At 2-3, the Jets are in a must-win situation on the Monday Night Football stage. The New England Patriots sit atop the division at 5-1, and the Buffalo Bills are 4-2. Miami, despite having a bye last week, is ripe for the picking, as it lost quarterback Chad Henne for the season and is already 0-4 to begin with.
Matt Moore will get the nod calling signals for Miami, and you can bet Jets coach Rex Ryan will look to get after Moore early, though defensive coordinator Mike Pettine noted Moore's mobility as a focal point in preparing for the Dolphins.
Jets’ offense needs a big night
The Miami defense is a good group, but it has been guilty of giving up big chunks of yardage at bad times despite clogging up opposing offenses for a majority of series’. The Jets’ offense has looked bad-to-mediocre through five games, and it truly needs to put up big numbers in primetime if New York wants to be taken seriously among fans, the media and the NFL.
New York’s running game had looked pathetic until it face New England last weekend, where it looked OK. Shonn Greene found the end zone and eclipsed 80 yards, which is an improvement.
Quarterback Mark Sanchez has been off and on, throwing eight touchdowns to five interceptions this season.
Dolphins feeling good
Despite the 0-4 start, the mood has reportedly been upbeat in Miami, at least according to Dolphins coach Tony Sparano and a handful of players.
“Honestly, 0-4, you can either dwell on that too long or you can move on from it and I think our team has just been where we got a pretty good mindset, we moved on pretty good from some of these things,” Sparano told the Miami media Friday. “I think that they understand there’s some areas on the football team right now we’re getting better in, they can see it.
“We didn’t only show them the things we didn’t do well during the bye week, we had to show them so of the things we did well so I think they know how close we are in getting a win here and I think that keeps the spirits going and I also have some pretty good people in that locker room.”
Marshall looks to get tossed
Yeah, it’s old news. Last week Dolphins wideout Brandon Marshall said he planned on getting ejected by the second quarter by unleashing his emotions. Truth is, He might be taken out of the game, anyway, at least in terms of effectiveness. Whether he gets matched up with Darrelle Revis or Antonio Cromartie, you can bet the Jet cornerback duo will be at its best. For once, it’s the Jets trying to shut someone up instead of the other way around.
Even if Marshall is a non-factor, he still said he might pick a fight with Jets linebacker Bart Scott or Cromartie.
Ryan laughed it off.
“I'm just happy that he's not picking on me to fight him,” Ryan said during his Friday press conference. “We had that issue before and quite honestly I was a little nervous running across that field. So I feel good, at least he never called me out. If he wants to get kicked out of the game in the second quarter, I think he should."
Notes: Ryan's Jets are 1-3 against the Dolphins, and and New York hasn't beaten Miami at home since 2007; According to Weather.com, temperature should be in the mid-50s with clear skies.
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