Miami Dolphins 23 New York Jets 3 Quick Hits

Photo Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

The Jets lost a crippling game against the Dolphins falling to 5-7 and effectively ending any playoff hopes. Geno Smith failed miserably and had to be removed at halftime and the Dolphins beat a tired Jets defense in the 2nd half.

Here are the quick hits:

1) Geno Smith used up all of his slack – Smith played terribly in the first half finishing 4-10 for 29 yards and an interception. The offense had 39 total yards. He missed open receivers, looked tentative and threw a key interception late in the 1st half that allowed Miami 3 more points. He has had more time to throw although not many clean pockets but enough to be successful. There has been no sign of Santonio Holmes and there hasn’t been much help from the wide receivers but a professional quarterback needs to make plays. He was replaced at the half by Matt Simms and rightfully so.

2) Matt Simms’ 2nd half – Simms was 2/7 for 18 yards before Miami went to a prevent defense but did provide some spark for the offense. Simms finished 9/18 for 79 yards and 1 interception.The team had a nice 11 play 62 yard drive that ended in a field goal. Simms throws the ball with more confidence but the results aren’t much different from Smith’s. Simms had a pass that should have been intercepted in the end zone when he failed to look off the safety. Simms had a second ball that floated into the flat that could have been a pick-6. Then Simms threw a 4th down interception in the end zone which was not a bad decision the pass needed to be forced.

3) Defense porous between the 20s but stiffened when needed before collapsing in the 2nd half – The defense only allowed 2 field goals in the first half despite allowing the Dolphins to accumulate 268 yards on offense including 203 yards passing. Overall Miami finished with 453 yards with 331 through the air. They could not stop tight end Charles Clay who has 7 catches for 80 yards and Brian Hartline who had 9 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. Mike Wallace had 7 catches for 82 yards and a score. The team got almost no pressure against one of the worst offensive lines in the league. Dee Milliner was picked on but also made a few nice plays. Antonio Cromartie was playing very far off of Wallace and hasn’t been beaten deep but has been beaten underneath. Allen, Wilson, Milliner and Landry tried to stop Clay with no success. Quinton Coples was the Jets best defender getting consistent penetration with a sack and a tackle for loss. Without two 4th down stops the game would have been out of hand in the 2nd quarter. In the 2nd half the defense collapses and allows 2 touchdowns. The amount of missed tackles were staggering including some awful work by Dee Milliner.

4) Time of possession – Miami had the ball for over 24 minutes and allowed the Jets only 17 offensive plays in the 1st half. This tired out the defense and kept the Miami defense fresh. It was a terrible 1st half and amazing that it was only 6-0 Miami. In the 2nd half the Jet defense was a step slow and was arm tackling which were signs of a tired team. They allowed 2 3rd quarter touchdowns that were punctuated by awful tackling. Miami held the ball over 38 minutes overall.

5) Injuries – Josh Cribbs left with a shoulder injury and Damon Harrison left the game with an undisclosed injury. Harrison did return later.

6) Coverage teams awful – The coverage teams were terrible and the amount of tackles they missed were embarrassing. They allowed almost 35 yards per kick return including a 50 yard return just after the Jets lone score that set up a Miami touchdown to put the game away.