Dolphins at Jets
Giants Stadium
East Rutherford, N.J.
Monday, Oct. 23, 2000
AT A GLANCE: This game has all the trappings of a blockbuster contest,
as the winner will own sole possession of first place in the AFC East by the end of the
night.
|
| OVERVIEW: Most of the preseason hype in the AFC
East belonged to the Colts. But following the way the season has started for the Dolphins
and Jets, the division may not be a one-horse race after all. The Dolphins and Jets have
jumped to 5-1 starts and share first place in the AFC East. The Colts, meanwhile, hold on
to third place with a 4-2 record. The winner of this matchup will sit alone atop the
division’s first-place perch — at least for one week. Both the Jets and Dolphins
are undefeated in the division.
The Dolphins are coming off a Week Seven bye, while the Jets recovered from an
embarrassing Week Six loss to the Steelers by handily beating the Patriots.
The all-time series between these teams in the regular season is nearly even, with
Miami holding a one-game edge (33-32-1).
The Jets are 4-0 straight up and vs. the spread in their last four games vs. the
Dolphins. In the last 10 years, the Jets are 10-10 straight up and 14-6 vs. the spread vs.
Miami.
The Dolphins are 35-28 lifetime in "Monday Night Football" appearances (6-12
on the road). The Jets are 13-17 on Monday nights (7-5 at home). The Jets had lost five
Monday-nighters in a row heading into this season but ended that streak when they defeated
the Patriots 20-10 in Week Two.
WHEN THE DOLPHINS HAVE THE BALL:
The Dolphins run a very conservative offense. They like to give the opposition a heavy
dose of Lamar Smith, who appears to be the tough runner Miami had been searching for. By
establishing the run early, pressure is taken off QB Jay Fiedler.
Because they know they don’t have the offense to get into a lot of third-and-short
situations, the Dolphins have said their goal is to put themselves in
"manageable" third-down situations. They then have the benefit of putting the
ball into the hands of RB Thurman Thomas, who has converted several key third downs. |
|
|
| Giants Stadium |
| East Rutherford, N.J. |
| Date: Monday, October 23, 2000 |
| 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time |
| Type Of Turf: Natural |
| Meeting Of The Year: First |
| Season Record: |
| |
Miami |
5-1-0 |
| |
New York Jets |
5-1-0 |
| Season Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Miami |
5-1-0 |
| |
New York Jets |
4-2-0 |
| Home/Road Record: |
| |
Miami (R) |
1-1-0 |
| |
New York Jets (H) |
2-1-0 |
| Home/Road Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Miami (R) |
1-1-0 |
| |
New York Jets (H) |
1-2-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf: |
| |
Miami |
5-0-0 |
| |
New York Jets |
5-1-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf Vs. Spread: |
| |
Miami |
5-0-0 |
| |
New York Jets |
4-2-0 |
|
|
| The Dolphins will be looking to take advantage of a Jets defense that has struggled on
third down — opponents have converted 42 percent of the time, among the worst in the
league. The Jets are proud of the toughness they show on defense. They like to push
offenses around with their physical play. While the LB corps — which features
veterans Bryan Cox, Mo Lewis, James Farrior and Marvin Jones — may get most of the
attention, head coach Al Groh likes to talk up his defensive linemen. A key battle in the
trenches pits NT Jason Ferguson vs. C Tim Ruddy, a tough player who anchors what has been
a very solid Dolphins offensive line.
The abilities of rookies Shaun Ellis and John Abraham have allowed the Jets’
defense to rely more on athleticism than scheming.
Even though Miami likes to keep things conservative, they will take some shots
downfield. WR Tony Martin has the ability to get deep, as does Oronde Gadsden. However,
because the Dolphins don’t have a receiver behind Martin worthy of double coverage,
the Jets may let S Victor Green spend a lot of time in a run-support role.
WHEN THE JETS HAVE THE BALL:
Like the Dolphins, the Jets don’t feature a dynamic passing game, although QB
Vinny Testaverde has had success throwing to Wayne Chrebet. Still, the Jets are searching
for someone — Dedric Ward? Laveranues Coles? Vincent Brisby? — to become a
reliable No. 2 target.
That may not happen this week against one of the NFL’s toughest defenses. The
Dolphins have allowed two passing touchdowns, one rushing TD and 51 points in six games.
However, the Dolphins will be without their standout MLB Zach Thomas, who has an ankle
injury.
The Jets’ offense centers around the versatile Curtis Martin, who is coming off
his biggest game of the season (143 rushing yards and three TDs). Miami knows that Martin
is dangerous not only as a rusher, but also as a receiving weapon. Unheralded FB Richie
Anderson is also one of Testaverde’s top passing targets.
If the Jets’ offense is to have any success this week, it will have to keep the
defense off of Testaverde. The Dolphins have 24 sacks in six games. While the Jets have a
lot of talent on the offensive line, the Dolphins feature a relentless pass rush.
In the secondary, the Jets’ receivers may be overmatched by CBs Sam Madison and
Patrick Surtain, both of whom are excellent in coverage. The Dolphins have tried to
confuse opponents with a mixture of zone- and man-coverage schemes.
All game previews and depth charts were compiled as of Oct. 15, 2000 |
|
OFFENSE |
| WR |
80 MARTIN, 84 Shepherd |
| OLT |
78 WEBB, 74 B. Smith |
| OLG |
63 DIXON, 66 Irwin |
| C |
61 RUDDY, 60 Bock |
| ORG |
65 DONNALLEY, 66 Irwin |
| ORT |
71 WADE*, 74 B. Smith |
| TE |
83 GOODWIN, 82 Weaver, 89 Perry |
| WR |
86 GADSDEN, 87 Emanuel, 88 Ogden |
| QB |
9 FIEDLER, 11 Huard, 4 Quinn |
| RB |
26 L. SMITH, 34 T. Thomas, 32 J. Johnson, 21 Denson |
| FB |
44 KONRAD, 33 Dyer* |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
96 OWENS, 93 Armstrong |
| DLT |
95 BOWENS, 94 Haley |
| DRT |
79 MIXON, 92 Gardener, 97 Grant* |
| DRE |
99 TAYLOR, 91 Bromell |
| WLB |
59 ROGERS, 51 Hendricks |
| MLB |
54 Z. THOMAS, 53 Izzo, Hamilton |
| SLB |
52 R. JONES, 56 Russell |
| LCB |
23 SURTAIN, 24 Wilson, 22 Shaw |
| RCB |
29 MADISON, 28 Hill |
| SS |
45 WALKER, 27 Freeman*, 42 Gamble* |
| FS |
31 MARION, 25 Jeffries |
SPECIALIST |
| P |
1 TURK |
| PK |
10 MARE |
| H |
11 HUARD, 1 Turk |
| PR |
84 SHEPHERD, 88 Ogden |
| KR |
31 MARION, 88 Ogden |
| KC |
89 PERRY, 60 Bock, 83 Goodwin |
* Rookie |
|
|
OFFENSE |
| WR |
89 WARD, 82 Brisby, 87 Coles* |
| OLT |
69 FABINI, 71 Jenkins, 70 Slaughter* |
| OLG |
71 JENKINS, 79 Loverne |
| C |
68 MAWAE, 63 Machado |
| ORG |
77 THOMAS, 63 Machado |
| ORT |
74 YOUNG, 69 Fabini, 81 Banta, 85 Wiggins |
| TE |
84 BAXTER, 88 Becht* |
| WR |
80 CHREBET, 86 W. Hayes* |
| QB |
16 TESTAVERDE, 6 Lucas, 10 Pennington*, 7 Tupa |
| RB |
28 MARTIN, 34 Parmalee |
| FB |
20 ANDERSON, 33 Sowell |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
95 LYLE, 97 Boose, 91 Wiltz |
| NT |
72 FERGUSON, 93 Logan, 73 Anderson* |
| DRE |
98 BURTON, 93 Ellis*, 97 Boose |
| LOLB |
57 LEWIS, 94 Abraham* |
| LILB |
51 COX, 53 Ledyard |
| RILB |
55 JONES, 54 Gordon |
| ROLB |
56 PHIFER, 58 Farrior |
| LCB |
31 GLENN, 24 Mickens |
| RCB |
42 COLEMAN, 27 Scott*, 38 Moreland* |
| SS |
21 V. GREEN, 30 C. Hayes, 23 Williams |
| FS |
23 WILLIAMS, 47 Frost |
SPECIALIST |
| P |
7 TUPA |
| PK |
9 HALL |
| H |
9 HALL, 47 Frost, 6 Lucas |
| PR |
89 WARD, 27 Scott*, 31 Glenn |
| KR |
87 COLES*, 31 Glenn, 23 Williams, 86 W. Hayes* |
| KC |
81 BANTA, 68 Mawae |
* Rookie |
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