October 27, 12
Jets’
Mark Sanchez in the Eye of the Storm as Hurricane Sandy and the Miami Dolphins
Approach
Weather could be an issue for
teams entering week 8 of the NFL season as Hurricane Sandy threatens to impact
the entire East Coast. Sandy is is expected to make its way over the
Northeastern United States this weekend. Of the games likely to be impacted by
these thunderstorms, none have received more buzz than the AFC East division
rivals rematch between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. After an overtime
defeat in week 3, Miami is looking to even things up when they fly up to
MetLife Stadium for Sunday’s game.
NFLWeather.com
forecasts a 60% chance of rain, cloudy skies, with a high near 64. Northeast winds are expected between 10 to 14
mph. What this means for both teams is
that they will need to spend time preparing for a potential downpour.
No longer allocating his film
study time to Eva Longoria, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has shown improvement
these last two weeks but is still having turnover trouble. With the current
forecast, expect Rex Ryan to avoid taking risks and rely on his running back
Shonn Greene to pick up most of the yards on offense. Even two or three yards a
play on the ground will allow Sanchez to make quick and easy throws when he
needs to. The Jets don’t want to be in a lot of third and long situations that
would force them to air out the ball in the rain. Thus, Shonn Greene should get
upwards of twenty carries or more on Sunday. By the way, the Jets are 3-0 this
season when Greene gets 19 or more carries. According to NFLWeather’s
analytics, the Jets are also 4-2 in
the rain over the past three years, including the win over the Dolphins earlier
this season.
On the other sideline,
Miami’s offense has a somewhat more developed passing game. Even though Ryan
Tannehill is still raw, he has proven that he can pick apart a secondary through
the air. The Dolphins also have a dynamic running back in Reggie Bush who left
in the first half the last time these two teams met. Expect Bush to be a big
part of Miami’s offense on Sunday, especially in the passing game. If Reggie
gets loose, his quick cuts on the wet turf could result in a lot of bonus yards
for the Phins. Under the cover of Hurricane Sandy, screens and quick outs could
be in store for Rex Ryan’s overly aggressive defense. Bush’s explosiveness in
wet weather presents a mismatch for a defense that has given up an average of
147 yards a game to opposing running backs.
Like week 3, expect this to
be another close, wet and physical ball game. It has been five weeks but
emotions of this game are still swirling. The Dolphins ability to throw the
ball will end up being the difference maker in this one. But if Sanchez can
control the ball, it could be a quite a game to watch…..from the comfort of
your livingroom.
Columnist, NFLWeather.com
NFP (at) NFLWeather.com
Nice work here by Chris Lovi and Dave Kennedy.
ReplyDelete