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| ATL at NO | CAR at ARI | CLE at CHI | DEN at BAL | HOU at BUF | JAX at TEN | MIA at NYJ | MIN at GB |
| NYG at PHI | OAK at SD | SEA at DAL | SF at IND | STL at DET | |||
Week 8 Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 30, New York Jets 25
Miami Dolphins
| QB Chad Henne, Pass: 12 - 21 - 112 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - -5 - 0 |
The Dolphins won this one in spite of Henne. He overthrew an open Brian Hartline deep early, and also missed open receivers on more than one occasion after that throw. He held the ball too long and took too many sacks, including one that cost the Dolphins important yardage with the game hanging in the balance. He only looked good when he was on the move and throwing close to the line of scrimmage. Henne also looked mentally overwhelmed on blitzes, expect teams to continue to exploit this flaw.
| RB Ronnie Brown, Pass: 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 11 - 27 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (2 targets) |
Brown continues to be basically worthless for fantasy when the Dolphins can't control the game and get the wildcat on track. The Jets were ready for the wildcat and threw Brown for a big loss or no gain on his runs out of the formation. He tried to throw out of it once and almost took a big sack. He wasn't breaking tackles too often, although there was a run or two when you saw a flash of Brown's brilliance. The rollercoaster ride will continue for Brown's owners.
| RB Ricky Williams, Rush: 8 - 27 - 0, Rec: 2 - 41 - 0 (2 targets) |
Williams looked to be the Miami RB with the better burst, harder running, and more physical style again this week. He had the team's best play on offense when he turned a short pass into a long gain with the burst and second gear he had coming out of Texas, and Williams also won a lot of collisions. He had some tough runs in the red zone to set up the Dolphins only offensive TD, and when the game was in the balance, Miami called Williams number, not Brown's. Williams was not successful in salting the game away, but it still shows the amount of trust the coaching staff has in the veteran.
| WR Davone Bess, Rec: 4 - 18 - 0 (5 targets) |
Bess had a game to forget. He muffed a punt during the crazy third quarter that let the Jets get some momentum back, and he also had a bad drop. Otherwise, Bess caught a lot of short passes and turned into a running back after the catch to get tough yards, including a third down conversion. It's hard to imagine him having much value as long he's in a WR rotation with Henne at QB.
| WR Greg Camarillo, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (2 targets) |
Camarillo was very quiet. Other than a 15 yard reception to help the 'Fins get out of their own end, he didn't really contribute in this game.
| WR Ted Ginn (1 targets) |
Ginn had two kickoff returns for touchdown to key the win for the Dolphins, but he was also tackled by Jay Feely inside his own 25 on the two previous kickoff returns he had, so don't get too excited. One return was based on pure speed to the outside by Ginn, and the other was based on poor tackling by the Jets.
| WR Brian Hartline (1 targets) |
Hartline got a step deep early in the game, but Henne overthrew him, and it was a bad omen for the rookie in his first game as a starter, as he didn't get another target all day.
| TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (5 targets) |
Fasano was missed by Henne when he was wide open on one target, and got called for pass interference on another, but he also got some tough yards to set up a Miami field goal.
| TE Joey Haynos, Rec: 2 - 20 - 1 (4 targets) |
Haynos had a 15-yard reception, and later caught the only offensive TD by Miami on the day. It was a designed play that any competent TE would have caught, so this is probably not a sign of an impending breakout for Haynos.
New York Jets
| QB Mark Sanchez, Pass: 20 - 35 - 265 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 6 - 1 |
Sanchez had his best game as a pro, but he had one of his worst plays as a pro on the Jets final offensive play. Sanchez battled to keep the Jets in the game during a hellish third quarter that saw them give up 21 points to the Dolphins defense and special teams. He had the team in position to win with first and ten at the 'Fins 12 at the two-minute warning, but he took a sack to set up a 4th and 13, and then panicked on the play, abandoning a good pocket to run backwards and uncork an uncatchable hail mary. Early in the game, Sanchez stuck to safe throws, except for a flea flicker that he had to throw away because nothing came open. He had some inspired plays, like the front shoulder jumpball TD to Braylon Edwards and the soft touch on the run to create a 50 yard catch and run for Jerricho Cotchery, but Sanchez also had trouble feeling the rush coming, and he threw a ball that should have been a 100-yard pick six for Sean Smith on third-and-goal. Sanchez scored yet another rushing TD on a bootleg on first and goal - he is definitely a threat to run when the play breaks down, and he is not afraid of getting hit. This game showed how much promise Sanchez has, but also how much work he needs to do to get there.
| RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 27 - 102 - 0, Rec: 1 - 28 - 0 (1 targets) |
Just another grind-it-out veteran savvy with a young man's stamina performance for Jones. He established a between-the-tackles running game early and earned every yard against a stout Dolphins defense. His experience showed through when he would pick and slide at the line to find the best hole without stopping his feet and losing momentum. Jones had a nice run on his only goal-to-go carry, but Sanchez got most of the calls in the red zone. Sanchez's success bodes well for Jones number of scoring opportunities as the season goes on.
| RB Shonn Greene, Rush: 8 - 18 - 0 (1 targets) |
Greene came back to earth vs. the Dolphins. He displayed good vision and footwork on his carries, but his fumble that came when he was struggling to get away from Paul Soliai in the backfield was returned for a TD. Greene did get a red zone carry, and generally ran with good energy, tough to bring down, even though he wasn't bowling anyone over like he did last week.
| WR Jerricho Cotchery, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 3 - 70 - 0 (8 targets) |
Cotchery's hamstring looked just fine on a fluid catch-and-run for 50 yards on an improv play by Sanchez. He got an end zone look that was jumped by Sean Smith and almost picked (it would have been a long TD if Smith had held on), and also had his number called on an unsuccessful end around.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 4 - 74 - 1 (8 targets) |
Just like in these teams first meeting, Edwards made some plays based on trust from Sanchez. His TD was thrown into tight coverage, but the defender didn't turn to see the ball in flight, so Edwards snagged it, and then fought like a hard-nosed RB, bending backwards to get in the end zone. He also had a nice gain on a play action throw, and drew an illegal contact penalty on his one deep target. Edwards did get an end zone target on second-and-goal during a second quarter drive, but he was well-covered.
| WR David Clowney, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (3 targets) |
Clowney's speed wasn't used in this game, he just caught a few short passes on third down that saw him get swallowed up quickly by a tackler and not get the first down.
| TE Dustin Keller, Rec: 8 - 76 - 1 (13 targets) |
Keller had his best game as a pro. He worked the short routes and middle of the field, and got consistent yards after the catch with his top-notch athleticism and physical game. Keller had a reception inside the five to set up Sanchez's TD run, and he also caught a TD on a low pass that he bent to pluck off the turf. He helped keep drives alive and clearly is prominent in Sanchez's mind in the new safer Jets offense.