Dave Hyde: Patriots off to playoffs with new QB; Dolphins off to Year 4 of rebuild looking for new QB

Here’s however you prime a quarterback. Here’s however you walk large free-agent money. Here’s however you physique an violative line.

The New England Patriots travel to Hard Rock Stadium connected Sunday to schoolhouse the Miami Dolphins successful the regular-season finale and the question for a 21st consecutive twelvemonth is if the Dolphins instrumentality notes. The scoreboard, erstwhile again, is irrelevant considering the Dolphins play is done and the latest backmost epoch looks to beryllium going with it.

The schooling is successful the rebuild this time. The Dolphins’ three-year — oops, marque it four-year — rebuild remains a half-constructed location portion the Patriots rebuilt successful a Foxborough heartbeat.

New England (10-6) keeps showing the Dolphins (8-8) the mode astute organizations run successful a mode that’s either admirable, enviable oregon projectile-vomit inducing.

Here’s however you physique a unchangeable coaching staff. Here’s however you assistance your young quarterback. Here’s however you conception a moving game.

Hall of Fame manager Bill Walsh said determination were lone 8 organizations you truly had to interest about. Hall of Fame manager Jimmy Johnson said each but a fistful of teams volition bushed themselves.

Those ideas tin harvester to amusement wherefore aboriginal Hall of Fame manager Bill Belichick enjoys being successful the AFC East with the Dolphins.

The Patriots are disconnected to the playoffs with their rookie quarterback, Mac Jones, portion the Dolphins accidental good-bye to the play Sunday and astir apt to their second-year quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.

Oh, it’s not an authoritative good-bye to Tua. No one’s announcing it. There’ll beryllium nary so-long-farewell-auf-wiedersehen-good-bye country from the Sound of Music.

But if you don’t deliberation the Dolphins privation to determination connected from Tua you haven’t paid attention. Dolphins proprietor Steve Ross got support to speech to embattled Houston Texans backmost Deshaun Watson astatine the Nov. 2 commercialized deadline. Dolphins wide manager Chris Grier talked afterward of looking to upgrade (from Tagaovailoa).

These aren’t dropped breadstuff crumbs astir what the Dolphins deliberation of Tua. These are hammers to the head. Many stay locked into the thought Tua volition beryllium an elite quarterback. The Dolphins enactment locked into different idea. The premier question up is if Ross wants to marque a subordinate with 22 intersexual allegations against him successful Watson the look of his franchise.

Is Jones that overmuch amended than Tagovailoa? He’s the 16th-rated backmost to Tua’s 19th.

Or is it the Patriots’ enactment that overmuch better? The Patriots person the eighth-ranked scoring offense. The Dolphins person the 23rd.

The Dolphins person shown strides connected defence successful the 2nd fractional of the play against depleted offenses. They person the 16th-ranked scoring defense. The Patriots person the champion scoring defense.

Belichick gave the Dolphins a running, rebuilding start, too. He won a sixth Super Bowl successful the 2018 play portion the Dolphins went 7-9 and past deconstructed everything, trading bully players for draught picks, spending large wealth and burning 3 seasons going connected four.

The Patriots went 7-9 past play aft dumbly dumping Tom Brady overboard. They didn’t spell down successful a two-decade achromatic spread with immoderate Dan Marino Hangover. They drafted Jones erstwhile the remainder of the league near him.

They spent large money, too, connected free-agent players similar tackle Trent Brown, choky extremity Henry Hunter and a battalion of discarded Dolphins — defender Ted Karras, linebacker Kyle Van Noy and antiaircraft tackle Davon Godchaux. Yes, Belichick took your’n and bushed your’n, to paraphrase the Bum Phillips enactment astir Don Shula.

This late-season gathering with the Dolphins and Patriots is often an unusual crippled of small section consequence. The 2-11, A.J. Feeley-led Dolphins upset a Patriots squad connected its mode to a Super Bowl rubric successful 2004. The Patriots’ Doug Flutie drop-kicked an other constituent to extremity Dolphins manager Nick Saban’s archetypal twelvemonth successful 2006.

Belichick oddly sat connected the first-half shot to shrink a play finale and mislaid a play finale it needed to triumph to Dan Campbell’s Dolphins successful 2015. The Dolphins had the “Miami Miracle” lateral-happy play to springiness Adam Gase a crushed to grin connected his mode retired helium door.

There’s a fewer communal themes to this gathering nary substance the year. Here’s however you win, the Patriots support schooling the Dolphins. Here’s the mode blue-ribbon organizations work.

Here’s different irrelevant Dolphins Sunday wherever the Patriots beforehand to the playoffs and the Dolphins beforehand to Year 4 of their latest rebuild.