Pats Have Unfinished Biz vs. Faltering Fish
By Charles Jay
Visit BetAnySports NOW to bet on the NFL!
Well, can the New England Patriots achieve home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs? All they have to do is something they have not been able to accomplish in either of the last two seasons, which is to go into Sun Life Stadium and defeat the Miami Dolphins. Of course, it can be said with some conviction that these teams are going in different directions, so understandably, New England is a big favorite as this game gets underway at 1 PM ET. Keep in mind that even after the opening kickoff, BetAnySports patrons can keep the action alive through the apparatus of Live Betting Extra.
Patriots vs Dolphins – BetAnySports NFL BETTING LINE:
In the football odds posted on this game by the people at BetAnySports, the Patriots are big favorites:
New England Patriots -10
Miami Dolphins +10
Over 47 points -110
Under 47 points -110
The Patriots are coming off a disappointing defeat, as they tried to complete a sweep of the New York Jets, but failed 26-20 in overtime. There has been a lot of discussion as to whether head coach Bill Belichick should have elected to kick off to the Jets to start overtime, but his rationale was that as long as New York did not score a touchdown, his team would be in pretty good position when it got the ball. Unfortunately, the Jets did indeed crossed the goal line.
New England is currently 12-3 straight-up and 7-6-2 against the football pointspread. The Dolphins are a dismal 5-10 straight-up and 4-11 ATS, and sweeping changes are expected.
In addition to this, there is some internal difficulty, as the wife of cornerback Brent Grimes went off on quarterback Ryan Tannehill this past week on Twitter, saying that she knew he “stunk,” and that he is the biggest problem on this team, not the defense. Unbelievably, Grimes says that his relationship with Tannehill is actually pretty good, and that he has nothing to do with his wife’s remarks.
Previous to last week, the Patriots had been held to just 20 points only one other time, and there is very little question that injuries on the offensive side of the ball have had their effect. Running backs LeGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis are out for the season, and wide receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola have been banged-up. This team went so far as designed grizzled veteran Steven Jackson last week, and after 13 yards on seven carries, they hope he has shaken off the rust and is ready for more prominent role in the backfield.
As mentioned, the Pats have lost their last two appearances in Miami, but this Dolphin team, which looked for a moment like it was going to experience a revival in the first two games under interim coach Dan Campbell, has lost five of its last six, and firings are definitely expected on Monday.
Tannehill has been working under a different offensive coordinator for the last four weeks. Bill Lazor was fired, and in stepped Zac Taylor, who had worked with Tannehill as far back as the Texas A&M days. The young quarterback was given additional responsibilities, including calling audibles at the line of scrimmage, and so there has been an adjustment, as BetAnySports patrons can well imagine.
What kind of disappointing about this Miami offense is that Lamar Miller appears to now be the invisible man. He had only 31 yards on 15 carries last week in and 18-12 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Campbell’s original idea was to make Miami more hard-nosed, and that included a ground-and-pound attack on offense. Along the way, it is readily apparent that some of the intensity went missing.
The Dolphins have scored more than 20 points only three times this season, so this should not be a very difficult assignment for the Patriots, who are best in the league in producing points in the red zone and also second best in touchdowns scored on a per-drive basis. Tom Brady is a viable MVP candidate, with 4636 yards and 36 touchdowns. The Dolphins can’t match that kind of firepower, even if New England is playing “mix and match” with its other offensive components.
>BetAnySports is your one-stop shop for everything related to sports betting, and you’ve got reduced juice wagering to take advantage of, not to mention Live Betting Extra. And when it comes to depositing, you can use Bitcoin, as well as your Visa card or a person-to-person transfer!