27-year old starting strong safety Steve Gregory has been suspended for the next 4 games due to a league suspension for use of performance enhancing drugs.  Gregory started the first four games for the Chargers this year and he has 30 tackles (leads team), 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  26-year old Paul Oliver will now get his big chance to show what he can do as he will replace Gregory in the starting lineup.  Oliver has played in 4 games for the Chargers so far this year and he has 9 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Oliver has now played in 32 games in his first three years with the Chargers and he has 73 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 2 interceptions.

Rookie RB Ryan Mathews has a high ankle sprain which could cause him to miss multiple weeks.  Mathews has carried the ball 25 times for 104 yards (4.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 31 yards (10.3 avg) in the first two games of his NFL career.  Mike Tolbert & Darren Sproles will share the carries with Mathews out of action.  Tolbert is a bull of a runner as he has carried the ball 18 times for 108 yards (6.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this year.  He has also caught 1 pass for 13 yards so far this year.  Darren Sproles will be the lightning to go with Tolbert’s thunder.  Sproles has carried the ball 9 times for 37 yards (4.1 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 65 yards (10.8 avg) so far this year.  The Chargers’ running game will be in good hands until Mathews is ready to return to action.

The Cleveland Browns’ D will likely be the perfect tonic to revive LaDainian Tomlinson’s running this week.  The Browns are allowing 159.9 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so L.T. will likely get a lot of work this weekend and he will be successful as long as he doesn’t get hurt.  Tomlinson has played in 9 games this season for the Chargers and he has carried the ball 148 times for 497 yards (3.4 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He has also caught 10 passes for 45 yards (4.5 avg) this year.  So, if Chargers’ fans want to see the L.T. of old they need to tune in Sunday as he will likely run all over the Cleveland Browns.

The Chargers have released 31-year old WR Chris Chambers.  Chambers caught 9 passes this season for 122 yards (13.6 avg) with 1 TD pass for the Chargers as he was being phased out more as the season went on.  In three years with the Chargers, Chambers played in 31 games in which he caught 77 passes for 1,139 yards (14.8 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  Chambers never came through like the Chargers thought he would after they acquired him from the Dolphins three years ago.  28-year old Malcolm Floyd will replace Chambers in the starting lineup.  He has played in 7 games for the Chargers this season and he has caught 11 passes for 251 yards (22.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Floyd will have to prove that he has the toughness to catch shorter passes and he’ll have to go over the middle a lot more than he has in the past.  Still, Floyd appears to be a better player than Chambers right now so the Chargers won’t miss him.

The running game of the Chargers this season has been pathetic as they have rushed for only 53.8 yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry.  LaDainian Tomlinson missed a few games this season but he has not run the ball well when healthy as he has carried the ball 20 times for 70 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He is looking like and old man with the ball in his hands this season.  Darren Sproles has only rushed for 90 yards on 37 carries (2.4 ypc) with 1 TD run this season as teams are cutting off the corner for him and he’s simply to small to get yards up the middle.  Veteran Michael Bennett hasn’t gotten the ball much this season carrying the ball 12 times for 37 yards (3.1 ypc).  Maybe the Chargers should give Bennett the ball more as they need to find someone who can give the offense some balance or teams are going to start playing nickel and dime defenses the whole game to deal with Philip Rivers and the passing game of the Chargers.