SAN DIEGO -- The news wasn't good. The Dolphins' training staff just told quarterback Chad Pennington that an injury to his right shoulder Sunday would require him to remain sidelined at least for the rest of Miami's 23-13 loss to the Chargers.

A moment later, Pennington marched over to second-year quarterback Chad Henne -- the very player already charged with the task of taking his job -- and pulled him in close.

``He said he was behind me,'' Henne recalled. ``He said he had 100 percent faith in me. From a guy like that, those were tremendous words to say to me.''

In Sunday's wake, you can dissect many depressing aspects of another bad loss. You could continue to wonder why Miami's secondary keeps giving up huge plays. Or why the Dolphins failed to score any points on three of four trips into the red zone.

But on a day when an 0-3 start might have otherwise fueled the bulk of the questions moving forward, another wonder instantly took its place as Chargers linebacker Kevin Burnett caught the underside of Pennington's shoulder early in the third quarter.

Here it is: Would those words from Pennington to Henne mark the official transition -- the passing of the torch -- between Miami's current starter and its quarterback of the future? The question, as of Sunday evening, remained vague.

``I only know that it's a shoulder [injury],'' coach Tony Sparano said. ``We're going to evaluate it when we get back.''

Pennington is scheduled to undergo an MRI today. In the locker room after the game, he was not wearing a sling and he said he wasn't in pain -- but his voice sounded far from optimistic.

The veteran, who has already undergone two surgeries on the same shoulder in 2004 and 2005, already was mentally drained by the thought of another recovery.

``Right now, I'm in a little bit of a state of shock,'' Pennington said. ``Truly disappointed. I know what kind of work I've put in. For me not to be out there and help fight through this adversity, it's tough to swallow.''

None of this means Pennington is guaranteed to be out for the next several weeks -- nor does it even mean he'll be ruled out for next week's game against the Bills. Instead, for now, the team can only enter into a wait-and-see mode.

But if Henne should get the call, his coach and his teammates remain confident the transition will be smooth.

``I don't know what's going to happen here with Chad Pennington, but I'm very confident with Chad [Henne],'' Sparano said. ``We prepared him for this opportunity as best we could during the preseason.''

A ROUGH START

Despite an uninspiring performance by Henne when he replaced Pennington on Sunday, the team warned not to read too much into it. Henne, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 92 yards and threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, entered under conditions that were less than ideal.

The Dolphins sputtered badly Sunday on both sides of the ball -- specifically in two areas that continue to haunt this team. Most critically, Miami's secondary gave up huge, game-changing chunks of yards for the third consecutive week.

Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson caught five passes for 120 yards, and quarterback Philip Rivers completed passes longer than 15 yards to four different receivers.

``We've got to make those plays,'' safety Yeremiah Bell. ``The whole day, it seemed like we could never get it started. We got through the first half, but it never felt like we got over that hump. In the second half, they made the plays and we didn't.''

A WASTED CHANCE

The offense, though, wasn't all that helpful. On the first drive, after the team drove for 94 hard-earned yards, Ronnie Brown fumbled into the back of the end zone from the 2-yard line for a touchback.

Meanwhile, the passing game generated only 149 yards as wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. failed to produce despite being targeted on six different passes.

``These things are correctable, but at the same time, this is three weeks into the season,'' said Brown, who carried 18 times for 75 yards. ``Bottom line, we've got to be better. No more of this shoulda, woulda, coulda. We got down the field, now we've got to score.''

During a week when the questions will center around the health of the team (linebacker Joey Porter couldn't finish the game because of his tweaked hamstring), the Dolphins must also dig deep for inspiration to salvage this season.

Although this statistic will surely grow old fast, Miami is up against a tough feat: Only three teams since 1990 have started the season 0-3 and made the playoffs. The Dolphins have a major challenge if they want to become the fourth.

``Nobody is feeling sorry for us,'' Sparano said. ``We're 0-3. It's not good. It's not acceptable. We've got to do a better job, all of us.''

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