It could be the longest night of Chad Henne's life. He's never seen the looks he's going to get Monday. Rex Ryan would attack a young quarterback even if he had dynamic weapons at receiver. The Dolphins have one of the blandest passing games in the league. They are only averaging 5 yards per pass attempt. You could say that is because of Chad Pennington's arm weakness and his accuracy in the short game. Their offense is designed to exploit the short passing game, but they didn't really open it up with the strong armed Henne starting last week. He's got 5 yards per attempt in a game and change. If Miami wasn't ready for Henne to take chances against the Bills, I don't see it happening against the Jets and their ball hawking defense.
Davone Bess is one guy who has impressed me from what I've seen of the Dolphins this year. He's quick and seems to catch everything near him. With 20 catches and 157 yards, he's Miami's leading receiver. Bess is a nice player, but he's no game breaker. You don't have to design your defense around him. When he's your top guy, you have problems.
It seems like Miami fans are finally starting to realize that Ted Ginn Jr. doesn't do much well aside from run fast in a straight line. He doesn't have good hands. His route running is suspect. He couldn't haul in a pass in the end zone that would have won the game against the Colts in Week 2. Greg Camarillo has really struggled coming back from an ACL injury after a solid year in 2008 put him on the map. Rookie Brian Hartline has been reasonably effective as a big possession target with 6 catches for 53 yards but isn't going to keep defensive coordinators up at night. In essence, the receiving corps is made of a good slot guy, Bess, and less than stellar backup caliber players. Tight end Anthony Fasano, who hurt the Jets last year when they couldn't cover a tight end, has been a nonfactor with 4 receptions this year. With Bart Scott in the mix and Eric Smith playing really well underneath, the Jets have the weapons to shut him down this year. These receivers will give Rex no hesistation to blitz. Even if Miami picks them up, their receivers might not be able to do big damage.
I'm expecting the Dolphins to implore Henne to take care the ball in the face of a heavy pass rush. He's going to check down to Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown a lot. The backs should also see a lot of screens to try and catch the blitz charging too hard. I know I say it every week. I know it's obvious. Still, the Jets need to tackle well. It's even more important this week. The Dolphins are the antithesis of a big play offense. It takes 10 to 12 plays for them to put together a scoring drive. That's really tough to do against this defense. If the Jets miss tackles, it's the only way for Miami to break a big play and potentially score.
Also look for some passes out of the Wildcat formation. Rex Ryan had a ton of success against it last season. Miami took Pat White in the second round mainly to add an extra dimension against defenses that play the formation well. We haven't seem much from him. I'm sure they've been holding something back for the coach who figured out the formation last season. Ryan brings his safeties up. Still, I'm not convinced the Dolphins can take advantage of it. I'd love to see White throw it. He's a college option quarterback. The Jets have an excellent secondary. I'm not sold on Miami having the receivers with the ability to break a big play. If they do, can White hit them? Throwing isn't his forte. Should a rookie runner really venture near Revis Island?