San Diego Chargers vs. Miami Dolphins: Complete Week 9 Preview for Miami
A little less than a year ago, the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers met at Sun Life Stadium in Miami with playoffs on the mind of both teams.
The Dolphins would win that day thanks to a great effort from Charles Clay on offense mixed in with a defense that got to Philip Rivers constantly and held a high-powered Chargers offense to 16 points.
The Dolphins are going to have to win in an almost identical fashion this season, as the two are set to lock up this Sunday in a pivotal Week 9 matchup—one that, like in 2013, will have an effect on the AFC playoff race.
"Now Tommy," you might ask, "wasn't it the Chargers who made the playoffs while Miami stayed at home?"
Yes, it was. However, in order for the Chargers to get into the playoffs, they needed Miami to lose its final two games of the regular season. The Dolphins obliged to their request, which meant that they finished 8-8 and the Chargers finished 9-7 and advanced.
The Dolphins earned an advantage in the tiebreaker over the Chargers (head-to-head), an advantage that they squandered but still had. The same advantage is up for grabs as the Chargers go into the game at 5-3, while Miami is 4-3.
A win for the Dolphins puts them at 5-3 and a half-game ahead of the Chargers, plus the tiebreaker, thus making this game a true must-win.
Here's a preview of this must-win game, one with severe playoff implications.
Miami Dolphins Week 8 Recap
1 of 5Can you win by two touchdowns and come away unsatisfied with your performance?
You could if you were the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 in a game that saw them defeat one of the worst teams in the NFL in one of the sloppiest and most unremarkable fashions you could imagine.
Miami's offense struggled throughout the first half, as the offense only managed to score three points on their own and held the ball for merely eight minutes and 34 seconds against the reeling Jacksonville Jaguars.
The offense would pick up in the second half, as they would string together long drives and wind up holding onto the ball for 19 minutes and three seconds. However, they only managed to score 10 points on their own in the second half.
The defense made up the difference in points thanks to a Louis Delmas pick-six in the second quarter, then Brent Grimes did the same in the third. By the time Ryan Tannehill hooked up with Mike Wallace in the third quarter, the game was essentially over, with the Dolphins breaking the back of the Jaguars and scoring three plays later thanks to a Tannehill-to-Rishard Matthews three-yard connection.
A lot has to be cleaned up from that Jacksonville game on offense, while the defense (which bended plenty but didn't break) will have to be more stout. Miami allowed the Jaguars to gain 377 yards last Sunday, with 226 of those yards gained in the first half.
News and Notes
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Mike Wallace Offers Pointed Criticism of the Offense
Mike Wallace saw what we all saw last Sunday against Jacksonville: an inconsistent offense that at times bordered on poor.
While we all might have thought this way, it takes Wallace, Miami's leading wide receiver, to say something about it.
Say something he did, as earlier this week he told reporters (per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald): “We didn’t do nothing. Our offense was [expletive]. We’ve got to do better.”
I can't disagree with the man here. For the first 30 minutes of the game, that offense was bowling-shoe ugly. Even in the second half when they picked up some momentum, it still didn't perform up to par.
As Wallace would put it, “We’re not going to get nowhere like that,” which is certainly the truth.
Wallace isn't speaking out of turn here, as Tannehill felt the same way right after the game.
"Tannehill not at all happy with the way the Dolphins offense played. Uses the word "unacceptable."
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 26, 2014"
"Tannehill: "We didn't put those points up today. The defense put those points up."
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 26, 2014"
The two main players on offense feel there's a problem, and there is. I don't think the problem is with offensive coaching though, but rather the execution of the players. Both Wallace and Tannehill seem to blame the execution in both statements here.
Dan Marino Working With Ryan Tannehill
With the offense struggling, it would help if Tannehill had a player who has been through situations like these before (and was able to get out of them) to help guide him.
Perhaps the greatest pure passer in NFL history could be of assistance?
That appears to be the case down in Davie, as this piece from FoxSports.com's Jameson Olive points out.
In the piece, Tannehill raves about Marino, saying:
"Dan's been great. He's been around a lot, as of recent. I've watched tape with him. He's been in the TV room, he's a great resource to have around with his knowledge of the game and, obviously, with the success he's had in his career.
I appreciate, like I said, the knowledge he has of the game and the little insights that he can point out. Just him being around and showing that he cares, it's nice.
He's always just pointing out little things on tape. Whether it's receiver's routes or something I'm doing, he's good at picking up little things and passing them along.
"
That is a tremendous resource to have behind you, and one hopes that Tannehill doesn't waste such an opportunity.
From the looks of it, he's not. Marino can be seen at Dolphins practice once or twice a week now ever since he accepted a role in Miami's front office in August. His observations of Tannehill during practice must also be a great help in discussing his play and the position during their film sessions.
Jarvis Landry Named AFC Special Teams Player of The Month
I'm a huge Jarvis Landry fan, but not a fan of Jarvis Landry returning kickoffs and punts.
The joke might be on me, as he was named the AFC Special Teams Player of The Month for October, according to Omar Kelly of The Sun-Sentinel.
In the three games Miami played in October, Landry returned five kickoffs for 178 yards, an average of 35.6 yards per return.
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury | Injury Status |
| Chris McCain | Linebacker | Foot | Probable |
| Dion Sims | Tight End | Toe | Out |
| Daryn Colledge | Guard | Illness/Back | Questionable |
| Charles Clay | Tight End | Knee | Probable |
| Nate Garner | Guard | Neck | Probable |
| Koa Misi | Linebacker | Ankle | Questionable |
| Mike Pouncey | Guard/Center | Hip | Probable |
| Jimmy Wilson | Defensive Back | Hamstring | Probable |
| John Denney | Long Snapper | Knee | Probable |
| Cortland Finnegan | Cornerback | Neck | Probable |
Injury report courtesy of MiamiDolphins.com as of 10/31/2014 and will be updated as injury statuses change.
Miami will likely have to insert either Dallas Thomas or Shelley Smith at left guard with Daryn Colledge continuing to suffer through the effects of the migraine that knocked him out of last Sunday's game, along with a back injury that was added to the injury report on Thursday.
Being without Dion Sims will also be big, as he's used in two-tight end sets as a blocker. In terms of pass-catching this might give rookie Harold "Gator" Hoskins a chance to shine, however it's likely that there will be fewer two-tight end packages.
While Mike Pouncey is participating in practice, it is disconcerting to see him on the injury list with a hip ailment, as he had surgery on his hip prior to training camp and was held out of the first four games of the season due to his recovery from it. From the looks of it, everything is a go for Pouncey, but keep a close eye on his injury.
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X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
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I previewed some of these matchups in an article on Wednesday.
Here's a quick summary of two of the most important matchups.
Cameron Wake vs. D.J. Fluker
In order to stop the Chargers' high-powered offense, Miami has to get to Philip Rivers.
Cameron Wake is the most important player in this scheme to do that, and he'll be matched up with Chargers second-year right tackle D.J. Fluker.
Fluker was horrible last season, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), grading out at minus-11.8 in pass-blocking. Against the Dolphins, Fluker graded at minus-5.1, while Cameron Wake recorded one sack and two hurries in the contest.
Branden Albert vs. Corey Liuget
Branden Albert and Corey Liuget are familiar with each other, so we should see a great battle between Miami's offensive lineman and one of San Diego's pass-rushers.
Liuget's main job will likely be to occupy Albert in order to allow right outside linebacker Dwight Freeney to get to Tannehill, but in the past it has been Liuget who's had an upper hand in this battle.
With Miami likely relying on Dallas Thomas or Shelley Smith at guard this week, Albert and the rest of the Dolphins' line will be challenged.
X-Factor: Brian Hartline
Earlier this week, our always excellent Dolphins Featured Columnist Ian Wharton pointed out some great hard data explaining why it might be in Miami's best interest to sit Brian Hartline.
Wharton explains that Hartline's production has declined due to his problems gaining separation on his routes, as well as his drops.
Every Dolphins fan has seen it, and I've pointed it out during our live blogs and report cards as well. On top of that, Jarvis Landry has been productive when called upon in Miami's offense, while Rishard Matthews and Brandon Gibson have shown themselves to be very productive in the last two years.
I'm on board with benching Hartline, but I'm willing to give him another shot, which is why I'm making him our X-factor of the game.
Hartline will be competing against one of the worst secondaries in the NFL, and that's with Brandon Flowers possibly coming back on Sunday (per Michael Gehlken of The San Diego Union-Tribune).
Flowers will likely play on Wallace, meaning Hartline should get plenty of chances to shine.
Will he take advantage of it? Will he catch the ball? That remains to be seen, but if he does, Miami has a great shot.
Prediction
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Both the Dolphins and the Chargers are better going into their 2014 clash than they were going into their 2013 battle.
Miami's offense, despite some struggles, has looked better. Rivers has looked better in 2014, and both teams have new, young weapons.
Despite that, I don't see this game ending the same way as 2013's game did.
This game was a coin-flip to me, which last season's matchup was as well. Even after studying both teams and seeing which matchups give which team an advantage, I still found it difficult to pick a winner.
The Dolphins will have to get to Rivers, but keep in mind that Rivers has a quick release. He was only sacked once against Miami last season, but he was hurried plenty of times.
That will have to be the case on Sunday, but an extra sack would help immensely.
Miami's run game will have to be better than last season's, which it already has been. However, it would help to execute more run plays, which the Dolphins seemed to have gotten away from in their last two games.
Looking at everything, I have a score in mind (27-24). However, I still need to flip that coin.
Heads: Dolphins
Tails: Chargers.
"How I predicted #DolphinsvsChargers https://t.co/3yDXyNkhhg
— Thomas Galicia (@thomasgalicia) October 31, 2014"
Prediction: Chargers 27, Dolphins 24
Statistics provided by pro-football-reference.com and NFL.com unless otherwise noted.
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