THE best thing that could have happened to the Jets this past weekend – aside from beating the Patriots, of course – was seeing the Dolphins end their six-game losing streak.
A “Thank You” card is in the mail to Mike (Place The Dunce Cap Here) Martz for bringing his poorly prepared Rams into Miami ripe for the ambush.
A Dolphin loss to the Rams, which was expected by most of the population both inside and outside the NFL, would have left Miami at 0-7 as it faced the Jets for the second time in a month.
Human nature tells you that when a 5-1 team is playing an 0-7 team that it just defeated on the road, that 0-7 team is not going to garner a whole lot of respect and proper attention despite morning, noon and night warnings from the coaching staff.
Sunday’s Miami rout of the heavily favored Rams, though, coupled with the fact that the Jets hardly manhandled the Dolphins in a 17-9 win on Oct. 3, should have the Jets’ attention.
So, too, should the fortunate fact that this game will be played on the Monday Night Football stage raise the attention and intensity level for the Jets, who’ll have a chance to show themselves off to the nation on national TV.
These periphery factors are good things based on the fact that there was an alarming amount of over-satisfaction emanating from the Jets’ losing locker room Sunday evening in Foxboro.
The Jets seemed to be satisfied with themselves because they hadn’t gotten blown out by the Super Bowl champion Patriots. They seemed to be bolstered by the fact that they “stayed with” the Patriots, as if that validated their 5-0 start that had taken place against teams that now have a combined 9-23 record.
The Jets, even in such a good position at 5-1, are at a somewhat precarious crossroads as they face the nothing-to-lose Dolphins. A loss would be devastating and potentially throw them into a spiral. Cautiously optimistic Jets fans have certainly seen that DVD before.
And Miami, though still a troubled team, represents danger to any team it faces because its defense is ranked fourth overall in the NFL and second in the league against the pass.
Offensively, Dolphin QB Jay Fiedler is always a tough out for any team, and he played his best game of the season last week.
Jet coach Herman Edwards was certainly delighted to see the Dolphins break out of their funk last week.
“Oh, yeah, you always want teams to win because you know they are going to eventually win a game,” he said. “Especially teams like [the Dolphins] that are used to winning and have a lot of pride. They had a breakout day. They played against a team that was hot in the Rams.
“Our players respect Miami anyway,” Edwards went on. “We know what kind of game it is. They have always been tight games between us.”
Turnovers, running the ball and pass rush are a few places where the Jets should be able to handle Miami and win this game.
They lead the AFC in turnover differential with a plus-9, while Miami is minus-11, second-worst in the NFL.
The Jets have to run the ball on the Dolphins, who are 27th in the league defending the run. Curtis Martin, meanwhile, is off to his best start as a pro with 683 yards, a 4.5-yard average per carry and six TDs. Martin is on a pace to rush for a career-high 1,821 yards and 16 TDs this season.
Defensively, the Jets should be able to harass Fiedler, who’s been sacked 18 times this season, including 11 times the last two weeks and six in the win over St. Louis. The Dolphins have allowed an NFL-high 26 sacks. The Jets have 16 this season, led by John Abraham’s AFC-high 7 1/2.
This three-pronged attack of the Dolphins should get the Jets to 6-1 and back on the track they were on before the slight derailing in New England.
