Mike Tannenbaum Is Becoming The Boogeyman In New England

Given how much the New England Patriots have owned the AFC East for a decade and a half, one might think they don’t have any team or any man to fear.  However, they’ve had their share of boogeymen over the years.

Though Rex Ryan is one of them, another who has gone completely underappreciated until now is Mike Tannenbaum.

For those who don’t remember, Tannenbaum was the GM of the New York Jets when they hired Ryan in 2009.  Together they staged an all-out assault against the Patriots on their stranglehold in the AFC.  It culminated in their epic upset in Foxborough in January of 2011, knocking New England from the playoffs and reaching the conference championship for the second-straight season.

Tannenbaum is actually a disciple of Bill Belichick.  The two worked together way back in the 1990s for the Cleveland Browns.  Few people have shown a knack for understanding what Belichick does and by default what it takes to beat him.  Those Jet teams regularly gave the Patriots fits in their divisional clashes.  One can bet they were thrilled when Tannenbaum was unceremoniously fired in 2013.

They must’ve been equally upset when he resurfaced with the Miami Dolphins a year later.  After a consulting position in 2014, he was then made Vice President of Football Operations.  Since that oppointment, his fingerprints are all over the extreme makeover the Dolphins roster has taken.  Just look at the additions they’ve made via free agency and trade in the space of the past few weeks.

• Ndamukong Suh (FA)
• Brice McCain (FA)
• Jordan Cameron (FA)
• J.D. Walton (FA)
• Kenny Stills (Trade)

Think about it.  A dominant interior pass rusher in Suh who can expose a weaker interior Patriots line to attack a less-than-mobile Tom Brady with Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon waiting on the edges.  A fast wide receiver in Kenny Stills to expose their depleted secondary.  An athletic former Pro Bowl tight end who can attack them down the middle of the field.

All of these moves reeks Tannenbaum, who thinks like Belichick.  That is to say managing the roster specifically to expose the weaknesses of the opponent.  There is no question now that the Miami Dolphins are by far the biggest threat the Patriots have seen inside the division in five years.

The worst part?  This one may have a quarterback.