Despite An 0-2 Record, Jets Are Dangerous
Given their history, this Jets / Dolphins game won’t be a walk in the park
The Jets will be fighting for their season
Despite the drama of Lawrence Timmons, the trade for Stephone Anthony, injury to Jordan Phillips and dings to Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker, the Dolphins must remain laser focused on beating the Jets in New York this Sunday.
No doubt Miami is the better team, but games against the Jets are almost always fierce competitions for the Dolphins–especially on the road.
Miami will need their A game to get the win… despite the Jets 0-2 start.
The perception is that the Jets are tanking the season. In their first two games they have given up an average of 33 points per game, which is the worst in the league; Also, they have only scored 16 points per game, which is tied for 22nd worst in the league.
The Jets aren’t a good football team and won’t win many games this year, but they are competent in a few areas. For the most part, it’s been their major weakness that has done them in two weeks in a row: run defense–specifically between the tackles.
Now given that Miami was able to run the ball against the Chargers–also a 3-4 Defense–this appears to be a slam dunk for a Dolphins win… not so fast.
A notable differences between the Chargers defense and the Jets might pose a stiff challenge to the Dolphins run game, if they aren’t careful.
Miami’s interior Offensive Line will be in the spotlight in Week 3
Chargers have their defensive strength on the wings with Bosa and Ingram. Ja’Wuan James had one of his best games as a Dolphins, and Laremy Tunsil was excellent in run blocking. Their play went a long way towards neutralizing the Chargers strength of pass rush and opening holes for Ajayi. Both were a major reason why Miami was in position to win at the end of the game.
But the Jets have their strength on the interior of the Defensive Line with Pro Bowlers Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams at defensive end, and savvy vet Steve McLendon in the middle. This will put the onus on the Dolphins interior O-Line of Anthony Steen and Jermon Buhrod–with Jesse Davis in spot duty–to play a more critical role this week.
If you follow the recipe for victory of both the Bills and Raiders, being very successful at running the ball inside is the key to victory. But the Bills and Raiders have two of the top 5 Guards in the NFL in Richie Incognito and Kelechi Osemele to make that inside run game happen.
Man do we miss you Richie!
In the Zone-Stretch running game a Guard doesn’t always have to win his match up to help facilitate positive yardage, especially with a back like Jay Ajayi. Just shielding a defender can be enough to create an opportunity for a RB. In the film below, Steen had a mixed bag of success in these 3 plays–2 out of the 3 was enough for a winning snap. The fourth play was sweet on Steen’s part and showed vet savvy. Too bad Ajayi couldn’t take advantage.
This week Steen will be facing a much greater talent level on the DL compared to last week. Also, unlike last week, Steen will not have a height advantage. Aside from Bosa (who plays mostly 4+ technique and is a problem for Tackles), every defender Steen faced against the Chargers was two inches shorter than he is. This week he’ll be at a disadvantage of reach, which could add extra difficulty to his assignments against a brutal mix of speed and strength with Williams, so he must get excellent leverage play in and play out.
Maybe Davis, who is taller, bigger, and better at the point of attack, will see more action?
The Jets first two games were on the road
Then there’s Bushrod, who had a fine game against the Chargers–one of his best games as a Fin. Bushrod will also have to be at his best this week as he faces a beast in Wilkerson. Even though he won’t have the disadvantage of size and reach that Steen will have, Bushrod will have one of his biggest tests of the entire season.
The film below is a small highlight reel of Bushrod’s success in Week 2, and of both Guards excellent play at the second level in the run game.
Miami must do what they do: run the football on offense, dink and dunk it down the field, and along the way sprinkle in a few long passes for chunk yards. In the run game, the edges will be softer than last week as the Jets OLB’s are young and inexperienced. I expect to see more of Kenyan Drake who can hit the boundaries fast. But the inside will be the key to all of this.
Against the Chargers, Miami had a lot of 3 yard gains inside that helped set everything up. This must be on the menu again this week. But if the Guards struggle and that 3 yards drops to 2 or less, this will make Miami’s path to victory much tougher.
Given the Charger tend to slightly play their ends wider than the Jets, the Guards will have less free release. This too could hamper the Dolphins inside run game and be a further test on the Fins Guards. Of course this could help the Fins hit the perimeter, if the Guards do their job.
There should be no reason why Miami’s offense can’t put up 20 plus points on this Jets Defense. But again, given the formula for victory verse the Jets in the first two weeks, rushing the football is key. The Bills put up 190 yards on the ground and the Raiders 180 and both led in time of possession… But both teams have Offensive Lines ranked in the top third of the league.
Ground game is key against the Jets
Can the Dolphins Offensive Line keep pace with the Bills and Raiders? Will they turn out to be a big surprise in 2017? If they can make this major leap forward, let the fireworks begin! More realistically, if they can just break out of the bottom third in OL play and get to the middle of the pack, then the Fins will see a lot of success.
Given that the best price per head software on the market opened this game with the Dolphins as the -6 point favorite, maybe they are starting to see Miami as a little better than the 7.5 wins they’ve predicted? It’s been a long time since the Dolphins were a -6 point favorite on the road against any team? Is this the start of the money boys back track?
For another ‘shock the world season’ to happen, Miami must run the ball, and their Guard play must be better than originally anticipated. Bottom line is, the proof is in the pudding. I hope like heck we Fins Fans will be wanting extra helping come Sunday. Go Fins!!!
*video and some play analysis by M.J.
Now theres the ‘ ‘ lphin team we all know and love. No O and no D. Some observations.
1. Fins are an 0-2 team with a 1-1 record
2. Gase needs to hand off play calling to an OC and focus on getting the team ready to play in general – he is failing
3. Jets exposed ‘ ‘ lphins weakness…stop the run and theyre DOA – Oline can’t pass block
4. Fins are what I thought they were…they really do suck
5. Fins DC should be coaching high school football
I got ‘ ‘ lphins going 3-5 in 1st half of season, 6-10 for the year, drafting in top 12, and picking another bum as a 1st rounder.
…oops, did I just call Harris a bum?
Oh and BTW….I canceled my subscription to the NFL package, and I am boycotting every single NFL TV sponsor possible.
Speechless. Maybe the players should focus on the football game rather than ways to protest (though I understand their reason). Absolute, the worst Miami game I have watched in years. No energy, no desire, no urgency. REALLY???
How many 3rd and double digits can one team have in a given game??? How many rep-snap penalties can this team have???
OUT COACHED, OUT PLAYED. The Jets wanted far more than the Fins did, not even a question?
I understand resting players throughout the week to have them healthy and ready for Sunday. But, it seems is doesn’t work for this group of players. They must practice at least one day to provide some continuity.
Absolutely pitiful. Did I mentioned OUT COACHED? If I didn’t know so, I would say fire the OC, but Gase is the OC, he better pick it up a notch or two quickly or this could back fire on him (though I don’t anticipate that happening).
When your practices stink, the game will stink. And they stunk up the joint. They stunk up NY. It was that bad. Lifeless it seemed.
Usually it these scenarios the wiining team is not as good as they looked and the losing team is not as bad as they looked, and somewhere in the middle is where they both lye. Well the middle of this mess is not good enough. Gase had better do some magic on his way to London.
It was so bad, there is not even one player that should shoulder critisism, they all should shoulder the blame, and it starts with the coach. “D” for the players, and a big FAT “F” for the coaching!
…which team was it everyone said was deliberately tanking?
…I shut the TV off after the first series of the 2nd half
…went looking for a bag and some scissors to cut eye-holes
…a bag big enough to fit over the clothes-pin on my nose
…and thick enough to keep my yelling from rousing the neighbors
…think the wife is hiding in the garden with the cats
…no pass defense, an OL so bad that Ajayi was repeatedly stopped BEHIND them, and oh yeah, the QB
…and just for dessert, our kicker has now outscored the entire rest of the team 18-7
…its not just that the Jets beat us …its that we weren’t even competitive …not even close
…my first prediction was 7-9 …my glass was half-full
I agree on some of your points, but to me this is about Gase. He has had 1Qtr and a half of good play calls. His gameplan and play calls, response and contingency plans have been atrocious. I hate to say it because I love him so far, but he is THE biggest disappointment. Not tooting my horn in any way, I’m likely wrong more than not, but I saw they weren’t going to pound the ball… how did Gase not have an alternate gameplan if they stopped the tried and true ride Ajayi till the wheels fall off. The Jets had a brilliant adjustment and went with Two DE as DT’s with varying techs between A and B gap. They are studs and dominated the C and G’s, but what was the adjustment? Cutler was off true, but the base design of the gameplan sucked hard. I’m going to go back and watch the game when I can stomach it later and am a little liquored up. But Gase didn’t have a feel for his team, this game, and didn’t come up with a plan. End of the world? No not yet. They just got the shit kicked out of them… how do they respond? How does Gase? The run D is excellent. Thomas should start over Allen because he sucks and will now that Allen is hurt. Jones has played lifeless all season just about. They have the tools and the OL is good enough when it isn’t used improperly. This week will be interesting.
Gase has been the biggest disappointment thus far! Quite holding this team back. Sometimes you pass to set up the run. This was the case on Sunday, but never wavered until 5 minutes left in the game, REALLY?
No way the JETS keep up with Miami in a no huddle or up tempo offense Sunday. The only way was for them to man up and stop the run. Man up they did. Gase needs to recognize the vibe of the game (something I thought was his strength) the rhythm, he failed to do so and failed to put the players this team in the best situation to win a game.
Need to forget quickly, because the Saints are going to score. Then again, with Gase knowing that I’m sure he will open up the game plan right from the beginning (which he should have yesterday) Sunday. Because if not, 1-2 coming back to HardRock.
What a lifeless game, I’ve seen better pre-season games….
…yes, the jets are vulnerable to the run and no doubt pounding Ajayi into them is the most assured way of beating them …but I think its a bad idea
…first, we need to save the wear and tear on Ajayi until we really need him …if we run, use Drake …lets find out what he really has …is he a viable starter or just a special teamer? …we need to know and this is the game to find that out …make this into a semi-bye week for Ajayi, rest him now while we can …we all know he can pile up 200 yds on NY but do we have to prove it?
…second, we need to test the passing attack down field to Parker and Stills, not another dink and dunk to Landry scheme …is our WR set as dangerous as the PR machine makes them out to be? …never know it from the LAC game, eh …this is the game to let Cutler air it out …I’d much rather see us beat the jets via air than land …let Cutler try for 400 yds with a couple bombs …push Parker out of his safe zone …work out the kinks now while we can afford to, not have them bite us vs NE
…third, we need to use Grant in this game …both as a returner and as a Landry sub …rest Landry’s knee, again a semi-bye for a crucial player while we take the training wheels off Grant and see if he can fly
…on defense, I expect to see Allen again at OLB and maybe Anthony at MLB in passing situations rather than Hull who proved vulnerable to the pass vs LAC …it makes no sense to me to put Anthony outside, that’s not where he excels
…we certainly can’t afford to look past the Jets, no matter how bad they look …its a rivalry that’s longer than the one with the Pats for both teams …but I do think it is likely the last chance we’re going to get to rest Ajayi and Landry …and the best opportunity to test Air Cutler in a near fail safe environment …imnsho
I agree with your plan of attack except from what I’ve seen so far, Grant’s game is not suitable for the slot. Hard to find in traffic and is not as twitchy as a Cole Beasley or as tough as a Landry type. He needs room to work, but he is lightning fast and cannot consistently be covered on the boundary. I say sub out Stills, DVP, and Grant all day long on Go routes, until their secondary is so gassed, when we bring out Ajayi in the fourth quarter to ice the game, he’ll run through them like wet paper napkins.
I’d also love to see what Carroo could do in the slot. Dude is a beast. Reminds me of Anquan Boldin. The pass happy league era we witnessed in the past is trending back to big, hard running. Teams are filled with small, rangy corners in nickel packages that can cover the whole field.
Let’s tire them out and then truck over them. I wanna see Cutler have his best game as a professional QB, and show the talking heads that not only are the Jets terrible, but the 2017 Dolphins are not to be underestimated. There’s a serious swagger to this team that has been boiling beneath the surface and I would love to finally see it come out.
I agree Diego, Grant is at his best wide. Carroo needs to start contributing given both Parker and Landry are dinged. I see a similar comparison to Boldin. Carroo seems to be coming a long, but I’ll be a lot happier when it’s a done deal and not hope. Miami paid a ton for him… I think the Jets are in deep trouble now that they lost Winters. He was their best pass protector. But I very rarely discount the Jets. They have some talent and one injury here or there or big play can change things. Football is funny like that. But, I agree if I had to bet my life on it, I’d go Fins 10 out of 10!
I’m dead.
The O-line was terrible on run support, but on passing downs they did an ok job. Cutler had time to throw, he was just hot garbage on all his throws up until the final drive. No discipline. How about the 5 pretty much consecutive encroachment/false starts from both sides of the ball. Ridiculous. This one is on Gase. How about the fake punt? I’m just embarrased to have gotten as excited about this team as I did. I keep reading how we were clearly the better team heading into the game. I see no evidence of that….
Sorry for the late reply. I had all these clips stored and big plans… then the kids, work, and my old age mixed into lethargy!! Yeah, they must pass and the run game doesn’t need to be near 200 to win. Balance and some nice PA would be awesome. Hey, I can’t figure out why we can’t run screens… we have sucked at them forever. I think the rB’s in the pass game will come into play and Drake will see action. Williams and Ajayi are dinged, so that wold be nice. With Winters down for the Jets Miami will be alright without Phillips. Not sure about Anthony this week. He has trouble in the brains dept. so a short week and rush in might not happen. Some pass rush or certain run downs …maybe. But you never know. On the Cutler front, I think Gase is still feeling him out. With the great job by James and Tunsil I think he’ll feel more secure in pushing the ball down field. Cutler seems to really like Gase and respect him and that might be a reason why Jay holds off on being Jay with him. I can’t wait for the game… should be a good day for us!!!