Die Games » kick off the game on a cool, comfortable sum

(SportsNetwork.com) - Theres a subtle change that occurs once a team expects to be above .500 in the NFL. No longer are wins just enough. Instead, even 14- point wins are parsed for bad moments. That could now be the case for the Miami Dolphins, who improved to 4-3 with a 27-13 defeat of in-state rival Jacksonville, but have spent at least some of the subsequent week - while preparing for a visit from cross-country foe San Diego - explaining why the toppling of the Jaguars wasnt exactly a highlight reel. The Dolphins scored twice on interception returns against Jacksonville, a happy defensive occurrence that bailed out a largely impotent offensive unit that went three-and-out on its first three series, had just three first downs in the first 30 minutes and scored 13 points against a team with one prior victory that had already surrendered 33 or more points four times. Miami has won two straight, but is nonetheless just 25th in the league in passing with a weekly average of 231.3 yards - a number thats got wide receiver Mike Wallace, in the second year of a lucrative deal he signed when exiting Pittsburgh as a free agent, irritated. He caught two passes for 59 yards against the Jaguars and failed to score for the first time since Week 4. Its frustrating. It has got to change, he said. Were not going to get nowhere like that. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who completed 16-of-29 passes for 196 yards, a touchdown and an interception, agreed. He, by the way, has been sacked seven times in two games and has been curiously ineffective at home this season, completing barely 55 percent of his throws for 627 yards, five TDs and three interceptions in three games. It has to be better, he said. We have to get this corrected. Still, Miami has won the past seven matchups in the series that have occurred in South Florida, dating back to a classic divisional playoff game in 1982. Extending that streak, given Tannehills recent difficulties, could be a product of a ground game thats churning out 138 yards per week to rank sixth in the league. The Chargers have been gashed for 293 rush yards in losing two straight. You have to be able to understand that its not all bad when you lose and its not all good when you win, San Diego linebacker Dwight Freeney said. Its about the team that is standing at the end. We are going to play a Dolphins team that does a lot of things. To be fair, the Chargers have shown signs of doing a lot of things, too. San Diego lost in Week 1, but then reeled off five straight victories before skidding back to 5-3 with consecutive losses to Kansas City and Denver. Quarterback Philip Rivers averaged better than 300 yards and had 14 touchdowns to a single interception in the five-game skein, but has been picked off twice while the average has dipped to 228.5 yards against the Chiefs and Broncos. In two starts at Miami, his completion percentage is eight points lower than his career average. The Dolphins, too, are best in the league at limiting yards per pass attempt - 10.2. This is a 16-game season, its a 16-round fight and weve won five and lost three, Rivers said. Its one big game is the way I see it. Weve had a couple rounds where weve got knocked around a little bit. We have to regroup and try to go get round number nine at Miami. San Diegos defense could use the same rallying cry. The Chargers have allowed 11 more points and 105 more yards, on average, across the last three games than they had in their initial five. And theyll enter the game with the Dolphins perhaps without the services of cornerback Jason Verrett and linebacker Jahleel Addae, both of whom are questionable. Addae suffered a concussion after a pair of hits last week, the second of which saw him convulsing after helmet-to-helmet contact. It hasnt been our best ball. I know we are kind of banged up, Freeney said. But this is the NFL and the other team doesnt care. So we have to find a way to somehow put our best product out there. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Lock Up the Gates Canton-bound tight end Antonio Gates is having another spectacular season for the Chargers - 32 catches, 417 yards and nine touchdowns - so bottling him up will be a task for Miami. His shadow for the day could be safety Rashad Jones, though it wouldnt be shocking to see the Dolphins employ a cadre of Gates-related blankets including linebackers Kelvin Sheppard and Koa Misi, too. Beating the Replacements For a funk-enduring quarterback like Tannehill, the matchup with the Chargers is well-timed. San Diego could be without a pair of starting cornerbacks in the aforementioned Verrett and Brandon Flowers, whos sustained a concussion. Whether its them or someone else, a major challenge will be making sure this isnt the week that the Tannehill-Wallace connection finds its sea legs. OVERALL ANALYSIS For all the issues each team has faced, theyve both got a lot of weapons, too, and its no accident that theyre a combined 9-6 through 15 games. Expect both Rivers and Tannehill to return to something approaching form, and anticipate the game to come down to a late-stage situation in which one guy makes a decisive play. The guess here is that its Rivers and that the Chargers will escape on the road. Sports Network predicted outcome: Chargers 24, Dolphins 20 Drew Bledsoe Jersey . Jacob Jacques, Andrew Ryan and Jonathan Drouin also scored for Halifax (37-18-3), who outshot the Islanders 40-26. Kevin Darveau stopped 25 shots. Bradley Kennedy had the lone goal for Charlottetown (18-33-5), which has nine losses in its last 10 games. Joejuan Williams Jersey .A. Happ? Happs seven wins are second on the staff to Mark Buehrles 10. Win-loss record is an antiquated stat, sure, but win total is generally an indication of a pitchers ability to work deep into games, enough to be personally affected by the result. http://www.cheappatriotsjerseysauthentic...n-harris-jersey. The team let Keaton Ellerby, James Wright and Matt Halischuk become unrestricted free agents after declining to make them qualifying offers. Ellerby, 25, appeared in 51 games for the Jets last season and had two goals and four assists. Chase Winovich Jersey . Hawkins severely sprained his left ankle while making a diving catch during training camp and went on injured reserve with a designation he could return midway through the season. He was back at practice Wednesday. Irving Fryar Jersey . -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew practiced in a limited capacity Friday, a positive sign he might be able to play against the Tennessee Titans.TORONTO -- Jose Bautista drove in four runs and starter Mark Buehrle worked seven innings as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Chicago Cubs 9-2 on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre. Bautista cleared the bases with a double in the seventh inning off Chicago reliever Neil Ramirez to help Toronto (75-69) win its third straight game. Kevin Pillar and Edwin Encarnacion had three hits apiece for the Blue Jays, who turned the game into a rout with a five-run eighth inning. Toronto outhit Chicago 14-11 and will go for the three-game sweep on Wednesday night. It was an uneven performance from Buehrle (12-9), who allowed two earned runs and 10 hits but managed to avoid giving up a big inning. Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris each worked an inning of relief. The Blue Jays entered play five games behind Seattle in the race for the final wild-card spot in the American League. Toronto has won eight of 10 to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. The Cubs, who have dropped five games in a row, left 11 runners on base. Buehrle fanned leadoff man Chris Coghlan on three pitches to kick off the game on a cool, comfortable summer evening. Javier Baez followed with a double, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jorge Soler. Chicago (64-81) loaded the bases in the second inning after Buehrle gave up three singles. The veteran left-hander got out of the jam when Coghlan grounded out. Buehrle kept putting runners on but the defence did a nice job bailing him out. Welington Castillo led off the fourth with a single before Mike Olt and Arismendy Alcantara hit back-to-back line drives that were speared by third baseman Danny Valencia. Chris Valaika moved Castillo to second base with another single but Matt Szczur popped up to Buehrle to end the threat. Encarnacion drove a ball off the top of the wall to open the Toronto half of the fourth but settled for a long single. Adam Lind drew a walk but Dioner Navarro couldnt advance the runners, swinging at a 3-0 pitch and popping up in the infield. Valencia nearly put the Jays on the board but his line drive was snagged by a fully stretched Valaika at first base. Valaika threw to second to easily double off Encarnacion. The Cubs put runners on again in the fifth and this time cashed in a run. Baez singled and cleanup hitter Luis Valbuena was hit by a pitch. Castillo drove in Baez with a two-out single before Olt struck out. The Blue Jays tried a more aggressive style against Chicago starter Jake Arrieta in the bottom half of the frame. Pillar led off with a single but was thrown out trying to steal. Ryan Goins then drove a ball into left-centtre field and hustled into second base just ahead of Coghlans throw.dddddddddddd Anthony Gose tried to bunt with two strikes but fouled a pitch for the second out. Goins moved to third base on a wild pitch and scored when Jose Reyes hit a flare that dropped in shallow centre field. Arrieta was wide with a pickoff attempt and the ball rolled into foul territory, allowing Reyes to scamper all the way to third. He was left stranded when Bautista flew out, with the Toronto slugger angrily slamming his bat to the turf as he left the batters box. The Cubs stranded two more runners in the sixth inning after Szczur and Coghlan reached on back-to-back two-out singles. Pitching coach Pete Walker came out to the mound and Buehrle responded by freezing Baez with a fastball for the strikeout. Pillar stroked a one-out single in the seventh to knock Arrieta out of the game. Ramirez (2-2) came on in relief and gave up a single to pinch-hitter Colby Rasmus and a walk to pinch-hitter Munenori Kawasaki. Ramirez fanned Reyes and worked a full count on Bautista before the Toronto slugger hit his 26th double of the season. The Blue Jays piled on in the eighth against right-hander Brian Schlitter. Lind led off with a triple and was replaced by pinch-runner Steve Tolleson, who scored on a Navarro single. Navarro moved to third on a Valencia double and Rasmus was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs. Kawasaki hit a two-run single to help put the game out of reach. Arrieta allowed seven hits, two earned runs and a walk while striking out five. Buehrle had three strikeouts and didnt walk a batter. Announced attendance was 17,903 and the game took three hours four minutes to play. Notes: The roof was open despite the occasional presence of dark swirling clouds overhead. ... Toronto Argonauts slotback Andre Durie threw the ceremonial first pitch. ... Encarnacion was originally pencilled in as the first baseman but was moved to designated hitter about an hour before the game. Lind moved from DH to first base. ... Right-hander Drew Hutchison (9-11, 4.47 ERA) will get the start in the series finale against Chicagos Kyle Hendricks (6-1, 2.02). ... This is the first series the Cubs have played on artificial turf since a six-game road trip to Toronto and Tampa Bay in 2008 -- a stretch of 1,040 games on natural grass fields. ... The Blue Jays are off Thursday and will wrap up the six-game homestand with a weekend series against the Rays. ... Toronto entered play with a 1.6 per cent chance of reaching the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus post-season probabilities listed on the Major League Baseball website. 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