http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/09/05/ted-sunquists-week-one-scouting-reports-jets-at-dolphins/
TED SUNQUIST’S WEEK ONE SCOUTING REPORTS: JETS AT DOLPHINS
Too bad there aren’t any story lines for two AFC East teams returning in ‘08 with a combined five wins between them. Are you kidding me? As if Brett Favre wearing “JET” green wasn’t enough to talk about; throw in the reclamation project of Bill Parcells in Miami, Chad Pennington opening against the team that drafted him in the first round in 2000 and the impending threat of hurricanes or tropical storms that may strike southern Florida over the weekend. That’s not even mentioning the blasted heat and humidity that tends to wilt Miami opponents in early September. This game represents a rebirth of one team, and a shot — if not a last gasp — at playoff contention for another.
Emotion will play as big a factor in this game as any across the League this weekend. Who could have envisioned back in March that Brett Favre would eventually “unretire” and leave the Packers in the situation they found themselves this summer? But much to G.M. Mike Tannebaum and head coach Eric Mangini’s delight, New York thinks they’ve added just the catalyst to jump start a sagging offense from 2007. Favre brings not only a champion’s leadership qualities to his on-field play, but he may even have a little left in the tank (6th in QB rating ’07) to move a unit that ranked 26th in total offense last season. In limited action he was quite accurate, if not efficient, completing 14 of 18 for 144 yards and 1 touchdown. Critics point to the fact that Favre spent 16 seasons with a club whose offensive philosophy was built around the “West Coast” theory of precision timing routes. Year after year he could rely on the talent of Sharpe, Brooks, Freeman, Walker, or Driver to come up with the “big catch” on the other end of one of his “big plays”. Questions now abound as to how he will respond to the “read and react” patterns of New York’s scheme.
His ability to do so will be KEY #1 to a fast start for the Jets. Miami will look to shut down the run first, something they were able to accomplish over their 3-1 preseason. Favre will more than likely be given every opportunity to beat the Dolphins through the air.
Miami’s retooled front posted 14 sacks in the month of August. They had 24 all of last year!
New York’s defense will try to slow down the prototypical run game of a Bill Parcells-constructed team. New head coach Tony Sparano is an offensive line coach by trade and would love nothing more than to establish a reliable ground attack early. Little wonder that Dolphins G.M. Jeff Ireland signed the athletic OG Justin Smiley through free agency and then used the first pick of the draft to select talented OT Jake Long, effectively solidifying the left side. Samson Satele is a young holdover from the last regime at center, while massive veteran OT Vernon Carey holds down the right tackle position. This rebuilt front, that includes rookies Shawn Murphy and Donald Thomas at OG, are all listed at or over 310 lbs, with the exception of Satele at 300 lbs. To counter this push up front, the Jets bring their own retooled line bolstered by the offseason acquisition of “huge” NT Kris Jenkins. Jenkins is the perfect fit for the 3-4 scheme. Well documented weight problems in Carolina aside, Jenkins is stout at the point of attack and very athletic for a man his size. He will strongly test the interior front of the Miami offense and should allow the LB’s more room to roam and fill versus the run. The Jets struggled in ’07 at times to slow many opponents down on the ground, especially in short yardage, and Jenkins play will be KEY #2.
Despite being released by his first opponent (which was as much a political move to add the superstar Favre as it was linked to performance), Chad Pennington brings a bit of stability to a position that has floundered over the past few seasons in Miami. Pennington showed workman-like efficiency in August, passing for 72% with no turnovers or sacks to his credit. Though the future appears to be second-round pick Chad Henne’s, Pennington will be able to “hold down the fort” while the rest of the offense pulls together and Henne continues to develop. Pennington is smart, tough, extremely accurate, a leader and has three seasons of playoff experience; exactly what you need to tutor a young QB in the wings and to lead in a rebuilding effort. So quickly respected was Pennington, that the team elected him captain this week (as the Jets did with Favre). His career Achilles heel has been injuries to most body parts except his Achilles heel. Given the situation, look for the Dolphins to keep things fairly balanced, if not somewhat conservative.
The Dolphins will work to Smiley and Long’s side in establishing the run game, which I KEY #3, and hope to wear out the Jets in the heat and humidity of Dolphin Stadium. One thing RB
Ricky Williams is, a workhorse. Monitored properly and given the correct load,
the Dolphins are 16-3 when he rushes for more than 100 yards. And don’t forget that Ronnie Brown added four 100-yard games of his own in ’07 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. This should allow for the offense to cut down on some of its preseason mistakes (penalties and fumbles), create some early confidence and will surely be a “must” if the aforementioned weather dictates the play.
KEY #4 is linked to KEY #1, controlling Brett Favre. The Dolphins will play a mix of 3-4 and 4-3 looks at the Jets to take advantage of personnel and to keep the opponent off balance. There certainly won’t be much thrown at Favre that he hasn’t seen, but whether he can read it quickly enough and find the open man is pending.
Miami sacked opposing QB’s 14 times in preseason to lead the NFL (NYJ was #2 with 13). The pressure came from across the board (DT, DE & LB) so the defensive staff has to be pleased with the flexibility of their front seven thus far. Hopefully this will improve the overall play of DB’s Will Allen and Michael Lehan as well. However Favre still shows me the foot quickness and pocket presence that can improve any team’s offensive line in a hurry. Jericho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles are a solid WR tandem and the Dolphins will get plenty of multiple-receiver sets, but the two have not been traditionally big-play producers. Can Favre stay patient in the face of a fired up defense that held opposing QB’s to just 55.6% in the preseason and forced 4 interceptions? If so, look for a ball control passing game to move the chains and then for Favre to try and sneak one over the defense deep, similar to his second-quarter drive against the Giants in the preseason.
If the storms turn nasty, the play of both punters could be KEY #5 to this game. Any screw up in getting the ball out of your own end of the field under poor conditions can be the determining factor in winning or losing a close game. Both Jets punter Ben Graham and Dolphin punter Brandon Fields have decent gross averages, but Graham has pinned opponents inside the 20 forty-nine times in two seasons. A long field, with fumble problems over their last four games, is not what Miami needs to get off to a good start.
