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thehef · 09-11-2023, 06:41 AM

Wifey and I went to the Dolphins/Chargers game at Sofi. A really cool Father's Day gift from my daughters. And what a game! Just a few quick observations:

1. Sofi is quite the spectacle. The last NFL I game I attended was Dolphins/Raiders in 1983 (which, btw, was Dan Marino's first NFL game), so it's been a minute, and my frame of reference is is not exactly current. But a very impressive edifice!

2. I was of course aware that the Chargers don't enjoy much of a home field advantage, that the LA-area fans of pretty much every visiting team converge on Sofi when their team comes to town. Still, I was blown away by the massive presence of the Miami crowd. Especially the explosion when Miami scored their final TD (that put them ahead for good); which was only outdone by the tremendous roar as a result of the Dolphins' sack of Herbert to clinch the game.

3. Being a long-suffering (redundant?) Dolphins fan, I found it all really cool! A great game to break my unintentional 40-year hiaitus!

4. I'm not a Tua fan. I think he's a really great kid, but I'm just not sold. He seems to do fine when his very talented receivers are the primary target and they are open. But I'm not sure he's ever actually checked off; he throws into double and triple coverage regularly. True, he also makes plays. But his two turnovers against the Chargers were very costly. Without those, Miami probably cruises to 10 to 14 point win. So I stick by my prediction that he will be yet another in a long line of highly-touted QB's who are thought for a time to be a franchise's cornerstone, only to end up holding a clipboard a few years later. We shall see.

5. While the Chargers haven't had the best of luck with coaches (the last one was pretty much a dud, as I recall), rather than being an indication of a poorly run organization, yesterday's loss was just one of those things. It went down to the wire, Hebert made a key mistake (the intentional grounding that was a borderline call), and Miami's defense - which hadn't made many stands all day - surprised the Chargers by blitzing on the final drive. Too soon to say for sure, but the Chargers are decent, and Miami is probably the slightly better team.

09-11-2023, 06:41 AM	#37
thehef Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,380	Wifey and I went to the Dolphins/Chargers game at Sofi. A really cool Father's Day gift from my daughters. And what a game! Just a few quick observations: 1. Sofi is quite the spectacle. The last NFL I game I attended was Dolphins/Raiders in 1983 (which, btw, was Dan Marino's first NFL game), so it's been a minute, and my frame of reference is is not exactly current. But a very impressive edifice! 2. I was of course aware that the Chargers don't enjoy much of a home field advantage, that the LA-area fans of pretty much every visiting team converge on Sofi when their team comes to town. Still, I was blown away by the massive presence of the Miami crowd. Especially the explosion when Miami scored their final TD (that put them ahead for good); which was only outdone by the tremendous roar as a result of the Dolphins' sack of Herbert to clinch the game. 3. Being a long-suffering (redundant?) Dolphins fan, I found it all really cool! A great game to break my unintentional 40-year hiaitus! 4. I'm not a Tua fan. I think he's a really great kid, but I'm just not sold. He seems to do fine when his very talented receivers are the primary target and they are open. But I'm not sure he's ever actually checked off; he throws into double and triple coverage regularly. True, he also makes plays. But his two turnovers against the Chargers were very costly. Without those, Miami probably cruises to 10 to 14 point win. So I stick by my prediction that he will be yet another in a long line of highly-touted QB's who are thought for a time to be a franchise's cornerstone, only to end up holding a clipboard a few years later. We shall see. 5. While the Chargers haven't had the best of luck with coaches (the last one was pretty much a dud, as I recall), rather than being an indication of a poorly run organization, yesterday's loss was just one of those things. It went down to the wire, Hebert made a key mistake (the intentional grounding that was a borderline call), and Miami's defense - which hadn't made many stands all day - surprised the Chargers by blitzing on the final drive. Too soon to say for sure, but the Chargers are decent, and Miami is probably the slightly better team.