In fact, the higher energy level could be felt on Tuesday during wide receiver
“It took me a season,” Hartline told the crowd. “The young guys will see it in the demeanor of the veterans and they’ll see it when they get in the game, how chippy it is and how much you talk, so I think it’s a process. … If you give them a full year they’ll understand.”
Jets head coach Rex Ryan has been at the helm for three seasons, or six games, and has been on the losing end four times. Miami actually swept New York during Ryan’s first season back in 2009.
In June of that year, the coach got into a war of words with then Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder that seemingly stoked the fires between the two teams. Having come from the Baltimore Ravens, where they had an AFC North rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan understood the ramifications.
“Since I’ve been here both teams have been competitive, and been good football teams,” Ryan said. “We’ve had some good games against each other, even the years I’ve been coaching. So there is that Miami-Jet thing. Obviously, I wasn’t here for previous seasons, but the Miami-Jets rivalry has always been a good one.”
Those players that experienced intense college rivalries like Florida-Georgia (center
Pouncey knew all about “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” before he even got to Gainesville growing up in nearby Lakeland. He’s already planning some trash talk with Jones before that annual game is played in Jacksonville the last weekend in October, so he enjoys what exists between the Dolphins and Jets.
“It’s definitely an intense rivalry and you can tell by how the guys came out today in practice,” Pouncey said. “Everyone had juice, everyone was ready to go and they know the importance of this game. It’s the same as Gators-Bulldogs because when you invest in something so much and you put so many hours into something you go out there and play with your all. When you’ve got a rivalry game everything’s different. Practice is different, your attention to detail is different and your energy is different.”
Head Coach Joe Philbin tries not to get into the extraneous details that come with a rivalry game like this, even though he went through his share with the Green Bay Packers whenever they played the Chicago Bears or Detroit Lions. He tries to prepare as if it’s any other game and leave the rest of it to the players.
For the rookies and first-year players about to experience Jets week for the first time, they’ve been leaning on the veterans for advice as far as what to expect. Safety Reshad Jones remembers hearing something different in the tone of the coaches’ voices his rookie year before his first Jets game.
“I think that everyone’s pretty excited. There’s a lot of buzz around the locker room and out on the practice field,” rookie quarterback
INJURY UPDATE
Defensive tackle
COACH SPEAK
“Not surprisingly he’s a very competitive and he’s displayed that probably since he’s been here and certainly since I’ve been here. He loves to compete, he’s a physical guy and he’s a good blitzer we think. He made a big play with the pass breakup in the end zone later in the game so I thought he competed well and represented himself well. I thought he made a nice contribution.” – Philbin on how Jimmy Wilson performed after being shifted from safety to cornerback last week
“I think we’ve been operating under the assumption that he most likely would play, so certainly we’ve taken him into consideration in the game plan. He’s an exceptional player, one of the best at his trade in the business, so you have to pick your spots and be careful about him. We have great regard for him but that being said we like our players too and our guys have to compete. We can’t control who they’re going to line up but we certainly will take into consideration ‘A’ if he’s out there but ‘B’ we’ve been kind of planning that he would be there.” – Philbin on how Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis impacts his offensive game plan
“He’s played well and he clearly played better than he did against Houston, there’s no doubt about it. So you’re always looking for development and improvement. Those are encouraging signs and he played better. He’s still got a lot of things to work on, as do all of our linemen, but I like the direction that he’s moving, that’s for sure.” – Philbin on the play of right guard
“(Lamar) did a nice job. We’re not surprised that he played well because he’s been practicing well and he’s somebody that we’ve had our eye on for a while and we’ve got to keep developing him, obviously. The practice field is a great way to develop but probably getting out there playing and competing against other guys is another good well. So we’re not going to rule that out. Certainly it possibly could be both guys.” – on the chances of backup running backs Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas playing on Sunday
LOCKER ROOM TALK
“They always play tough and give you so many multiple looks. No matter how many times you play them you have to study extra film and really take into account their different looks and blitzes. But the most important thing for us to limit that stuff is just stay out of bad situations, stay out of third-and-long and stuff like that and stick to our game plan. Our no huddle I think is one advantage and at times our pace could impact their ability to substitute.” – tight end
“I always enjoy playing up in New York but I’d have to say my rookie year in that Monday night game in 2009 here in Miami when we had that final drive and Ronnie Brown scored in the waning seconds to beat them (31-27). I’ve actually played relatively well overall versus the Jets but that one coming down to the wire and finishing it off is definitely my most memorable.” – wide receiver Brian Hartline on his most memorable Dolphins-Jets game
DOLPHINS TIDBITS
## Hartline did his part in giving Miami’s a special teams a look at what to expect Sunday from the Jets by lining up in the same spot as their gunner, Ellis Lankster, and wearing his number.
## The media got a very up-close look at what offensive line coach Jim Turner puts his linemen through during the latter portion of the indoor practice. What they got to see are just how athletic these big boys up front are and how many different blocking calls and techniques are employed during games.
