sandiegosports

Chargers Defeat Dolphins 23-13

On Sunday the San Diego Chargers (2-1) took on the Miami Dolphins (0-3) the temperature on the field was oppressive at nearly 120 degrees and the Chargers’ offense was able to warm up just enough to secure a 23-13 victory. In the win the Chargers showed improvements over their first two games of this season. However, glaring red zone ineptness persists.

Now, for only the second time in 7-years, the Chargers have a winning record after the first three games. And they are above .500 in the regular season for the first time since the conclusion of the 2007 season

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“In the Huddle,” Hope Will be Found

On Saturday, October 17 the San Diego Chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) will be hosting their annual gala event at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. This year the title and theme of the event is “In the Huddle: A night of football ad-libs and anecdotes.”

This event promises to give NFL fans a unique opportunity to rub shoulders with some the leagues’ most well known personalities, including San Diego Chargers Norv Turner, Philip Rivers, and Shawne Merriman as well as ESPN’s voices for NFL football Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden, Michele Tafoya, and Suzy Kolber.

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Time Warped, Once Again San Diego is Playing the “What If” Game

On Sunday, the San Diego Chargers (1-1) lost to the Baltimore Ravens (2-0) 31-26 leaving Chargers fans feeling like they had had just been unwillingly abducted back in time to the 1980s. Philip Rivers threw for 436 yards and 2 touchdowns, but it was not enough.

Despite Rivers’ robust numbers, ultimately the Chargers loss was due to a culmination of questionable play calling in the Red zone and a lack of discipline by the players, including some unfortunate rookie-like mistakes by Rivers. Now, despite an entire off-season of Norv Turner repeatedly stating his desire to get the Chargers off to a “fast start,” Chargers fans once again find themselves suffering from a Monday morning hangover that has them playing a cruel game of “What If” while questioning Turner’s abilities as a head coach.

Like the Charger teams of the early 1980s, yesterday this team showed that it has the ability to frequently create big plays and potentially score from anywhere on the field.

The Chargers started their second possession backed up behind their own 1-yard line. Rivers managed to move the ball out to the 19-yard line before perfectly throwing a short pass to Darren Sproles who was already running at full stride. With no one around him, Sproles bolted down the sidelines for an 81-yard touchdown giving the Chargers a 7-0 lead.

Like the Chargers defenses of the early '80s, yesterday’s defense seemed to have no answers on how to stop the opposing offense. We also saw this in the first half of last week’s game against the Oakland Raiders. Like in the '80s, a high-powered Chargers offense mixed with poor defense were the perfect ingredients to create an exciting yet equally frustrating football game.

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Chargers Struggle in Win Over the Raiders

A collective late night sigh of relief could be heard throughout San Diego as Darren Sproles rushed into the end zone giving Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers (1-0) a 24-20 come-from-behind victory over the Oakland Raiders (0-1) with 13 seconds to go in Monday Night Football. The victory extended the Chargers’ win streak over the Raiders to 12, and it kept Norv Turner’s hopes alive of getting the Chargers off to a quick start this year. However, the Chargers struggled against the Raiders, leavening many unanswered questions as to how good this Charger team really is.

Early on it was clear what Oakland’s strategy was for pulling off an upset against the Bolts: keep the ball away from the Chargers’ high-powered offense and out of the hands of their inaccurate quarterback JaMarcus Russell by running the ball down the Chargers’ throat. A strategy that was initially highly effective.

In Oakland’s opening possession they quickly moved the ball down to the Chargers 25-yard line on 4 rushes and 1 completed pass. Then Quentin Jammer intercepted a Russell pass on the 8-yard line and returned it up the sidelines for 21-yards.

For the Chargers’ first possession, the play calling was unimaginative and ineffective. A short 2-yard run by LaDainian Tomlinson up the middle, followed by a short 4-yard pass to Vincent Jackson, and an incomplete pass quickly brought Mike Scifres on the field to punt. This continuing the trend of not being able to score a touchdown on the Chargers’ opening possession that ran the entirety of the ‘08 season.

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Chargers Win and Cut to 53

On Friday night, the San Diego Chargers (2-2) wrapped up the pre-season at home by defeating the San Francisco 49ers (3-1), 26-7. This was the last opportunity for Head Coach Norv Turner to see his players in live game action before the start of the regular season and for the bubble players to make a case that they should be on the 53-man roster that was revealed shortly after 3:00 PM today.

Getting off to a fast start is a mantra routinely repeated around the Chargers facility in hopes that the Chargers can rack up some early season victories and put some distance between themselves and the rest of the AFC West. Turner applied that fast-start philosophy to the game by having Nate Kaeding execute an on-side kick on the opening kickoff. Antoine Cason recovered the ball for the Chargers giving the Chargers great field position.

Turner rested all of his offensive stars to assure this year they will start the year healthy. This decision put the ball into Billy Volek’s hands to start the game. Volek proceeded to do what he has accomplished all pre-season and march the Chargers down the field for a touchdown. The six-play, 57-yard drive was a capped off by a 39-yard touchdown reception by Kassim Osgood.

Osgood, a Pro Bowl special teams player, confirmed with the touchdown that he is capable of also performing in his listed position of wide receiver if called upon. When asked about his opportunity to play wide receiver in the pre-season and converting that into playing time in the regular season, Osgood said, “I’m way down on the depth chart. I just want to do whatever I can to bring San Diego a Super Bowl

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Rivers Converts Big Plays in Loss

In a game that Dan Fouts proclaimed to be a Super Bowl preview, the San Diego Chargers (1-2) lost game three of the pre-season to the Atlanta Falcons (2-1), 27-24.

Chris Redman won the game for Atlanta with a touchdown pass to Eric Weems on 4th and goal from the 5-yard line with 9 seconds to go in the game.

Although the outcome was hauntingly similar to two similar gut-wrenching losses that started last season Charger’s fans should not be overly concerned with the games final score.

Philip Rivers looked sharp and ready to earn every dollar of his new six-year, 92 million dollar contract as he led the Chargers on two touchdown drives in the first half. Five times on those drives Rivers converted 3rd and long for first downs. Including a 3rd and 18 to Vincent Jackson for a 32-yard gain, a 3rd and 17 to Chris Chambers for an 18-yard gain, and a 3rd and 24 screen pass to Michael Bennett for a 48-yard touchdown.

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Chargers Show Strong Defense in 17-6 Victory Over Cardinals

In the second game of the pre-season the San Diego Chargers (1-1) defeated the Arizona Cardinals (0-2) 17-6. This was a game that gave Norv Turner an opportunity to see how his first-team players stack up against last year’s NFC Champions. The San Diego Chargers defense has the potential to dominate in 2009.

Steve Crosby, the Chargers’ special teams coach, probably reacted like an irate drill instructor when the Chargers allowed La Rod Stephens-Howling to return the opening kickoff 89-yards to the Chargers 7-yard line. Crosby had repeatedly run kickoff coverage drills to conclude Thursday’s evening practice.

However, the return allowed Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera an excellent opportunity to test his first-team defense in a red zone situation against the Cardinals’ first-team offense. The Cardinals were ranked second in passing offense in 2008. While the Chargers were next to last in pass defense.

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Applewhite and Bakhtiari are Making it Count

If for no other reason, the NFL’s preseason is fascinating because it is teaming with dreams. Some dreams will be realized, while many will not.

During the next two weeks over 1,000 young men will be called into head coaches’ offices and asked to bring with them their playbooks. As these NFL hopefuls get cut, their coaches will thank them for their hard work while wishing them well in their future endeavors. Moments later they will be whisked away on an airport shuttle and flown away from a dream pursued since childhood.

For a very few players, NFL dreams do not die after being cut. They are the few that try and try again. Such is the case with Antwan Applewhite (90) and Eric Bakhtiari (48), friends who have a lot more in common than being linebackers for the San Diego Chargers.

Both Applewhite and Bakhtiari attended college in San Diego: Applewhite at SDSU and Bakhtiari at USD. Both were undrafted free agents who have been cut multiple times by the Chargers. Both went home to a supportive family that encouraged them to stay in shape in case other opportunities came their way. Both were fortunate enough to get those opportunities and have made the most of it.

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Chargers: More Good Than Bad in Loss

On Saturday night the San Diego Chargers lost their pre-season opener to the Seattle Seahawks, 20-14. A loss that provided far more positives then negatives in terms of preparing the Chargers for a successful regular season.

The Chargers’ likely opening-day starters were primarily restricted in action to just two series in the first quarter. Both the defense and the offense looked strong in their limited playing time.

Shawn Merriman once again lead the Chargers defense for the first time since the opening day of last season. With Merriman back, the Chargers hinted that their defense should once again be a force to be reckoned with. They allowed the Seahawks’ starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to convert just one first down in his two series of work.

On the offensive side of the ball Philip Rivers was unable to get the Bolts into the end zone, but he did put together a good drive in his second series that included three first downs while throwing 5-7 for 26 yards. In the drive Rivers found Antonio Gates three times. A strong indication Gates is recovered from the injuries that slowed him down in 2008.

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Finding Meaning in the Pre-Season for the San Diego Chargers

This Saturday the San Diego Chargers will give fans their first taste of professional football in nearly seven months when they take on the Seattle Seahawks. Following the game fans will inevitability be peering at the box score as if it were a crystal ball indicating how the team will do in the regular season.

The only box score column that will have any real meaning in the pre-season is the injury report. If no recognizable names appear in the injury reports then the 2009 San Diego Chargers are going to be awesome! Perhaps the best we have ever seen.

Right now the Chargers are the healthiest they have been in two years. Luis Castillo, Antonio Cromartie, Antonio Gates, Nick Hardwick, Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, Shawn Merriman, and Jamal Williams are healthy at the same time. If they can stay healthy, the defense should return to its 2007 form and Philip Rivers will have a fully-loaded arsenal on offense that should culminate in many Charger victories.

This does not imply that pre-season has no meaning. There are still plenty of intriguing story lines to follow and how they play out will determine the Chargers’ depth and ultimately their overall strength.

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