Dolphins vs. Jets: Which Team Comes Out With More to Prove?

In what was probably one of the least interesting games of the week because of the Dolphins' inability to do pretty much anything, the New York Jets took on the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.

This game did not prove too much we didn’t already know, as the Jets blew out the Dolphins in what looked convincing on the scoreboard, putting up a 24-6 victory.

In a game in which the two teams had so many questions heading into their showdown, let's take a look and see how these teams look coming out of their Week 6 matchup.

Jets' Running Game

With the Jets claiming they want to reintroduce their smash-mouth style of play going forward, many people figured the Dolphins were just what Rex Ryan needed. 

As expected, the Jets led for pretty much the whole game and were ran the ball 29 times. The issue is that they only gained 104 yards on those 29 carries for an average of 3.6 yards per carry.

The running game, or lack thereof, is really beginning to become an issue with this team. Currently they are ranked 31st in the league in rushing. That just doesn’t seem right when dealing with the Jets.

Isn’t the running game supposed to be the Jets' strenth?

Dolphins' Quarterback Situation

Could any team possibly need to win the Andrew Luck Sweepstake more than the Dolphins?

I know the ‘Fins are playing with backup Matt Moore, but it is not as if things were much better when Chad Henne was in the lineup.

Currently the Dolphines are ranked 23rd in the league in passing, but who knows how much lower they would be without that crazy week one in which it looked like their game with the Patriots was a seven-on-seven drill.

Dolphin fans better get on their knees and start praying to the football gods, because with no quarterback for the present and no quarterback for the future waiting in the wings, they really need as good of one as they can get in the 2012 daft.

Jets' Quarterback Play

Is Mark Sanchez any good? Maybe it is just me, but I don’t think anyone can answer this question.

In a season in which Sanchez has looked less-than-spectacular, it was more of the same on Monday night.

Looking around the league and seeing guys like Andy Dalton, Cam Newton and Matt Stafford showing flashes of greatness, it makes me think, "is Sanchez just not that good?"

It is possible he has maxed-out. This is his third year as a starter, and can anyone say definitively that he is a much better player than he was in the first year the Jets went to the AFC title game?

Looking at his numbers, you wouldn’t think so.

Across the board there is not much more than minimal improvement in many key areas of his game. In areas such as completion percentage, yards per attempt, interception percentage and yards per game he has made either little or no improvement over time.

Have we just overrated this guy because of his looks and the success his team has enjoyed? Maybe. He needs to prove that stigma wrong, because it is starting to become popular belief among many observers.

Dolphins' Overall Helplessness

The Dolphins look like a helpless team right now. Whether it's because of injuries, a lame-duck coach or just poor play, the team is a total mess.

The game last night saw just about everything go wrong for the team happen by their own undoing. They had wide receivers running out of bounds with the ball, red zone interceptions and an interception returned 100 yards for a touchdown.

To make matters worse, they are also playing in perhaps the toughest division in the league. With the Patriots, Jets and emerging Bills all playing the Dolphins twice this year, there does not seem to be much hope in the division.

Jets' Locker Room

Heading into this week, there was news in the headlines about the Jets' disconnection within their own locker room.

Most people have heard about the comments Santonio Holmes made about the offensive line. He essentially called them out and demanded they improve their play. This is not a good sign.

It was not just Santonio who was out there in the media recently. The team traded wide receiver Derrick Mason after comments he made about the offensive play-calling so far this season.

The team has said the trade involving Mason had nothing to do with the comments he made in the media, but if there was no correlation than the trade makes absolutely no sense.

For a team that is looking to win now, trading away your third option at receiver for a future seventh-round pick does not seem to help matters.

There is some turmoil within the locker room, which is understandable during a three-game losing streak. A win over the winless Dolphins is not going to smooth much over for the time being. Fixing whatever issues they have will take a lot more than that.

Moving Forward

With out a doubt, the Jets have more to prove coming out of their match up on Monday Night Football than the lowly Dolphins do.

The biggest reason for this is because no one expects much of anything from the Dolphins this season other than having a top-three draft pick in April.

As for the Jets, expectations are high for them once again this season.

So far they have not looked the part of a Super Bowl contender, and this fact has been highly publicized. Coming out of their game on Monday night, it appears they have the same issues as they did going into the game.

Getting their issues in the running game figured out and finding out exactly what they have in Mark Sanchez would be at the top of my list of things to do if I were in charge in New York, but hey, it is still early.

The Jets may have a lot of questions left to answer, but lucky for them they have the time to answer them.