by Sports Xchange

--LT Sebastian Vollmer has done a great job replacing injured starter Matt Light in recent weeks. Although he'll likely slide back into a reserve role when Light comes back, he has made a bid for more playing time down the stretch.

--WR Wes Welker caught nine passes Sunday for 84 yards. He now leads the team with 55 catches and has caught 19 of the last 20 passes intended for him.

--OL Dan Connolly drew heavy praise from QB Tom Brady for his performance Sunday when he replaced C Dan Koppen after the injured starter left the game in the first half.

--WR Randy Moss came up with the play of the game when he caught a deep pass from QB Tom Brady, eluded the would-be defender and lumbered into the end zone for a 71-yard touchdown. That play followed a 10-minute drive by the Dolphins in which they took a short-lived lead.

--QB Tom Brady got sacked twice Sunday, but in general, he avoided most of the pressure the Dolphins threw at him and managed the game wisely. Brady's ability to control the pocket kept LB Joey Porter in check.

REPORT CARD VS. DOLPHINS

PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus -- Tom Brady was actually efficient in this game, completing 25 of his 37 passes, and Randy Moss had a big play with a 71-yard touchdown. Outside of that, the Patriots stalled often in the red zone and made the game a lot closer than it should've been.

RUSHING OFFENSE: A-minus -- Laurence Maroney may be starting to turn the corner. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry Sunday for a total of 82 yards on 20 carries and also scored a touchdown. Kevin Faulk chipped in with his usual contributions in all phases of the game, and the team did enough to keep Miami off balance.

PASS DEFENSE: A -- Chad Henne was good but not great, and his 219 total yards were more of a byproduct of his 34 pass attempts. The Patriots failed to sniff out a touchdown pass by Ronnie Brown in the red zone, but overall they did a great job keeping Miami in check defensively.

RUSH DEFENSE: B-minus -- Pat White had a couple of big plays out of the Wildcat formation, and Brown managed 48 yards on 15 carries. Nothing too spectacular happened in this phase of the game, though there were some issues with poor tackling and missed assignments in the run defense that need to be corrected.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A -- Stephen Gostkowski made all four of his field-goal attempts, which was important considering the Patriots couldn't get much going in the red zone. They relied on him to salvage their failed drives. They also held Ted Ginn Jr. in check after the explosive kick returner had a monster game the previous week.

COACHING: B-minus -- It's tough to put too much blame on the coaching staff for not being able to defend certain Wildcat plays, but some mistakes are avoidable. At times, the Patriots looked more aware of what was happening than they did a year ago, though the Brown touchdown pass seemed more telegraphed than anything else. Some improvements can be made in game-planning for the rematch.