Ok, ok, I know it's an abomination of everything holy that us Phin fans have to actually sit here and watch as the Jets make an improbable march to the Super Bowl. On our home field no less! Isn't this the same Jet squad Miami beat twice this year?

We won't get into the possibility of the Jets actually making it to Miami for the big game because quite frankly, Peyton isn't going to let that happen. No way. No how. But, what does have me interested is reading several Dolphin and Jet websites and seeing the reaction of both fan bases in regards to the Jets deep playoff run. Most Jet fans, and even a pretty good amount of Dolphin fans seem to think that NY has passed Miami by and will keep them in their rear-view mirror for years to come. One Dolphin fan even posted a thread claiming that we are "3 years away" from being able to compete with the Jets. Again, wasn't this the team Miami beat twice this season? I'm here to get those Dolphin fans to step away from the ledge. There's no reason to jump, and Miami is going to be just fine. Yes, the Jets are in the middle of an improbable playoff run, but quite frankly, anybody who expects that to automatically translate into Jet dominance over the rest of the AFC East for the coming seasons is simply clinging to fools gold. A few reasons not to worry:

-Is Mark Sanchez really that great of a QB? Is he going to ever reach the status of a Top 5 QB in this league? I think the resounding answer to that is: NO! Personally, I don't think Mark Sanchez will turn out to be much more than a solid game-managing type of QB. Now don't get me wrong, with other pieces in place you can win a lot of games with a QB like that, but I still don't think he will ever be the "franchise" type of QB that the Jets thought they were getting when they moved up to take him. -The NY defense is Revis and 10 other guys who are ok. Not great, but ok. In all seriousness, Revis is going to be giving the entire AFC East headaches for years to come. He's got HOF written all over him. But that's just one player. Look up and down the rest of that defense. I don't see any other player on there that makes me think Miami is dead in the water for the next few seasons. Calvin Pace? Solid player, but not a game changer. Bart Scott? If he played as well as he talks, he'd be the greatest ever. Vernon Gholston? Been a resounding bust so far. Dwight Lowry? Solid corner, but not the shut-down type of guy that Revis is. Obviously with Rex Ryan at the helm, this is a solid defense, and simply having Revis allows them to do so much. However, this is the defense that Miami ran roughshod over during their first meeting in 2009. Who's to say we can't do it again?

-A closer look at the Jet offense reveals something very interesting: With Schottenhiemer Jr. running the show, they are literally playing Marty-Ball. They've got the game manager at QB and the plan is to have a very conservative offensive game plan, run the ball for 3-4 yards a pop, and play stingy defense. Marty-Ball always sounds good on paper, but as we've seen time and time again: It's also a recipe that is usually going to get you bounced in the playoffs. Anytime you're playing Marty-Ball and you face a team that can actually put it in the endzone and get a 10-14 point lead on you, you're basically dead in the water at that point. We've seen what happens when Sanchez is asked to zip the ball around the field 25+ times in a game: Lots of turnovers. Granted, he is only a rookie but I think this is a trend that we'll see continue with him. Now don't get me wrong, the Jets are turning in to a very good football team (excuse me while I throw up in my mouth a little). If Miami doesn't make the right moves to keep pace, they could easily be chasing the Jets for years to come. However, talent wise Miami is closer to the Jets than gang green fans would have you believe. There are a few sure-fire ways to make sure we dont' let the Jets run away from us in the coming seasons:

-Just like the Jets, we've got a young QB who we think is our future. Difference being, I think Henne can be a more effective down-field QB and gives us the potential to have a more explosive offense. Granted, we have to give Henne the weapons or it's all for not. We badly need that #1 WR who stretches the offense. Once that's achieved, I really like our passing offense. Guys like Bess, Camarillo and Hartline can help form an amazing WR corps one we get our main guy in here. Hell, even a Ted Ginn could become very dangerous once he's not carrying the burden of being the teams only deep threat. An aggressive passing offense that can strike downfield is the EXACT thing you need when facing an overly aggressive defense like the Jets. Being effective going downfield may also force the Jets to back off the blitzing a bit not to mention what it would mean for Ronnie and Ricky running the ball (assuming they're our 2 RB's in 2010). It's been a long time since Miami's had a potent offense, but I think they are VERY close to being just that. I honestly think that Miami adds the right 1 or 2 pieces in the offseason, and this offense could be a top 5 unit. -On defense I've got two words: Mike Nolan. Against Miami this season, Sanchez didn't have a lot of turnovers. That's not a surprise considering Miami's defensive game plan against him was more of a read-and-react type of scheme. They didn't come after him all that hard and IMO that was a big mistake. With Nolan in town, that mistake won't be repeated. Sanchez is the kind of player you come after early and often. If you do, he's going to end up giving you the ball at some point. I realize Miami still has some talent building to do on defense, but the hiring of Nolan is the exact type of thing Miami needed. IMO, he plays the style of D that Sanchez has the least amount of success with. That's going to be very important in the coming seasons.

All in all, I'm very jealous of the Jet's deep playoff run this season. Nothing sucks worse than seeing that team succeed. That being said, I just don't think this Jet team has made some sort of quantum leap over Miami in the last 3 weeks. On paper, the teams aren't that far apart although right now I'd give the edge to the Jets. As far as front office and coaching staffs go, I'm much more comfortable with the foundation Miami has in place. I know Rex Ryan is everybody's favorite right now, but I don't like him for the long haul. As a coach, you can't let the highs get you too high or the lows too low. Rex Ryan does just that. Coaches like that almost never achieve long-term success. They're simply too reactionary. On Miami's side, I love Sparano and the staff he has assembled. I think he's much more of a grounded coach who's going to be able to sustain success longer than Rex Ryan. I'm also very comfortable with our front office. Long story short: The Jets are not about to run away from Miami. In fact, who's to say Miami isn't the better team next season? We all know that your past seasons success doesn't always translate into instant success the following season. Hell, the 2009 Super Bowl champs are watching the playoffs on TV this year. If anything, I think 2010 will be a step back for the Jets. There's something about that franchise. As soon as they have something to feel good about, the rug always gets ripped out from under them.
And being a Dolphin fan, that is always very enjoyable to see..........