Interesting read: 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 Posted by Mike Florio on September 5, 2008, 12:11 p.m. EDT [Editor?s note: Here?s Ted Sundquist?s scouting report for one of the more compelling games of the week. If the Fins win, they match their total for 2007. If the Jets lose, they could end up going 0-3 to start the year, with games against New England and San Diego coming up.] 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.
"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" That is just flat out untrue. He was released because they couldn't get under the cap any other way.
Basically, this whole article says...the Jets are fucked. This is probably my favorite line in the entire article...
I know this is a tough one, but big plays don't always come from 50 bombs. They can come from slants, crossing routes, hitches, reverses. They can come from anywhere the WR lines up.
"Posted by Mike Florio" Any article that mentions a team has a 'last gasp at a playoff berth' before the season has even started is tripe.
Didn't the Fins make the switch to the 3-4? That will take time to do like it did with the Jets, even with NT Ferguson. I don't expect this defense to shut down Favre and the great route runners that are lined up on the outside. Who is the Fins #2 CB?
In his defense, he probably didn't see those plays completely unfold on the field due to the amount of tears in his eyes and shit in his pants.
What i love about this article is it points to preseason a whole lot. The Qbs faced by the dolphins were the BUCS (Griese, Simms) the Chiefs(Huard,Croyle) the Jags(Garrad, Lemon) and the Saints (backups). They played one decent team, 2 awful teams and a team that was in backup mode. Not any one of those Qbs jumps out at me as great and its preseason. it doesn't matter, thats vanilla coverages and plays and not alot is shown at that point. So i don't see much from this. Everyone is picking the Jets to lose, They have a bad secondary, a new linebacking core and a young D-Line (minus Ferguson). I dont see blow out but i dont see the dolphins being a threat
Great point. I thought that same thing when I read that part of the article. People give too much credit to the preseason. Everyone.
Agreed.....but not just the WR. Last two games against the 'Phins, the biggest plays have come from Leon Washington.
That will continue. The kid does amazing in his home state. The Jacksonville game he was the only bright spot in 2006.
Maimi played a 3-4, 4-3 hybrid style defense the last few years, several players have 3-4 defense experience like Joey Porter, Akin Ayodele and Jason Ferguson. Miami's backup corneres are Michael Lehan and Nate Jones.
I understand that, but my point is YAC yards are the WR's responsibility. The Jets WR's won't suddenly turn into Steve Smith just becasue Favre is throwing them the ball.
Miami was 4th overall in pass defense last year, we were dead last in run defense so I'm not sure what your point is. No one is saying Miami is suddenly a team to worry about because of how they played in pre season. I think the article was simply pointing out that both the Jets and Dolphins made improvements this off season and since neither team has played a regular season game with all their changes all you can do is look at the preseason for something of an idea. People aren't just talking about who Miami is playing, they're talking about attitudes and efforts. From week 6 on last year we didn't have Ricky, Ronnie or Chambers, that's a whole lot of talent off the roster before the seasons half over. And I don't know about you, But pre season or not I'd rather my team be 3-1 then 0-4 regardless who they play. Also I don't think "everyone" is picking the Fins to win Sunday. I think Miami was better then our 07 record showed and we still have several players on the team from last year and they are egar to prove last year was the exception, not the rule. I'm not saying the Jets don't have something to prove, but neither does the article above.
This guy wrote a whole article based on analyzing pre-season and then asserted that it translated directly into the regular season? Complete with pre-season rankings? :rofl: I may not be a football expert, but I know enough to not base expectations on pre-season stats.
When your half of your opponents are blowing you out 13 or more points, there's no need to pass the ball. That might explain your weak run D and your stout pass D from last year.
