DAVIE, Fla. — Joe Philbin remembered getting some good advice before a big game when he was the Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator.
“One of our staff workers said, ‘Coach, if we can get three explosive runs in this playoff game, we’re definitely going to win,’” Philbin said.
“I said, ‘Draw ‘em up. What’s the personnel? What’s the formation? How we gonna block them? I’d be glad to put them in the plan.’”
As the Miami Dolphins' rookie head coach, Philbin said he again was open to suggestions heading into Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
The AFC East-leading Patriots (8-3) have lost three games by a total of four points. Tom Brady & Co. have produced obscene offensive numbers with 37 points and 435.8 total yards per game.
“We’re going to have to score some points, there’s no question about it,” Philbin said Friday. “I’m not an expert, I don’t have a crystal ball, but I don’t think it’s going to be a 10-7 game, so we have to score.”
The game is the first of two meetings this season. The Dolphins (5-6) will play at Foxboro on the regular season’s final weekend.
Miami, holding onto slim playoff hopes, is 33-14 all-time at home vs. New England. The Patriots have won eight of the last 10 meetings overall, including sweeps each of the past two years.
Since Bill Belichick became coach in 2000, the Patriots are 6-6 at Miami and have won six of their last nine visits.
A victory Sunday would secure New England’s 12th straight winning season.
Want another incredible Patriots tidbit? New England is 43-7 in December under Belichick, with the last loss in the season’s second half occurring at Houston on Jan. 10, 2010.
That’s right, the Patriots closed with 8-0 marks in both 2010 and 2011.
“They’re arguably the best football team the past decade,” Dolphins receiver Davone Bess said. “They’re going to be ready to play, but we are, too.”
They better be, for their sake.
As if New England’s overall offensive production this season isn’t enough to impress, the Patriots have had just 11 three-and-outs in 123 series and they’re 83 of 156 (53 percent) on third down. (Miami is 52 of 143, 36 percent)
“They’re not a team that uses a lot of trickery,” Miami defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said. “They are a team that does a great job of working matchups and they’re built that way.
“They’ve got speed receivers, quick receivers, big receivers. When you do things to try to negate their passing game, as evidenced this year, they’re very effective running the ball.”
New England also boasts a plus-24 turnover differential thanks to forcing 32 turnovers while committing just eight.
“They’re an opportunistic defense that’s going to do their best to get the ball off of you,” Miami rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. “They don’t turn the ball over very much. In order for us to win that battle, we can’t turn it over.”
Even if one chooses to ignore New England’s season statistics, the past 12 years explain why the Dolphins will have their fins full on Sunday.
But don’t expect Philbin's players to be intimidated easily.
“At the end of the day,” Bess said, “we have a ballgame to play, a division to win and potentially go to the playoffs.
“We don’t want to leave this game with any regrets. We want to leave everything out there.”
