Dolphins specialize in close games
This Monday's Miami Dolphins-San Diego Chargers game was supposed to be an emotional homecoming for Junior Seau, but the NFL was forced to move the game to Arizona. But Seau won't treat this like just another game.
Seau inadvertently created a stir in the week leading up to the game when he told reporters the way to stop LaDainian Tomlinson was to "give him watermelon and load him up with fried chicken and tell him to keep eating." But in the context that Seau spoke those words, he clearly didn't mean any harm.
From the information I gathered, they served fried chicken and watermelon in the Chargers locker room on Fridays. Seau and Tomlinson are good friends who often ate together. I like Tomlinson's comments that if they were serving fried chicken and watermelon, nobody would eat more than Seau.
Tomlinson didn't make a big deal about it, and I'm so glad of that. People in sports say so many things that get blown out of context. Athletes can find interviews on a regular basis to be difficult because everybody scrutinizes every word that's said. Seau could have made a better choice of words, but he wasn't being mean spirited. He wasn't racist.
Seau still feels like he has a lot to prove to Marty Schottenheimer and the front office of San Diego. He has a lot of pride and a lot of good football left in him. You'll see him flying all around, and there's a good chance he'll bump into Tomlinson along the way.
Not only this year, but the last several years under Dave Wannstedt, the Dolphins have struggled in tight games. Even when they've played well, they often haven't scored enough points to blow out people. Teams around the league aren't afraid of Miami despite the Dolphins' great talent. Miami's opponents play with a lot of confidence.
Other teams saw what the outmanned Texans and Patriots did, and they feel they can also pull off the upset.
As for San Diego, the Chargers are playing a lot better, even though they were the last team in the league to record a win. LaDainian Tomlinson plus Drew Brees plus David Boston equals talent at the skill positions. But the offensive line is a big question mark. The Dolphin defensive line should have a field day.
The Chargers will be pumped to face Seau, and even though their home-field advantage is gone, I think San Diego will keep it close. But I'm picking Miami to win another close one.
