Jets v. Dolphins Pregame

The Jets come back home today to play their biggest game of the season so far against the Miami Dolphins and the wildcat offense.  A few weeks ago Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams ran wild and defeated the Jets in a shocking loss on Monday Night Football.  Can the Jets keep up what the accomplished last week or will they revert back to the way there were playing against the Dolphins and Bills?

What to watch for...

• The Jets will have to stop the wildcat offense in order to win this game.  Ronnie Brown made a great point this week when he said that the, "toughest 11 guys are going to win this game."  The Jets will have to be very tough up front in order to contain this gimmick offense.  The problem with the wildcat is it allows the Dolphins to get in 3rd-and-short situations which makes it easy for Chad  Henne.  If Rex Ryan can draw up a scheme to stop the wildcat it will go a long way in assuring a Jets win.

• Can the Jets running attack keep up their stellar effort of the last two weeks?  Without Leon Washington, Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones will have to keep up what they did against the Raiders last week if they want any chance to win this game.  The Jets ran for 300 yards each of the last two weeks and they will have to do more of the same in an hour or so.

•  The crowd could play at huge factor in this game as it is Chad Henne's first ever road NFL start.  This seems to be less of a factor for Henne than it would for other quarterbacks as he played at Michigan and has dealt with many hostile crowds.  However, the pressure of the NFL spotlight as well as 70,000 screaming people could disrupt his rhythm and flow that he has developed through three home starts.

Players to Watch:

• Shonn Greene will have to do a good job of filling in for Leon Washington.  Greene had a breakout game last week with over 150 yards and 2 touchdowns and will need to do more of the same so the Jets can control the clock and keep the ball out of the Dolphin's hands.  Greene should get 10-15 touches (with Jones getting 20 or so) and he will have to make the most of them.

• The Jets receivers will play a huge factor in this game as the Dolphins are starting two rookie CB's.  Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery are finally seeing the field together while completely healthy and I expect big things against a depleted Dolphins secondary.

• Mark Sanchez will appear on this list until he proves he is back throwing the ball well against a good team.  Sanchez managed the game well against a bad Raiders team last week but I need to see what he can do against the Dolphins.  He CANNOT make mistakes.

Game Thoughts:

I am skeptical that the Jets can stop the Dolphins and the wildcat offense.  The loss of Kris Jenkins is huge and I cannot see the Jets escaping the 3rd-and-short situations that will take the crowd out of the game.  Sanchez will have to manage the game well and the offensive line will have to open up big holes for Jones and Greene to run through.  One exciting aspect of this game which I didn't comment on is the return of Justin Miller as a kick returner.  I am excited to see what he can do. 

Prediction:

Jets: 17
Dolphins: 21