I recently had the chance to exchange questions with the editor of TheJetsBlog, Brian Bassett.  Look for my responses to his Dolphin questions over on his site sometime today.  Below are his responses to my Jet questions:

Brett Favre has only been a Jet for about a month.  So I'm sure that the offense will still be scaled back a bit on Sunday.  What should we expect from this Jets offense this week?

Brian: Chad was a total bookworm, so week in and out, the offense was pretty much wide open, Favre has been in the same offense for twelve years and isn't exactly known for his studiousness, so Favre and his new OC Brian Schottenheimer are trying to find common ground. I think the Jets will look to work the running game to keep the defensive line on their heels mostly with Thomas Jones and some of the quicker Leon Washington (who can rip off big gains) but as far as passing the ball, it's not like years past.  The ball is going to be coming downfield a lot to Jerricho Cotchery.  It remains to be seen how much Coles will play as he's been battling an injury during the preseason ... I don't think it will hamper him much though.

Many media reports claim that Vernon Gholston, the Jets' 6th overall pick, has struggled a bit at times to make the transition to OLB in the NFL.  So what can you tell us about this?  And are you worried at all that Vernon might just be a "workout warrior" who might not ever reach his potential?

Brian: Gholston was always a project, so that people are concerned about his adaptation is kind of amusing.  Gholston came out as a junior 4-3 DE, and is now playing OLB in a 3-4 ... it's going to take some time for him to settle in.  Even so, he'll be the first first round pick of this regime that won't immediately start. 

I think it's a concern, but there are a lot of other players that have struggled similarly in their transition recently ... Mario Williams was declared a bust, and now might be one of the best defensive lineman in the league.  Gaines Adams had a slow start, but came on strong in the end.  Shawne Merriman was inactive for the start of his rookie season, and now he's a household name. 

So far, Gholston has had issues learning his new position ... he's used to pinning his ears back and going after the quarterback, but the Jets have been trying to teach and use him in contains as well as coverage -- since it's his something he hasn't done much, and he'll need to learn if he wants to start.  During the season, he'll see time on the field in passing situations, and they'll gradually try to move him into a full-time role, but there's no need to rush him, as the Jets already have Bryan Thomas who can play the role well enough.

The Jets were 29th in the NFL in defending the rush last season (almost as bad as the Dolphins were).  But the addition of Kris Jenkins will surely help a bit.  What do you expect from the Jets' rush defense?  Are you worried at all that the Dolphins will be able to control the ball on the ground with Ricky and Ronnie?

Brian: It's a real concern for Jets fans for the past few years, but so far in the preaseason DT Kris Jenkins has been a beast at the nose, pushing into the backfield and making some tackles for loss while being doubled and disrupting the offensive line.   When you add the much larger OLB Calvin Pace (who Parcells himself wanted) instead of Victor Hobson, the ability to stop the run on the inside and out becomes a reality.  I think Ricky, Ronnie and the new offensive line for the Phins with Justin Smiley and Jake Long versus the revamped Jets front seven will be a real key point of determining the winner of this game.

A big thanks to Brian for taking the time to do this.  And remember to head over to TheJetsBlog to see my responses, which will be posted sometime today.

Can you believe that in just 4 days the Dolphins will begin their 2008 season?  It seems like yesterday we were all here debating who the Dolphins should draft first overall and who should be the team's starting quarterback.  But now they finally get to "buckle those chinstraps" for real and play games that count.

And with that said, let's begin to talk about this first game of the season when those hated Jets come to town to take on our Fins.  Below are 5 key matchups that will have a big role in determining the outcome of Sunday's battle.

Jake Long vs Calvin Pace
We all remember how the Calvin Pace situation went down back in March.  Many of us Dolphin fans were hoping he'd come to Miami.  And looking back now, with Jason Taylor gone to Washington and Joey Porter having these nagging injuries, it would have been great to sign a guy like Pace even if he was over-priced.

Regardless, he's in New York now and will be the pass-rushing star of the Jets' defense.  Jake Long, our high-priced rookie and #1 overall pick, has the duty of keeping Pace off of Chad Pennington.  If Pace wins this battle more times than not, the Dolphins will be in for a long day.  Jake has to come out and make sure he gets his hands on Pace each and every passing play.  What worries me, though, is if Pace looks at film of what Jake struggled with in the preseason - a speed rush where the rusher off the edge uses a double move of sorts to get by Jake.

One thing is for sure: Jake's going to get some good experience of what it's like to play left tackle in the NFL.

Samson Satele vs Kris Jenkins
The Dolphins will undoubtedly be looking to run the ball against every opponent this season.  In this particular game, against a team running the 3-4 defense, a lot of the success (or failure) of the running game will be on the shoulders of Samson Satele.  Satele has the honor of trying to block the 350 pound nose tackle that the Jets traded for this offseason - Kris Jenkins.  Jenkins, when healthy, is perhaps the very best nose tackle in the game - meaning this will be no easy task.  Sure, Satele is going to have help from a guard - either Justin Smiley or Donald Thomas - on most, if not all, of the plays.  But much of the pressure still falls on Satele.  If Satele and company can keep Jenkins out of the backfield and move him off the ball on running plays, then this Dolphins offense will have a much better chance of successfully picking up chunks of yards on the ground.

Jerricho Cotchery vs Will Allen
There's no question that the Jets are going to put the ball in the air often in 2008.  With Brett Favre at the helm, why wouldn't you?  And while Laveranues Coles has historically been the "Dolphins-killer" over the years, it's Jerricho Cotchery I'm more worried about.  Cotchery seems to be developing good chemistry with his new quarterback.  And Cotchery is the kind of player who will get under your skin as an opposing fan - find ways to move the chains on 3rd down, for example.  Then, we you least expect it, he'll pick up big yardage.  In fact, Cotchery was 2nd in the NFL in receptions of 25 yards or more with 13.  It'll be up to the Dolphins' best cornerback - and one of the game's most under-rated CBs - Will Allen to make sure Cotchery doesn't make those key 3rd down grabs or any of those long, game-breaking plays.

Ted Ginn vs Darrelle Revis
It's no secret that Ted Ginn is, by far, the Dolphins' best receiver.  Revis, meanwhile, is the Jets' best cornerback.  Both are entering just their 2nd season in the NFL.  This will be an interesting matchup to watch all game long for 2 reasons.  First, Ginn has been developing some undeniable chemistry with new QB Chad Pennington.  And two, both are still unpolished and could struggle at times.  How much each player has progressed and improved this past offseason will go a long way towards determining who has the advantage here.  We all know Ginn has the speed to get by pretty much every corner in this league.  But is his route-running polished enough to get open underneath and to create separation?

Tony Sparano vs Eric Mangini
OK.  So this isn't exactly a one-on-one matchup.  But think about it for a second.  You got two coaches who each come from the same coaching tree.  And one of them is making his NFL head coaching debut.  So while this isn't a typical matchup to watch, it still deserves to be mentioned.  How will each coaching staff game-plan for this game?  And perhaps even more importantly, how will each staff adjust at halftime to what the other team is doing?

So what do you think?  Do you agree with the key matchups I list above?  Did I leave any particular important matchup off the list?  Tell us below...

It's time for the 3rd and final installment of this week's "Around The AFC East."  And to help us out, Brian Bassett of The Jets Blog is helping us out. 

Below is his response to my question.  Head over to his site to see how I responded to his question.

Matty I: To say the Jets spend some money this off-season would be an understatement.  So which of the big acquisitions do you think will make the biggest impact on the team in 2008?

Brian Bassett: For me, it's Alan Faneca at Left Guard and Kris Jenkins at Nose Tackle.  The Jets missed Pete Kendall's presence in 2007 between LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson and C Nick Mangold, both now entering their third year.  Brick had some memorable games, like the one in which he held court at home against Jason Taylor, but as the season wore on, the line was more and more outmatched.  The Left Guard position stranded D'Brickashaw into allowing far too many sacks, and turning the team's running game lopsided to the right.  Shoring up the Left Guard position will allow Nick and Brick a little more breathing space, and provide a solid run blocker on the left side.

As far as Jenkins, the Jets have needed a 3-4 Nose Tackle since they made the switch two years ago.  Although Jenkins hasn't played the 3-4 before, the most important thing is that he can command double teams frequently and collapse the pocket from the center.  This can allow the DEs and OLBs to work against their blockers in single coverage, or allow the LBs to have one less blocker facing them on running plays.  I don't think the Jets will go to the gap control New England style 3-4 this year, but I'd expect them to play some of the "Blitzburgh" one-gapping style 3-4, which would be a smoother transition for a player like Jenkins.  With two solid DE/OLBs in Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas now, the team can be a lot more flexible in adding an extra lineman from time to time.

My Take: I also think Alan Faneca will be the key addition to this Jets team.  Having him line up next to Ferguson will help D'Brickashaw grow and improve as well as put less strain on the kid to keep those pass rushers off of whoever happens to be the Jets' quarterback in '08.  And if Jenkins can stay healthy, then I think his addition will also be huge.  Really, that's the only question I have with Jenkins.  I wouldn't be too worried about him not having played the NT spot in a 3-4 in the past because there really isn't too much to learn.  He's a big boy and he'll take up blockers to free the linebackers.  It's that simple.  And how about the fact that the AFC East has become nose tackle central.  The Jets acquired Jenkins, the Fins traded for Jason Ferguson, the Bills picked up Marcus Stroud, and the Pats still have Vince Wilfork.  Now that's some beef up front, huh?

Again, remember to head over to The Jets Blog to see my response to his question.

And with that, this week's "Around The AFC East" is complete.  We'll be doing this every Friday from now until at least the regular season.  Hope you enjoyed it!