Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2018 11:14:55 GMT 1
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
When and Where: Sunday, Dec. 30, New Era Field, Orchard Park, N.Y., 1 p.m. EST.
Out of the playoffs and heading into an uncertain future in the offseason, the Miami Dolphins(Miami Dolphins championship rings) and Buffalo Bills wrap up underachieving seasons Sunday in upstate New York.
Dolphins unlikely to retain exec Tannenbaum, Gase's future cloudy:
After guiding Miami to a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance in his first season in 2016, head coach Adam Gase and the Dolphins (7-8) have regressed in each of the last two seasons despite their guaranteed status as AFC East runners-up to New England in 2018. Some of the struggles were due to injuries as quarterback Ryan Tannehill missed five games due to injury and 35-year-old Frank Gore — before he suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 15 — wound up being the featured running back for long stretches while Kenyan Drake was unable to take the next step after rushing for 644 yards in 2017.
At the very least, executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum is expected to depart as part of a front-office shakeup. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has been less forthcoming about the status of Gase and general manager Chris Grier, but both are expected back unless a marquee coaching name becomes available in the offseason.Miami has lost back-to-back games and four of its last six overall after a 17-7 defeat to Jacksonville last Sunday. The Dolphins opened the game with a 78-yard touchdown drive and were held to 105 yards the rest of the way, their fate sealed when Tannehill threw a pick-six with 9:34 to play.
Tannehill has had an uneven career since the Dolphins made him the eighth overall pick in 2012. He has recorded two 4,000-yard seasons but also has missed 24 games the last three years — including all of 2017 — due to injuries. With none of his $19 million salary in 2019 guaranteed and the Dolphins facing a reported cap hit of $26.6 million, it is believed the team will part ways with him in the offseason, something he hopes will not happen.“I have a lot of belief in myself,” Tannehill told the Miami Herald. “I want to be here and finish my career here. I love this organization. I love competing with the guys on this team. I've been here my whole career and love it in South Florida. I'd love to be here.”
Injuries also impacted the defense, as team MVP and Pro Bowl(custom nfl championship rings) cornerback Xavien Howard is not expected to play due to a knee injury. Howard, who is tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions despite missing the last three games, wants to play Sunday, but Gase sees little to gain in his star cover man playing with nothing at stake.“He would really have to push me for me to let him play,” Gase told the Palm Beach Post on Wednesday. ““He would have to tell me he absolutely, 100 percent, wants to play and feels great. We're not going to put him out there if he has any kind of pain.”Miami has lost six straight road games since opening that part of its schedule with a 20-12 victory over the New York Jets in Week 2. All but one of the six losses have been by double figures, and the Dolphins have given up at least 27 points in all six defeats. The Dolphins have dropped 11 of their last 12 road games dating back to last season and five of their last six at Buffalo. Miami, though, can sweep the season series for the second time in three years with a win in this game.
McDermott and Bills look to wrap up frustrating season on positive note:
Buffalo (5-10) failed to build on its playoff appearance from last season as the final gun will mark the 18th time in 19 years there will be no postseason in upstate New York.Some of that was to be expected with the decision to part ways with quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the offseason and begin an offensive rebuild around first-round pick Josh Allen, but it was a trying season for the Bills as little worked on that side of the ball.Allen has endured his expected ups and downs, throwing for 1,850 yards and seven touchdowns with 11 interceptions and also missed four weeks with a shoulder injury. Four different quarterbacks threw at least one pass, including journeymen Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley, while much-maligned Nathan Peterman was cut last month.
Buffalo has only one wide receiver — Zay Jones — with more than 25 catches as the position was a revolving door all season that included the comings and goings of Kelvin Benjamin and Andre Holmes. It is little wonder the Bills went through a three-game stretch of midseason scoring one touchdown and totaling 20 points and enter this contest 31st in the league in scoring with 227, ahead of only Arizona (201).While the Bills do have talent at running back with LeSean McCoy, he has struggled this season with a career-worst 488 yards and actually trails Allen (536) for the team lead in rushing yards.
The six-time 1,000-yard rusher has also butted heads with coach Sean McDermott(championship rings) and was benched at the start of last weekend's 24-12 loss to New England. Without going into detail about the incident, McDermott appeared willing to have McCoy back for 2019, though his $9 million salary makes that a question mark.“I know this year wasn't what he had hoped it would be and the biggest thing I want to see is what we're going to do to get it to back to where it needs to be,” McDermott told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “And so I think he's committed to that cause as are we. LeSean's a pro, he's played at a very high level for a long period of time and I expect him to get back on track.”
Buffalo needs to win this game to guarantee a third-place finish in the AFC East, otherwise a loss and a win by the New York Jets over the Patriots would drop the Bills into last by virtue of a worse division record.The Bills are 3-4 at home, with four of their games decided by four or fewer points. They have not finished with a sub-.500 home record since going 2-6 in 2010.
When and Where: Sunday, Dec. 30, New Era Field, Orchard Park, N.Y., 1 p.m. EST.
Out of the playoffs and heading into an uncertain future in the offseason, the Miami Dolphins(Miami Dolphins championship rings) and Buffalo Bills wrap up underachieving seasons Sunday in upstate New York.
Dolphins unlikely to retain exec Tannenbaum, Gase's future cloudy:
After guiding Miami to a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance in his first season in 2016, head coach Adam Gase and the Dolphins (7-8) have regressed in each of the last two seasons despite their guaranteed status as AFC East runners-up to New England in 2018. Some of the struggles were due to injuries as quarterback Ryan Tannehill missed five games due to injury and 35-year-old Frank Gore — before he suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 15 — wound up being the featured running back for long stretches while Kenyan Drake was unable to take the next step after rushing for 644 yards in 2017.
At the very least, executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum is expected to depart as part of a front-office shakeup. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has been less forthcoming about the status of Gase and general manager Chris Grier, but both are expected back unless a marquee coaching name becomes available in the offseason.Miami has lost back-to-back games and four of its last six overall after a 17-7 defeat to Jacksonville last Sunday. The Dolphins opened the game with a 78-yard touchdown drive and were held to 105 yards the rest of the way, their fate sealed when Tannehill threw a pick-six with 9:34 to play.
Tannehill has had an uneven career since the Dolphins made him the eighth overall pick in 2012. He has recorded two 4,000-yard seasons but also has missed 24 games the last three years — including all of 2017 — due to injuries. With none of his $19 million salary in 2019 guaranteed and the Dolphins facing a reported cap hit of $26.6 million, it is believed the team will part ways with him in the offseason, something he hopes will not happen.“I have a lot of belief in myself,” Tannehill told the Miami Herald. “I want to be here and finish my career here. I love this organization. I love competing with the guys on this team. I've been here my whole career and love it in South Florida. I'd love to be here.”
Injuries also impacted the defense, as team MVP and Pro Bowl(custom nfl championship rings) cornerback Xavien Howard is not expected to play due to a knee injury. Howard, who is tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions despite missing the last three games, wants to play Sunday, but Gase sees little to gain in his star cover man playing with nothing at stake.“He would really have to push me for me to let him play,” Gase told the Palm Beach Post on Wednesday. ““He would have to tell me he absolutely, 100 percent, wants to play and feels great. We're not going to put him out there if he has any kind of pain.”Miami has lost six straight road games since opening that part of its schedule with a 20-12 victory over the New York Jets in Week 2. All but one of the six losses have been by double figures, and the Dolphins have given up at least 27 points in all six defeats. The Dolphins have dropped 11 of their last 12 road games dating back to last season and five of their last six at Buffalo. Miami, though, can sweep the season series for the second time in three years with a win in this game.
McDermott and Bills look to wrap up frustrating season on positive note:
Buffalo (5-10) failed to build on its playoff appearance from last season as the final gun will mark the 18th time in 19 years there will be no postseason in upstate New York.Some of that was to be expected with the decision to part ways with quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the offseason and begin an offensive rebuild around first-round pick Josh Allen, but it was a trying season for the Bills as little worked on that side of the ball.Allen has endured his expected ups and downs, throwing for 1,850 yards and seven touchdowns with 11 interceptions and also missed four weeks with a shoulder injury. Four different quarterbacks threw at least one pass, including journeymen Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley, while much-maligned Nathan Peterman was cut last month.
Buffalo has only one wide receiver — Zay Jones — with more than 25 catches as the position was a revolving door all season that included the comings and goings of Kelvin Benjamin and Andre Holmes. It is little wonder the Bills went through a three-game stretch of midseason scoring one touchdown and totaling 20 points and enter this contest 31st in the league in scoring with 227, ahead of only Arizona (201).While the Bills do have talent at running back with LeSean McCoy, he has struggled this season with a career-worst 488 yards and actually trails Allen (536) for the team lead in rushing yards.
The six-time 1,000-yard rusher has also butted heads with coach Sean McDermott(championship rings) and was benched at the start of last weekend's 24-12 loss to New England. Without going into detail about the incident, McDermott appeared willing to have McCoy back for 2019, though his $9 million salary makes that a question mark.“I know this year wasn't what he had hoped it would be and the biggest thing I want to see is what we're going to do to get it to back to where it needs to be,” McDermott told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “And so I think he's committed to that cause as are we. LeSean's a pro, he's played at a very high level for a long period of time and I expect him to get back on track.”
Buffalo needs to win this game to guarantee a third-place finish in the AFC East, otherwise a loss and a win by the New York Jets over the Patriots would drop the Bills into last by virtue of a worse division record.The Bills are 3-4 at home, with four of their games decided by four or fewer points. They have not finished with a sub-.500 home record since going 2-6 in 2010.