Week 17
The 5-10 Dolphins are set to play their final game of the 2011 season (and their first game of 2012) against the arch-rival New York Jets (8-7) at Sun Life Stadium.
The game is not only the last of the season but it will also mark the final NFL contest for all-time Dolphin Jason Taylor, who announced his retirement earlier this week. Taylor stopped by The Finsiders studio on Thursday to chat with a couple of his former teammates, Troy Drayton and Sam Madison and you can also enjoy complete coverage of his retirement and career.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.As for the game itself, the Fins are obviously mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but the Jets are holding on by a thread and can make the playoffs with a win over the Dolphins and a TON of help (Bengals have to lose at home to the Ravens, the Titans have to lose at Houston, and either the Raiders have to lose at home to the Chargers OR the Broncos have to lose at home to the Chiefs. Got it? Good.)
While the players and coaches have mostly downplayed the fact that they have a chance to end the Jets’ slim playoff hopes, the fans are understandably excited about their team having the opportunity to put an official end to a mostly-miserable season for Gang Green.
This won’t be the first season finale in Dolphins history with a lot on the line and you can relive some of the more memorable last games of the season in this week’s LIST.
For more on the Jets and their perspective, you can go Behind Enemy Lines to hear media conference calls with Rex Ryan and WR Plaxico Burress as well as an interview with Manish Mehta, who covers the team for the NY Daily News.
Unfortunately for the Dolphins, they’ll be without star RB Reggie Bush for this one after he suffered a knee injury late in the loss at New England last week. The knee didn’t respond to treatment and Bush was unable to practice this week. Reggie is not the only Dolphin in doubt for this one, though, so check out the official injury report for both teams to see who could be missing in action. As for how the Dolphins can finish off the Jets, we turn to John Congemi, who provides his Keys to the Game.
As always, we have your gameday totally covered from 10:30 in the morning on until 6 o’clock at night. For more details, you can check out the weekly media schedule for TV, radio and online coverage of the game.
Finally, Madison and I preview this game and talk about the legacy of #99: