Sean Smith and Vontae Davis are both talented but they are raw and can be exploited by veteran wide receivers. With Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery, the Jets have an advantage in these match-ups.

At 6-3, 215 Smith matches up well physically with Edwards be he gives away so much in terms of experience that Edwards should have chances due to his superior route running. Edwards should be able to create separation with double moves and use the rookie’s aggressiveness against him.

Smith and Davis are better in man coverage but the Dolphins have been playing more zone lately because of the secondary’s propensity to give up big plays.

With Jason Taylor and Joey Porter on the edges, their pass rush is formidable. Taylor has 5.5 sacks on the year and Porter 2.5. As a unit the Dolphins have 17 sacks, which ranks them 6th overall.

Ryan would be wise to go with as much max protection as possible. This plan worked out well in Oakland. Sanchez was much smarter with the football and had plenty of time to throw against a defense that can get after the quarterback.

The Jets should continue this formula. With young corners and safeties (Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell) who do not cover well, the Jets should have opportunities in the passing game, even when they send only two receivers out in patterns.

The Dolphins have already surrendered 23 passes of 20 yards or more (6th worst) and 7 for 40+ (3rd worst). The big play potential will be there if Schottenheimer decides to dial it up. The offense hit on some big plays in the first match-up with Edwards and David Clowney hauling in passes of 34 and 53 yards respectively.

But the Jets should have some opportunities in short and intermediate zones as well. The Dolphins’ linebackers do not cover well, which has created chances for opposing tight ends.

Surprisingly, Schottenehimer did not get the ball much to Dustin Keller in week five. He matches up extremely well with their safeties and linebackers and should be able to gain separation.

The Dolphins like to use a lot of movement pre-snap and they rotate multiple personnel packages to keep their guys fresh. The Jets need to move with good tempo between plays and go with quick snap counts to force Miami out of their comfort zone.

They like to bring the blitz and will do so with their corners and safeties with success. But most of their pressure comes off the edge with Taylor, Porter and first-year man Cameron Wake being the biggest threats.

They will probably blitz Sanchez early since that has been their approach in other games. They like to set the tone with pressure and force QB’s into mistakes, especially rookies like Sanchez who have a tendency to make bad decisions.

D’Brickashaw Ferguson vs. Jason Taylor will be one of the key match-ups in this game. Taylor can still bring it. His speed and array of moves presents an interesting challenge for Ferguson who is trying to establish himself as one the league’s best tackles.

Ryan pulled out some bulletin board material this week when he read a quote from Ronnie Brown who said his team “out toughed” the Jets in their first match-up. Apparently this fired up the team because they were sharp in practice and had a real sense of urgency as they prepared for this game.

The Jets already have two division losses and a third could sink their chances for a playoff birth. Brown was right. They did not play with the toughness and intensity needed to beat a team like the Dolphins.

They had better play with more attitude this time and there is no better way to generate a swagger than to dominate in the trenches. The Jets’ record-breaking 600+ rushing yards in two games is still hard to fathom.

Despite beating up on two bad run defenses, their output was impressive by any standard. But the Dolphins’ front presents a formidable challenge.

They are not easy to move off the ball so if the o-line can control the line of scrimmage, the Jets stand an excellent chance of winning this game.

I was critical of Schottenheimer after the last Dolphins’ game. His play calling, particularly running the football, was easily defended so I am curious how he will adjust if the Dolphins stop the run early.

He has struggled at times to switch up his play calling to keep the defense off balance. He usually gets to it but often takes too long to make those adjustments. This is a common occurrence among young coaches. He already has a lot of experience but must improve in this area.

With Leon Washington’s injury, the Jets’ personnel must also evolve.

Thomas Jones is the feature back and clearly brings the leadership, intelligence and instincts that are so valuable to the Jets’ attack but Shonn Greene had a monster game against Oakland and has already brought real excitement and a fresh set of legs to an offense that could use both.

Greene should be more difficult to defend than Jones because he simply hits the hole faster. His downhill running style puts a lot of pressure on a defense. He is a load to bring down but can also run past defenders who are slow to fill at the line.

Jets fans will be looking on with great anticipation to see if Greene can duplicate his success from a week ago. If he can average better than 4.5 yards on 15 carries it will be a great sign for this offense, which needs a consistent running attack to win ball games.

Miami’s front seven had problems with the Saints’ zone blocking scheme last week, which bodes well for the Jets. They have been employing more of these schemes and as their last two games suggest, it has had a great impact on their run game.

They should continue to use this scheme against Miami. Offensive line coach Bill Callaghan has done a great job with this unit and its confidence and cohesiveness seems to be growing each week.

If this line produces a superior effort against a top run defender like the Dolphins, we can officially say this attack is a dominant one.


Keys

• The Jets’ offensive line must continue to use its zone blocking scheme to get a push up front. Even if Miami stops the run early they must stay with it and maintain a quick tempo to limit Miami’s substitutions and tire them out with a healthy dose of Shonn Greene who can punish them, particularly in the second half.

• Utilize max protection on passing downs to keep Miami’s pass rush in check. With even just two receivers in routes, Miami’s rookie corners will have to cover longer while Sanchez is afforded time to throw.

• Brian Schottenheimer must adjust his play calling on the go. The Dolphins are so well coached that they change their looks in real time based on game conditions. Schottenehimer must be flexible as well to exploit match-ups the new calls present. If the Dolphins blitz a lot he must sprinkle in some screens and quick-hitting slants and emphasize more hot reads to keep the defense honest.