It's time once again for one of my favorite segments during the season. Please welcome in Ricky Keeler from Foxboro Blog- Bloguin's one-stop coverage for New England Patriots' coverage- to shed some light on the Dolphins' rival.

I answered some questions for Ricky as well regarding the Dolphins. Be sure to check them out here, as they should be posted within the next couple days.  

Phins Phocus: The Patriots made some headlines by bringing in Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth in free agency. What sort of impact have they had thus far and what do you expect from them this season?

FB: So far, the two main acquisitions of the offseason for the Patriots have not had the impact that the fans would like. Haynesworth just started practicing last week and although he played well against the Giants in the final preseason game, he was not facing the Giants’ starters on the offensive line. I do expect him and former Jet Shaun Ellis to have a solid impact this season for this team.

As for Chad Ochocinco, I thought he would have about a 800-900 yard season for NE, but I am having my doubts. He has been average and the Randy Moss rumors show you possibly that Chad is not doing as well as Belichick would like. He dropped a lot of balls in the preseason and him and Brady are still not on par with each other. It can change and I think eventually #12 and #85 will be on the same page.

Phins Phocus: Explain the reasoning behind the Patriots getting rid of Brandon Meriweather? Who's in line to replace him?

FB: The cutting of Brandon Meriweather was that he was not living up to the hype that he had when the Patriots drafted him in 2006. His tackles and interceptions went down last year and he only started in 13 games.

His cutting tells me two things. One, he was not living up to the Patriot way and his lack of discipline on the field caught up to him (i.e hit on Todd Heap last year). Second, the Pats must love the way Pat Chung has progressed this offseason and as you guys saw last year in Miami, he can make an impact.

As far as the depth behind Chung, they do have Sergio Brown who is young, but knows the system from playing in 11 games last year. Also, they signed James Ihedigbo from the Jets who despite his tackling inefficiencies shown in the preseason, he learned under a great defensive coach in Rex Ryan and played a key role in the Jets’ upset of the Pats last season. True, the depth is not great, but we know Belichick can just plug guys in and make them play that role in the defense and succeed.

There is really no better way to open the season than on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots. It will be a difficult challenge for the Dolphins to say the least, but with a great challenge comes a great opportunity.

Nobody is taking the Dolphins seriously this season. I’ve seen power rankings listing them at 29th, predictions suggesting they’ll only win three games, and overall just a very bleak picture being painted by the media.

That would change in a hurry if the Dolphins are able to knock off the Pats on primetime TV in front of the whole nation. What better way to start the year?

Here’s how I see the Dolphins matching up against Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the Patriots:

Dolphins’ pass defense vs. Patriots’ passing attack

Going up against the best quarterback in football, maybe the best quarterback of all time is certainly no easy task to kick off the year. Vontae Davis’ claims that he makes up the league’s top cornerback tandem with Sean Smith will certainly be put the test. But that should be the least of the Dolphins’ concerns.

Containing the likes of Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Danny Woodhead should be priority number one in my opinion. That responsibility will fall in the hands of Karlos Dansby, Kevin Burnett, and Benny Sapp.

The Dolphins are much more capable of handling that challenge with the Burnett upgrade over Channing Crowder, but few defenses in football actually slow Brady down.

One thing is for sure, though, they won’t stand a chance if they aren’t able to get pressure on him. That’s been their Achilles heel in the Brady-Belichick era. We saw the Jets get the best of them twice last year by doing so and most recently the Lions getting after Brady this preseason.

The Dolphins will stay in the game and maybe even pull off the upset if they can get consistent pressure on Brady throughout the game. Cameron Wake needs to be his unblockable self, while any assistance from Jason Taylor, Koa Misi, and Mike Nolan’s exotic blitz packages will go a long way.

Edge: Patriots

Before we start prepping for New England and Monday’s season-opening showdown, Daniel and I thought we would preview the Dolphins’ season as well as predict a final record.

Daniel’s overview and prediction is first and mine is after the jump. Feel free to chime in with your prediction for the season in the comments.

Daniel’s season preview:

The countdown is on! We’re a week away from the Dolphins’ regular season debut. There is no bigger way to launch the season than Monday Night football at home on primetime against the New England Patriots. So the question is, are you ready for some football??!!

It’s been a long off-season and there were many players that left and many new players brought in. Now it’s time to assess this team and figure out how we stack up against the rest of the league.

This team is faster, more exciting, and hopefully will put more points on the board in winning efforts. They have a new offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll who is ready to show us what he’s got and you’ve got Tony Sparano whose ass is dead center on the hot seat.

When trying to predict a record for this year’s team I went back and forth between bias fan and realist fan and ended up at 8-8. This team will be improved; Henne should be better and most importantly to the fan base this team should be more fun to watch.

That being said, they still have a decent way to go. Henne should be a better QB and that should automatically result in more stable play on offense. Special teams should go through drastic changes with the new additions, hopefully less roster-fringe shuffling and some help from the NFL with the new kick-off rule.

All Dolfans in Miami know this defense has top 5 potential. This defense can be special but to be special they will need to do something they didn’t do enough of last year- create TURNOVERS!

While all those things are true, Henne is not Peyton Manning. Henne is not Tom Brady. Henne is not Philip Rivers. Henne is not Matt Schaub. Henne is not a playoff QB and thats what separates this team from getting 10 or 11 wins, instead having to settle with 7, 8, or 9.

I am trying to be optimistic with Henne and I have seen the displays of leadership this off-season as well as growth in his game but I just don’t see him being able to get to the next level. Henne has shown flashes but has shown just as many question marks throughout his career.

So with all that being said, unfortunately, I think this spells the end for Chad and Coach Sparano in Miami as an 8-8 record will not satisfy the likes of billionaire owner Stephen Ross. Let me know if you agree with my thinking or not. If not, well, then I hope I’m wrong!

Prediction: 8-8

The holiday didn’t stop the Dolphins from churning the roster today. According to the team’s official twitter page, the Dolphins signed tight end Dante Rosario and interior offensive lineman Ryan Cook.

To make room for the new additions, the Dolphins also waived linebacker A.J. Edds and terminated the contract of center Joe Berger.

Dante Rosario is the obvious move we’ve been anticipating, as Miami was in dire need for some credibility at the number two tight end position.

Rosario accumulated over 200 yards receiving for three straight seasons in Carolina- just the type of production the Dolphins were missing behind Fasano.

As for Ryan Cook, the Dolphins pick up a versatile O-lineman that has plenty of starting experience under his belt. Cook started 30 games in 2007-2008 and had seven starts for the Vikings last year.

I don’t see Sparano shuffling the starting line for now, as the unit was held back by him doing so a year ago. But Cook projects to bolster the Dolphins’ offensive line depth.

The termination of Joe Berger’s contract comes as no surprise. His play fell off considerably in 2010 when he was given keys to the starting position and Richie Incognito and Nate Garner have the ability to step in if something were to happen to Mike Pouncey.

A.J. Edds getting waived was unexpected, though. The Dolphins had high hopes that their 2010 fourth-round draft pick would be a solid contributor in the nickel package as a coverage specialist.

Not to mention Edds led the entire team with 18 tackles in the preseason. But apparently the addition of Kevin Burnett has weathered the need for a third linebacker with quality coverage skills.

Enjoy the rest of you Labor Day. We’ll hit the ground running tomorrow morning as the season opener is only a week from tonight. 

The Dolphins have announced their practice squad: CB V. Agnew, TE B. Brackett, OG G. Chisolm, QB P Devlin, RB N. Grigsby, OT DJ Jones, WR J. Pruitt

Also note that Miami signed TE Will Yeatman from the Pats. Yeatman is the only UDFA to make the Dolphins 53 man roster.

Yeatman is a big boy at 6'6 and is a blocking tight end from the University of Notre Dame. Yeatman has potential and could develop into a nice player.

The Dolphins waived nose tackle Frank Kearse to make room for Yeatman.