Miami Dolphins season isn’t over, no plans to rest in week 17
By Brian Miller
It’s business as usual for the Miami Dolphins this week. After securing a playoff spot, the Dolphins are not done with the regular season.
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Questions about whether the Dolphins would play or sit their starters after locking down the 6th seed have been quashed by Adam Gase who told local media that they intend to be 1-0 after this week.
Gase has been clear that it’s one week at a time and he is holding himself accountable to that notion as well. Gase also told the media that he spoke with GM Chris Grier, Mike Tannenbaum, and owner Stephen Ross about his plans.
"“We need to do everything to make sure we are 1-0 at the end of this week,” Gase said, via the Miami Herald. “I talked to [owner Stephen] Ross last night and Mike and Chris. We were talking about our plan going forward this week. We have an opportunity to play after Week 17 but our main focus is this week. We are going to stick to plan and not look ahead. This is a team if you look past them, they will embarrass you.” Via Profootballtalk.com"
The Dolphins need to play hard this week as they can still potentially move into the 5th seed. While it may not seem all that big of a deal from a playoff standpoint, the 5th seed does have some perks.
For starters, the 5th seed will play at Houston in week one instead of in chilly Pittsburgh. In addition and while highly unlikely, should both the 5th and 6th seed teams win their first two playoff games, the 5th seed would host the AFC Championship game.
Miami isn’t concerned about the 5th our 6th seed possibilities. They are concerned about fixing the problems they have on both sides of the ball and shoring up the very poor run defense that was displayed on Saturday.
There is a possibility that the Dolphins might rest starting running back Jay Ajayi. Ajayi suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday and while he was able to finish the game he missed plays as the pain escalated. Nothing has been reported about the injury or whether he will practice this week. Adam Gase said that Ajayi was just “sore”. With the beating he took on Saturday, he deserves to take a week off and get healthy for Wild Card weekend.