Hours Before Kickoff: Week 4

They drafted DE Jared Odrick in the first round. He’s the final piece to a homegrown defensive line.

That D-line is the centerpiece of a big and physical defense.

The offense is built to be a power running unit that will wear opponents down and use play-action to open up the passing game.

The quarterback was selected out of the University of Michigan.

Meet the new 2000s New England Patriots, the Miami Dolphins. I’m not saying the Dolphins are going to kidnap the 2010 Patriots team, take their identity, and play the rest of the season masquerading as the team from New England.

What I am saying is Miami is built very much like the championship-winning teams that became a dynasty and the team of the 2000 decade. Teams frequently copy what made other teams successful. Right now Miami is borrowing several cues from those past Patriot teams and applying them to the present day.

It makes complete sense when you first look at the leadership of the team. Miami head coach Tony Sparano and New England’s Bill Belichick both are from the Bill Parcells coaching tree and believe in the same principles of success in the NFL: play tough defense, be the more physical team, protect the ball on offense, and be opportunistic.

Belichick has evolved in his eleven years of coaching the Pats and developed his own design for success in the NFL. But in his early years building New England, Belichick’s blueprint traced Parcells’ design and is now being used as Miami’s foundation.

Odrick was compared to former Pat Richard Seymour thanks to their similar size and play coming out of college. Bookend Kendall Langford is like Bobby Hamilton - a little undersized for 3-4 linemen but still effective.

But as a group, with NT Peter Soliai anchoring the middle, they are like Seymour, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork. Langford, Soliai, and Odrick were all drafted by Miami, all are young, and the Dolphins want to keep the core of their defense together for a long time.

Behind the linemen is a formidable rotation of inside linebackers. Miami depends on Channing Crowder, Bobby Carpenter, and free agent Karlos Dansby to complete the trio. New England had Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson and added leadership in Bryan Cox in the offseason.

Flip to the other side of the ball and you see how the Dolphins built a solid offensive line. New England took LT Matt Light in the second round in 2001. The Dolphins wasted no time and made Jake Long the first pick overall in 2008. Miami’s O-line has balance between youth and veterans just like New England did.

The lines led the way for the offenses by first being physical run blockers. New England opened holes first for Antowain Smith and later Corey Dillon. Miami is blessed to have the tandem of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams sharing carries.

And the men leading the offensive huddles both have Wolverines roots. Other teams tried to find the next Tom Brady before. Miami is the closest so far with Chad Henne. He looks to be following in Brady’s footsteps, something Drew Henson and John Navarre couldn’t do.

Will copying the 2000s Patriots mean the Dolphins will have the same success in the 2010 decade? There’s no guarantee Miami will become the next dynasty. But Miami picked a very good model of success to try to repeat.

A few things I’m looking for:

Not Springs Fault: WR Brandon Marshall had his way against CB Shawn Springs last year as a Denver Bronco. New team for Marshall. Will he have a new victim?

Pussy Cat: New England caged Miami’s Wild Cat offense in the last three games with a veteran defense. This young defense has to be up for the challenge or get shredded.

31-60: The Pats suffered from letdowns in the second half. They can’t play half a game against Miami and expect to come out ahead.

This has the feeling of a lot of fireworks to light up the scoreboard. The Dolphins will have more explosive plays to take the Monday night feature.

Question? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com.