Miami Dolphins coaching staff not looking past the San Diego Chargers

Written by Matthew Cannata at 10:30 AM EST | Twitter: @PhinManiacs

The Miami Dolphins coaching staff isn’t looking past the San Diego Chargers with a tough stretch of games coming up and so far, they’ve been able to get that message across to the players. Kevin Coyle emphasized this fact when he spoke earlier this week.

“We spend most of our time talking about what is necessary to win this game. We did speak today a little bit about these games as you get to the middle of the season do take on a little bit more significance, especially when you are playing conference teams that are similar to you in where they are in the season because, down the road, there will be some consequences to these games. Our players are aware of it, but they know the challenge of the Chargers coming in is going to be a big one. We know we need to continue to put some wins together to start getting ourselves in position to do what we want to do.”

“A month from now, yeah we can talk about it. Right now, we’ll know something more come Sunday facing a good team like the Chargers. We know that, as we prepare for each one of these games, if we put all three phases together, we’ve seen how good we can be in each individual phase at different times of the season. We have to do it more collectively as a group, as Coach (Joe) Philbin says all the time. You have to play complementary football on every phase. If we do that, we will be able to play with anybody as we’ve demonstrated.”

Joe Philbin understands the importance of the game and understands the fact that it’s a big game in the overall picture of the season, especially when it comes down to the wild-card race. He’s looking forward to the stadium environment and the opportunity for his team.

“Sure, it’s a big game. This is a really good measuring stick for our football team. San Diego is a well-balanced team. They are a good team. They are a playoff team from a year ago that won a game in the playoffs, and they are off to another good start this year. It’s an important football game for us. It’s a great opportunity. We should have a great crowd here on Sunday. It’s a big game. It’s an important game.”

While it won’t mean the end of the season and playoff hopes for the Dolphins if they lose on Sunday, it will be a big blow and could back to haunt them at the end of the season when playoff seeds are being determined. Let’s hope they take care of business in their own stadium and put another win up in the standings.

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