Make the Supporting Cast Beat You

If last week’s game against the Lions taught the world anything, it’s that these New England Patriots aren’t the Patriots we’re used to. This team, even more so than in year’s past, is heavily dependent on Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski. The supporting cast just isn’t there this season. In previous years, you could count on Tom Terrific to find a way to beat you no matter who you focused on. I still believe that ability is in there, but it’s dramatically more difficult with this cast of characters.

Trading Brandin Cooks away to the Los Angeles Rams was, in my opinion, a mistake for this team. Cooks was a deep-threat weapon who, even if he wasn’t getting the ball, defenses had to respect. That respect opens up the middle of the field and the short game for your other players. Without that threat, this version of the Patriots offense has become startlingly one dimensional. If you take away Gronk, you put the Patriots offense in a serious hole.

That responsibility is going to fall to the Miami Dolphins “safeties”. With Reshad Jones coming back this week from a shoulder injury, Minkah Fitzpatrick gets to move back to a more comfortable nickel corner position. Though I see Fitzpatrick becoming one of the team’s starting safeties in time, he’s not there yet. However, that move will allow him to be matched up with the talented tight end. Fitzpatrick has the skill-set to cover Gronk and do a solid job of it. Unlike a linebacker, he has the speed to stay with Gronk down the seam. Unlike a typical corner, FitzMagic has the physicality of a safety to disrupt Gronk at the line.

If Fitzpatrick isn’t lined up across from Gronk, Dolphins safety/linebacker hybrid T.J. McDonald likely will be. Like Fitzpatrick, McDonald has the physicality to match-up well with Gronk. He’s not as fast as Fitzpatrick, and that could give the Dolphins secondary fits, but I believe he can get the job done well enough to neutralize most of Gronk’s impact.