So You're Saying There's a Chance (in the AFC East)
Time to seize the day, and Leon Washington's ankles
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Yes, Joey Porter, there is a Santa Claus. And his name is Denver Beating the Patriots.
Thanks to a couple of ex-Dolphins, the Patriots fell to 3-2 on Sunday and the door is open for the Dolphins in the AFC East.
Whether they can waltz through it is another story, but it's open -- and a win tonight would put Miami just one game out of first place.
Of course, we're talking about the 1-3 Dolphins taking on the 3-1 Jets, and these Dolphins needed now-Broncos Vonnie Holliday's forced fumble of Tom Brady and Matt Prater's big field goal to be in the conversation. But, hey: any port in a storm or reason to laugh at New England, as the saying goes.
So what are the chances? Miami's got magic orange jerseys, an unproven young quarterback, and a tricksy offense; New York's got Leon Washington, an unproven quarterback, and a mouthy new coach. It's a rivary game, and anything can happen.
But both teams are dependent on the run, and that favors Miami. The rest of it? Not so much.
The Fins are the most physical rushing team in the NFL, leading in yards (183.5 ypg) and attempts, have the best 1-2 punch in Ronnie and Ricky, and can run reg'lar or wildcat. The Jets have nose tackle Kris Jenkins, but are still soft against the run, just 19th in rushing defense and giving up an average of 100.3 yards per game.
That's a major advantage for Miami, who lack any real receiving threat outside Chad Ochocinco watching his second Dolphins game of the year in the stands.
On the flip side, Miami's also very, very good defending against the run (61 ypg), and will look to limit Washington as they did Darren Sproles in week 3, forcing Mark Sanchez to throw.
The Jets, of course, will try to do the same to Chad Henne.
So it may all come down to which of two young quarterbacks can keep himself collected under pressure. The rookie, Sanchez, will face Jason Taylor, Joey Porter, and Cameron Wake, and if the Fins blitz aggressively from the get-go they can rattle him but good: in four games, Sanchez has turned the ball over seven times, and is completing just 55% with a 5-yard average when blitzed.
Chad Henne will face an obscene amount of pressure from the Jets, who love to overload one side and hurry the mess out of opposing QBs. New York has forced 8 turnovers so far this season, and Henne lost the ball twice last week in his first start. Only two teams have forced lower passing ratings than the Jets, and though Henne proved last week he can manage a game, he'll need to play wise beyond his years to avoid turning the ball over (he sure can't expect much dump-off help from tight end Anthony Fasono, that's for sure).
Here's hoping having something beyond "avoid humiliation" to play for give the Dolphins a little extra fight. And fortune favors the old.
Janie Campbell hopes the magic orange jersey is pulp-free. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the Internet.
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Posted Monday, Oct 12, 2009 - 8:14 AM EST
