Keys To Dolphins Victory Over Rival Jets In Week 5 Showdown

The Dolphins are coming off of a BYE week that was filled with much drama and controversy over whether head coach Tony Sparano should be fired, or not.

Sparano is still in power in South Beach, and has had an extra week to prepare for the rival New York Jets this week. He has been given new life, another chance to prove himself to owner Stephen Ross. Yet, while it is unlikely that Sparano would get fired after a loss to the Jets, he will likely be on thin ice the rest of the season, and most likely looking for a new job come the off-season.

But that should give him all the more motivation to beat the Jets this week, even though there shouldn’t be a reason to summon up any more motivation than should already be there, seeing the bad blood between these two teams.

Wide receiver Brandon Marshall has said that he is looking to start a fight with Jets linebacker Bart Scott, and that Marshall may be kicked out before the end of the second quarter. While the newly dubbed “Monster” is likely all talk, he does need to play with more emotion and make more big plays as well. Without Marshall, this offense simply is not the same.

Believe it or not, Marshall will not be one of the top three factors in the game on Monday night though. Here is why:

3. Give Daniel Thomas The Ball Early And Often:

The Dolphins do not have a problem moving the ball into the redzone, the problem is just scoring. The answer to that problem may just be rookie running back Daniel Thomas, who has not had a chance on a consistent basis to prove that he can be a red-zone threat for the Miami offense. Enough with the corner fades and pound the ball into the endzone, something this team is looking to do.

2. You Can Bend, But Not Break:

Over the years the Dolphins defense has been famous for this, bending but not breaking when the going got tough. This year has been a much different story, with the Dolphins giving up touchdowns on almost every curcial drive they meet. They do not rush the passer on a consistent enough basis, which then allows the quarterback more time to dissect our secondary. Blown coverages and miscommunications only add to the defense woes. For the Dolphins to compete with the Jets this week, they will need to stop the Jets when it counts, and put the pressure on Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. Sanchez is one of the more erratic QB’s in the league, and when pressure is applied, he only becomes more rattled and inconsistent.

1. Can Matt Moore Step Up?

With the season ending injury to starting quarterback Chad Henne, 2nd stringer Matt Moore will likely be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season. With this also being his first week as the starter in the Miami offense, it very well could be a shaky game for the new QB1. Moore needs to show why the Dolphins picked him up to compete with Henne. Moore was a gamer in Carolina, and has a history of being a gambler when it came to making plays. With the combination of Moore’s aggressive approach, and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s aggressive offense, all Moore needs to do to keep the job is come out and produce for us, but as well all know, that is easier said than done. The game this week will all depend on whether Moore can direct this team to the victory. If Moore doesn’t show up on Monday night, the Jets “Ground and Pound” offense and defense will eventually overcome Miami.

Final Result: The Dolphins are desperate, looking for their first win of the season still, but the Jets may be even more desperate, clinging to their playoff hopes this early in the season. The Dolphins are a mess right now, and while so are the Jets, New York is still executing better than Miami is, and has better coaching. So I give this one to the Jets, in a heartbreaker, 17-13.

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Bears going orange for Sunday’s showdown against Packers

The Bears have decided they will wear their alternate orange jerseys Sunday against the Packers.

Also, the announcing crew for the NFC North clash between the Bears and Packers for 3:15 CT at Soldier has been set.

It’s going to be FOX’s top trio of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Pam Oliver.

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Lone Star Showdown not short on stakes

Texas A&M knows how Texas feels. They've been there.

It's been a full decade since the Longhorns ended a season without a double-digit number in its win column. Texas A&M? They haven't seen a 10-win season since 1998.

Which, of course, has meant the spoiler tag has been more often pinned to the Aggies.

[+] Enlarge Brett Davis/US PRESSWIRETexas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill likes the way the offense is coming along. "We're playing a lot better, the offense is starting to gel and play as a unit," he said. Not so in what's been a wild 2010. Through six games, Texas A&M sat at 3-3. Texas was a healthy 4-2, fresh off a win over then-No. 5 Nebraska in Lincoln.

The Aggies haven't lost since. Texas is 1-4 over the same stretch.

They'll meet on Thursday, and with a win, Texas A&M is within a bowl win of a 10-win season.

"Just beating Texas--we haven't done that since I've been here -- is big in itself," said Aggies coach Mike Sherman, whose team already has wins over Big 12 powers Nebraska and Oklahoma this season. "We always talk about the next step, and each step -- as I told the players -- the consequence of winning is the challenge and expectations become greater and greater. If you don't beat Nebraska or you don't beat Oklahoma, then the significance of the ensuing games isn't quite the same. They put themselves in a position to be in a national spotlight, and this game Thursday night is huge for us."

A win could propel the Aggies to a berth in the Cotton Bowl for the first time since 2005 and finish the season with a six-game winning streak capped by no sweeter an opponent.

"We’re starting to play together. We’re coming together as a team. We’re playing a lot better, the offense is starting to gel and play as a unit," said quarterback Ryan Tannehill. "All those small things are coming together and making the team better as a whole. The special teams are playing great. It’s been a team effort and I think we’re playing as a team right now."

But while Texas may get its chance to prevent that from happening, their own string of losses has allowed that spoiler tag to still apply to the Aggies. A Texas A&M win ends Texas' season in November for the first time since 1997.

"It really comes down to a one-game season. We’ve played ourselves into this situation, some good, some bad. But we have played ourselves into this situation," said safety Blake Gideon. "It really does come down to this."

The Longhorns got their first win in over a month on Saturday, beating Florida Atlantic. Considering the history of the program, keeping that bowl streak alive is the only meaningful piece of the season to salvage.

These seniors would get to play another game, and they would like to. They feel like they’ve made some progress here at the end. The team’s hung together, and they did play well on Saturday," said Texas coach Mack Brown. "The other thing is Senior Day, beating your rival on Senior Day, your last game at home in your home stadium is very emotional."

But bigger for the Longhorns is a point Brown maintained throughout his team's skid. Getting back to Texas' winning ways next year won't be automatic, and getting that bowl bid this year could pay off next year.

"We would love to have the 13-to-15 practices for this young team to lead into spring practice," Brown said.

Young talents like quarterback Garrett Gilbert, linebacker Dravannti Johnson, receiver Mike Davis, a handful of offensive linemen and defensive back Kenny Vaccaro should all be contributors for the Longhorns for years to come. They'd be among the biggest benefactors of those valuable December workouts that not every team can use to their advantage.

The prospect looms, however, that the Longhorns could receive a bowl bid at 5-7 if not enough teams are eligible to fill 70 slots in 35 bowl games. Texas would be near the top of the list for bowl committees scrambling to fill a spot.

Texas A&M can't control that, but that doesn't mean they would enjoy beating Texas for the first time since 2007 any less.

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