Bush won't play as Miami looks to 'shatter' the Jets' playoff hopes. (Getty Images)

By Will Brinson

On Sunday, the Jets will try and keep their slim playoff hopes (you can read all about them here) alive in Miami. The Dolphins are already eliminated, but don't think that means they won't be trying to knock the Jets out of the postseason. They will. But they'll have to do it without leading rusher Reggie Bush.

Bush, per interim coach Todd Bowles, is out with a knee injury for Sunday's matchup at Sun Life Stadium. Bush is the team's leading rusher and with 1,086 rushing yards, he's having by far and away the best rushing season of his career. (His 519 rushing yards since Week 13 lead the NFL in that time span.)

That means Daniel Thomas, Miami's second-round pick in 2011, will get the bulk of the carries as the Dolphins try and "shatter" the Jets playoff hopes.

"As a Dolphin, that’s all you want to do is shatter their dreams," Kendall Langford, Dolphins defensive lineman, said, per the Miami Herald. "I'm sure the fans would love it, too. I'm sure the New York fans would hate it."

Defensive end Jared Odrick added that "obviously, yeah, that's motivation" when asked about booting a rival from the postseason race.

It's not surprising to hear this from the Dolphins; they're a team that was 0-7 and managed to fight their way back to a very respectable 5-10 record, despite many folks believing they should simply make a run at a winless season and the prospect of Andrew Luck in South Florida.

A win over the Jets in the season finale, at home, to close out Jason Taylor's career, would just be icing on the improperly-baked-but-still-kind-of-
tasty cake that's been the Fins 2011 season.


For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, subscribe to our NFL newsletter, and while you're add it, add our RSS Feed.

By Josh Katzowitz

As we told you late Tuesday night, the Miami Herald reported Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor was retiring. We just weren’t sure of the exact reason. On Wednesday, Taylor let everybody in on his little secret.

"This organization in the near future is going to make some changes and part of those changes is needing to address some personnel positions and this is the right time for me to go ahead and go and allow this organization to grow and improve,” Taylor said, according to the Miami Herald.

So, basically, Taylor knew it was time to walk away from the game rather than being pushed out. Rather than possibly suffering the indignity of the Dolphins declining to keep him around, he made his own call to leave (really, isn’t that what so many athletes want, anyway?). Besides, in the eyes of CBSSports.com’s Mike Freeman, Taylor is a future Hall of Famer anyway.

The fact Taylor will be 38 before next season obviously played a role, though he still remains a serviceable pass rusher (he’s got seven sacks on the season, after all). Maybe if he thought the Dolphins had a legit chance at competing for a Super Bowl next season, he could be tempted to try to return for one more year. Because the fact he didn’t win a title for Miami is one of his biggest regrets.

“There's a lot of by-products that come with playing the game -- the fame, the money," he said. “But at the end of the day, we all want to win. And, unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to do that. As my career comes to an end that's one thing that like so many other great players, I haven't had a chance to do that. That's my one regret.”

Oh, and by the way, there’s no chance he’ll return. Or so Taylor says.

"Look, Sunday is my last game," Taylor said. "I'm going to go ahead and walk away -- hopefully healthy ... I'm not even going to leave the door open for any of that stuff. As a matter of fact, I might even change my cell phone number so they can't get me."

But one thing, perhaps more than any other, that teammate Jared Odrick will miss about Taylor is how, via Rapid Reporter Chris Perkins, he kept the team’s spirit caffeinated and ready to play.

“He,” Odrick said, “taught me how to make a great latte with his machine over here.”

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, subscribe to our NFL newsletter, and while you're add it, add our RSS Feed.

Posted by Eye on Football Analyst Andy Benoit



Giants vs. Dolphins
One of the more confounding issues with the Dolphins this season has been the decline of their pass-rush. After recording 39 sacks in 2010 (tied for 10th best in the NFL) Miami entered last week’s game against Denver with just eight. They wound up recording seven sacks in the game, but that was in part because of Tim Tebow’s inability to make quick reads or get the ball out.

The Giants’ reshuffled offensive line has been hit or miss in pass protection thus far (more “hit” than “miss”). At Arizona in Week 4, their brilliant protection practically won the game. But the next week it waffled against Seattle’s underrated D-line (Chris Clemons rather enjoyed facing left tackle Will Beatty).

The Dolphins have one of the game’s best all-around edge-rushers in Cameron Wake, the reigning AFC sack leader. His leverage and tenacity give him strength that’s much better than his size indicates. Wake has been oddly quiet in non-two minute situations this season, though he abused Denver’s somewhat lumbering right tackle, Orlando Franklin, last week.

Giants right tackle Kareem McKenzie is more polished than Franklin but has slower feet. He’ll need help. On the other side, Miami may have an under-the-radar pass-rushing talent in Jared Odrick, who somewhat resembles a thicker Jason Taylor.

Ravens vs. Cardinals
The Ravens offense owes everyone a good performance after ruining one of our 17 precious Monday night games. They should be able to get on track against a Cardinals defense that has struggled to generate a consistent pass-rush despite aggressive blitzes from new coordinator Ray Horton.

The intrigue is on the other side of the ball. Roughly two months after the trade and $20-million-plus investment in Kevin Kolb, some Cardinal fans are actually wondering if the 27-year-old quarterback should be benched. That’s the kind of ridiculous thinking that those who don’t actually contribute any skin in the game can get away with. Ken Whisenhunt knows that he’d never get another coaching job if he were to bench Kolb for John Skelton.

Kolb hasn’t been great, but he’s hardly the problem. Arizona’s “non-Fitzgerald” receivers have not been able to get open. General manager Rod Graves may deserve some heat for letting Steve Breaston get away this past offseason, though Graves’ logic was understandable at the time. Third-round rookie Andre Roberts showed intriguing potential as a speedy slasher last season.

Roberts looked like a future starter, and he cost a fraction of what Breaston would have cost. So Graves banked on him. Roberts has responded by failing to reach 40 yards receiving in every game this season. The good-looking prospect prior to Roberts, Early Doucet, has been equally ineffective.

Teams can sometimes get away with having only one quality wide receiver, but not if their offensive tackles stink. And there’s no denying that Levi Brown and Brandon Keith – two heavy-footed lumberers with inconsistent technique – stink.

So far Kolb has been awful when throwing off-balance. It’s doubtful he’ll get to be on balance much against a staunch Ravens D.

Bills vs. Redskins
Don’t pick the Redskins this week. It’s a matter of principle, if nothing else. No team should have expectations placed on it after making a change at quarterback and losing its top wide receiver, running back, tight end, left tackle and left guard in a two-week span. This will look like a preseason version of the Redskins. How will they cope?

It helps that Mike Shanahan’s system runs more fluidly with John Beck than it does with Rex Grossman. Beck is smoother reading the field and much better at play-action rollouts and bootlegs than Grossman. Accuracy is a bit of a concern, however. As for the other injuries and replacement ...

RB Tim Hightower (knee – out for season) had found his niche in this zone-run scheme, but he’ll be missed most in the passing game. Ryan Torain is a decent upright power-runner with a spring in his step, but he can’t stick pass-rushers the way Hightower could.

WR Santana Moss (hand – out 5-7 weeks) was Washington’s only creator on offense. He could generate his own space and turn an underneath catch into a 60-yard scamper. Either Niles Paul or Anthony Armstrong will replace him. Both have flashed at times, but neither is completely trustworthy. And, unlike with Moss, defenses won’t have to even ponder the possibility of double coverage.

TE Chris Cooley (finger, knee – out for season) was trending down and losing his role to Fred Davis prior to get hurting. Davis can fill Cooley’s receiving shoes. But the Redskins are now down a good in-line blocker in the run game. With Cooley and Davis, Washington had the benefit of balancing its formation with a viable pass-catching tight end on each side. This often compelled defenses to stay in basic front seven looks. New backup tight end Logan Paulsen won’t command that kind of respect.

LT Trent Williams (high ankle sprain – out 0-4 weeks) has missed most of the last two games. Pretty easy to identify the impact of his absence: backup Sean Locklear is experienced but much slower than Williams all-around.

LG Kory Lichtensteiger (knee – out for season) was one of the unheralded heroes for this team down the stretch last year and prior to going down in Week 6. Center Will Montgomery moved one spot to the left to fill Lichtensteiger’s void. Montgomery is interchangeable that way, but his replacement in the middle, Erik Cook, a seventh-round pick in ’10, was a noticeable downgrade coming off the bench. He had issues snapping the ball and was overwhelmed by defensive tackle Mike Peterson on a few plays. The Redskins can only hope those were Cook’s jitters working themselves out.

So who will win? Check our NFL expert picks for all Week 8 games. 

Follow @Andy_Benoit on Twitter or contact him at Andy.Benoit-at-NFLTouchdown.com.

Posted by Will Brinson

There's a reason why Tom Brady was the MVP in 2010 -- he closed out the season on a white-hot streak that saw him avoid throwing an interception from October 17 against the Ravens until the end of the season. That streak, obviously, carried over into 2011 ... but it didn't last long as a deflected pass ended Brady's streak at 358 when the Dolphins intercepted him.

On the Patriots first drive of the second half in Miami, Brady went to throw a screen on the left side to Julian Edelman. The pass got deflected and Jared Odrick grabbed it out of the air and streaked -- well, as best a big man can anyway -- to the end zone, only to be stopped by Deion Branch just short of a defensive touchdown.

Brady's streak is remarkable in that it spanned many, many months, but also because it marked an incredible run by the Patriots as a whole -- they didn't turn the ball over a single time in the final seven games of the 2010 season.

Here's some good news, though: Brady's interception-free streak might have been shattered on Monday, but he also crossed some pretty solid milestones as well.

Brady became the 18th player in NFL history to throw for 35,000 yards on Monday night, and with his 35th career 300-yard passing night, he now has the 11th-most 300-plus games in NFL history. John Elway (36 games) and Drew Bledsoe (37) should see themselves leapfrogged soon.

The Patriots franchise quarterback also extended a touchdown streak, having thrown two scores in 10 consecutive games as of Monday night.



For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Andy Benoit

Dolphins rookie defensive end Jared Odrick has been battling back from a fractured fibula suffered in the season opener against Buffalo. The first-round pick was hoping to return sometime around Week 5 (it was just a hairline fracture).

That will not be the case. Odrick was placed on Injured Reserve Wednesday night, according to Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network.

The Dolphins essentially became prepared to march forward without Odrick once coaches moved Randy Starks from nose tackle back to his more natural end position. Kendall Langford, inconsistent at times though very agile against the run, remains the other starting defensive end.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Here’s who IS active: Texans DE Mario Williams, Texans WR Jacoby Jones, Chargers LT Marcus McNeill, Browns QB Brett Ratliff (psst, he’s Colt McCoy’s backup), Browns RB Peyton Hillis (he’ll start), NT Haloti Ngata.

On to the inactives:

Chris Chambers, WR, Chiefs: He was a late addition to the injury report, after hurting his finger late in the week. Without Chambers, Terrance Cooper could get more work, and don’t forget that QB Matt Cassel still has TE Tony Moeaki.

James Sanders, S, Patriots: He originally replaced an injured Brandon Meriweather a few weeks ago, and now, Sanders has a hamstring problem. Look for Jarrad Page to move into Sanders’ role.

Terrence Wheatley, CB, Patriots: He returned to practice this week for the first time this season, and New England was hoping he could contribute this week to a young secondary. He won't.

Jared Odrick, DL, Dolphins: His rookie season is quickly becoming a disaster. He played in Week 1, but he’s been set back by a hairline fracture in his leg ever since. There was some thought he could play this week, but obviously, he’s not.

Legedu Naanee, WR, Chargers: Patrick Crayton will get the start in place of Naanee.

Josh Wilson, DB, Ravens: He’s been bothered by a sore hamstring, but it was thought he could play today. The big loss for Baltimore is his kickoff returning ability. Expect Jared Parmele to take his place.

Charlie Batch, QB, Steelers: With Ben Roethlisberger's return, Byron Leftwich officially takes over the Steelers backup job.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed .

Hot Routes are late today -- I apologize but it was unavoidable. (Things happened, and I did a Facebook chat. If you missed it, you should go back and check it out now .)

Also, if you'd like to submit something for consideration for the links below, follow us on Twitter (@CBSSportsNFL) .

• Steve Breaston is part of a group of Arizona Cardinals called the "Backpack Boys." This isn't -- as I hoped -- because they were part of an awkward boy band on the side. It's because Adrian Wilson (High Point, represent!) named them that when they carried book bags around. And apparently, they just "make plays."

• Brian Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings wrote that Chan Gailey should "get back to basics." Then, yesterday, Gailey said the same thing at his press conference. Let's just go out on a limb and assume that "basics" don't include "taking safeties on purpose while down three" or "misusing C.J. Spiller to the point that his fantasy owners start crying."

• Rhys Lloyd is now offically back with the Panthers . This is a good thing for Carolina because a) Lloyd is hysterical, b) he plays lots of golf with Matt Moore and surely Matt Moore needs something good in his life right now and c) if John Kasay had to handle kickoff duty, his arthritis would really kick in.

• Max Starks' injury, writes Ed Bouchette , isn't as serious as originally thought and he may miss only one game.

• Chad Ochocinco and Willis McGahee are involved a Twitter war leading up to the Cincinnati - Baltimore game this Sunday. I know it sounds crazy to say this, but this is the least shocking development of Week 2 in the NFL. I'm not sure whether that's a good or a bad thing for the world we live in, but it's something.

• Jared Odrick could miss up to a month, according to Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel . They've added Lionel Dotson to help make the line less bad.

• DeJuan Morgan has signed on with the Colts to help replace Bob Sanders. Obviously he can't do that entirely, but Morgan's a heck of a player and has plenty of talent, so he'll at least help.

• Pretty cool shirt designed by the NFLPA to help raise money to fight concussions. Er, to benefit concussion/traumatic brain injury anyway. (Fighting concussions is kind of silly -- really only awareness can do that.)

• The Dolphins are also taking a look at Adalius Thomas, according to a source of Mike Florio's . If that's the case, it seems pretty likely that they're doing it to block the Jets from going after him.

• Andrew Brandt has an awesome story at the National Football Post about trying to trade for Randy Moss when he worked for the Packers.

The Dolphins still are trying to make up for the loss of DE Philip Merling, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the offseason. After signing Marques Douglas to the squad on Tuesday, Miami took a chance on former New Orleans DE Charles Grant, inking him to a two-year deal.

As the Miami Herald writes, Grant has plenty to prove.

He missed the Saints playoff run last year because of a torn triceps muscle, and he has faced legal issues the past two years.

The Herald has the particulars:

Grant, you see, was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter stemming from a February 2008 altercation in a bar – what else? – in which a pregnant woman was shot to death. Grant initially denied being an instigator or a participant in the incident.

But that changed when the issue went to court. He pleaded no contest to affray, which means fighting. Assistant District Attorney Ron Smith told the Associated Press Grant was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $20,000 restitution to the Early County Sheriff's Office for his role in the fight.  Grant, who is from Colquitt, Ga., was stabbed in the neck during the fight in nearby Blakely that resulted in the death of 23-year-old Korynda Reed.

Smith said Grant's longtime friend, Laquient Macklin, and Grant's cousin, Marshae Stromer, pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and affray and paid $1,000 fines and were put on two years probation.

Grant won’t automatically move into a starting spot. He’ll have to compete with Douglas and Kendall Langford for that position – it appears first-round pick Jared Odrick will take the other DE spot – and Grant will play in a 3-4 defense for the first time. But based on past production, Grant, who’s more accomplished than any other DE on the Dolphins roster, will have a good shot at earning plenty of playing time.

--Josh Katzowitz

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed .