Archives for December 24, 2016

'In order for the Bills to have any hopes of playing a meaningful game Week 17 against the New York Jets, they will need to not only beat the Dolphins today, but also have both the Baltimore Ravens (8-6) fall to the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-5) and the Denver Broncos (8-6) lose to the Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) on Christmas Day. Then, in Week 17, they will need to beat the Jets, have the Cincinnati Bengals (5-8-1) beat the Ravens, the New England Patriots (12-2) take care of the Dolphins, the winless Cleveland Browns (0-14) beat the Steelers, The Houston Texans (8-6) defeat the Tennessee Titans (8-6) and the Oakland Raiders (11-3) topple the Broncos.'

'Barring Rich Kotite-type organization calamity, teams that fire head coaches after two seasons are teams without strong ownership and without a sound plan.'

'"Let's put it this way: None of us know our future," Whaley told radio station WGR 550 during an interview Friday. "Look where we are. We owe it to our fans and our owners to keep it focused on Miami, because we're still in this."'

'Despite reports from ESPN and other outlets about Ryan's job security, the Bills have yet to release a statement about the coach. Owner Terry Pegula issued a statement Dec. 30 last year, during the final week of the season, supporting Ryan and Whaley.'

'The Dolphins have been on a roll over their last eight games, and the win over the Bills in Miami has certainly served as a catalyst to get their acts together. However, with all the injuries they have suffered over the course of the season, they are currently playing above the talent that they’re putting out there.'

'This is a tricky one. The Dolphins are still competing for a wild card berth while the Bills, though mathematically still alive, are really just playing out the string. And yet I think the Dolphins, without Ryan Tannehill, may struggle on a cold day in Buffalo. I like the Bills in a close, defensive struggle.'

'Below we take a look at the games that most significantly impact Buffalo’s slim playoffs hopes.'

'Dolphins DE Mario Williams, TE MarQueis Gray, S Bacarri Rambo, T Sam Young, TE Dominique Jones and linebacker Kiko Alonso all spent time on Buffalo’s roster. Flying north to take on their former teammates this weekend, they’re no strangers to New Era Field.'

'“They beat us that day,” said Preston Brown. “They were more physical and did everything against us that they wanted to. We have to go out there and show we’re not the same team we were earlier in the season and go out there and show that we can stop their running back because we couldn’t the last time. So it’s going to be a good test for us defensively and it’s going to be fun.”'