Chargers Finish Preseason 3-1
The San Diego Chargers proved they can win meaningless games without LaDainian Tomlinson, finishing their exhibition season with a 16-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers to end the preseason 3-1. Tomlinson - who does not play during the preseason as a rule - will thankfully be ready, willing, and able to suit up versus the Chicago Bears in week one of the regular season at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers and 49ers sat most of their starters on this day, pitting third string versus third string in an epic battle for the last five roster spots on each team.
The Chargers say they are ready for the Bears, and their actions back it up. Though you can’t really take much from a preseason win/loss record, the Chargers have played very well throughout the preseason, and most importantly, they showed stark improvement from game one to game three in their first-string execution. With a new coaching regime and a few new receivers, this is very good news for the Chargers. Now, with the regular season addition of LT, the Chargers should be ready to hit the ground running.
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Chargers 3rd in Power Rankings
ESPN.com has released its final preseason power rankings. In many ways, not much has changed since the last time these rankings were released. However, for some teams, the change has been drastic. No change has been more dramatic or surreal than the complete free fall of the Atlanta Falcons, who plummeted from 19 to 31 after losing Michael Vick. Other notable changes were the Bears (from 5 to 4), the Ravens, (4 to 5), and the Redskins, who somehow jumped from number 28 to 19 despite the fact that I couldn’t name you one offseason Redskins acquisition.
The Chargers are holding tight at number three. Honestly, for a team that hasn’t ever made a deep playoff run, that’s about as good as it’s going to get I think. They rank right behind the mighty Patriots and the defending champ Colts. The Chargers have talent and depth at every single position. They’ve been playing very well in the preseason under their new coaching regime, and quite frankly they just look really scary. If the Colts can’t find that edge and motivation to win it all now that they have their ring, and if Randy Moss can’t revert to being the Randy Moss of old (as opposed to just the old Randy Moss), then the Chargers have to be considered the tops in the AFC. It’s going to be a great season.
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More News and Notes Heading into Final Preseason Game
As the Chargers prepare for their final preseason game, the San Diego Union-Tribune has put together their news and notes column, with small pieces about how much playing time the starters will be getting (10 or so plays for both offense and defense at the beginning of the game), as well as some stuff about last weekend’s game. Turner talks about how he particularly enjoys the last preseason game because the players are playing for a spot on the roster, so the game has a bit more intensity than other preseason games. He also praises his defense for a big defensive stand they made against Arizona.
The piece goes on to talk about the Chargers and some of the cuts they’ve had to make to file their roster down to 75 players. They also talk about the Chargers and their place in the Sports Illustrated football preview. The Chargers are picked by SI to make it to the Super Bowl and lose to the New Orleans Saints, which is ridiculous on so many levels, I have neither the time nor the space to go into it right now. The Chargers also had 4 of the top 17 players in the NFL, according to Sports Illustrated.
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Chargers to Show New Defensive Schemes
According to a report out of the San Diego Union-Tribune today, San Diego Chargers first-year defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell will be changing up the defense a little bit in 2007, and it’s not in the ways San Diego fans initially thought/feared. Though it was first reported that Cottrell might dial back the defensive schemes of coordinator Wade Phillips, who left in the off-season to take a head coach position in Dallas, it now appears that the new D-coordinator actually has his sights set on making the defense more aggressive this year. Cottrell will be looking to add many different linebacker and secondary blitz sets to the already insanely strong Chargers D-line.
This is awesome news for the Chargers defense. For a team that led the league in sacks last year, playing even more aggressively is going to throw some opposing teams into a downward spiral when they play the Chargers. While ex-coordinator Phillips was very focused on using the front seven for pressure and dropping the rest of the team back to keep big plays to a minimum, the new schemes will feature corner and linebacker blitzes as well, likely to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks most of all. While these new schemes will leave the Chargers slightly more susceptible to the big play, they will also help the Chargers cause more turnovers by keeping the opposition constantly wondering where the next blitz is going to come from. No matter what happens, it should certainly be entertaining.
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Turner Ankle Injury Not Serious
The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that San Diego Chargers backup running back Michael Turner’s high ankle sprain is not as serious as was originally thought. Turner, who saw a lot of playing time during San Diego’s third preseason game, injured his ankle during the third quarter. Right now, the Chargers are optimistic about his quick return to 100%. Turner is thought by many to be the best back up running back in the NFL, standing behind reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson in the depth chart. There are those who believe he would start nearly anywhere else, so the Chargers certainly need him to be healthy and ready to back up LT if their workhorse were ever to go down.
This type of injury is exactly the reason why Tomlinson never plays during the preseason. Who wants to deal with a high ankle sprain due to a meaningless play in a meaningless game only a couple of weeks before the beginning of the season? Granted, it’s Michael Turner, and the fact that he’s a backup and not a starter helps make people much less nervous in San Diego, but still. People must be keeping their fingers crossed that Turner’s ankle heals sooner rather than later.
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San Diego Missing Tackles
The Union-Tribune is running a nuts and bolts piece that deals primarily with the fact that the San Diego Chargers don’t tackle during training camp practice, thus making their tackling a bit sloppy during the initial part of the preseason. The Chargers D is apparently adjusting to the new early practice system under new coach Norv Turner, and they don’t seem to think they’ll miss a beat by the time their first regular season game comes around. When asked why he doesn’t allow tackling during camp practices, Turner replied that he would “run out of players” by the end of camp.
This just illustrates another difference between Turner and Schottenheimer. Marty was a guy who believed in intensity and fire, and playing ever single game like it was the most important game of the season. That intensity was what helped the Chargers build a franchise-best 14-2 season last year, but it also surely contributed to their early departure from the post-season, as they seemed worn down by season’s end. Turner’s approach is geared far more toward post-season success than regular season greatness. This type of early precaution to protect his players as much as possible and keep them fresh is indicative of his coaching style.
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San Diego Rules at Madden
ESPN.com has released their John Madden 2008 Player Rankings, and the Chargers are sitting pretty. Not only do they have the top rated offensive player in the game (LT), but they comprise 25% of the top 20. Tomlinson ranks third, with Merriman, Williams, Neal, and Gates occupying spots 14-17. If you continue to scroll through the top 100, you will see Charger after Charger, in a laundry list of NFL domination. The Chargers, according to Madden, are stacked.
As far as Madden is concerned, San Diego should be a team looking to make a run at an undefeated record this year. They have high quality talent on both sides of the ball and rate extremely highly, according to EA Sports. If you believe Madden, the San Diego Chargers will be an unstoppable force of nature in the NFL this year, rolling over all who oppose them. Unfortunately for Chargers fans, though, it’s only Madden, not real life.
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San Diego News and Notes
The Union Tribune has released an article mostly detailing, among other things, the San Diego starters playing more than half of their next preseason game, as opposed to your basic first quarter action. The article also discusses some of the last minute things the Chargers are working on in practice, most notable being mistakes at wide receiver. The Chargers had three false starts from their receiving corps in their last preseason game, and will try to get their young receivers broken of that terrible habit by the time the first game of the season comes around.
Unfortunately for Chargers fans, if they want to see their big name players play in the preseason, they’ll have to travel to Phoenix to do so. The Chargers third preseason game - game during which NFL coaches generally give their starters the bulk of their playing time - is an away game. Oops. As far as their receivers and their false starts are concerned, that’s just going to be something the Chargers and their fans are going to have to get used to. They have a very young receiving corps who will be prone to silly mistakes early in the season. However, be patient, as they are a talented bunch who are sure to improve as the season progresses.
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Rivers Hates to Lose
In an amazingly slow news day, the San Diego Union Tribune is running a great piece about how San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers hates to lose, even in practice. As someone who makes their home in sunny San Diego, I was glad to hear that the quarterback of a team with Super Bowl aspirations in 2007 does not enjoy losing. A quarterback who enjoys losing is certainly not going to help your team win football games, and a QB who is ambivalent about the subject is really neither a help nor a hindrance. However, a quarterback who not only dislikes losing, but claims to vehemently hate it - now that my friends, is a player who will help his team win.
How truly desperate is everyone for the NFL regular season to start? Can we please get some real articles and stories already? Even the reporters who follow these teams are running out of ideas. The quarterback hates to lose? What are you going to tell me next? The coach works long hours and the linemen really like to eat? But in all seriousness, Philip Rivers is a gamer. People can say what they want about how he inherited a team and a system that made him look very good last year, and sure, having LT around to run the ball most of the time doesn’t hurt. But Philip Rivers is getting all of this done without the aid of a marquee wide receiver, and the kid is tough as nails. Even if the title of the article seems a little obvious, possibly ridiculously so, Philip Rivers under center for your football team with the game on the line is absolutely no laughing matter.
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Chargers Impress Versus Rams
The San Diego Chargers won their second preseason game in convincing fashion, besting the St. Louis Rams 30-13. LaDainian Tomlinson once again did not dress for the game, and the Rams own running back sensation Stephen Jackson only played one down, making this game more of a passing affair. Philip Rivers was 9/13 with 81 yards and one touchdown. Billy Volek, the Chargers second-string passer, has a touchdown toss of his own. However, it was St. Louis backup Gus Frerrote who had the largest workload of any passer, going 16/22 for 187 yards and one touchdown. St. Louis starter Marc Bulger was 8/12 for 79 yards and one interception in limited time.
The game, while fun enough to watch, especially for Chargers fans, did very little to tell either fan base what to expect from their team this season. Both the Chargers and the Rams played a good portion of this game without their main offensive weapons, so everything about the game must be taken with a grain of salt for both teams. However, as we get closer and closer to the regular season, look for teams to start playing their starters a bit more. That is, except for LT, who somehow manages to get ready for the regular season without taking one snap in exhibition.
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