Nobody, least of all Brady, is used to seeing the Patriots struggle to beat teams with rookie quarterbacks, as the Patriots have done in each of their first two games. But with injuries to Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski depleting the already-inexperienced receiving corps, the Patriots' shortcomings are as plain to see as Brady's rising blood pressure. For their undefeated record so far, they probably most have their schedule to thank. This Sunday, they get the drama-filled, 0-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, there is the creeping suspicion that the Pats might've ever so slightly declined from their usual perch, and that the Dolphins are gaining on them. The last time the Dolphins made the playoffs -- the only time since 2002 -- was 2008, when Brady went down in the opener with a season-ending knee injury. But that was a one-off. The Dolphins haven't managed a winning campaign since then; it remains the only season since 2002 in which the Patriots failed to make the playoffs. During that stretch, indignities have piled up around the Dolphins like so many grains of sand -- empty seats, the rapid departures of Dan Marino (from a brief front-office role) and Nick Saban, a quixotic pursuit of Jim Harbaugh. The recent success, maybe not surprisingly, has been greeted with a guarded sense of optimism.