Dolphins prove that greatness is long past

Dave George ment on Monday night.

Maybe the mistake was in outfifitting the team in 1966 throwback uniforms and helmets. After all, Miami was 3-11 in that expansion season and the only South Floridian who showed much enthusiasm for them was the famous Flipper himself, leaping and splashing in his end-zone tank.

Maybe the mistake was in scheduling the franchise’s

to interim head coach in October.

Miami lost an entertaining game to the Giants on Monday night, giving up four touchdown passes to quarterback Eli Manning and 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns to receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

“I make damn sure that it stings and it hurts because the minute you go numb to that, then you’re just a loser,” Campbell said. “I want it to hurt. It motivates me and it pisses me off. It’s not too much for me to handle. To me, that’s how you get motivated to win because you get tired of losing and it stinks.”

Campbell said the Dolphins will still be playing for the love of the game, beginning Sunday in San Diego.

“We created our own mess,” he said. “We’re responsible for it. But now, we’ll find out who really loves it. We’ll find out who wants to finish this thing out and who wants to play for the logo on the helmet and who wants to play for the logo on the jersey.”

Campbell declined to address his future, which is in doubt. He’s 4-5 after replacing former coach Joe Philbin, who started the season 1-3.

“I just want to win,” Campbell said. “And all I care about is San Diego. I just want to finish this season out. That’s it.”

The Dolphins will face a 3-10 Chargers team who could be playing their final game in San Diego. They are considering a move to Los Angeles after the season.

Miami has defeated San Diego the past two seasons, and the Chargers have lost eight of their past nine games this season, but Campbell said they’re still a dangerous team with quarterback Philip Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates.

“(They’re a) team that’s dying for a win right now and we’re going to get everything they’ve got,” Campbell said. “They also have one hell of a quarterback, one hell of a tight end. They’ve got enough fight in them. They present their own challenges, so if we go out there and we’re not ready, they’ll beat the crap out of us.”

Campbell didn’t make many excuses for the Dolphins’ Monday woes, including the decline of Brent Grimes.

Grimes, a Pro Bowl cornerback the past two seasons, has struggled for weeks.

Grimes dealt with a knee injury earlier this season, but Campbell said he’s “completely healthy” now and teams are simply making plays on him.

Campbell tried explaining why he went away from running back Lamar Miller in the second half Monday after Miller ran seven times for 69 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

Miller appeared to be getting sideline treatment on his ankle, but he said after the game he was not injured and was just having his ankles taped.

Campbell said Tuesday he believes Miller was hurt, but that the Dolphins also went away from the run in the second half because the team was getting in second- and third-and-long situations.

“I saw him limp off the field,” Campbell said. “So at that point, I was just trying to manage the game.

“We get a holding, we get a false start, we come out and run it for 1 (yard). When you’re not efficient on first or second down when you run the ball, you put yourself in a bind. You want to run it on second and 10 and now all of a sudden it’s third-and-10, and that’s a problem.”

Campbell was highly critical of the team’s personal fouls. Jarvis Landry was called for a key unnecessary roughness on the Dolphins’ final drive.

Olivier Vernon and Jordan Phillips each had roughing-the-passer calls.

“The ones where guys are scratching and claw- ing to make plays and something happens — hey, man, that’s part of the game,” Campbell said. “Those are the ones you have to be able to overcome because sometimes those happen. But the ones you’re talking about are totally inexcusable. There’s nothing that’s OK about that.”

With the Dolphins officially out of the playoff picture, Campbell said he will look to some younger players down the stretch, including cornerback Tony Lippett, a raw but talented fifth-round draft pick.

Roster move: The Dolphins on Tuesday officially claimed former Giants defensive end Damontre Moore and released center Jacques McClendon.