(0-2) Miami Dolphins at (1-1) San Diego Chargers (-6.5) 1:15 PST
WHEN MIAMI HAS THE BALL:
If the Dolphins even come close to their offensive output Monday night against the Colts they should be fine provided the drives end with 7 instead of settling for 3. This Chargers front 4 will be a lot harder to push around than the Colts were and you can be sure that San Diego will make the necessary Wildcat adjustments the Colts neglected to make thus putting the ball in Fins Offensive Coordinator Dan Henning’s court. The success Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and even Patrick Cobbs last week on the ground (61-239) including 12-107 out of the Wildcat formation should really open some passing lanes this week that Chad Pennington and the receiving corps must exploit. That said the Chargers are extremely talented in the Secondary and especially at corner where Ted Ginn and Rich Camarillo will think they’re driving around Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie in the “Ride Along” program. TE Anthony Fasano is set to have a big day as the middle of the field and down the seams is probably where the Chargers are most vulnerable provided Miami is effectively running the ball. It also goes without saying but the Dolphins WR’s and I suppose we can include Ginn in that category have to contribute and at the very least pose enough of a threat to keep keep the secondary on their heels and not jumping routes and helping in run support. It’s key that Miami is successful on the ground to keep Shawn Merriman from pinning back his ears with missile lock on Pennington.
WHEN SAN DIEGO HAS THE BALL:
Unfortunately, San Diego is a horrible matchup for the Dolphins defense. LaDanian Tomlinson will almost certainly be out for this game and surprisingly that scares me more than him playing. The slippery Darren Sproles will be all over the field driving Dolphin defenders crazy and TE Antonio Gates has been relatively silent thus far leading one to believe that he’s due for a monster game. Phillip Rivers has a number of weapons to choose from so if Miami misses tackles and blow assignments like they did Monday they will get blown out of the stadium. In addition to those three another threat that cannot be taken lightly is emerging star WR Vincent Jackson and his 6’5” frame to go along with excellent strength, hands, route running and play making ability. The Chargers offense is no joke and it will take a herculean effort to contain them and the defense will have to force turnovers to keep the Chargers inevitable point total at a minimum.
KEY MATCH-UP:
Darren Sproles Vs. Dolphins Linebackers
The success of the Dolphins defense versus this potent Chargers offense rides squarely on how well they can contain Darren Sproles. He will be all over the field in every formation designed to catch Miami in a bad matchup where Sproles can get the ball in space and in man to man situations where either Channing Crowder, a banged up Akin Ayodele or Quentin Moses find themselves in the impossible task of covering him. It’s key that the Miami stuffs the run and contains Sproles and the constant barrage of screen plays, dumps, check offs and swing passes he will most certainly be receiveing. Bottom line: Miami must force someone else to beat them, not Darren Sproles.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN:
Each team is coming off a loss but the Chargers are in cruise control for the AFC West crown while the Dolphins are essentially playing a play off game considering that no team in NFL history has ever reached the Super Bowl after starting 0-3. Granted, the deck is stacked against the Dolphins having to make the west coast trip on a short week coming off one of the most demoralizing losses since the Dan Marino era but lost all the hoopla surrounding the fashion in which Miami lost is that they did, in fact, play an excellent game. I believe the Dolphins are well aware of the importance of this game and will match last week’s intensity and play an inspired game and get each of the two things they’ve lacked most, turnovers and a big play offensively.
Dolphins 30
Chargers 27
No comments:
Post a Comment