Better Know the Enemy: Miami Dolphins

A look ahead at this week's foe

Every week during the season, we’ll scout out the Jets' next opponent. This week, that opponent is the Miami Dolphins.

As you probably guessed from the title, the idea behind this little piece of work is to introduce you to the next team on the Jets schedule. 

This isn't always necessary because there are some teams on the slate that everyone knows very well. The Dolphins are just such a team. 

There's the fact that the two teams play each other twice a year every year to keep memories fresh of which football-helmeted humans are wearing the football-hemeted porpoise. This year, there's even more knowledge thanks to the Dolphins' role as the team on HBO's Hard Knocks which means that there's absolutely no element of surprise this time around. 

And, to top it all off, there's the little fact that Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano coached the Dolphins, who he only refers to as "that other team", until they fired him in the middle of the 2011 season. Basically, these two sides need an introduction about as much as peanut butter and jelly. 

If you assume that the Jets like their offensive coordinator, Sparano's obvious disgust for his former employers should add a little something extra to this game. Assumptions about the Jets are made at one's own risk, though, so better just to concentrate on the fact that the Dolphins aren't a very good football team. 

Yes, they blew out the Raiders but the Raiders look like they may be heading on a fast track to a top three draft pick. That puts them in roughly the same category as Miami, which has been run with front office schizophrenia to rival anything the Jets have ever come up with on their own and is at least a year away from having real hopes at respectability. 

On the off chance that you don't know the names that make up the Dolphins' attempt to stay out of the cellar, here's some of the ones that you'll need to know for Sunday. 

Reggie Bush - It took a long time, but Bush is finally looking like the kind of do-everything back that people thought he was when he was drafted with the second overall pick. He's topped 100 yards from scrimmage in his last six games and had a monster game in the victory over the Raiders. 

Ryan Tannehill - The rookie threw three picks in quick succession to crush the Fins in their opener and would appear to be a lamb being led to a Rex Ryan-organized slaughter this week. Even without Darrelle Revis, the Jets defense should feast on Tannehill. 

That Front Office - All offseason Dolphins fans complained that the team should fire General Manager Jeff Ireland, but the Dolphins resisted those calls for wholesale change. Now there's rumors in Miami that Ireland will be canned which essentially reboots the rebuilding moments after it started. It's enough to make you sympathize with Ireland for cursing at one of his critics. 

Randy Starks - Cameron Wake has the higher profile, but Starks has developed into an awfully good defensive end over the last few years. He's a free agent after the season and has started his salary push with two big games. If the Jets line can't recapture their Buffalo performance, this game's going to be closer than it should be. 

Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.

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