Don’t Overlook Miami Dolphins Talent… Team Comparison

When looking at the week 4 matchup of the San Diego Chargers(2-1) hosting the winless Miami Dolphins(0-3) it wouldn’t be uncommon to quickly predict a Chargers victory. However, Chargers could very easily have been 1-2 coming out of week 3 had it not have been for the game saving play by Eric Weddle making a clutch interception. In my opinion, Miami doesn’t have the 0-3 record due to a lack of roster talent. I feel that they are severely hindered by head coach Tony Sporano who is currently looked at as being on the “hot seat” for his job. Sporano will be looking to pull any and all tricks out of his bag to make some magic happen when the Dolphins enter Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday.

Roster Comparison: Dolphins/Chargers1. Brandon Marshall – Lets compare him to our elite WR Vincent Jackson!Brandon Marshall– 2011 stats: 17 rec, 241 yds, 1 TD.Vincent Jackson – 2011 stats: 17 rec, 266 yds, 2 TD.Marshall has been one of the most targeted wideouts in the league thus far in the 2011 season. He possesses raw freak-of-nature talent and big play ability. QB Chad Henne and Marshall have clearly worked out their timing issues from last season and will put our DB’s to the test on Sunday. If the hamstring injury for Jammer proves to be anything but minor, we could be looking at a long day. Bowe tested our “Jammerless” defense and proved that it was beatable and I think Marshall can match Bowe in talent any day of the week.

2. Daniel Thomas/Reggie Bush tandemLet’s compare them to the Ryan Mathews/Mike Tolbert tandemThomas: 41 att, 202 yds. Bush: 27 att, 69 yds.Mathews: 45 att, 207 yds. Tolbert: 25 att, 64 yds.The Dolphins are quietly one of the better rushing teams in the league right now. Currently, they are ranked 7th overall with just under 130 yds per game. If there has been one “Achilles heel” of the Bolts defense this year it has been the rush defense. Currently we are ranked 19th after allowing an average of 111 yards per game on the ground so far this season. Thomas Jones struggled to manage any sort of production on the ground against us last week, whereas Dexter McCluster was the game changer for the Chiefs. Reggie Bush is a bigger, faster, more experienced version of Dexter McCluster and will test out defense in the screen-pass/check-down areas.

3. Chad HenneLet’s compare him to Rivers this seasonHenne: 61 completions, 841 yds, AVG 7.8 yds, 4 TD, 3 INT, Long Pass 41 ydsRivers: 86 completions, 979 yds, AVG 7.8 yds, 4 TD, 6 INT, Long Pass 37 ydsIn no way shape or form am I suggesting that Henne should be categorized in the same group as Rivers. Rivers is an elite QB who knows how to win, and is without a healthy Antonio Gates (his favorite target). Both QB’s have faced New England already with nearly the same results. As far as competition goes, I think Henne will test us more than we think.