The Dolphins will host the Jets in London next season in part because they "didn't want to give up home games" against the Giants, Cowboys, Colts or Patriots, according to Andrew Abramson of the PALM BEACH POST. The Dolphins also will play the Texans at home in '15, but that "wasn’t seen as an attractive matchup abroad." A Jets-Dolphins game in London is seen as a "positive for the league because the Dolphins are popular in Great Britain and the Jets are based in the world’s media capital." Dolphins CB Cortland Finnegan said that he "loves playing in London and that it’s good for the team." But when he realized the Dolphins would be playing the Jets in the U.K. instead of in South Florida, he said, “That stinks. That’s not cool.” Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross "did not respond to a request for comment" (PALM BEACH POST, 11/7). In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde notes every NFL team "has the same rule of exempting three opponents as the 'home' team in London." The Patriots were the "first opponent to be exempt from the London trip," and it "was an easy choice." They are an AFC East opponent and a team that "annually sells out Sun Life Stadium." The other three teams on the list "presented the real issue." The Cowboys are a "big, popular team that would be a certain sell-out." They also "hadn't played" in Sun Life Stadium since '07, while the Giants "haven't played in South Florida" since '96. Hyde: "Finally, there were the Jets. A top rival. A division opponent. But a team that plays here every season. And a team that sells a good number of tickets but typically doesn't sell out" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 11/7).
JET FUELED: The SUN-SENTINEL's Hyde wrote the NFL moving the game to London "isn't just wrong for the Dolphins and their fans to lose a division rival from the home schedule. It's historically wrong." Hyde: "Do you see New England's Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick signing on for this? Of course not." The decision "isn't a move the football side of the Dolphins can be happy about." If the league "wanted to schedule the Dolphins against one of the five out-of-division opponents, that wouldn't sting fans as much." Hyde: "Did the league understand the outcry from fans that will accompany that? Did Steve Ross?" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 11/7).
THE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW: In Miami, Adam Beasley notes Sun Life Stadium's renovation plans "might be a factor" in the Dolphins playing in London, as it "would give contractors time to do work that they might not otherwise have." While it was "unclear whether the Dolphins would have their bye immediately following the London game, as was the case this year, NFL.com first reported that the Dolphins will indeed have the weekend of Oct. 11 off." That would "create at least a three-week window" between home games (MIAMI HERALD, 11/7).
