Bill Belichick is a genius (but one not known for his sartorial elegance!) , maybe the greatest sporting head coach of all time, winning the AFC East 16 times in 17 seasons and six Super Bowls, but there are signs that the glory days in New England are well and truly over and some odd decisions have been made. Coming off their first losing season in 20 years in 2020 (7-9 record) , they went 10-7 last year, but were what I consider a "poor" 10 win team and they lost by 30 points in their first postseason game. They did not strengthen this last off season, or do much business at all. Their four major offensive coaches all left for the Raiders. Belichick and his GM did not replace the offensive coordinator and he has operated without a defensive coordinator for the last four years and we can make a very strong case for two of those years being the worst in his two decade plus tenure. On top of which , he has named a defensive coordinator as his main offensive advisor! If this was any other head coach I would say this spelled disaster and/or he had lost his mind! But this is Belichick, so I will just say that it doesn't sound great!

 

Miami swept the Patriots last season for the first time in 22 years and will be desperate to retain that advantage after playing second, third or fourth fiddle to New England for so many years. They won this fixture comfortably on the final day of the 2021 season, so last time out for the Dolphins,therefore, positive and very recent memories for them of that day. Despite winning 8 of their last 9 starts in 2021 they fired their head coach and hired Mike McDaniel the former SF 49ers offensive coordinator who introduced a much admired and unique rushing attack which almost (should have?) took the Niners to the Super Bowl. They have invested heavily, bringing in a number of big names including Tyreek Hill from the Chiefs, arguably the biggest deep threat in the NFL and giving QB Tua Tagovailoa protection and time to find him, whilst also making room for McDaniel's running plays. This all feels very exciting and I am desperate to see the Dolphins.

 

 

Good luck!