Sunday's showdown at StubHub Center already had intrigue built into it.
It's the season opener for the displaced Miami Dolphins, whose Week 1 game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was pushed back thanks to the threat of Hurricane Irma. Plus, it's the Los Angeles Chargers' first game in the Los Angeles area as the Los Angeles Chargers, and the first regular-season football contest in the 27,000-seat soccer-specific stadium.
But now, a one-sided war of words has broken out, and the target is former broadcaster (technically) and current Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler.
When asked Thursday by reporters what problems the former Bears QB presents his unit, Chargers linebacker Melvin Ingram responded, "None. We don't see him as a problem for us."
His coach, Anthony Lynn, had a more nuanced response, calling the veteran QB a "wild card" and praising his big arm and "escapability."
Save for a few preseason drives, players and coaches have no tape of Cutler in Miami, which makes Ingram's conviction in his diss surprising. However, there is a season's worth of tape of the quarterback playing in an Adam Gase system, the Bears' 2015 campaign, during which Ingram and the then-San Diego Chargers just so happened to play Cutler.
In that Monday night showdown, Ingram recorded one sack of Cutler and forced a fumble, but Smokin' Jay had the last laugh, throwing the game-winning touchdown with less than four minutes to go.
How this year's Dolphins, in Gase's second season at the helm, look guided by Cutler for a full 60 minutes will be revealed this Sunday. Just don't expect his performance to be "problematic" for Ingram and the Bolts.
