Week 6 AFC East game picks: Rams at Dolphins

Lead writer Nick St. Denis and AFC East Daily contributors Dan Begnoche, Sean Donovan and Sam Hollingsworth pick the Miami Dolphins' home contest with the St. Louis Rams.

Nick's take:

The Rams' defense has eight interceptions and 15 sacks already this season. But that's just fine with the Dolphins, who will be more focused on running the ball against a St. Louis unit that allows first downs on 28 percent of its opponents' rushing attempts. Defensively, the Dolphins get the best of former Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's offense.

Prediction: Dolphins 14, Rams 10

Sean's take:
In a battle between two very good defenses, this matchup will boil down to which offense is better equipped to move the ball on the opponent. Miami will force St. Louis to be one-dimensional on offense, while the Rams' aggressive secondary and pass rush will be neutralized by the Dolphins' effective rushing attack. Reggie Bush and Lamar Miller pace Miami to the victory.

Prediction: Dolphins 13, Rams 9

Bills' Jackson: We haven't done anything to help 'D'

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Buffalo Bills are giving up a league-most 35.2 points per game, which isn't a good look for a defense that was highly-touted before the season.

But the Bills' offense hasn't been much help, as Buffalo has a minus-4 turnover ratio. The Bills are also coming off a blowout loss the the San Francisco 49ers that saw them score just three points and convert just two third downs.

"That is just it. Our defense has taken a lot of heat, but we have not done anything to help them as an offensive unit," Fred Jackson told reporters Thursday, according to the Bills' website. "... We have not made big plays consistently in our offense for the last two weeks and that is hurting us. We have to be able to establish the running game with myself and C.J. (Spiller). We have to get that going early. If we do that it is going to take some pressure off of myself and everybody else in the offense."

"We have turned the ball over and teams have taken advantage of that and gotten points off of them. We have to eliminate that and we have to convert third downs. ... To get points and sustain drives, you have to be able to convert third downs and that is going to be a big part of what we do. If we can get that done, eliminate the turnovers, then we can be a pretty dangerous offense."

Fisher: Dolphins' run defense is No. 1 for a reason

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Miami Dolphins are holding opposing running backs to just 2.7 yards a carry, the lowest mark in the league and half a yard better than the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Sunday, Miami's tough defensive front will be up against the only team the NFL that has yet to score a rushing touchdown this season in the St. Louis Rams.

Needless to say, "... it's going to be a challenge for us to run the football," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of his Steven Jackson-led running corps.

“Just what they’ve done to some really good running games here early in the season," Fisher told the Miami media this week, according to the Dolphins' website. "How well they played not only against Houston, but what they’re doing average per carry, it’s clear that they’re number one in the league for a reason in rushing yards per game, because they tackle very well and they’re very stout up front and they understand run schemes and they attack them."

Patriots look to use Seattle CBs' size to advantage

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Seattle Seahawks' cornerbacks are tall. Two of the New England Patriots' top receivers aren't.

Brandon Browner stands at 6-foot-4, 221 pounds, and Richard Sherman is a slimmer 6-foot-3 at 195 pounds. Receiver Wes Welker, whose team will be up against the duo Sunday, is 5-foot-9, 185 pounds. Fellow Patriots receiver Deion Branch is also 5-9, and Brandon Lloyd is 6-0.

"Obviously, they're bigger guys, taller guys with longer arms," Welker told reporters Thursday. "They do a good job of being patient and staying square to the line. But you've got to get them moving, you've got to do some different things to them and try to get their body weight going and try to work them in different ways like that." 

The Seahawks' defense is extremely aggressive, and their cornerbacks are no exception. Both Browner and Sherman are in the top six on the team in tackles and combine for three forced fumbles and three interceptions.

Man-to-man with Wayne means Cro will move a lot

BY NICK ST. DENIS

If the New York Jets plan on using cornerback Antonio Cromartie in a straight-up man-to-man role on the Indianpolis Colts' No. 1 receiver this week like they would with Darrelle Revis, Cromartie will be very active before the snap.

Cro is slated to go up against veteran wideout Reggie Wayne, who has taken on a more all-around role in the Colts' offense. He's not just strictly an outside receiver.

“Reggie is in the slot now and we move him around a lot more so that (Cromartie) can’t just be focused on a wide receiver playing bump and run all the time," Colts interim coach/offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said this week, according to the Colts' website. "If that’s the matchup they want to play, then he’ll have to follow him and run all over the field in a different position than he’s normally used to.”

Cromartie did a stellar job Monday night locking down Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson, who was limited to just one catch for 15 yards.

Around-the-Web AFC East power rankings - Week 6

Here's where the four AFC East teams stand in the major media outlets' NFL power rankings entering Week 6:
             NE     NYJ     BUF     MIA
ESPN        5(6)  25(23)  27(21)  19(26)
NFL.com     6(8)  21(20)  25(21)  22(28)
CBSSports   5(7)  24(22)  21(20)  23(30)
FoxSports   5(9)  27(27)  28(20)  22(26)
NBC (PFT)   4(6)  21(22)  29(17)  23(30)
SI.com      5(6)  22(20)  24(21)  20(25)
PFF         4(5)  25(23)  25(19)  20(27)
AVERAGE:    4.8    23.6    25.6    21.3

Sanchez: Return of Keller 'huge' for Jets' offense

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The New York Jets' offense took a big hit when quarterback Mark Sanchez's favorite target, tight end Dustin Keller, was injured Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills.

But at 2-3 and not totally out of the picture, Gang Green will likely get Keller back into the equation just in time to face the Indianapolis Colts.

"It's huge. That's great news," Sanchez told reporters Wednesday. "He looked good in practice today."

Not only does Keller's return give Sanchez the comfort of having his go-to pass-catcher at his disposal, but the fourth-year signal-caller created a little chemistry with backup tight end Jeff Cumberland during Keller's absence, creating a possible two-pronged receiving tight end tandem for Sanchez to work with.

All hands on deck for Mario Williams, Bills' defense

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams may be having a hard time explaining how or why his squad has played so poorly as a whole, but he can certainly point out what he needs to improve on.

Williams noted his hands as the main culprit of his troubles when speaking with reporters Wednesday. It's an issue he has been dealing with throughout the season as he struggles through a nagging wrist injury.

A self-proclaimed “hands person,” Williams said a lot of the power from his pass rush comes from his hands, and the injury hasn't made the task, or the team's success getting to the quarterback, any easier.

“I need to get my hands, in general, healthy because I am a hands person," he said. "I am a power person and I think the biggest thing for me is being able to adapt and being able to use my abilities of what I do best in these times that we are going through right now. I think the biggest thing is what I am doing physically has been different. I have to find a way to make that happen. ”

Carroll compares Patriots' offense to Oregon Ducks

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck ...

The New England Patriots' offense has been called a lot of things, but Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll found his comparisons at the collegiate level, comparing the squad to an Oregon Ducks program that has been lighting up defenses across the country for nearly a decade.

“They’re the ones that play similar to this,” Carroll told reporters Wednesday. “I’m sure there are some other college teams that are doing it. There’s nobody in the league that’s close at this time, but there will be. It’s their willingness to go this fast as consistently as they have demonstrated that separates them from other teams.”

In terms of production, the two have been quite similar in the scoring department, averaging more than 30 points per game since 2006. More than anything though, it may be just what Carroll described: Both offenses have shown a non-stop, dynamic attack that has been unrivaled in their respective leagues.

Sherman: Tannehill 'keeps getting better and better'

BY SEAN DONOVAN

Going into the 2012 draft, the general sentiment about quarterback Ryan Tannehill was that, while talented and athletic, he was too inexperienced to contribute in his first season.

After all, he had only logged 19 starts at quarterback for Texas A&M after spending his first two seasons as a wide receiver.

But, after winning the Miami Dolphins' starting signal-caller job in training camp, Tannehill has displayed unwavering poise and steady growth as a passer in his first five games.

"I think the film shows that he’s getting better," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said after Miami's 17-13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, according to the team's media department. "I thought his decision making was good, threw the ball accurately, thought he had poise and, if you watch the tape, he looked like a pretty good quarterback.