Gameday Live 3: Jets at Dolphins
Good evening, Jets enthusiasts. Stephen Haynes here with you for this week's installment of GDL. For the first-time readers, what we do is provide stats, updates and miscellaneous information during the game. And, of course, useless pregame analysis as a pastime before kickoff.
The Jets passed last week's test – the avert disaster game – with flying colors, beating the Patriots in impressive fashion. And what they've got here tonight is a 2-in-1 (or 2-for-1) contest: a statement and opportunity game. The statement, should they win, would be that things are a little different from last year, that the Jets can handle New England's offense (when Tom Brady is healthy) and overcome the Dolphin's Wildcat offense. Those were things they failed at in 2009. And, of course, they've got the opportunity to jump into first place. There would be a three-way tie atop the AFC East with the Jets, Dolphins and Patriots all 2-1, but the Jets would hold the tiebreakers. In the large scope, it's not that big a deal, but it is Week 3's dangling carrot.
Tied into that is a chance at redemption for the Jets defense, which last season appeared flummoxed at times against Miami's “gimmick” formations. Against Chad Henne, too, in the first game. In the first meeting, a 31-27 loss, the Dolphins racked up 413 yards of offense against this top-rated defense. In the second game, the Jets outgained them 378 yards to 104, but lost (30-25), in part because of two 100-yard kickoff return touchdowns by Ted Ginn Jr., and Henne's late touchdown. The good news for the Jets, as Rex Ryan mentioned in a press conference this week, is that Ginn (who also scored one of the two touchdowns that Darrelle Revis allowed) is now with the 49ers.
An interesting item in this one is what the Jets approach on offense will be. With Mark Sanchez having his best game as a pro, will the coaching staff allow him to be aggressive against a secondary that picked Brett Favre off three times last week? As of right now, Sanchez has a 96.4 quarterback rating, which is ninth in the NFL. For what it's worth this early, the Dolphins have the second rated defense (253 yards and 13.5 points per game) and have held running backs to 4.1 yards per carry, which is 11th best. Will the Jets try hard to establish the run, which hasn't been much of a factor the first two games? Also, how will the carries be split? To this point, LaDainian Tomlinson has been more productive and efficient than Shonn Greene. LT has 138 rushing yards, a 6.3 YPC and six receptions to Greene's 70 and 3.5. Tomlinson last week also flashed some of his vintage burst and elusiveness.
Another nugget is Revis sitting out to rest his strained hamstring. It'll be the first game he's missed in his four-year career and his absence creates the Brandon Marshall versus Antonio Cromartie matchup. “AlCROtraz” had Randy Moss on lock in the second half last Sunday after Revis exited. Marshall isn't as as fast as Moss, but he is more physical, comparably acrobatic, and much more willing to make catches over the middle and in traffic. It's also an old matchup of former Pro Bowlers from the AFC West. In two games against the Chargers last year, the former Broncos receivers was held to eight catches for 75 yards and no end zone trips. Although, the year before, when Cromartie had a prominent role in the San Diego secondary, Marshall went for 24 catches, 224 yards and a touchdown against them.
Something else to look out for is how Braylon Edwards responds to being benched. As Rod described in the previous post, the Jets announced today that the receiver will sit out the first quarter as punishment for his DWI arrest on Tuesday. It's a slap on the wrist, but the Jets know the impact he can have on the offense and, it seems, value their increased chances of a win more than example-making. Edwards in the past has been mercurial, so it'll be interesting to see how he performs when his number is called tonight. Against the Patriots he had just five receptions for 45 yards, but he did have a big touchdown and a two-point conversion catch (and, to the amusement of some, tried to “Dougie” like Glen Davis). Edwards has been efficient through two games. He's been thrown to nine times and has six catches. Jets fans don't need a reminder, but the numbers make it clear: last year, Edwards came down with just 47% of the passes (95) thrown his way. In comparison, Jerricho Cotchery caught 60% - from the same rookie quarterback. Point is, a focused and locked-in No. 17 can do wonders for Sanchez and it would behoove them all (and Edwards, who's in a contract year) to maintain that high catch percentage he has now. For tonight, we'll see if the truncated playing time results in Edwards being upset/distracted/taken out of his rhythm, or if he comes out more motivated looking to redeem himself.
