The Dolphins perimeter speed is well documented and it has posed problems for defenses across the league all season long. Just go back to Christmas day when Jaylen Waddle scored on an 84 yard touchdown pass. He literally out ran four defenders that had an angle on him. That speed is unique and not every opponent you will face has that kind of speed.

The challenge is how do you defend a receiving corp that has that much speed? Bracketing Miami is tough because they have two receivers with similar skill sets and they do a good job of moving their receivers around. It is hard to get a beat on them. The motion component of their offense is especially difficult to defend. The Patriots are going to have to balance dealing with motion and covering vertically. It won’t be easy. So how do the Patriots defend this vaunted passing attack? Bill Belichick talked about the challenge of facing this Miami passing game.

“Yeah, I mean first of all it depends on what you’re in defensively, what the coverage is, what the call is. So, there would be a lot of different scenarios depending upon what you were in. Could start with that. What exactly you’re trying to do would depend on what play they have called and what it matched up against. It would be something that they would scheme up from a coaching standpoint and coach the quarterback on.” Belichick added: “The defense does this than we do that, if they do this than we do something else. He’s not the only guy on the play. You have to deal with the rest of the play, too. Whatever the quarterback’s reads are, that’s what they are dependent on the play. Might depend on the defense.”

When you look at this game objectively from a coaching standpoint, I would do what the Patriots did in their Week One meeting. I would play a fair amount of Cover 3 and Cover 4 (Quarters) and I would mix in Cover 2-Man.

Cover 2 Man allows the Patriots to run with motion, be physical at the line of scrimmage and carry routes vertically with safety help. Factor in that Teddy Bridgewater is starting at quarterback and it makes even more sense because he isn’t the running threat that Tua is and it makes even more sense. The Patriots will need to consistently bring five on any pressure they bring so having the ability to get pressure and cover over the top is key this week.

There are other variations of Cover 2 that the Patriots can play where they can still be physical and re-route Waddle and Tyreek Hill but their best bet would be to play just straight man underneath and play in the trail position. The goal is to make Miami drive the ball, not hit the big plays that we are accustomed to seeing them make this season. Mike McDaniel is not like his mentor Kyle Shanahan. He isn’t patient enough to run the ball and grind a defense down. He wants the big play all the time.

The Dolphins are currently ranked fifth in total offense. They have the league’s second rated pass offense however averaging 274. 9 yards per game through the air. The Patriots are 14th in pass defense giving up 213.1 yards per game. They did a good job in the first meeting limiting the big play and they are going to do the same this week if they want to have any chance at winning this game.

When asked if the Miami offense will look different with Bridgewater under center, Belichick doesn’t believe that the offense will change much.

“I’d say it’s a high percentage of the offense. Sure, they’re things they’d do specifically for one guy or the other, but generally speaking that’s the offense.”

Either way, the Patriots know they will have their hands full with Hill and Waddle regardless of who is under center for the Dolphins on Sunday.