Robin Miller
10-07-2008, 03:23 PM
Monday, October 6, 2008 6:53 PM PDT
CHARGERS: 'This is not fun': Bolts back to searching for answers after loss
to Dolphins
By MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer
MIAMI ---- In the corridor beneath Dolphin Stadium, there are signs
indicating the whereabouts of "Dark Room 1" and "Dark Room 2." Oddly, the
Chargers walked past both locations and continued into a different room to
shower and dress after Sunday's game.
One of the dark rooms would have been a more apt place to dwell in their
disappointment because the Chargers were in the dark all afternoon in terms
of how to deal with the Miami Dolphins, the worst team in the NFL just last
season.
The label of laughingstock will no longer be associated with the Dolphins
after they slapped a 17-10 loss on the Chargers before an announced crowd of
65,063. Miami (2-2) accumulated nearly twice as many yards and controlled
the ball for nearly 37 minutes against a team regularly mentioned as one of
the NFL's best.
But perhaps that tag should be removed, too. The Chargers (2-3) didn't look
like an elite team in losing to the Dolphins, who ran roughshod over New
England two weeks earlier in their most recent game.
"They beat two teams that were supposed to be two of the better teams in the
conference," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "Whether that's the case still
remains to be seen.
"It's certainly tough. Not that we didn't think that the Dolphins were
capable, but this is one week that we expected to win. It was obvious they
expected to win the way they came out and played. They whipped us."
Left tackle Marcus McNeill and tight end Antonio Gates both said the
Dolphins were much more intense when the game began.
"Coach (Norv Turner) said it great ---- they came out like it was a playoff
game," McNeill said.
Said Gates: "You can't take a win for granted. You can't take a team for
granted. We don't play them every year and we played a team that wanted to
win a football game, and it showed."
The Dolphins held the Chargers to 202 yards while piling up 390 of their
own. Second-quarter touchdowns by Ronnie Brown (125 yards rushing) and
former Charger Greg Camarillo (six receptions) gave Miami a 17-3 halftime
lead.
The defeat left the Chargers two games behind Denver in the AFC West race.
The Broncos defeated Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Think 2-3 is dismal? If not for a superb final quarter against Oakland seven
days earlier, the Chargers would be sitting at 1-4.
"This is not fun," said running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for
just 35 yards. "This is not the kind of football we want to play. We're
inconsistent and we need to find some consistency with our football team."
The Chargers have been consistent in starting slow, and they kept that
streak intact Sunday. Of course, they failed to ramp things up in the second
half this time.
Despite the lethargy, the Chargers had a chance to tie the game on the first
play of the fourth quarter. But a fourth-and-goal run by Tomlinson off the
left side from the 1-yard line went nowhere, as several Dolphins ---- most
noticeably Vonnie Holliday and Channing Crowder ---- stuffed the play and
kept the score at 17-10.
"You have to have confidence to run that play," McNeill said. "Our coach had
confidence to run that play, and we let him down. That's on us.
"When you have fourth-and-goal like that, you have to be wanting to punch it
in."
Miami certainly wanted things more all afternoon. The Dolphins answered Nate
Kaeding's 34-yard first-quarter field goal with a 47-yarder by Dan
Carpenter.
Then Chad Pennington (22-of-29, 228 yards) found Camarillo, who beat
cornerback Quentin Jammer, on a 17-yard scoring pass to give Miami a 10-3
lead with 5:25 left in the first half.
The Chargers gave the ball back to the Dolphins just 64 seconds later, and
Miami drove 79 yards in 11 plays, capped by Brown's 5-yard touchdown run to
make it 17-3.
The Chargers cut the deficit in half when Rivers hit Chris Chambers on a
17-yard scoring pass with 3:13 left.
Chargers rookie Jacob Hester forced and recovered a fumble on the ensuing
kickoff, but it was all for naught when Tomlinson was stuffed at the goal
line.
The Chargers had the ball just two more times ---- twice giving the ball
back to the Dolphins after four plays. The latter time occurred after they
took over with 7:33 left and Rivers alerted the offense to the dire
circumstances.
"We talked in the huddle and said ... 'This (is) it right here. We may not
get another great opportunity, so we've got to go right now and score,' "
Rivers said. "We didn't do it and we didn't get it back."
The Dolphins took over at their own 15 and killed the final 5:55 of the game
with a 14-play, 60-yard drive that included four third-down conversions and
ended with two kneel-downs by Pennington.
"We just have to play better and execute better," Rivers said. "Individuals,
all of us, have got to step it up and play better. Collectively, we have got
to go out there and get it done."
Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or
msullivan@nctimes.com.
CHARGERS: 'This is not fun': Bolts back to searching for answers after loss
to Dolphins
By MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer
MIAMI ---- In the corridor beneath Dolphin Stadium, there are signs
indicating the whereabouts of "Dark Room 1" and "Dark Room 2." Oddly, the
Chargers walked past both locations and continued into a different room to
shower and dress after Sunday's game.
One of the dark rooms would have been a more apt place to dwell in their
disappointment because the Chargers were in the dark all afternoon in terms
of how to deal with the Miami Dolphins, the worst team in the NFL just last
season.
The label of laughingstock will no longer be associated with the Dolphins
after they slapped a 17-10 loss on the Chargers before an announced crowd of
65,063. Miami (2-2) accumulated nearly twice as many yards and controlled
the ball for nearly 37 minutes against a team regularly mentioned as one of
the NFL's best.
But perhaps that tag should be removed, too. The Chargers (2-3) didn't look
like an elite team in losing to the Dolphins, who ran roughshod over New
England two weeks earlier in their most recent game.
"They beat two teams that were supposed to be two of the better teams in the
conference," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "Whether that's the case still
remains to be seen.
"It's certainly tough. Not that we didn't think that the Dolphins were
capable, but this is one week that we expected to win. It was obvious they
expected to win the way they came out and played. They whipped us."
Left tackle Marcus McNeill and tight end Antonio Gates both said the
Dolphins were much more intense when the game began.
"Coach (Norv Turner) said it great ---- they came out like it was a playoff
game," McNeill said.
Said Gates: "You can't take a win for granted. You can't take a team for
granted. We don't play them every year and we played a team that wanted to
win a football game, and it showed."
The Dolphins held the Chargers to 202 yards while piling up 390 of their
own. Second-quarter touchdowns by Ronnie Brown (125 yards rushing) and
former Charger Greg Camarillo (six receptions) gave Miami a 17-3 halftime
lead.
The defeat left the Chargers two games behind Denver in the AFC West race.
The Broncos defeated Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Think 2-3 is dismal? If not for a superb final quarter against Oakland seven
days earlier, the Chargers would be sitting at 1-4.
"This is not fun," said running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for
just 35 yards. "This is not the kind of football we want to play. We're
inconsistent and we need to find some consistency with our football team."
The Chargers have been consistent in starting slow, and they kept that
streak intact Sunday. Of course, they failed to ramp things up in the second
half this time.
Despite the lethargy, the Chargers had a chance to tie the game on the first
play of the fourth quarter. But a fourth-and-goal run by Tomlinson off the
left side from the 1-yard line went nowhere, as several Dolphins ---- most
noticeably Vonnie Holliday and Channing Crowder ---- stuffed the play and
kept the score at 17-10.
"You have to have confidence to run that play," McNeill said. "Our coach had
confidence to run that play, and we let him down. That's on us.
"When you have fourth-and-goal like that, you have to be wanting to punch it
in."
Miami certainly wanted things more all afternoon. The Dolphins answered Nate
Kaeding's 34-yard first-quarter field goal with a 47-yarder by Dan
Carpenter.
Then Chad Pennington (22-of-29, 228 yards) found Camarillo, who beat
cornerback Quentin Jammer, on a 17-yard scoring pass to give Miami a 10-3
lead with 5:25 left in the first half.
The Chargers gave the ball back to the Dolphins just 64 seconds later, and
Miami drove 79 yards in 11 plays, capped by Brown's 5-yard touchdown run to
make it 17-3.
The Chargers cut the deficit in half when Rivers hit Chris Chambers on a
17-yard scoring pass with 3:13 left.
Chargers rookie Jacob Hester forced and recovered a fumble on the ensuing
kickoff, but it was all for naught when Tomlinson was stuffed at the goal
line.
The Chargers had the ball just two more times ---- twice giving the ball
back to the Dolphins after four plays. The latter time occurred after they
took over with 7:33 left and Rivers alerted the offense to the dire
circumstances.
"We talked in the huddle and said ... 'This (is) it right here. We may not
get another great opportunity, so we've got to go right now and score,' "
Rivers said. "We didn't do it and we didn't get it back."
The Dolphins took over at their own 15 and killed the final 5:55 of the game
with a 14-play, 60-yard drive that included four third-down conversions and
ended with two kneel-downs by Pennington.
"We just have to play better and execute better," Rivers said. "Individuals,
all of us, have got to step it up and play better. Collectively, we have got
to go out there and get it done."
Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or
msullivan@nctimes.com.