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Feet under him, Keenan Allen makes plays

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Keenan Allen is catching passes, perhaps more of them than you’d think.

The receiver, halfway through the season, is on pace for 86 receptions.

That’s a spike of 21 percent from last year, when his 71 catches led NFL rookies and set a Chargers rookie record.

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His gain per catch is way down, as are his touchdowns. Blame both Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates in part. Floyd is third in the NFL in yards per catch, a year after season-ending injury. Gates is tied for the league lead in touchdown catches with nine, up five from last year.

Allen, coming off a nine-catch night that also included his first touchdown since last January, said he goes into Sunday’s contest at Miami feeling “comfortable” about his game.

Another positive sign for the 22-year-old: the grass field at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium is one of the NFL’s best surfaces, several Chargers players said.

Allen falling down on other grass fields hasn’t been a common occurrence – but it’s been a quirky one of consequence.

Twice when he has slipped on a deep “wrap-in ” route, the result was an interception in Chargers territory. The first came in Game 16 last year at Qualcomm Stadium. The other was in Denver last week.

“I’m just trying to come out sharp out of my breaks,” Allen said.

The receiver, 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds, has made a habit of breaking away from defenders who are smaller than he is. Lapses in form, though, can cause his size 13 1-2 feet to give way.

“It’s just all about fundamentals,” he said. “It’s about being under myself, and having balance.”

Echoing Allen’s comment, offensive coordinator Frank Reich said there are tried-and-true ways for a receiver to maintain his footing in and out of breaks.

“In general any slip of a receiver, it more comes from playing high,” said Reich, who was a receivers coach with the Cardinals. “It more comes from not sinking your hips in your break and driving through your break. Keenan’s got great feet, even though he’s a taller guy as far as receivers go.”

Footwear can be a factor, too.

Wearing molded cleats in Denver, Allen slipped twice. Following the interception, he switched to shoes with longer, screw-in cleats. By then, Denver had turned the third-quarter interception into seven points to stretch its lead to 21-7.

For all of his NFL success, Allen said playing most of his games on grass has been a big adjustment. The majority of his games for Cal were on synthetic turf.

Philip Rivers has shown trust in Allen from the moment the receiver replaced an injured Floyd in Philadelphia last year. Rivers promptly hit him for an 18-yard gain on a wrap-in route against the Eagles’ top cornerback, Cary Williams.

At this year’s rate, the Rivers-Allen combination would yield the most receptions by a Chargers wideout since Tony Martin’s 90-catch season in 1995.

But just as Rivers laments a bad throw, Allen and other receivers say slipping on a route is unacceptable.

“Yes, it does happen,” Rivers said. “But in a player’s mind, it can’t happen. It’s not like, ‘It’s all right.’ But, every now and then, those things happen.”

Allen is coming off his most-targeted game -- 13 -- in his 26-game career though the Broncos have better-than-average cornerbacks. The matchup in Miami pits him against either of two notoriously feisty veterans, Brent Grimes and Cortland Finnegan.

“They definitely play aggressively,” Allen said, “and they have some athleticism. So it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be competition.”

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