DOLPHINS OFFENSE V. JETS DEFENSE -Jets at times matched up with 4-4 personnel versus the Dolphins “22” personnel (2 backs and 2 TEs) -The first “Wildcat” formation was a pass from Brown to Fasano for 21 yds: Dolphins personnel was 2 backs, 2 TEs, 1 WR and Henne split left – What made no sense was that the Jets had S Leonhard playing as a “cover 2” safety 15 yds from the line of scrimmage over the top of Henne -Williams 18 yds out of the “Wildcat” on the third play of the game, Dolphins personnel was 4 backs and 2 TEs (no QB) – Jets played a 4-3 front to match up to the “Wildcat”, S Leonhard was 20 yds from the LOS -Dolphins extensive use of the “Wildcat” and base “22” personnel sets forced the Jets defense to line up and play physical, assignment-based football – It negated the organized chaos that the Jets want to play; The myth about the Jets defense is that they are tough and physical, They are not -Dolphins had 2 TEs on the field on every play of their first series: 12 plays, 80 yds and a TD Williams 59 screen pass came against an anticipated Jets blitz, their first blitz of the game – Their blitzing had been calmed down by the Dolphins personnel packages and formations - When the Dolphins had Henne on the field in their “Wildcat”, the Jets wasted 2 defenders: The CB aligned over Henne, and S Leonhard, who consistently aligned 15+ yds from the LOS Dolphins played with 2 TEs the entire first half with the exception of 4 plays, 3 of which came in the 2 minute situation -Henne more comfortable as the game progressed, The Dolphins offensive approach minimized the Jets pressure tendencies and allowed Henne to settle into the game – He did not play fast, He stayed with his intermediate reads longer in the second half Jets are a scheme and design defense, a confusion defense, not a beat-you-in-the-trenches defense – The Dolphins approach got the Jets out of their comfort zone Dolphins ran 5 consecutive “Wildcat” plays on their 3rd quarter (into 4th quarter) TD drive: All 5 featured 4 backs and 2 TEs, The fourth one was a called pass that was incomplete – All 5 had different looks at the snap of the ball, The increasing versatility of the “Wildcat” -Dolphins had success with the designed cutback, or wind back run that the Saints used with great effectiveness a week earlier against the Jets “over” front (the DL shifted to the strong side of the offensive formation) -Dolphins offensive approach turned an attacking, proactive Jets defense into a reactive and tentative one -Ginn 53 yd TD came out of “12” personnel (1 back and 2 TEs), It was slot left with Ginn the outside receiver; Dolphins went “max pro” with 8 man protection, Ginn ran by CB Revis on a disciplined and precise route – Henne 4 seconds from snap to delivery QB White played 3 snaps in the shotgun on the final GW drive: 2 handoffs to Brown, and a 6 yd run -Jets had no idea how to defend the “Wildcat” from a schematic standpoint, They wasted 2 players every time -Henne to Camarillo for 14 yds on the final drive came against “cover zero” pressure, Great touch throw by Henne -Final “Wildcat” tally (including White’s plays): 19-122, 6.4 yds per play – Dolphins ran the “Wildcat” on 30% of their offensive snaps JETS OFFENSE V. DOLPHINS DEFENSE -Sanchez a timing and rhythm passer, A plant and throw QB with good arm strength -Sanchez plays fast, He’s not a comfortable looking QB, Gets frenetic at times when the design of the play is not there and he can’t deliver with timing and rhythm -Washington great ability to get through small cracks at the point of attack, Elusive and shifty with tremendous short area burst – A better inside runner than his size would indicate -ILB Crowder a flash player, Makes some splash plays but plays with an alarming lack of discipline at times -Jets OL too many breakdowns, both individually and schematically; The unit had an uneven game -Rookie CB Smith an excellent press corner, He’s physical with strong hands; Smith jacked up Edwards a few times when Edwards had “x iso” and disrupted his route -LG Faneca not the player he was; His decline began a year ago, and has continued this season – He gets beat too often -Clowney 53 yds came out of “21”, Play action with 8 man protection; Jets clearly anticipated “quarters” coverage and attacked play side S Bell with Clowney’s deep corner route -Sanchez throws an excellent deep ball, Good trajectory and very accurate Dolphins safeties vulnerable Bell and Wilson in pass coverage, especially when aligned in “quarters” coverage, which gives them both run and pass responsibilities -Overall, the Jets OL struggled in pass protection; The Dolphins front looked quicker, and was able to get Sanchez to move and play fast at times -I loved Sanchez willingness to pull the trigger on his outside completion to Edwards for 34 yds in the fourth quarter; It was the outside void in “cover 2”, and Edwards was not really open because CB Davis carried him deep – Sanchez understood the situation, and knew he had to make a throw; That’s NFL quarterbacking – It will be interesting to see if OC Schottenheimer incorporates some of the same concepts the Browns used effectively 2 years ago when Edwards and Winslow had big years in Cleveland
I watched the game again last night and oddly enough I though the Jets OL did a much better job this week. Our D made a lot of leg and ankle tackles/attempts which leads me to believe that they weren't as fast....pretty obvious. In fact the Jets tackling was generally pretty suspect throughout. The Miami OL held strong for just enough time to get those backs past the LOS. Good penetration a couple of times but they beat us with the screen. I want to see a lot more intensity next time.
When I re-watched the game, I realized how truly great Kris Jenkins is. I mean, everyone else was terrible Monday, but he was his usual self and then the way he talked in the post game interview, what a winner.
Rex Ryan has said his preparation revolved around certain gaps that they expected the Dolphins to run to, but their OL held their blocks very well, it gave R&R (who already have a great vision on the field) to find other gaps. He added, when you try to arm-tackle Ronnie Brown or Ricky "Sticky" Williams, two-230lb RB's, they're gonna run right thru them. The Dolphins OL was just more physical and disciplined in their blocking assignments. He did seem to think there were ways to try to defend it in the future tho, so we'll see how he does when they come up in a few weeks.
I didn't re-watch the whole game, but Cosell is wrong on those bolded parts. On the first WC play, Leonhard was playing Cover-1 as Kerry Rhodes was cheated to the line selling out the run. I didn't get why Jimmy was so deep with Ronnie taking the snap, but my main problem was that Kerry didn't recognize the option and he let Fasano get behind him. This was on both the safeties. On the second WC play, the Jets weren't running a 4-3, they had the 4-4-3 package on the field, the right side contain got fooled completely and the left side pursuit allowed themselves to be blocked completely out of the play.
Seems like a good breakdown. Good explanation as to why we couldn't stop the Wildcat. Pretty ironic how a Mangini-gap control defensive scheme would have served us better. RR will take this and learn from it. Week 8 can't come soon enough.
