I know the past doesn't count in this year's games but NE has NEVER beaten Miami down there in Sept or Oct...and historically, the games haven't been close. Just something to think about.
=====
Against Fish, heat's on Pats
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
As the saying goes, it's not the heat, it's the humidity.
The Patriots don't care what it is. They're just sick of going to South Florida and losing football games.
The Pats visit Miami on Sunday for an early season showdown for the AFC East lead. If history is any indication, the 3-1 Pats will return to Foxboro as a second-place team.
How bad has it been? Consider this: The Pats have never won a game in Miami in September and October. That's 0-12. The Dolphins have outscored the Pats by 173 points (327-154) in those games.
In all, the Pats have won only six times in Miami dating back to 1966, with the last victory coming Dec. 22, 1997. The earliest in a season the Pats have ever won there was on Nov. 12, 1995.
Of course, the Pats aren't alone. The Dolphins have made a living beating up on teams at home in the early part of the season.
In September and October, the Dolphins are dominant. Pats special teams captain and former Dolphin Larry Izzo said the heat is definitely a factor.
``First of all,'' Izzo said, ``it's hot for both teams. And that goes for the Dolphins. They'll be hurting a little bit, too. But, when you're playing for Miami, the thing that you do realize is that it's hurting the other team more.
``You see it in the linemen. During breaks they're bending over, or taking a knee.''
Pats coach Bill Belichick will do his best to acclimate his players this week, including traveling to Miami on Friday, a day earlier than usual, and practicing on Saturday.
It probably helps that the team's last two games (at home against Kansas City Sept. 22 and at San Diego last Sunday) were played in 80-degree temperatures.
Also helping Belichick is the forecast. When the Pats practice today, they should find a climate approaching what they'll see in Miami Sunday. It's expected to reach the mid-80s in Foxboro. The projected high in Miami for Sunday is 88 degrees.
Over the past few years the Pats have taken to giving their players intravenous fluids prior to warm-weather games, not just during them. And for extra conditioning today at practice, some players will likely wear sweatshirts and jackets underneath their pads.
``You can do that. Guys do that all the time anyway,'' said Izzo. ``I hear it's going to be 86 (today), so maybe someone is looking out for us, helping us get ready. But the biggest thing is your attitude. Mentally, you just need to get your head right.''
Last year's trip to Miami was a disaster for the Pats, who were blown out, 30-10, in sweltering conditions on Oct. 7. The next day, Belichick symbolically buried the game ball from the contest. The Pats have lost just three games since.
For now, the Pats defense is trying to bury the memory of last week's 21-14 loss in San Diego. For the second straight weekend, the Pats gave up huge amounts of yardage on the ground, of which the Dolphins and star running back Ricky Williams are certainly aware.
Conversely, the Pats have generally had success against more physical, straight-ahead runners. While Williams isn't the plodder of Pittsburgh's Jerome Bettis, he isn't as shifty as Priest Holmes or LaDainian Tomlinson, either. Last year against New Orleans, the Pats held Williams to 56 yards on 15 carries.
``It was a frustrated plane, no doubt about it,'' Izzo said of the team's red-eye flight following the loss to the Chargers. ``It wasn't total devastation, just frustration with how we played. I don't think anyone was thinking we would have a perfect season, it was just a matter of how we played.
``And it was a six-hour flight. We had a lot of time to think about it.''
