Sports Update Monday: Dolphins Offense Looks to Shine Against Jets Defense on Monday Night
Ryan Tannehill has completed at least 70 percent of his passes in four consecutive games and five of the past six games. No, the deep-ball-accuracy issue is still not resolved. But Miami’s quarterback has been on target on practically all his other throws, and the quick receiver screens to Jarvis Landry or Mike Wallace have helped him tremendously. The Dolphins like to spread the ball around and this week might get Charles Clay back after he missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury.
The Jets’ pass defense is not a huge problem if one considers the fact New York is No.16 in the NFL against the pass. But the truth is the Jets secondary is subpar. Coaches have struggled to find competent cornerbacks from week to week, and first-round draft pick Calvin Pryor has been in and out of the starting lineup, making seven starts in 11 games. If the Jets cannot get pressure on Tannehill, they have no shot. And Miami’s protection, inconsistent against Buffalo two weeks ago, improved greatly last week against Denver.
Ryan Tannehill leads AFC quarterbacks with 276 rushing yards and has run for at least 200 yards in each of his first three NFL seasons. With 24 yards against the Jets, Tannehill would become the second Dolphins quarterback to rush for 300 yards in a season. Jay Fiedler did it in 2001. Buoyed by the unexpected help from the quarterback, the Dolphins run game is on pace to be among the best in franchise history. The Dolphins are averaging 4.68 yards per rush, which is up there as the fifth highest in franchise history. The top four averages came in the Super Bowl years (1971, ’72 and ’73) and again in 2002. Lamar Miller is the leader of the run game, although he is not exactly a workhorse, averaging just over 12 carries per game. That still seems too low.
The Jets are No.4 against the run but facing such quality run defense should not be a surprise to the Dolphins because they’ve faced Detroit (No.1) and Denver (No.2) in recent weeks. New York defensive linemen Sheldon Richardson (back) and Muhammad Wilkerson (toe) missed practice time this week, and their status for the game is uncertain.