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MONDAY NIGHT NOTES
JETS-DOLPHINS IN REMATCH OF "GREATEST" MNF GAME Usually when a group of people meet at least twice a year for 38 years, it means that they enjoy each other’s company. In the case of the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, it means something else. "This is one of those rivalry games where everything is out the window," says Miami Dolphins tight end RANDY MC MICHAEL about a rivalry that stands 39-37-1 all-time in favor of the Jets. The Dolphins (1-6) arrive in New York this Monday night on the heels of a 31-14 win over St. Louis in which they did not commit a turnover. New York (5-1) tasted defeat for the first time last Sunday at New England and aims to bounce back at home while facing an AFC East foe for the fourth time in five weeks. Making the rivalry even hotter is that this will be the first time the teams have met on a Monday night since October 23, 2000 -- which turned out to be the "Greatest Game in Monday Night Football History," as voted by NFL fans in 2002. In the game, the Jets came back from a 23-point deficit – tying it on a VINNY TESTAVERDE to tackle JUMBO ELLIOTT three-yard TD pass (his first NFL catch) -- to win in overtime 40-37 on a 40-yard JOHN HALL field goal. It was a classic! "They’re a division opponent," says Jets head coach HERMAN EDWARDS. "And when you play against division people, records don’t really matter. This is generally one of those tight games unless turnovers are involved." Since Edwards became coach of the Jets in 2001, New York’s engines really begin to purr in November. The Jets are 9-2 (.818) in the month on Edwards’ watch. That is the best winning percentage among coaches with at least 10 November games since the start of the Super Bowl era (1966). Second on the list is the man who will analyze the game for ABC -- JOHN MADDEN:
No team in the NFL is allowing fewer passing yards per game than the Dolphins (143.6). Miami’s stout defense also holds the league’s longest active streaks of not allowing a 300-yard passer (21 games) and a 100-yard receiver (17). However, it’s the running game led by the NFL’s second-leading rusher CURTIS MARTIN that the Dolphins aim to stop. "Curtis Martin cuts on a dime and he makes you miss," says Dolphins linebacker and five-time NFL All-Star ZACH THOMAS. "He’s finally getting his publicity this year, but he’s always been a great running back." The 31-year-old Martin could become the second player in NFL history to lead the league in rushing when starting the season at age 30 or older. The only player to accomplish the feat is Pro Football Hall of Famer MARION MOTLEY, who rushed for 810 yards in 1950 for Cleveland at 30 years old. "We want to start this game the way we left it last week," says Dolphins linebacker JUNIOR SEAU. "It’s Monday night, it’s the only game in town, and there are lots of things exciting about it." AMERICA’S PRIME-TIME TEAM: No NFL club has appeared on ABC’s NFL Monday Night Football more than the Miami Dolphins (69), or won more MNF games. The top five clubs in MNF appearances and victories:
MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS – MIAMI DOLPHINS AT NEW YORK JETS SEAU HOSTS MARINE Miami linebacker JUNIOR SEAU hosted former Marine staff sergeant EDDIE WRIGHT and his fiancée DONETTE MATHISON at last week’s Dolphins game against St. Louis. Wright was stationed in Iraq and lost both arms when he was the victim of an ambush. Seau is Wright’s favorite player. The two were connected through an organization that puts members of the military in touch with their favorite personalities. Wright, who is recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, has a prosthetic right arm and will receive one for his left side. Wright and Mathison, who is also in the military, met with many players after the game and took part in a tailgate party. DEAN’S LIST VILMA New York Jets rookie linebacker JONATHAN VILMA, the team’s first-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, was a finance major with a minor in management at the University of Miami. Vilma, whose parents grew up in Haiti and stressed the importance of education growing up, maintained a 3.5 grade-point average and made the dean’s list every year. One of Vilma’s professors at Miami, who taught an organizational behavior class in which Vilma earned an "A" as a junior, termed him "prepared, very analytical and with wonderful interpersonal skills." In the third grade, Vilma was so advanced in his development that he was moved into an international curriculum. For the next nine years, he studied German, becoming fluent in the language. The reason? In case he wanted to attend medical school in Europe, says Vilma. For one summer in college, Vilma interned in the client wealth management division of the Lehman Brothers investment house in Miami. "That internship allowed me to apply, in a real-world setting, what I learned in school," says Vilma. "I’d like to be in the NFL for the next 20 years, but if that doesn’t happen, I’ll have a backup strategy." RETURNING HOME When the Dolphins visit the Jets, the game always marks a homecoming for Miami quarterback JAY FIEDLER. The ninth-year quarterback was born in Oceanside, New York, which is located about six miles from the Jets’ training facility and office complex on the Hofstra University campus in Hempstead, New York. Before re-entering the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings in 1998, Fiedler spent the 1997 football season as an assistant coach and scout-team quarterback at Hofstra. That experience kept him close to the game and motivated him to pursue his goal of starting in the NFL. "When I started coaching at Hofstra," recalls Fiedler, "I really developed a love for teaching the game to other people and watching them learn. But I didn’t want to give up on my dream. I just kept working hard to get back in the league." Hofstra went 9-3 during Fiedler’s 1997 season under head coach JOE GARDI. Gardi, who was as an assistant coach for the Jets from 1976-85, was also the head coach when current Jets wide receiver WAYNE CHREBET starred at Hofstra (1991-94). PENNINGTON LIGHTS THE NIGHT Jets quarterback CHAD PENNIGNTON was the Honorary Chair for the "Light the Night Walk" at Hofstra University in September. Over 1,000 community members walked for two miles through the Hofstra campus to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The society holds a special place in Pennington’s heart. Last year, his father-in-law passed away after a 10-month battle with leukemia. "His courage and will was an inspiration to me, and I knew then that he would want me and my wife ROBIN to support the fight for a cure," says the fifth-year quarterback from Marshall. "Light the Night was a perfect way to show our support and help find a cure for blood cancer."
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