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GAME TIME: 4:15 PM EST on Sunday, Sept 27th. The game will be
broadcast regionally on CBS TV.
PLACE: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA WEATHER FORECAST: Sunny, with a high near 81. FIELD CONDITIONS: Qualcomm Stadium has a natural grass surface and there are not any big events on the surface this week, so it should be in good shape. STANDINGS & STATS: The Dolphins are 0-2 and at the bottom of the AFC East, while the Chargers are 1-1 and tied for second in the AFC West.
Dolphins Pts/Game Rank Chargers Pts/Game Rank
Scored 15 27 Scored 25.0 8
Allowed 23 19 Allowed 25.5 25
Dolphins Yds/Game Rank Chargers Yds/Game Rank
Total Offense: 331 17 Total Defense: 338 20
Rushing: 167 3 vs Rush: 139 24
Passing: 164 27 vs Pass: 199 13
Chargers Dolphins
Total Offense: 395 5 Total Defense: 318 14
Rushing: 65 31 vs Rush: 64 7
Passing: 330 1 vs Pass: 254 23
Sacks Made (Avg/G) Allowed (Avg/G)
Dolphins 3 1.5 6 3.0
Chargers 2 1.0 5 2.5
Turnover differential:
Dolphins -5
Chargers 0
Individual Skill Position Stats:
Dolphins
QB: QB Pennington: 43-62-359-1-2-75.9
Rush: RB Brown: 34-179-5.3-2
Rush: RB Williams: 26-108-4.2-0
Rec: WR Ginn,Jr: 13-134-10.3-0
Rec: WR Bess: 10-86-8.6-0
Rec: WR Camarillo: 5-31-6.2-0
Chargers
QB: QB Rivers: 49-81-688-3-3-84.8
Rush: RB Sproles: 19-49-2.6-1
Rush: RB Tomlinson: 13-55-4.2-1
Rec: RB Sproles: 12-167-13.9-1
Rec: WR Jackson: 11-197-17.9-2
Rec: TE Gates: 10-161-16.1-0
Legend
QBs: completions-attempts-yards-touchdowns-ints-rating
RBs: rushes-yards-average-touchdowns
WRs: receptions-yards-average-touchdowns
HISTORY: The Dolphins own a 14-12 overall series lead and have won the
last 7 in a row, including last year's 17-10 victory.
INJURIES: The following list is based on early reports and won't be final until Sunday.
Dolphins:
QUESTIONABLE: LB Joey Porter (Hamstring)
OG Justin Smiley (shoulder)
PROBABLE: T Vernon Carey (knee)
Chargers:
OUT: C Nick Hardwick (ankle)
RB LaDainian Tomlinson (ankle)
DE Travis Johnson (groin)
DOUBTFUL: LB Antwan Applewhite (hamstring)
OG Louis Vasquez (knee)
QUESTIONABLE: LB Shawne Merriman (groin)
LB Kevin Burnett (knee)
PROBABLE: S Eric Weddle (illness)
OT Marcus McNeal (illness)
OG Kris Dielman (illness)
P Mike Scifres (groin)
LB Stephen Cooper (ankle)
S Kevin Ellison (illness)
LB Brandon Siler (illness)
DOLPHINS STARTERS:
Offense: Defense:
QB - 10 Chad Pennington LE - 70 Kendall Langford
RB - 23 Ronnie Brown NT - 95 Jason Ferguson
FB - 39 Lousaka Polite RE - 94 Randy Starks
WR - 19 Ted Ginn,Jr SLB - 99 Jason Taylor
WR - 83 Greg Camarillo ILB - 51 Akin Ayodele
TE - 80 Anthony Fasano ILB - 52 Channing Crowder
LT - 77 Jake Long WLB - 55 Joey Porter
LG - 65 Justin Smiley LCB - 25 Will Allen
C - 64 Jake Grove RCB - 24 Sean Smith
RG - 66 Donald Thomas SS - 37 Yeremiah Bell
RT - 72 Vernon Carey FS - 28 Gibril Wilson
K - 5 Dan Carpenter P - 2 Brandon Fields
PR - 15 Davone Bess KR - 19 Ted Ginn,Jr
NOTES: There will probably be no changes in the starting lineup this
week. Vernon Carey has a knee issue, but is expected to play and
despite reports that Joey Porter is having hamstring issues, he is not
on the injury report.
Offense: Defense: QB - 17 Phillip Rivers DE - 74 Jacques Cesaire RB - 43 Darren Sproles DT - 91 Ogemdi Nwagnbuo FB - 22 Jacob Hester DE - 93 Luis Castillo WR - 83 Vincent Jackson OLB - 95 Shaun Phillips WR - 89 Chris Chambers ILB - 54 Stephen Cooper TE - 85 Antonio Gates ILB - 99 Kevin Burnett LT - 73 Marcus McNeill OLB - 56 Shawne Merriman LG - 68 Kris Dielman LCB - 23 Quentin Jammer C - 63 Scott Mruczkowski RCB - 31 Antonio Cromartie RG - 69 Tyrone Green SS - 42 Clinton Hart RT - 66 Jeromey Clary FS - 32 Eric Weddle K - 10 Nate Kaeding P - 5 Mike Scifres PR - 43 Darren Sproles KR - 43 Darren SprolesNOTES: The Chargers' injury report has 10 players on it, and 8 of them are starters. The offensive line, in particular, looks like 4 of their 5 starters have shown up as at least questionable. Guard Louis Vasquez is very doubtful and LaDainian Tomlinson is probably out. Shawne Merriman is hobbled and his backup, Antwan Applewhite has a hamstring injury.
Jake Long picked up his game last week and is not facing another Pro-Bowl pass rusher. Ted Ginn,Jr also had a good game, but could not hang on to what would probably have been the winning touchdown. Ronnie Brown and the Wildcat ran wild, but Pat White could not do anything with is. On defense, Sean Smith and Will Allen get to try and cover one of the biggest receivers in the NFL, while Gibril Wilson will be under serious scrutiny for his poor play of late. Channing Crowder has also been under scrutiny for not producing much so far this season. And the defensive line could have a big game against a banged-up Charger offensive line. The Chargers have a seriously banged up offensive line and will be playing backups at center and probably at right guard. That would be Scott Mruczkowski and Tyrone Green. They will have their work cut out for them. Phillip Rivers currently leads the most productive passing attack in the NFL and WR Vincent Jackson is a formidable player, while TE Antonio Gates is another Pro-Bowl tight end. However, it looks like Darren Sproles will be starting at running back for the Chargers and he is not LaDainian Tomlinson. The Chargers' defense is missing their starting nose tackle and will be playing Ogemdi Nwagnbo there instead. He will undoubtedly be the focus of the Dolphins' running attack this week. Also, their most effective linebacker, Shawne Merriman, may not play and if he does, he will probably be slowed by a groin injury. And inside linebacker Stephen Cooper leads the team in tackles. On paper, this matchup looks like a replay of the matchup against the Colts on Monday night. A very strong passing offense will face up against a very strong running team and whichever team makes the most big plays or the fewest mistakes will be the winner. Fortunately for the Dolphins, the Chargers - despite their glitzy stats - are not the Colts. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the Chargers have many of the same characteristics. They pass the ball very well and they have a Pro-Bowl tight end in Antonio Gates. Unless the Dolphins can find a way to contain Gates, they will be in for another long afternoon. In all probability, the offensive gameplan will be virtually identical to the one the Dolphins employed against the Chargers. And why not? The Dolphins controlled the clock, the ball, and had a dominating running game. Miami's offensive line continually opened holes for Ronnie Brown, who racked up 136 yards and 2 touchdowns. Since Ronnie Brown is the team's most dangerous offensive weapon, he will get plenty of chances to touch the ball. With the Chargers' starting nose tackle out and Shawne Merriman hobbled (as of Thursday, Merriman had not practiced all week), the Dolphins will be running hard, right at the Chargers defense. And with the Chargers' defense hurting as it is, the Dolphins should be successful running the ball. Which means, like Monday night, they should be able to control the clock and the tempo of the game. The bigger question is whether or not the Dolphins' defense can keep the Chargers' offense from scoring on them like the Colts did. The Dolphins must find a way to contain Antonio Gates better than they contained Dallas Clark and Tony Gonzalez in the last two games. The Chargers will undoubtedly go to Gates frequently to take advantage of what has been a weakness for the Dolphins. Another thing the Chargers are likely to do is to go for the big play early in the game. Knowing that Miami will want to dominate control of the ball, the Chargers will want to jump out to an early lead to try and force Miami out of its gameplan. Miami's defense must be alert to the kind of quick strike that the Colts were able to accomplish. The one thing that the Dolphins may be able to exploit in this game is the issues the Chargers are having with their offensive line. With their starting center out and their starting right guard probably out, not to mention injuries to their left guard and left tackle, the Dolphins' defensive line should be able to consistently collapse the pocket on Phillips Rivers and get some sacks and turnovers. If the Dolphins can't do that, it will be a very long day for the defense. I expect that Miami will start by limiting the pass rush to the defensive line and one linebacker with very few blitzes. Knowing that the Chargers' offensive line is significantly less than 100%, Miami will hope that they can put pressure on Rivers with 3 or 4 rushers and that will leave more players for coverage. If the Dolphins' defensive line can collapse the pocket early and often and get pressure up the middle on Rivers, the Dolphins can keep the Chargers' offense from running wild on them. If Miami can't find a way to put pressure on Rivers, he will get the ball to his receivers and Miami will be back in the same situation they were last week. I think that the key to the game could well be how well Miami's defensive line can collapse the pocket on Rivers. If they do it well, Miami has an excellent chance. If the Dolphins' defense can't pressure Rivers, the Chargers will score a lot of points. Last week, the Dolphins' coverage teams played much better than they did against the Falcons. They will have to keep it up, because Chargers' return man Darren Sproles is leading the NFL in kickoff returns and a single score will probably mean the difference in the outcome of this game. Overall, I think the Dolphins do stand an excellent chance in this game. The Chargers are much like the Colts, without the Colts' excellent offensive line. That will hopefully allow Miami's defense to do what they couldn't do against the Colts - pressure Phillip Rivers into mistakes that the Dolphins can exploit. To watch the game on TV, you may go to one of the sports bars listed on my "Places To Watch" web page. To listen to the game live over the Internet, you must now pay the NFL for the privelege. They are charging .99 (US) per month or .99 for the season for something you used to get for free. If you want to sign up for that, go to the following link NFL Field Pass. Also, here is a list of some websites that have live scores and updates. Both the Official Website and NFL.com have almost live applications that run in your browser and give you current stats and play-by-play information.
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