Chargers make their LA debut against well-rested Dolphins
>> CARSON: Coach Anthony Lynn recognises the Chargers are facing many unknowns this weekend in their official return to the Los Angeles market after 56 seasons away.
Those concerns are nothing compared to the excitement of a new start.
The Chargers (0-1) will host their first regular-season game on Monday morning (Thai time) in the NFL’s smallest stadium against the Miami Dolphins, who are playing their first game of the season after their opener was postponed by Hurricane Irma.
The Dolphins will also send out new quarterback Jay Cutler, while the Chargers had only a short week of recovery and preparation for their LA debut.
Lynn feels he knows a few things for certain, however. For starters, he expects the Chargers to get an immediate boost from playing in the league’s cosiest confines at StubHub Center.
“The players love it,’’ Lynn said. “Some of those guys were surprised how much. They even asked me if you could put another deck on StubHub because they liked it so much... The fields are outstanding. The grounds crew there, they get those fields ready for soccer players, and that ball has to roll a certain way, so that field is one of the best fields I’ve ever been on.’’
The Dolphins have had plenty of time to get acclimated to the West Coast: They’ve spent a full week in Oxnard, California, after leaving south Florida early with their families to avoid the hurricane.
The Dolphins could fight rust in most starters’ first game action in 3½ weeks, or they could be well-rested and ready to build on the promise of last year’s 10-6 campaign and their first play-off berth since 2008.
“It’s always tough to be affected by something you can’t control, like the weather,’’ Miami’s Jarvis Landry said. “It’s definitely nerve-racking when it’s affecting so many different people. Being out here for a week, we’ve been able to focus on getting our jobs done. It’s been great for us, and I don’t expect it to hurt us at all.’’