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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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: