NFL Monday Night Recap/Jets & Dolphins

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I'll say this. ESPN has pretty much received a ton of luck on its Monday Night games so far. There hasn't been a real stinker. The closest would be the week 3 game between the Panthers and Cowboys. Even if the game wasn't quite that good, at least we caught a glimpse inside of the Cowboys palace.

When I first saw this game on the schedule, I thought it might be a yawner. It would most likely be the Jets defense dominating the Dolphins offene and final being something like 14-3. Was I ever wrong! Here's a few observations from the tilt.

1. Despite having rather pedestrian numbers, Jets QB Mark Sanchez performed well (12-24, 172 yards, 1 TD). His new "toy", WR Braylon Edwards, also had an impact of the game (5 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD). That could be a lethal combination down the road.

2. I referred to the Jets defense above. It didn't show up in the 4th quarter. Who could have imagined that the Dolphins would have accumulated 262 passing yards and 151 rushng yards? No one. The famous Wildcat of the Dolphns had the Jets D off balance the majority of the evening. Head coach Rex Ryan even said it was embarrassing. But that was all set up on the Dolphins first drive. RB Ronine Brown took a direct snap, faked a handoff to RB Ricky Williams, rolled to his left, and hit TE Anthony Fasano with a pass. It was on from there. In the eventual winning TD drive in the 4th, Dolphis offensiver coordinator Dan Henning send QB Pat White in to run the Wildcat. White was thrust into the game with a little over four minutes remaining...his first action of the game. Now, Ryan's D had to be concerned about White. Gutsy move.

3. I know it was only his second start, but have the Dolphins already discover their future QB in Chad Henne? His stats don't lie: 20-26, 241, 2 TD. Rayn himslef stated the Jets D made Henne look like Dan Marino. Don't go overboard there, Rex. He's not Marino, but Henne did show some extreme poise for a guy who was starting oly his second NFL game.

4. What's with the 5 TDs in the 4th quarter? It was almost like observing 7-on-7 drills. No pass rush from either team.

5. In his postgame press conference, Ryan referred to not calling any timeouts when the Dolphins were driving to their game winning TD. He didn't think the Fins would score on his vaunted defense. So he left his timeouts in his pocket and on the scoreboard. After Miami scored, there was not anywhere near enough time left to mount a potential game winning TD drive. Only a Hail Mary.

6. One last thing about last night. Once again, Jon Gruden couldn't resist a Brett Favre reference (or should I actually say reverence). Enough already, Coach! Do you think you might be able to get him when you're possibly in Washington or something?

Bonehead of the Week!
Could it be anyone else but San Francisco 49ers CB Dre' Bly? Click the link and watch the video.

Dre' Bly's "pick"

I know you agree with me on this. Shades of Deion? Not quite, but Bly has since apologized for his actions and remarks following the 49ers drubbing at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons, 45-10. If you were wondering if Mike Singletary had control of this team, don't even doubt it for a second.

As the QBs Turn

Here we are only three weeks into the NFL season and we already have two QB changes and another in question. Of the two teams making changes, Tampa Bay and Miami, one is due to ineffectiveness and the other to injury.

Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris announced that the Bucs are going to go a different direction at the position. Out is Byron Leftwich. Taking a glance at the stats, it's not a big surprise but the timing is. The Bucs are in a rebuilding mode and Leftwich was thought to be the bridge to get from this process to the Bucs first round pick in this past draft Josh Freeman. Apparently, the construction of that particular bridge was scrapped. A new bridge is being constructed, for now, with Josh Johnson. Morris says that Johnson gives the Bucs more options at the position. The fact that the Bucs performed miserably on offense most likely led to this quick decision. That and an 0-3 start. Within a week, Leftwich goes from starter to third string as Freeman will be the #2 behind Johnson. To think Leftwich left Pittsburgh for this.

Leftwich's stats tell a similar story as well. Of the 33 quarterbacks that have enough attempts to qualify, Leftwich is 27th of 33 QBs in QB rating with a 71.2. The QBs behind Leftwich are the Rams Marc Bulger, Titans Kerry Collins, Browns Brady Quinn, Lions Matthew Stafford, Panthers Jake Delhomme, and Raiders JaMarcus Russell. Leftwich has thrown for 4 TD and 3 INT but had been sacked only 2 times. His completion percentage of 54.2% was fourth worst of the 33 QBs.

Their counterparts to the southeast are in a different bind. Miami Dolphins QB Chad Pennington's season is most likely over, and possibly his career. In a 23-13 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, Pennington suffered yet another shoulder injury, his third of his career. Pennington will seek a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews as Andrews has performed two other procedures to Pennington's shoulder.

The winless Dolphins will go with Chad Henne who is in his second year out of Michigan. In a substitute role against the Chargers, Henne was only 10-19 for 92 yards and a pick. His QB rating was a lowly 44.2. But Henne will get the snaps at practice this week as Miami will play host to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The Dolphins selected Henne in the second round last year and passed on Matt Ryan to select Jake Long with last year's #1 overall pick. That move will be even more scrutinized if Henne cannot produce. Only time can tell us of that.

Here we go again with Browns head coach Eric Mangini and his QB choice. Brady Quinn was pulled at halftime of last week's drubbing at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. His first half stats: 6-8, 34 yards, 1 INT. Derek Anderson played the second half and was 11-19, 92 yards and 3 INT. How can you compare bad to worse? On one hand, Anderson was more successful passing the ball...for yardage. On the other hand, Quinn only threw one pick. I have a headache just thinking about this...again!

Mangini will most likely announce the starter Wednesday. Whoever it is, he better be ready for the visiting Cincinnati Bengals who are just a fluke play away from being 3-0.

One other QB injury was to the St. Louis Rams Marc Bulger. He sustained a bruised rotator cuff and his status is questionable going into this weeks game against the San Francisco 49ers. If Bulger can't go, former Raven Kyle Boller will most likely get the starting nod.