FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Uncharacteristic Pats: When former Patriots cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion Logan Ryan was preparing for the television broadcast of Sunday's game between New England and Miami (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), one of the things that excited him most was to share his analysis of receiver A.J. Brown.
He was ready to declare it "the A.J. Brown game," adding how he knows Brown's "mindset and mentality" from their time as teammates with the Tennessee Titans.
But as often happens in the NFL, Ryan had to be prepared to pivot, a result of Brown having his knee flare up and not being able to finish Wednesday's practice before missing the rest of the week.
Brown was officially ruled out Saturday, along with running back TreVeyon Henderson (illness), which continues a season-long theme of managing the roster due to a relentless run of injuries.
The game still remains very much in Ryan's wheelhouse because of his connections to both teams -- having played for Patriots coach Mike Vrabel in Tennessee, as well as alongside veteran New England safety Kevin Byard, and crediting Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley for hatching his NFL playing career after playing for him when Hafley was defensive backs coach at Rutgers.
What stands out to Ryan about the Patriots from his film study?
"I see a well-coached and balanced team with too many uncharacteristic turnovers [14, second most in the NFL]. I know that is not a Mike Vrabel team with the turnovers. And I see too many missed tackles defensively holding them back in terms of the next step in consistency," he said of a defense that has forced just seven turnovers.
"Sometimes when chasing turnovers defensively, you miss tackles because you're not securing it first. I'm sure [Vrabel] continues to preach the fundamentals but it's an uncharacteristic kind of spell they've been in."
New England's 34 missed tackles are 14th most in the NFL, just above the league average of 33.4 missed tackles per team, according to ESPN Research. They had a season-high 11 missed tackles against the Bears last week, but Ryan believes better results should come.
He noted the 10-day stretch since that game, which provided more time to tighten things up, and he's curious to see how that manifests itself against a 1-5 team coming off its first victory of the season -- 28-25 over the Jets on the road.
He also will be watching how much Drake Maye is on the run -- by choice or not -- and if the Patriots can bottle up quarterback Malik Willis as a rushing threat (223 yards on the ground, second most among QBs).
"These are two of the top scrambling quarterbacks in the NFL and I'm not sure people understand how good Drake Maye (211 yards, fifth among QBs) is running and extending plays with his legs," he said.
"Malik Willis, his calling card, he's a running quarterback and that can break the structure of a Vrabel defense. When a quarterback can get out and extend the play, it can break the discipline in a defense. It takes coaching out of the it and now it's more of a freestyle play."
Ryan has another thought that could come up on the broadcast, and it's based on first-hand experience. The Patriots are 18-43 all-time in Miami.
"Why do the Patriots often struggle in the heat?" he asked. "I've been a part of that myself."
2. Hollins on the cusp: The Patriots ended the week with just three healthy receivers on the 53-man roster, but veteran Mack Hollins' presence on the Week 7 trip to Chicago indicates he's progressing on injured reserve (calf). He's eligible to be designated for return after Sunday's game in Miami.
At the time he was placed on IR, Hollins had led the team with 15 receptions and 209 receiving yards.
3. Hafley-Vrabel link: Hafley coached Vrabel's son, Tyler, for three seasons at Boston College. As a result, he had a connection with Mike Vrabel, and now the two face each other for the first time as NFL head coaches.
"I got to know him pretty well then. He was really good to me. We talked on the phone a lot if I ever had football questions, being-a-head-coach questions," Hafley said. "And he'd come and sit in the stands just like a normal fan. I appreciate how he has stayed in touch with me and how he's helped me along the way. And I just respect the way they play."
4. Road warriors: The Patriots are 1-3 on the road after going 9-0 away from home last year. Regaining that edge has been a point of emphasis in a week in which players and coaches have said they don't view the Dolphins as a reflection of their 1-5 record.
"This is a division game and you have to win on the road in this league. Last year, that was just a mentality and a mindset ... we want to do that [this year]," defensive tackle Milton Williams said.
5. Weather prep: Maye said one thing he's learned from his road games in South Florida, going back to college, is the importance of hydrating throughout the week and not waiting until game day.
Meanwhile, Patriots kicker Andy Borregales, who grew up in South Florida, said the possibility of a delay for thunderstorms always is a consideration and has been on his radar with Sunday's 4:25 p.m. start. He said the key is staying in routine as possible and "rolling with the punches."
6. Cap space: After entering the week with a league-low $1.5 million in salary cap space, the Patriots created $3.21 million in additional room by restructuring veteran tight end Hunter Henry's recently-extended contact. That gives the team $5.245 million in space to help get through the season, which is needed to account for when players land on injured reserve and others are brought on to the roster. Also, the NFL trade deadline is Nov. 10 and the extra space could help take on a player with a modest contract.
7. Champs' reunion: The Patriots will honor the 10-year anniversary of their Super Bowl LI team at next Sunday's home game against the Packers, which coincides with Rob Gronkowski's Patriots Hall of Fame induction the day prior (1 p.m., free to public) and Fox's Tom Brady in town to call his first-ever New England game.
Ryan called that "one of the favorite teams" he played on, but he'll miss it because CBS has him calling the Browns-Saints game in New Orleans.
8. They said it: "I got the bug. I'm a storyteller by nature and I'm trying to take all my tips and tricks as a player and call the game through a player's lens of what they're seeing and feeling. I hope someone turns on the game as a Patriots fan, and a Dolphins fan, and that you enjoyed it, learned something, laughed and had fun, because it's Sunday and we're trying to get away from real-world problems and watch the best sport." -- Logan Ryan, on transitioning into broadcasting
9. Elliss' timing: Starting Patriots linebacker and leading tackler Christian Elliss (51) smiled in the locker room when recalling how fortunate he felt that the team played on Thursday in Week 7, because he and wife Kaysie welcomed their fourth child, Tautua, three days later on Sunday, the usual game day. Tautua is Samoan and means "to serve."
10. Did You Know: Henry leads the Patriots with 296 receiving yards, the fewest for the team's leading receiver through the first seven games in franchise history, according to ESPN Research. Patriots receiver DeMario "Pop" Douglas has a team-leading 18.7% target share and, since Hollins injured his calf Oct. 4, is tied with Henry for the club lead in receptions (14).