3 sneaky keys for the Miami Dolphins to get back on track vs the Chargers
By Matt Serniak
The Dolphin’s linebackers absolutely need to understand that Austin Ekeler will be asked to catch a ton of passes for the Chargers.
Once you get past the 1-2 wow throws that Justin Herbert attempts and sometimes completes per game, you’ll notice that the biggest threat in the Charger’s offense is throwing to Austin Ekeler.
Our guy Treek Hill leads the league in receptions with 96. Take a wild guess who is 4th with 85 grabs. That’s right, it’s Austin Ekeler. Ekeler also comes in ranked 9th in targets.
Yes even though Justin Herbert is crazy talented and can make any throw that can be thought of, the crack team of offensive coaches in Los Angeles is running an offense straight out of 2005 or earlier. Remember when the Dolphins ran a dumb outdated offense just last year? Couldn’t be us now.
Jerome Baker, Elandon Roberts, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jaelan Phillips, and whoever else will be in situations where they have Ekeler have to realize that Herbert will often dump the ball off to him. And Ekeler is skilled enough to do a ton of damage when he catches it. This means that tackling, something that the Dolphin’s defense hasn’t been too swell at this year, needs to be better this week.
I wrote earlier this week that one of Miami’s biggest issues on Sunday against the 49ers was 2nd down defense. When it’s 2nd and long, Boyer and the defense need to understand that there is a high probability that Herbert will be checking it down in an effort to get a 3rd and manageable.
Like any QB, making them have to throw on 3rd and long is crucial to a defense’s success. We know Herbert is going to Ekeler short, so I don’t know maybe lock on him a little bit.