Ted Ginn Leads Dolphins to Win Over Jets?

Wait a minute, what? Though he’s far from redeeming himself completely in the eyes of most Dolphins fans, Ted Ginn Jr. did manage to provide the Dolphins with an adequate spark to propel them past the Jets in their final meeting at the Meadowlands. Benched earlier this week in favor of former collegiate teammate Brian Hartline and beleaguered by fans and former Dolphins alike, Ginn turned in his most dynamic performance in a Miami uniform returning two consecutive 3rd quarter kickoffs for touchdowns and giving Miami the edge it needed to win a hard-fought game against a truly classless New York Jets squad, 30-25.

The Jets must have a truly warped perspective of Ginn, who in his last three games against New York has been lethal. In last year’s regular season finale Ginn caught two huge passes including one for a touchdown to help the Dolphins seal the division. Just 20 days ago Ginn beat triple coverage and burned past stalwart Darrelle Revis for a 53-yard touchdown to help Miami pick up a big win. Then, today, Ginn took back a kick 100 yards after he caught the corner after a Jet field goal. Then just seven minutes later Ginn hopped and flitted around a couple of Jets defenders before again catching the corner this time for a 101 yard return. Just the second time in NFL history the feat has been achieved in a quarter, the eighth time in a game and the first in Miami history as well as the first in NFL history it happened consecutively.

What it means?

Not much, don’t get too excited about Ginn returning two in a game again. For as talented of a returner as he is, the cat’s officially out of the bag and the rest of the NFL has been served notice that at the very least Ginn can burn you in the return game. What you can go back and rewatch though is the considerable confidence Ginn gained over the course of this game. It’s funny what two return touchdowns will do, but by the end of the game the Jets were kicking it high and short and Ginn was running with confidence on his returns the way Cam Cameron promised he would on that fateful day nearly three years ago. Coupled with Devone Bess’ muff, the coaching staff may even consider giving Ginn punt return duties back as well. If I were Bill Parcells I’d re-sign Bob Kuechenberg and put his locker next to Ginn’s. Something this week seemingly got through to Theodore.

"“I’m like a mouse trapped in a corner,” Ginn said. “You always wonder how that mouse gets out.”"

Now let’s work on the rhetoric, Teddy. Maybe be a panther or a lynx or hell a rabbit but don’t compare yourself to a mouse in the corne… nevermind, you know what? Good job, Teddy. Great game today.

Jets Still Classless

Miami arguably didn’t deserve this game, but a win is a win and after squandering games against the Colts and Saints, I think Miami was due. That being said, New York is seemingly incapable of being gracious or classy or… well I’ll just give you a few quotes…

"Rex Ryan: It stinks. That’s the truth. We totally outplayed them, but got beat. You have to give their kickoff return guy credit. It’s almost four-to-one in yardage, but I’d rather be in their locker room with a win than here, even though I’d rather be in this one moving forward. We have a better record right now, so I’ll still take this locker room.Bart Scott: It’s tough. They’re a great team. They’ll probably contend for the Super Bowl. They have a tremendous offense – great running backs, a great quarterback, a great tight end. They are stacked across the board. I’m serious. They are great.Like I said, they have a great team. They have a tremendous offense and they showed it today. They are Super Bowl contenders and they will probably take it all the way."

Now, before I say anything else I’ll give Calvin Pace credit that he did at least admit Miami deserved respect for winning and came off some of his earlier comments. But Bart Scott and Rex Ryan need to take a lesson in humility. For starters, you just got swept in a season series by a team you openly diminished before the season ever began. Say what you want about stats or numbers but the fact still remains that Miami is 2-0 against the Jets on the season. I also think someone needs to explain to both of them that the return game and defensive touchdowns actually count so even though that’s considered hidden yardage it still matters. I’ll have more of a breakdown to post tomorrow. But in the meantime enjoy listening to the excuses and whining coming out of Jets camp.