MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Patriots not taking hapless Miami lightly

Despite a 2-11 record, the Dolphins seem to have Tom Brady's number.
MIAMI (AP) -- Tom Brady walked off his home field two months ago with mediocre statistics, a bandaged chin -- and a victory on the scoreboard.
In other words, a typical Brady day against the Miami Dolphins.
The quarterback is 5-2 against the Dolphins, even though they befuddle him like no other opponent -- three of his four lowest regular season yardage performances have come against Miami. He managed only a career-worst 76 yards passing Oct. 14, yet the Patriots put together a 24-10 win.
And although it's largely coachspeak, Brady's trouble with the Dolphins gives some credence to the warning bells being sounded by Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who heaps plenty of praise on Miami's defense.
"They never struggle on defense. Never," said Belichick, whose team (12-1) already has clinched the AFC East and visits Miami tonight. "Some games, some plays might be better than others, but ... they're always at the top of the league defensively and they're always at the top of the league in pass defense."
Stingy defense
Pass defense has been a rare bright spot in this lost season for the Dolphins (2-11), who have already matched a franchise record for losses -- set by the inaugural Miami club 39 seasons ago. Miami entered this weekend with the NFL's second-stingiest pass defense, one yielding only 165.5 yards per game.
And while that stat loses some luster when considering the Dolphins allow 138.8 rushing yards per game, the fourth-most in the league, Brady insists that Miami's pass rush and secondary are still dangerous.
"It's going to be tough. And they're going to be ready to go, just as we'll be ready," Brady said. "There's going to be a lot of energy. I'm sure we're going to get their best game and they've been playing much better lately, so we're going to need to go out and play well, especially offensively."
Brady has had some statistical success against Miami. He threw for 283 yards -- including an 82-yard touchdown to Troy Brown in overtime -- last year in the Patriots' 19-13 win at Miami.
But his career average of 168.1 yards against Miami is 55.8 yards shy of his average in his other starts, and his average yards per pass attempt is a full yard less than against the rest of the league.