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[ Game Time | Place | Weather | Field Conditions | Standings & Stats | History | Injuries ]
[ Roster | Key Matchups | Players to Watch | My Analysis | Places to Watch | Related Links ]

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GAME TIME: 4:15 PM EST on Sunday, Dec 12th. The game will be broadcast regionally on CBS, on DirecTV channel 715 and on Sirius radio channels 122 and 153.

PLACE: New Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ.

FORECAST: Rain. High near 46. Southeast wind between 11 and 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. That is a lot of rain.

FIELD CONDITIONS: The surface at the New Meadowlands Stadium is FieldTurf, which is a modern artificial surface. The surface will be in good shape, but the weather will be lousy and the field will very wet and slippery.

STANDINGS & STATS: The Dolphins are 6-6, in 3rd place in the AFC East. The Jets are 9-3 and in 2nd place in the AFC East.

Dolphins       Pts/Game  Rank   Jets           Pts/Game  Rank
Scored          17.9      29    Scored          22.2      15
Allowed         19.8      10    Allowed         19.3       6

Dolphins       Yds/Game  Rank   Jets           Yds/Game  Rank
Total Offense:	 337      19    Total Defense:   306       8
      Rushing:   107      18          vs Rush:    88       3
      Passing:	 230      16          vs Pass:   218      14

Jets                            Dolphins
Total Offense:	 357      12    Total Defense:   301       4
      Rushing:   148       4          vs Rush:   100       9
      Passing:   208      21          vs Pass:   201       4

Sacks		Made (Avg/G)	Allowed (Avg/G)
Dolphins         29    2.4        23      1.9
Jets             27    2.2        20      1.7

Turnover differential:
Dolphins         -6
Jets             +4

Individual Skill Position Stats:
Dolphins                        
QB:   QB Henne:     228-367-2621-12-15-77.5
Rush: RB Brown:               156-589-3.8-3
Rush: RB Williams:            122-544-4.5-2
Rec:  WR Bess:                61-667-10.9-3
Rec:  WR Marshall:            58-693-11.9-1
Rec:  TE Fasano:              32-434-13.6-4

Jets        
QB:   QB Sanchez:   218-397-2636-16-11-77.4
Rush: RB Tomlinson:           176-788-4.5-5
Rush: RB Greene:              153-639-4.2-1
Rec:  RB Tomlinson:            47-343-7.3-0
Rec:  TE Keller:              42-555-13.2-5
Rec:  WR Holmes:              39-563-14.4-4

Legend 
     QBs: completions-attempts-yards-touchdowns-ints-rating
     RBs: rushes-yards-average-touchdowns
     WRs: receptions-yards-average-touchdowns
HISTORY: The Jets lead the series 47-42-1 (including the playoffs) and won the first game this year, 31-23. But since Tony Sparano has taken over as Miami's head coach, the Dolphins hold a 3-3 record against the Jets and are 2-0 against the Jets in New York.

INJURIES:

DOLPHINS: 
Out:          OT Vernon Carey (knee)
              WR Brian Hartline (finger)
Questionable: WR Brandon Marshall (hamstring)
              LB Channing Crowder (knee)
              LB Karlos Dansby (elbow)
              DE Kendall Langford (neck)
              OT Jake Long (knee)
              CB Sean Smith (ankle)

JETS: 
Out:          S  James Ihedigbo (ankle)
Questionable: OT Damien Woody (knee)
Probable:     DE Shaun Ellis (knee)
              OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson (shoulder)
              C  Nick Mangold (shoulder)
              DT Sione Pouha (ankle)
              RB Tony Richardson (not injury related)
              WR Brad Smith (hand)
              RB LaDainian Tomlinson (not injury related)

DOLPHINS' STARTERS:
Offense:		     Defense:
QB -  7 Chad Henne           LE  - 70 Kendall Langford
RB - 23 Ronnie Brown         NT  - 96 Paul Soliai
FB - 36 Lousaka Polite       RE  - 94 Randy Starks
WR - 19 Brandon Marshall     SLB - 55 Koa Misi
WR - 15 Davone Bess          ILB - 52 Channing Crowder
TE - 80 Anthony Fasano       ILB - 58 Karlos Dansby
LT - 77 Jake Long            WLB - 91 Cameron Wake
LG - 68 Richie Incognito     LCB - 21 Vontae Davis
C  - 67 Joe Berger           RCB - 24 Sean Smith
RG - 79 Pat McQuistan        SS  - 37 Yeremiah Bell
RT - 74 John Jerry           FS  - 30 Chris Clemons

K -   5 Dan Carpenter        P   -  2 Brandon Fields

PR - 15 Davone Bess          KR  - 28 Nolan Carroll
NOTES: With Vernon Carey out, the starting right tackle will be either Lydon Murtha or John Jerry - I'm betting on Jerry. Brandon Marshall is officially listed as questionable, but the Dolphins don't have much in the way of alternatives.
JETS' STARTERS: 
Offense:                      Defense:
QB -  6 Mark Sanchez          LDE - 92 Shaun Ellis
RB - 23 Shonn Greene          NT  - 91 Sione Pouha
HB - 49 Tony Richardson       RDE - 70 Mike Devito
WR - 16 Brad Smith            LLB - 99 Bryan Thomas
WR - 89 Jerricho Cotchery     MLB - 57 Bart Scott
TE - 81 Dustin Keller         MLB - 52 David Harris
LT - 60 D'Brickashaw Ferguson RLB - 97 Calvin Pace
LG - 68 Matt Slauson          LCB - 24 Darrelle Revis
C  - 74 Nick Mangold          RCB - 31 Antonio Cromartie
RG - 65 Brandon Moore         SS  - 33 Eric Smith
RT - 67 Damien Woody          FS  - 22 Brodney Pool

K  -  2 Nick Folk             P   -  9 Steve Weatherford

PR - 10 Santonio Holmes       KR  - 16 Brad Smith
NOTES: While Shonn Greene is technically the starter, LaDainian Tomlinson actually has more carries for more yards than Greene. OT Damien Woody has not practiced all week, but is scheduled to start.

KEY MATCHUPS:

  1. The Dolphins vs Themselves: The Dolphins are still their own worst enemy. At least they are still playing better on the road than at home.
  2. Miami's Defensive Front Seven vs Jets' Blocking: Miami's defense has been steadily improving this year and has been shutting down opponents' rushing games. They must continue to stop the run if they are to beat the Jets.

  3. Cameron Wake vs Damien Woody: Wake had only one tackle and no sacks in the first Jets' game this year. To get turnovers, he must put consistent pressure on Mark Sanchez.
  4. TE Anthony Fasano vs Eric Smith and Brodney Pool: The Jets' best safety is out for the rest of the year and Fasano has scored more receiving touchdowns than any other Dolphins' player.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Chad Henne regressed against Cleveland and played his worst game of the year. Fortunately for the Dolphins, Henne does tend to play well against the Jets. Either Lydon Murtha or John Jerry will start at right tackle this week and will have their work cut out for them. And Brandon Marshall will probably return to the lineup.

Channing Crowder is questionable, but Tim Dobbins has been doing a good job when asked to step in. Phillip Merling is back on the Dolphins' active roster and had a pretty good game against the Browns last week. And while safety Chris Clemons has developed well this year, Miami still has problems covering opposing tight ends.

Jets' QB Mark Sanchez is virtually a mirror image of Chad Henne and has very similar stats. But he does play better than Henne in pressure situations. LaDainian Tomlinson is technically on the depth chart behind Shonn Greene at running back, but has more carries for more yards and a better average than Greene. And while Santonio Holmes is on the depth chart below Jerricho Cotchery, he leads their wide receivers. But against the Dolphins, WR Braylon Edwards has had big games.

On defense, safety Jim Leonhard is out for the rest of the year, so Eric Smith and Brodney Pool will need to step up. LB Calvin Pace and CB Darrelle Revis were not available the last time Miami faced the Jets, but they will be back on Sunday.

On special teams, Jets' WR Brad Smith is averaging 27.6 yards per return on kickoffs, while Miami's Nolan Carroll has been getting better every week.

MY ANALYSIS:

The Jets are the only team in the AFC East to own a winning record against the Dolphins, but have been having trouble beating Miami since Bill Parcells took over in 2008. This year, the Jets have been playing very well with a gameplan that is virtually identical to the one that the Dolphins would like to have. The Jets have been winning with a strong running game and a strong defense and have not had to rely too much on Mark Sanchez.

However, when they have called on Sanchez, he has usually delivered. He was instrumental in helping the Jets win two overtime games in a row and in engineering a last minute win against the Texans. His new favorite target is WR Santonio Holmes, who now leads the Jets' wide receivers in receptions and yards, despite not playing the first 4 games of the year.

It looks like the most important factor in the game this weekend, however, will not be something that either team can control. The weather for this game is forecast to be awful, with lots of rain and wind and relatively cold temperatures. That will make for a slippery field and a slippery ball, which makes for more mistakes and turnovers.

Both the Dolphins and the Jets have basic offensive philosophies that are better suited to this kind of weather than the pass-first teams like the Colts and Saints. Miami and New York both want to base their offensive production on their running games and only pass when necessary.

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the Jets have been much better at it this year than Miami. They are ranked 4th in rushing and have been averaging 4.5 ypc, while Miami is ranked 18th in total rushing yards and is averaging 3.8 ypc.

So with the lousy weather and the offensive philosophies of both teams being based on the run, it doesn't take a genius to predict how each team will approach tomorrow's game. You can expect that both teams will come out with very conservative gameplans and will try to overpower their opponent with strong running attacks and strong defenses.

In similar situations in the past, Miami offensive coordinator Dan Henning has sometimes tried to trick opposing defenses with a passing attack and some trick plays in those circumstances and it wouldn't surprise me to see him try that tomorrow. But the success or failure of Miami's offense will still be based on how well their running game works.

When Miami runs the ball, they will have to find a way to compensate for the lack of Vernon Carey, so you can probably expect more emphasis on runs to the left side this week. Also, Miami used an extra offensive lineman on many running plays last week and that setup will continue this week.

The Wildcat formation also returned last week and while Miami didn't win, the Wildcat did have some success, so it will almost certainly reappear this week.

Miami is going to have trouble moving the ball at all in the forecast conditions, but as long as they don't turn the ball over, they should be able to move the chains. The bigger question is whether or not they can score touchdowns against the Jets' defense. Miami's key player in the redzone has turned out to be Anthony Fasano and with Jets' safety Jim Leonhard out for the year, Dan Henning will probably call Fasano's number in scoring situations.

When the Jets have the ball, they will have a very similar gameplan. They will feature the running of Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson, while trying to avoid having Mark Sanchez throw too much, especially against the Dolphins' 4th ranked pass defense.

The Dolphins' defense, while not ranked as high overall against the rush as the Jets, has been improving over the last few weeks and completely shut down the Raiders' running two weeks ago, which was ranked 2nd in the NFL before that. If the Dolphins' defense can maintain their footing on the slick turf, they can stop the Jets' offense.

Given the weather and capabilities of both teams, I would not expect there to be much scoring in this game. Typically, in games like this one, individual big plays, mistakes and turnovers decide the outcome rather than gameplans or relative strengths.

That would seem to favor the Jets with their +4 turnover ratio and homefield advantage, but Miami has played well against the Jets over the last 3 years and Henne has had some of his best games against New York.

The bottom line is that the Dolphins can beat the Jets on Sunday if they will stick to the run and if Henne can avoid any big mistakes.

PLACES TO WATCH:

To watch the game on TV, you may go to one of the sports bars listed on my "Places To Watch" web page.

To listen to the game live over the Internet, you must now pay the NFL for the privelege. They are charging $9.99 (US) per month or $39.99 for the season for something you used to get for free. If you want to sign up for that, go to the following link NFL Field Pass.

Also, here is a list of some websites that have live scores and updates. Both the Official Website and NFL.com have almost live applications that run in your browser and give you current stats and play-by-play information.

Related Info:
     
   
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