Kritik und Lob » there were some good things we did tonight

MIAMI -- The perennial also-ran Miami Dolphins wont make much progress in the AFC East until they figure out how to beat Buffalo, which theyll try to do Sunday.Miami lost twice to the Bills last season by a combined score of 74-31, and Buffalo has won five of six meetings since 2013.Its a more troublesome matchup for the Dolphins than the Patriots, who have won seven consecutive division titles but split with Miami each of the past three seasons.And now it appears the Bills (4-2) actually have a good team. A four-game winning streak under coach Rex Ryan has raised hopes for the franchises first playoff berth since 1999.The Dolphins (2-4), meanwhile, are coming off a surprising victory over Pittsburgh -- their best game yet under first-year coach Adam Gase.Here are things to know about the 105th meeting between the teams:BUFFALOS DOMINATION: Last season the Bills totaled more than 400 yards with a 100-yard rusher in each game against Miami.In the past weve gotten confused against their running game, Miami linebacker Jelani Jenkins said. We didnt do a good job of adjusting. We havent been playing team defense against them, and thats what has hurt us.Ryan Tannehill is 2-6 against the Bills with a passer rating of 75.6, well below his career rating of 85.3. A team turnaround would represent major progress, he said.You really want to take advantage of these home games and have a big win against a divisional opponent, he said.Tannehill and the Dolphins had better luck against Ryan when he coached the New York Jets. Ryan downplays any trend in the Buffalo-Miami series, noting he heard the same sort of thing before the Bills lost to the Jets and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 2.I was 8-1 against him, and then he lit us up like a Christmas tree, Ryan said. Each game is different. We know that. We know weve got our hands full this week.BRUISING BILLS: Each game is different, but the Dolphins face a familiar challenge against the Bills: stopping the ground game.That wont be easy for a unit ranked next to last in the NFL in run defense. And the Bills lead the league with 166 yards rushing per game and 5.6 yards per carry.In last weeks win over the 49ers, the Bills netted 312 yards rushing, their most since 1992.The Bills might be without running back LeSean McCoy, who is nursing a sore hamstring. The Dolphins will be without safety Reshad Jones , a ferocious tackler, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last week.MESSAGE RECEIVED: After Miamis Jay Ajayi more than doubled his season rushing total with 204 yards last week against the Steelers, a teammate hung a gas can in his locker with an accompanying note: Can you fill up your gas tank every single week?I dont know who put it up there, but the message was received, Ajayi said.He briefly fell out of favor with Gase early this season because of attitude issues. So what was the gas-can message after his breakout game?Just continue to build off of it, Ajayi said. It was good to have a performance like that, but I definitely dont want to be satisfied. I dont want to be a one-hit wonder, so I have to keep working.STOUT DEFENSE: The Bills defense has meshed a year after Ryan was criticized for a high-priced and under-performing unit that finished 19th in the NFL in yards allowed. That was the lowest ranking for Ryan in 11 years as a coach or defensive coordinator.During the Bills winning streak, theyve allowed only four touchdowns. Theyre tied for second in the NFL with 12 takeaways, including three returned for TDs, and lead the league in red zone defense.Theyre doing it with backups at numerous spots. Ten-year journeyman Lorenzo Alexander leads the league with eight sacks filling in for first-round pick Shaq Lawson, who might make his NFL debut Sunday after recovering from shoulder surgery.BIG GAINS: Tannehill was booed at home two weeks ago and has middling statistics in most categories. But he ranks fifth with an average of 8.1 yards per attempt, by far the best of his five-year career.When weve had opportunities, I think weve made most of the plays downfield, he said.Tannehill has been knocked for a lack of accuracy on deep throws, and Gase said the criticism is undeserved. In the past two weeks, Tannehill has completions of 58, 53, 50 and 39 yards.Hes probably a little more accurate on the deep ball than everybody told me when I got here, I know that, Gase said. Hes just hitting everything down the field.---AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York, contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine Rik Smits Jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. Reggie Miller Jersey . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. https://www.cheappacers.com/1143k-vern-fleming-jersey-pacers.html . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Clemon Johnson Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Danny Granger Jersey . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tom Brady appeared to be in regular season form Friday night.Unfortunately for the New England Patriots, they may not see that form in a meaningful game until Oct. 9 when they face the Cleveland Browns since the three-time Super Bowl MVP will serve a four-game suspension to start the season.Brady looked sharp in his preseason debut though, throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan in helping the Patriots to a 19-17 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers on Friday night.Brady relieved Jimmy Garoppolo late in the first quarter and completed a 37-yard pass to Aaron Dobson on his first play from scrimmage, leading to a field goal. On his second drive Brady heaved a perfectly placed over-the-shoulder pass to Hogan down the right sideline for a 9-0 lead. Bradys other two drives failed to produce points.Brady made a quick escape after the game and did not talk to reporters.Weve moved ahead in a lot of areas, but were certainly not where we need to be, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. I dont think any player is, any coach is, Im sure no team is at this point. Were all making progress, which is good. Weve just got to keep our foot on the gas and make it as quickly as we can.While Brady was on the mark, league MVP Cam Newton struggled mightily in his most extensive playing time of the preseason. Newton was intercepted twice and the Panthers failed to get any points on his eight first-half possessions. Overall, the Panthers scored just three points in 10 Newton-led drives.The sixth-year quarterback was high on some passes and didnt get much help from his receivers, who had problems getting separation and dropped four passes, including one by Brenton Bersin on a fourth-and-2 at midfield.Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he was frustrated, but if we lower our passes and catch the ball, then we are where we need to be.Newton called the loss eye opening.We need better production from everybody including myself, Newton said. I have to be more mature and check the ball down and let guys do what they do.We will be better from this.New England shut down the leagues highest-scoring offense from a year ago, intercepted Derek Anderson and allowed only one passing play of more than 15 yards in the first half.Garoppolo, expected to start the first four games for the Patriots while Brady sserves a suspension for his role in Deflategate, returned in the second quarter but couldnt get anything going.ddddddddddddIn the third quarter he rolled out of the pocket while under pressure and missed an open receiver whod gotten behind the defense. His six drives resulted in no points, although Stephen Gostkowski missed a 30-yard field goal on the New Englands opening possession.Overall, there were some good things we did tonight, but we have to get the little things corrected or theyre going to bite us in the butt, Garoppolo said.QB COMPARISONPatriots: Brady finished 3 of 9 for 76 yards with one touchdown, while Garoppolo was 9 of 15 for 57 yards.Panthers: Newton was 13 of 29 for 100 yards with two interceptions and ran once for 9 yards.ROOKIE WATCHPatriots: QB Jacoby Brissett connected on a 12-yard TD pass to DeAndre Carter to give New England a 16-3 lead late in the third quarter. That was set up by a 60-yard punt return by rookie Cyrus Jones.Panthers: CBs James Bradberry and Daryl Worley fared well. Veteran Bene Benwikere, who is competing for one of those two starting spots, gave up a touchdown pass.POSITION BATTLESPatriots: Call it even at running back, Tyler Gaffney had 32 yards on six carries and LaGarrette Blount had 26 yards on five carries, including a 17-yard run in which he hurdled Panthers safety Tre Boston as he broke into the secondary.Panthers: Rookie punter Kasey Redfern had a pair of 60-plus yard punts, while veteran Mike Scifres shanked a 21-yard punt and left with an injured knee.INJURY UPDATEPatriots: The Patriots reported no injuries.Panthers: Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen sat out his second straight game while recovering from back spasms. Guards Trai Turner (shoulder), Andrew Norwell (ankle) and linebacker Jeremy Cash (possible concussion) left with injuries.MISSED CHANCESGostkowski missed field goals of 52 and 30 yards.IN YOUR WEBBJoe Webb threw two late fourth quarter TD passes to sixth-string tight end Marcus Lucas to make the score close.THATS A GOOD KNIGHTThree former Rutgers players came up with interceptions for the Patriots: Logan Ryan, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '