it really did end. After 20 seasons and six Super Bowl victories, Tom Brady migrated to Florida too, joining the Buccaneers.
Seeing Brady in Bucs colors — what is that, pewter? — will never cease to be weird, but at least the Patriots replaced him with Cam Newton, a former MVP with an intriguingly different skill set and his own fiery urge to prove that his skills remain intact.
With Brady gone, there’s a rush — and a wish — in other NFL cities to declare the Patriots dynasty dead. It strikes me as foolish to do such a thing so long as Belichick patrols their sideline, but there’s no denying much has changed after last season’s abrupt ending.
A win over the Dolphins Sunday wouldn’t just stand as small revenge for Flores’s revenge game last December. It also would stand as an early warning that Brady may be gone, but the Patriots don’t plan to cede their usual spot atop the AFC East.
Kick it off, Bailey, and let’s get this thing started …
Three players I’ll be watching
Cam Newton: One of the popular topics of speculation during this abbreviated training camp was why Belichick was so quick to praise Newton, who is trying to find his magic touch after two injury-plagued seasons. I believe there are a few reasons for this.
He knows Newton, who even at his peak had a tendency to mope when frustrations mounted, responds far better to positive reinforcement. He wants Newton — impossibly charismatic, hard-working, uber-talented, and admired by his NFL peers — to know he’s appreciated, because his salary this year isn’t telling him that.
Also, Belichick is rejuvenated himself after a 20-year partnership with Brady that produced unprecedented success but also increasing nagging, this-again? headaches, particularly relative to Brady’s reliance on wannabe guru Alex Guerrero. (If only Belichick had bought a few $147 TB12 Wellness Bundles through the years to show his support.)
Cam Newton Live Press Conference 9/4: https://t.co/2IP4Wus11v
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 4, 2020
Most of all, though, I believe Belichick is genuinely intrigued by coaching Newton, an immense talent, personality, and physical specimen. Belichick isn’t just part of NFL history, he knows NFL history as well as anyone, and he has an almost giddy appreciation for exceptional players who have no duplicates (think Randy Moss, or Jim Brown, or Lawrence Taylor, or even multiskilled originals like Doug Flutie and Troy Brown).
Newton is 6 feet 5 inches, 270 pounds, and has 58 rushing touchdowns. There’s never been anyone quite like him. Belichick is relishing the opportunity to coach him, and he’s not trying to hide it.
N’Keal Harry: Can’t help but think the perception of the second-year receiver would be significantly different right now had the officials not blown a crucial call against him in Week 14 last year against the Chiefs. With the Patriots trailing, 23-13, early in the fourth quarter, Harry took a short pass from Brady, turned up the left sideline, blasted through defensive back Juan Thornhill, and dived for the pylon, extending the ball for what looked like a 13-yard touchdown.
However, officials ruled, incorrectly, that Harry had stepped out of bounds at the 3, and Belichick already had used his challenges. The Patriots settled for a field goal on the possession, and the Chiefs prevailed, 23-16.
Question: How would you describe your connection with Cam Newton?
N’Keal Harry: “It’s a real good connection. A lot of the time it’s kind of like a big brother, just kind of guiding me through a lot of things, helping me out a lot.” pic.twitter.com/AmTOw0dn7z
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 11, 2020
Yes, Harry had something of a lost first season, suffering a hamstring injury in camp, not making his debut until Week 11, and never getting in the same book as Brady, let alone on the same page. He finished with 12 catches for 105 yards in seven games, which is not what you were looking for from a first-round pick who was chosen ahead of productive receivers such as A.J. Brown, Deebo Samuel, D.K. Metcalf, and Terry McLaurin.
Yet his promise was evident in bursts — the Chiefs play that should have been a TD, touchdown catches against the Cowboys and Bengals, and even five carries on which he averaged 9.8 yards per attempt.
Harry did not have the dynamic training camp we were hoping to see, but his size, aggressiveness, and ability to run after the catch should make him an appealing target for Newton, who is not as finicky as Brady when it comes to trusting young receivers. Harry is going to make mistakes, but if he can stay on the field, he’s going to help, perhaps a lot.
Ja’Whaun Bentley: There’s not a player on the roster making a greater leap in responsibility than Bentley. A former fifth-round pick who has played 19 career games and started two, he’s now not just a starter, but a defensive captain.
With Van Noy (Dolphins) and the erratic Jamie Collins (Lions) elsewhere, and Dont’a Hightower (who should be as revered as Tedy Bruschi around here) opting out, the Patriots appear for now to be perilously thin at the linebacker position. Bentley must stay healthy, and he must master his responsibilities in a hurry.
Grievance of the Week
I’ll admit it. I’ve been waiting to flame-broil Roger Goodell and his fellow slithering executive-suite toadies for their trademark furrow-browed fake sincerity over the past few months when it comes to social justice and confronting systemic racism.
Goodell had the gall to say in August that he “wished we had listened earlier” to what Colin Kaepernick was protesting when he began kneeling before games in 2016, the capable quarterback’s final season in the league before a de facto blackballing. What a crock, Commish.
Anyone with one functioning eardrum knew Kaepernick was protesting police brutality, and anyone with any intellectual curiosity who had somehow missed his usually thoughtful explanations for his protests could have Googled “what was Kaepernick protesting?” and received more than 9.9 million results.
Goodell knew Kaepernick’s intentions all along. But he had to play politics, the only game he knows, and he decided it was best to avoid offending the billionaire owners and the element of the fan base that buys the trucks, beer, and erectile-dysfunction pills from the companies that spend so much sweet, sweet cash advertising on NFL telecasts.
Goodell is saying he supports the causes now — support, it should be noted, that seems to include only those puny “End racism” and “It takes all of us” messages in each end zone — only because the players figured out how to deploy their considerable clout.
Goodell probably fooled a few people with the faux contrition. He did not, however, fool the Dolphins, who released a poignant, poetic video Thursday night announcing that they would remain in the locker room during the national anthem and the playing of “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” traditionally known as the Black national anthem.
BREAKING NEWS: The@MiamiDolphins players will stay inside for both national anthems. They express their discontentment with what they call “fluff and empty gestures” by the @NFL pic.twitter.com/ghUktHhPt9
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) September 10, 2020
Oh to have seen his face when he first saw the video. Bet the furrowing and outrage were sincere for once.
Key matchup
Dolphins WR DeVante Parker vs. Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore
Gilmore delivered a phenomenal season last year, one more lauded nationally than even the best Patriot years of Hall of Famers Mike Haynes and Ty Law. Yet he also was complicit in setting up the Patriots for their abrupt end.
Gilmore intercepted a league-best six passes, broke up another 20, returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns (including one in the 43-0 rout of the Dolphins in Week 2), and anchored a pass defense that allowed just 13 touchdowns, intercepted 25 passes, and allowed a mere 2,886 yards in the air.
For his efforts, he became the first Patriot, and the first cornerback since the Raiders’ Charles Woodson in 2009, to be named AP Defensive Player of the Year. He deserved it. He was exceptional all season … with the exception, that is, of one bewildering outlier.
In the regular-season finale, the Dolphins stunned the Patriots, 27-24, at Gillette Stadium. With a win, the Patriots would have locked up a first-round bye. The defeat, and a Chiefs win later that day, allowed Kansas City to leapfrog them for the second seed in the AFC behind the Ravens. The Patriots fell to No. 3, and had to play the Titans in the wild-card round.
DeVante Parker got the best of Stephon Gilmore, who lined up across from Parker on 40 of 45 routes (89%).
Parker caught 7 of 9 targets with Gilmore in coverage for 119 yards, the most receptions & yards given up by Gilmore since joining the Patriots in 2017.#MIAvsNE | #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/hEkYFwSZ0c
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 29, 2019
The Patriots never made it to the divisional round after blowing the shot at the bye, with the Titans ending the Brady era with a 20-13 win. The Chiefs, as you may have heard, went on to win the Super Bowl.
The most puzzling element of that costly loss to the Dolphins was Gilmore’s performance. He struggled all afternoon against Parker, who finished with 8 catches on 11 targets for 137 yards, many coming at potentially pivotal moments.
Parker is a productive receiver — he finished last season with 72 catches for 1,202 yards and 9 touchdowns — but Gilmore had stifled bigger names and better players all season long. He also had stopped Parker cold, holding him without a catch on seven targets in Week 2.
Both Gilmore and Parker were limited in practice Thursday because of hamstring injuries, but they both should be ready for their latest showdown.
Prediction
(or, are we sure the Dolphins don’t still run the pistol with Ronnie Brown?)
These teams have met eight other times to open a season, most recently in 2014. This matchup might be on the short list of the most important season premieres for the Patriots against the Dolphins.
I am a full believer that the Patriots are going to be a very good team, one that hits double figures in victories and wins the AFC East for the 12th straight year. The mystery comes in how Belichick will do it.
We know some young players will emerge, but which ones? Rookie tight ends Devin Asiasi and/or Dalton Keene? Rookie linebackers Anfernee Jennings and/or Josh Uche? Will former prep phenom Byron Cowart blossom on the defensive line? Can Sony Michel, who scored six postseason touchdowns in the Super Bowl run two years ago, bounce back?
There’s young talent here, but it needs to seize the opportunity to emerge. This is an important game for the Patriots, not only to get Newton and the unsung talent around him off to an encouraging start, but because the schedule gets grueling fast, with matchups against the Seahawks, Chiefs, and 49ers over the next five games.
All the solutions won’t come Sunday. But the first victory of the post-Brady era will. Patriots 20, Dolphins 17.
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