Chargers Need Mettle to Stop Marino : Pro football: Dolphins quarterback enters today’s game on a hot streak, so Chargers need tight coverage, improved pressure and ball-control offense.
SAN DIEGO — After all that has gone wrong, well, it doesn’t seem fair:
Quarterback Dan Marino versus the Chargers’ pass defense. Dolphin wide receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper matched against cornerback Donald Frank.
What’s the record for most touchdown passes thrown in a game? In a half?
“Marino is amazing,” said Jim Mora, the Chargers’ defensive backs coach. “He makes some throws that are just unbelievable. Perfect coverage, perfect technique and somehow the ball still gets in there.
“You’re never going to be completely successful against him, and it’s like I told the guys, you just can’t get frustrated--you have to hang in there, hang in there and just keep hanging in there. The guy is one of the greatest of all time, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Marino needs one more four-touchdown game to match Johnny Unitas’ NFL record of 17 career games with four or more touchdown passes. The last time Marino played the Chargers in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium he didn’t have a very good day--he threw three touchdown passes.
“Even if we do our job that’s still no guarantee he won’t have a great day,” cornerback Gill Byrd said. “That’s just how good he is.”
Marino has a 1-2 mark against the Chargers but has averaged 319 yards passing. He warmed up for his trip here by throwing five touchdown passes in his past two games, while not throwing an interception.
Marino’s hot, and the Dolphins (8-6) have the opportunity to advance to the playoffs. A victory for Miami today, and Cleveland and Seattle will be eliminated from the race for the final AFC wild-card slot. If the Dolphins defeat the Chargers and the Patriots upset the Jets, Miami will clinch a playoff berth.
“Don (Shula) will have them ready to play,” Charger Coach Dan Henning said. “I think they’ll throw it. He’s certainly done his homework and talked to people in our division, and that’s where he’s going to believe we’re weak.
“He’s got the guns to do that. There’s no need worrying about it. I told Ron (Lynn, defensive coordinator) we’ve got to find a way to get some picks (interceptions). We have to stop some drives other than depending on them to misfire. We’ve got to take the ball away a couple of times.”
It just doesn’t seem fair . . . The best way to force Marino into making mistakes is to put pressure on him; the worst part of the Chargers’ defense has been its pass rush.
The Chargers’ defense has 21 sacks--fourth lowest total in the league. The Chargers’ defense had 42 sacks last year at this time.
“We’re going to try and do some different things in coverage,” Mora said, “and hopefully make him hold the ball just a second longer so our rush can get there.”
Linebacker Leslie O’Neal, who is considered the team’s top pass rusher, began his NFL career in 1986 pursuing Marino. The Chargers’ defensive coaching staff credited O’Neal with an astonishing 13 “pressures” on Marino, but he failed to earn a sack.
“We’ve got to get someone in his face,” O’Neal said. “They’ve got real short receivers, so on any of the 10- to 15-yard passes, if we get our hands up, we can knock down some passes.
“I think more than anything, the third downs will be crucial in this game. If we can make the plays on third downs to get off the field, I think that’s the key to the game.”
If the Chargers’ defense can slap handcuffs on Marino, the Chargers’ offense will try to imprison him on the sideline by hogging the ball.
“We know what Marino can do,” Charger center Courtney Hall said, “so we’re going to try and keep it out of his hands.”
The Chargers run the ball well, and the Dolphins do not do a very good job of stopping teams who run the ball well. Miami has gone through five different nose tackles, and both of its starting inside linebackers have been lost with injuries.
Miami’s defense ranks No. 26 in stopping the run; the Chargers’ rushing offense remains No. 3 in the league, although the team has placed a larger emphasis on throwing the ball recently.
Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas ran 25 times for 165 yards against the Dolphins’ run defense and then came back later in the season to run 23 times for 135 yards. Detroit’s Barry Sanders picked up 143 yards and Kansas City’s Christian Okoye piled up 153. Hello, Marion Butts, Rod Bernstine and Ronnie Harmon.
“They play a seven-man front, and if you play a seven-man front against our offense we can usually hurt you,” Bernstine said. “I don’t know if they’ll change, but if they don’t, it might be that our running attack will work.”
Bernstine ran for more than 100 yards twice earlier this season and averaged more than five yards a carry before injuring his back. Marion Butts replaced Bernstine in the starting lineup, but has failed to roll up the yardage that earned him an invitation to the Pro Bowl last season.
“We need to control the ball,” Butts said. “We do that, and the game will be over.”
Butts ran for more than 100 yards five times last season; he has yet to hit the century mark this season.
“We’ll test them with the run,” Henning said.
Whatever happens, the outcome figures to ride on the final moments of the fourth quarter. The Chargers are 2-4 in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium this season and each games has been decided by six or fewer points.
“We’ve got the chance to play spoiler to some people and have a good time,” Charger nose tackle Joe Phillips said. “It will be fun for the fans, too. They have the opportunity in the next two weeks to watch probably the two best quarterbacks in the league with Dan Marino and John Elway.
“Plus, they get the chance to watch us.”
