What Dolphins Should Expect from New England

The Miami Dolphins will face the New England Patriots in their home opener at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, looking to bounce back from their embarrassing loss in Week 1.

The Dolphins will be facing a New England team that also had a disappointing season opener, a 20-13 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium in Mike Vrabel's debut as head coach.

To get the lowdown on the Patriots and the matchup at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Boston Globe reporter Ben Volin was a guest on the All Dolphins Podcast for a recent episode and here are some of the highlights. You can find the full conversation here.

BREAKING DOWN THE DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS

Q. What can you say about the Patriots loss against Las Vegas in the season opener?

BV: Yeah, a lot of excitement with Mike Vrabel and this supposedly really experienced coaching staff they brought in and they spent all this money on the roster. And this is now year two for Drake Maye. And it was like, same old boring Patriots, can only manage 13 points. Offense was a mess. Drake Maye was just, he looks so uncomfortable all day long, not seeing the field, missing some easy throws, a few drops by his receivers. The offensive line was a mess, they couldn't fire off the ball, couldn't create anything in the run game, screen game was getting blown up left and right. Offense was just a total mess. And I thought the defense would be better. Geno Smith carved them up for 362 yards. He led the NFL with nine completions of 20 yards in week one. So big chunk plays. Chip Kelly coach circles around the Patriots on Sunday. So pretty disappointing start. It's only one game. It's the baseline, obviously, baseline performance. But I think some people's faith in Vrabel has been shaken a little bit, that maybe he's not going to be this miracle worker that some people expected him to be.

Q. If Drake Maye is not completely balling, what's to scare you from that offense?

BV: Yeah, not much. And, you know, they added Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins and TreyVon Henderson. And so maybe they have a little bit more at receiver, but they didn't on Sunday, as far as having anyone who can really scare you. Kayshon Boutte of all people had six catches for 103 yards. So he actually had a nice performance and with maybe some attention being paid to Diggs, and TreyVon Henderson and maybe Hunter Henry, I think Boutte could be in line for some one-on-one coverage and maybe put up some stats this year. That said, I wouldn't put it all on the receivers. They were open at times too. Going back and watching the film, it's like Drake Maye only threw to Hunter Henry when he was covered and never threw to Hunter Henry when he was wide open. And there were several receivers where they were open and Drake, between locking on to his primary receiver and then just not having a good sense where the pressure was coming from, Drake didn't see the field very well and he didn't feel he didn't look very comfortable. They still have pretty average mediocre weapons for Drake Maye. So it is definitely going to be tough sledding. This is definitely going to be a team that's going to have to win some 19 -17 games.

Q. Will Campbell was the fourth overall pick in the 2025 draft; was in one of those deals where considering how bad the New England offensive line was last year, they kind of had no choice but to go in that direction?

BV: Yeah, definitely. It was the one position they didn't fill in free agency. They went out and they got Stefon Diggs and they got a new right tackle in Morgan Moses and on the defense Milton Williams, Robert Spillane, Carlton Davis. The one guy they didn't get was a premier left tackle, because there just wasn't really that guy available. So when you're sitting there with the No. 4 pick, I feel like they felt compelled to draft Will Campbell. And it's amazing just to go back when the Patriots won that meaningless game against the Bills in Week 18 last year that cost them the No. 1 pick. I mean, the Patriots, they could have traded No. 1 to Tennessee, which wanted Cam Ward and gotten some extra picks there. Then they could have traded down from 2 with the Jaguars, who wanted Travis Hunter. So they had gotten that No. 1 pick, they could have traded down twice and still probably gotten Will Campbell instead. They had to sit there at number 4, watch all the good players come off the board before them and then take a guy with short arms who you're not quite sure is going to be a left tackle in the league or if you're gonna have to shift him inside to guard. His performance Sunday wasn't all terrible. You didn't really notice Will Campbell until the fourth quarter. Then all of a sudden he's committing a false start, a couple of false start penalties, and it looks like he's trying to jump the snap a little bit, trying to deal with guys like Maxx Crosby. And then he gave up a strip sack as well. So first game in the NFL, I don't want to get too harsh on a rookie, but they had to take Will Campbell. And the short arm thing and the "can he play left tackle?", that is definitely going to be a question. And it's something to be something we're going to monitor all year long.

Q. Before I move on to other topics regarding the Patriots, I gotta ask you about Cole Strange, who the Dolphins signed this week. Former first-round pick of the Patriots, who was a shocking pick at the time and obviously didn't pan out. What can you tell Dolphin fans? Should Dolphins fans be excited about this acquisition?

BV: Yeah, I assume this week Mike McDaniel is plugging Cole Strange in and just downloading all the information from his brain, trying to get a read on the Patriots personnel. But I think beyond that he can help the Dolphins offensive line moving forward. Cole Strange has become a little bit of a punch line up here in New England, kind of like the personification of everything that went wrong with the Bill Belichick final years here. The Patriots, I think the story goes, it was back in 2022 I think they were hoping linebacker Devin Lloyd would be there with the 29th pick. The Jaguars traded up ahead of them and took him. And I think the Patriots got caught a little flat-footed and were like, well, let's just take the guard beause we think he's going to be a safe player. Some scouting services had Cole Strange rated as a third- or a fourth-round pick. Again, not his fault that he came to New England as the 29th pick. The expectations were high. Fans didn't want a guard with the 29th pick. And then the end of his second season, he tore his patellar tendon in his knee, a very significant injury. And it happened in December, maybe even early January. So it cost him pretty much all of his third season as well. And now here we are in his fourth season. So it just, the injury really sidetracked him, having two coaching changes from Belichick to Mayo and now to Mike Vrabel. I think that hurt Cole Strange. I think he can play. I think this year the tie went to the rookie, the tie went to the Vrabel player. They're trying to get rid of all the old players for the most part. So I think Strange gets a lot of crap from fans up here, but I don't think he's as bad as it's being made out to be. And he's just had some tough circumstances, which is what happens in the NFL. So much of it is about time and place. But I still think he can be a productive player and can help the Dolphins out.

Q. Who should Dolphin fans look at on that New England defense? I guess Harold Landry with his 2.5 sacks against Las Vegas might stand out.

BV: Yeah, although they were all off the blitz and a lot of it was — not to take away from Harold Landry — him cleaning up some other guys' pressure. To me, Milton Williams, the guy they got from the Eagles, he wrecked the Super Bowl, kind of a lighter, faster defensive tackle and what the Patriots had in the past. He was pretty disruptive the other day. And then Robert Spillane is all over the place. He's the middle linebacker. They got him from the Raiders. He's kind of kicked around, former like practice squad guy who's developed into a really solid three-down linebacker. He blitzes, he covers, he goes sideline to sideline. He's number 14 in the middle of the defense. He's certainly one to watch. I think the Patriots safety duo is an area that needs to be cleaned up a lot. The Patriots have some new faces at safety, and it was a little bit of a struggle in week one. So I think that's an area they got to clean up. And you know what? The Dolphins are I think a very similar offense to what the Raiders just did. Geno and Tua, I think very similar. Pocket quarterbacks aren't gonna hurt you with their feet, but get the ball out quickly. Accurate passers, 70% completion kind of guys, run after the catch. And then lots of bunch formations, a lot of speed, a lot of creativity. So even though the Dolphins struggled against the Colts, I think they're gonna be a real good test for the Patriots on Sunday.

Q. It came out right after the draft, after the Dolphins made the move to get up in the second round to go get Jonah Savaiinaea from Arizona that the Patriots apparently were hot and heavy after him as well, deciding maybe between him and TreyVon Henderson. What's your take on that?

BV: Yeah, I mean all all kind of evidence points to that being the case. (GM) Elliot Wolf talked about they were debating two players and then the decision was made for them and it was an easy decision at that point to draft TreyVon Henderson. And obviously the Dolphins did jump right in front of them for Savaiinaea. So for those reasons and more, obviously it seemed like they wanted to do that. The Patriots then came back in the third round and drafted Jared Wilson, who's now starting left guard from Georgia. So the Patriots have a rookie at left tackle and at left guard. I think they're only like the second team in the last like, 25 years to have that sort of set up for Week 1. And it was rough for Jared Wilson, the left guard, Adam Butler, former Patriot, and I think former Dolphin, ate him for lunch, just was everywhere on Sunday. So to have two rookies right next to each other on the left side, I think that's an area that the Dolphins and other opponents are gonna be looking to take advantage of until the Patriots prove that they can block it up.

Q. TreyVon Henderson, what's he looking like so far?

BV: Preseason and training camp was phenomenal. I mean, no linebackers could cover the guy in the passing game, just wheel routes and into the flats, like just uncoverable. And then the other day was a little more of a mixed bag. Really bottled up well by the Raiders and I think he got so much hype during training camp that he became a key for the Raiders defense and he will be moving forward for defenses because Henderson is the home run threat. You could argue he's the number 1. Stefon Diggs is not quite himself as he comes back from ACL. Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, I don't think those guys really need to be double teamed. The home run threat is Treyvon Henderson, who can take one of the house out of the backfield. He took the opening kickoff of the preseason 100 yards for a touchdown. So he's their speed threat.

Q. And finally I'm not necessarily going to ask for your prediction, but as we sit here at this moment what's your gut telling you about what kind of performance you would expect from the Patriots in Week 2?

Yeah, I mean, I don't think I'm going to change my prediction. I'm definitely leaning Dolphins just based on Miami has been a house of horrors for this Patriots franchise for a while. I think especially coming down in September where it's just hot and humid and just a terrible place to throw on pads and run around for three hours. The Patriots, I don't think, have enough pass rush in their front four to get after Tua and they're going to have to blitz again. And I think Mike McDaniel and Tua are going to have good plans for the Patriots blitz. The speed, the creativity of that offense, I think it's all going to be a problem for the Patriots. And the Patriots offense is really at square one right now, like back to basics. So I have a hard time seeing the Patriots going down to Miami and coming away with this win. (But) if I knew I'd go to Vegas and make a lot of money on it. But I just I don't have a good feeling about the Patriots until they start to show something better on the field.

BREAKING DOWN THE DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS

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