SAN DIEGO (AP) -- There must be some reason old Bears come to San Diego.

"Hibernation," wide receiver Jeff Graham joked before Sunday's game between his Chargers and the Chicago Bears, or, more aptly, the Bears West vs. the Bears East.

Oops. Good line, but bad timing. There are four ex-Bears on the Chargers' offensive depth chart, and that unit has been in a deep snooze since opening day, with the situation getting more pathetic by the week.

It's gotten so bad that the Chargers might qualify for honorary membership in the Black and Blue Division, but not because they're beating up on anyone else.

Two of the biggest scraps the Chargers have gotten into in recent weeks have been among themselves. There was quarterback Ryan Leaf, who, believe it or not might have come in handy about now, zinging profanities at general manager Bobby Beathard that got him suspended for four weeks.

Then there was Sunday's facemask-to-facemask, on-field yelling match between quarterback Jim Harbaugh _ one of the ex-Bears _ and safety Michael Dumas at Oakland. Dumas said something following Harbaugh's bad pass on fourth down in the fourth quarter, and Harbaugh took exception. The two had to be separated by Junior Seau, one of the better moves in weeks by a once-tough defense that's also cracking.

The Chargers (4-5) went on to lose 28-9, extending their skid to four, a span in which they've been outscored 126-29.

"Obviously, if they have a little dissension between the players, that's good for us," said Bears tackle Blake Brockermeyer. "That means their team isn't standing together. But I'm sure that's probably been blown out of proportion."

Well, not really, because replays have been shown nationally and Seau said it was "sad" that the blowup happened. Dumas and Harbaugh said they hugged and made up, but Dumas' big regret seemed to be that it happened in front of the cameras.

There's plenty of motivation for Harbaugh, although he's with his third team since the Bears let him go following the 1993 season.

"I just want a win," said Harbaugh. "We've lost four straight. I played a lot of those games myself and I take all the responsibility, and how can you not? But four's enough. I really can't stomach any more. I'm playing with a chip on my shoulder."

The Bears (4-6) would love to rub it in against their ex-teammates.

"It's going to be fun," said receiver Curtis Conway, who says he'll play after missing five weeks with a sprained ankle. "I wish one of them was on defense so we could talk some trash. Hopefully I can catch an out route and run down their sideline and talk a little trash."

Erik Kramer, released by the Bears just before their training camp opened, was talking trash about this game when he signed with the Chargers the night before they opened camp.

Kramer's not talking so big now. He did lead the Chargers to three straight wins after Harbaugh got hurt, then imploded by committing nine turnovers in a span of six quarters. He's back on the bench.

Kramer said he's over the bitterness he expressed toward the Bears.

"We're not playing well as a team right now, especially on offense. Our focus and my focus, in particular, is just improving and getting back to respectability," he said.

The Bears have problems of their own. Such as Chris Boniol missing a 41-yard field goal last Sunday that would have given them an overtime win over Minnesota. Instead, the Vikings won it 27-24 on Gary Anderson's kick.

That negated Jim Miller's 422 yards passing, the most in the NFL this year. The previous high was 404 by Peyton Manning against San Diego.

It was just Miller's second career start, and first since the 1996 season opener while with Pittsburgh, when he was yanked after two quarters.

"Obviously, on a personal note it was good," Miller said. "It doesn't help that we lost the game, because that's how you're recognized as a quarterback, on your wins and your losses. As of right now, I'm 0-2 as a starter."

Miller, who remains Chicago's starter, will face a secondary still without All-Pro strong safety Rodney Harrison and will start rookie Jason Perry at free safety.

Kramer, receiver Chris Penn and practice squad QB Moses Moreno should be able to provide Chargers coaches with inside information on the Bears.

"Yeah, that does concern us," Bears coach Dick Jauron said.

Chargers offensive coordinator Geep Chryst was on the Bears' staff from 1991-95, and defensive end Al Fontenot was with Chicago from 1993-96.

The Chargers, who opened 4-1, can get back to .500 with a win. The Bears, 3-2 in mid-October, could be back at .500 by Thanksgiving if they can win here and at Detroit.

This game "is going to measure our character," Bears linebacker Rico McDonald said. "We've had a disappointing loss and we've got to respond. This team has a whole lot of fight."

CHICAGO Season schedule and results

SAN DIEGO Season schedule and results

September 12 Kansas City W 20-17 September 19 Seattle L 13-14 September 26 @Oakland L 17-24 October 3 New Orleans W 14-10 October 10 @Minnesota W 24-22 October 17 Philadelphia L 16-20 October 24 @Tampa Bay L 3-6 October 31 @Washington L 22-48 November 7 @Green Bay W 14-13 November 14 Minnesota L 24-27 November 21 @San Diego 4:15pm ET November 25 @Detroit 12:40pm ET December 5 Green Bay 1:00pm ET December 19 Detroit 1:00pm ET December 26 @St. Louis 1:00pm ET January 2 Tampa Bay 1:00pm ET

September 19 @Cincinnati W 34-7 September 26 Indianapolis L 19-27 October 3 Kansas City W 21-14 October 10 @Detroit W 20-10 October 17 Seattle W 13-10 October 24 Green Bay L 3-31 October 31 @Kansas City L 0-34 November 7 Denver L 17-33 November 14 @Oakland L 9-28 November 21 Chicago 4:15pm ET November 28 @Minnesota 1:00pm ET December 5 Cleveland 4:15pm ET December 12 @Seattle 4:05pm ET December 19 @Miami 1:00pm ET December 26 Oakland 4:05pm ET January 2 @Denver 4:15pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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