Dolphins-Chargers Preview

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• Countdown Daily Recap: Dolphins-Chargers

SCOUTING REPORT

Dolphins-Chargers: 10 observations After breaking down film of both teams, Scouts Inc. offers 10 things to watch in this week's Dolphins-Chargers matchup. 1. Miami needs to throw out of the Wildcat formation: The Dolphins have had reasonable success running the ball out of the Wildcat formation, but teams eventually will figure out a way to defend that play, as Miami doesn't pose much of a threat to throw the ball. If the Dolphins are able to connect on a pass or two from that formation, it will do a lot to loosen up the defense inside the box, which could make the Wildcat even more effective.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
MIA	7-9	360	390	4-4	3-5	4-2	5-7
SDG	13-3	454	320	6-2	7-1	5-1	9-3
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Miami Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Henne 60.8 2878 12 14 Pennin... 68.9 413 1 2

San Diego Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Rivers 65.2 4254 28 9 Volek 64.5 231 1 1

Miami Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Willia... 241 1121 4.7 11 Brown 147 648 4.4 8

San Diego Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Tomlin... 223 730 3.3 12 Sprole... 93 343 3.7 3

Miami Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Bess 76 758 10.0 2 Camari... 50 552 11.0 0

San Diego Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Jackso... 68 1167 17.2 9 Gates 79 1157 14.6 8

Full Player Stats: Miami | San Diego

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	MIA	338.0
	SDG	360.0
Yards Passing	MIA	198.1
	SDG	271.1
Yards Rushing	MIA	139.4
	SDG	88.9
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	MIA	349.3
	SDG	326.9
Pass Yds Allowed	MIA	234.6
	SDG	209.3
Rush Yds Allowed	MIA	114.7
	SDG	117.6

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Miami leads 4-1
Oct 5, 2008	MIA 17, @SDG 10
Dec 11, 2005	MIA 23, SDG 21
Oct 27, 2003	MIA 26, SDG 10
Nov 24, 2002	MIA 30, @SDG 3

Though they have had little trouble stopping the run, the Miami Dolphins are winless after two games once again. Shutting down the San Diego Chargers' ground attack, though, seems certain to pay dividends.

The Dolphins, 0-2 for the fourth straight season, look to extend a seven-game winning streak against the injury-riddled Chargers on Sunday.

Miami lost 27-23 to Indianapolis on Monday night, falling to the bottom of the AFC East despite limiting the Colts to 61 yards on the ground. The Dolphins allowed 68 yards rushing in their season opener Sept. 13, but lost 19-7 to Atlanta.

"Nobody is world champion after two weeks," linebacker Joey Porter said, "but we're not good enough to give games away."

Notching a win Sunday against a strong team may prove to be a tough task for the Dolphins, who are coming off a short week. Miami, however, has won seven straight against San Diego (1-1) since a 45-20 road loss Dec. 27, 1993.

The Dolphins won 17-10 at home Oct. 5 in the teams' last meeting, limiting the Chargers to 60 yards on the ground. Miami has surrendered an average of 71.7 rushing yards during its run versus San Diego.

LaDainian Tomlinson, who ran for 35 yards on 12 carries against Miami last year, will not play Sunday. He suffered an ankle injury in a 24-20 win over Oakland on Sept. 14 and sat out a 31-26 loss to Baltimore last Sunday.

This will be only the third time Tomlinson, the NFL's MVP in 2006, has missed a game due to injury during his nine-year career.

The Chargers, who were also missing center Nick Hardwick (ankle) and right guard Louis Vasquez (knee), had 53 yards on the ground against the Ravens. Hardwick had surgery and is expected to miss eight weeks, while Vasquez is uncertain for Sunday.

Darren Sproles started in place of Tomlinson and rushed for 26 yards on 10 carries. Sproles did catch seven passes for a career-high 124 yards and a touchdown.

Sproles and Philip Rivers almost single-handedly kept the Chargers in the game. Rivers threw for a career-high 436 yards and two TDs, but also had two interceptions. San Diego had to settle for field goals four times when it had the ball at the Ravens' 10 or closer.

The Chargers went into the season having been picked by some as Super Bowl contenders, but coach Norv Turner's team has been shaky in the early going.

"I don't think right now we're as good as you that cover us think or expect us to be; I don't think we're as good as what our fans want us to be," Turner said. "But I believe we can get there. We've got a lot of work to get there."

San Diego appeared to be the favorite to win its fourth straight AFC West title, but it trails undefeated Denver, which collapsed down the stretch last year and allowed the Chargers to take the division at 8-8.

"I guess it kind of seems that the expectation outside of the building is that we never should lose a game, we should score every single time in the red zone, we should never punt," Rivers said. "It's just a little bit unrealistic."

While too much may be expected of San Diego, Miami is trying to prove it is better than it's shown. The defending AFC East champion Dolphins couldn't win last week even though Peyton Manning and the Colts had the ball for less than 15 minutes.

Manning still managed to throw for 303 yards and two TDs, and now the Dolphins will try to stop Rivers from having another big game.

"I think a lot of Rivers," Miami coach Tony Sparano said. "He is a big, strong guy that stands in there. He doesn't watch the rush and makes some outstanding throws. San Diego has been a physical team year in and year out, and they run a lot of physical, hardball, downhill run stuff."

The Dolphins' running game certainly poses a formidable threat of its own. Miami rushed for 239 yards and a TD against Indianapolis.

When the Dolphins lost their first two games last year, Sparano went to the wildcat formation and it helped Miami upset New England 38-13. The Dolphins used that package 12 times Monday and it yielded 107 yards on the ground.

Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams have a combined 287 yards rushing. Brown had 125 yards and a TD in last season's matchup with San Diego.

Wickersham: The future of the NFL

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Scouts Inc.: AFC offseason needs

You can think of this as the ultimate primer for the NFL offseason, or at least the AFC offseason: Gary Horton of Scouts Inc. breaks down all the squads in the AFC and tells you their top three needs to address, be it via the draft or free agency.

Dolphins' McDaniel out of jail following arrest

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Owners talk labor situation; status quo reigns

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Message from Dolphins' Chad Pennington: I don't Twitter

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Miami Dolphins linebacker Matt Roth learning from veterans

After a season of learning a complex new position on the fly while hampered with a torn groin, Matt Roth watched Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland beef up an already overflowing linebacking corps.

Ronnie Brown has something to prove with Miami Dolphins this season

Ronnie Brown is a quality NFL running back. But he might have to be more than that - maybe a lot more than that - if he wants to be the featured back in the Dolphins' offense beyond the 2009 season.

Miami Dolphins' Will Allen more than mentor to young cornerbacks

One of Tony Sparano's pet expressions is that he is more concerned about getting the "right 53 players'' on the team, not necessarily the best.

Jake Long's road with Miami Dolphins just beginning

Jake Long never looked overwhelmed in 2008, at least off the field. Not around barking coaches or testing veterans at training camp.

AFC West: Stability keeps Chargers out of turmoil below

There is a major New England Patriots influence in this division. Denver fired long-time head coach Mike Shanahan and replaced him with 32-year-old Josh McDaniels, who spent eight years with the Patriots including the last three as offensive coordinator.

Chargers' Merriman working his way back

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Stadium developer unveils proposal, but Chargers balk

" Local developer Perry Dealy unveiled his proposal to replace Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley Thursday, a day after the San Diego Chargers called his plans unrealistic in a fax sent directly to him.

Majestic Realty terminates negotiations with Walnut over proposed NFL stadium

Majestic Realty has terminated negotiations with Walnut over a proposed NFL stadium, saying city officials requested a "wish list of tens of millions of dollars" that had little to do with the project.

Versatility remains Bingham's specialty

Ryon Bingham is a contender for Igor Olshansky's starting spot at defensive end.