Season Averages:
O-PTS
22.4
(16th)
O-YDS
339.9
(15th)
O-PASS-YDS
197.7
(20th)
O-RUSH-YDS
142.1
(4th)
D-PTS
24.0
(25th)
D-YDS
345.7
(19th)
D-PASS-YDS
236.9
(23rd)
D-RUSH-YDS
108.9
(12th)
Miami Dolphins Vs. New York Jets
08:30 PM EASTERN, 10/12/2009, Land Shark Stadium
TV Broadcast: ESPN
NFL Game Center | Listen Live
Tickets | Transportation | Parking
Season Averages:
O-PTS
21.7
(14th)
O-YDS
337.0
(16th)
O-PASS-YDS
152.1
(29th)
O-RUSH-YDS
184.9
(1st)
D-PTS
14.9
(5th)
D-YDS
297.6
(10th)
D-PASS-YDS
181.4
(7th)
D-RUSH-YDS
116.1
(22nd)
Miami Dolphins
Record: 7-9-0
Division: AFC East
New York Jets
Record: 4-3-0
Division: AFC East
Pregame Breakdown
Offense | Defense
With a 250-yard effort in last week's rout of the Buffalo Bills the Dolphins vaulted to the top of the chart in this category and are averaging 183.5 yards on the ground – 17.3 yards more than No. 2 New Orleans. Ronnie Brown is the league's third-leading rusher behind Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson with 369 yards and four rushing touchdowns, but Ricky Williams is up there as well, ranked 17th with 248 yards and two touchdowns. Both are averaging 5.0 yards per carry and running hard out of the base offense and the “Wildcat,” which is proving to be the perfect formula now with a young quarterback at the helm. If they can keep it up against a tough Jets defense but one that has shown some vulnerability against the run, more good things could be coming Miami's way.
New York enters the games with the league's 9th-ranked rushing attack, averaging 130.5 yards per game behind the two-headed backfield of Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. Head coach Rex Ryan would like for Jones and Washington to soften up Miami's stout run defense early in order to allow rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez to get into a passing rhythm, but that will not be an easy task against the No. 2 unit in the NFL, especially with Jones averaging just 3.8 yards per carry.
As strong as their running game has been this is without a doubt the biggest area of concern for the Dolphins as they enter the game ranked 31st out of 32 teams in passing with an average of 138.2 yards per game through the air. Only the Oakland Raiders are behind them, and Buffalo's six sacks of Henne last week will surely be highlighted by Ryan and his staff as they break down film. Still, Henne's strong arm was on display as he made some impressive third-down throws, and if he can get the same kind of help from Brown, Williams and the rest of the rushing attack he could do just enough damage to keep New York honest.
Despite jumping out to a 3-0 start and being the focal point of most of the Jets' highlight reels, Sanchez is guiding a passing offense that ranks 27th in the NFL and he is 21st among starting quarterbacks with a passer rating of 71.2 and a completion percentage of 57.3. He has thrown four touchdown passes and been intercepted five times, with his three interception outing in last week's loss at New Orleans bringing back down to Earth. If he is forced into making New York's offense one dimensional against an improving Dolphins secondary he could be in for a long night.
Dan Carpenter will see the man he beat out for the job last year as an undrafted rookie, Feely, for the first time at home and will again get to avoid having to kick off of the infield dirt at Land Shark Stadium. Carpenter is 6-of-7 on field goals with a long of 45 yards and 9-of-9 on extra points, but even the reinsertion of Ted Ginn, Jr. as a punt returner and kick returner last week didn't lead to a significant improvement on punt returns. Patrick Cobbs did have a 39-yard kickoff return after faking the reverse to Ginn on one play against the Bills but the Dolphins still need better blocking on both fronts.
For the third straight week Miami has to contend with one of the league's most dangerous kick returners in Washington, whose longest return so far this season is 43 yards. He has yet to break one for a touchdown but he has victimized the Dolphins in the past so the coverage units are going to need to bounce back from a shaky outing against Buffalo's Roscoe Parrish last week. Former Dolphins kicker Jay Feely has been perfect on all six of his field goal attempts and all eight of his extra points and will be jacked up for his return to South Florida.
As expected, Henning leaned heavily on Brown, Williams, Cobbs and fullback Lousaka Polite last week in Henne's first NFL start but he also did not put too many handcuffs on his young quarterback, allowing him to throw the ball on the first two plays from scrimmage. Henning will be tested this week by Ryan and his blitzing defense, the same defense that frustrated Miami in the two meetings with Baltimore last year – the last one coming in the playoffs, but Henning has been around long enough to be able to come up with some sort of effective counter.
Brian Schottenheimer, son of legendary head coach head coach Marty Schottenheimer, is in his fourth season as the Jets' offensive coordinator and was retained by rookie head coach Rex Ryan when he took over after engineering one of the best offensive seasons in franchise history last year. New York scored 405 points for only the third time in the team's history and Jones reached the Pro Bowl after rushing for 1,312 yards and a team-record 13 rushing touchdowns. One year after working with the league's oldest quarterback in Brett Favre Schottenheimer has now turned over the reins to the 22-year-old Sanchez.
Week1
MIA VS ATLWeek2
MIA VS INDWeek3
MIA VS SDWeek4
MIA VS BUFWeek5
MIA VS NYJWeek7
MIA VS NOWeek8
MIA VS NYJWeek9
MIA VS NEWeek10
MIA VS TBWeek11
MIA VS CARWeek12
MIA VS BUFWeek13
MIA VS NEWeek14
MIA VS JACWeek15
MIA VS TENWeek16
MIA VS HOUWeek17
MIA VS PIT
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC.
Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.