Chargers Two-Faced Offense

The San Diego Chargers offense have been the football version of Gotham City Villain Two-Face. The Bolts are ranked 2nd in the league in passing offense, averaging 295 yards per game. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has been airing it out and is on pace for just under 5,000 yards passing. His favorite targets, wide receiver Vincent Jackson and tight end Antonio Gates, are both on pace for 80 catches and over 1,400 yard receiving. Without Rivers’ aerial assault would the Chargers even be 2-2? The Bolts’ running game is a different story. San Diego is ranked last in the league in rushing offense, gaining only 54 yards per game. “Their leading rusher (Sproles) has 90-yards TOTAL on 37 carries over the first four-games. LT is 2nd on the team with 70 yards TOTAL on 17-fewer carries.” Who’s to blame? The offensive line has been plagued by injuries, L.T. was also sidelined for two games, Fullbacks have not blocked well, and coach Norv Turner has gotten some heat for the questionable play-calling. The Bolts have been losing their battles at the line of scrimmage and need to improve their individual battles on the line more frequently. Can they regroup and prepare themselves during the bye week? It might be a long season for L.T. or Sproles in the backfield if the Chargers’ front can not win the battle at the line of scrimmage.

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com

Chargers Defensive Problems

The San Diego Chargers are not getting the type of pass rush they had hoped for. The team is finding sacks and negative plays elusive; the Bolts have only generated six sacks through four games (ties them for 4th lowest in the league). The Chargers’ secondary also have problems; tackling continues to be a weak-point. “The Chargers might need to strongly consider implementing more 4-3 looks to offset their lack of a true nose tackle. I think moving Luis Castillo inside to the three-technique would allow his natural athleticism to shine.” Vaughn Martin could also benefit from a more traditional defensive line position, and would most likely make the adjustments quickly. The Bolts have plenty of natural defensive ends in  guys like Merriman, English, Phillips, and Tucker, so those players would be placed in positions where they are naturally suited. Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera, who is on the last year of his contract, wants to land a head coaching job somewhere. Perhaps he would like to improve his resume by drawing on his 4-3 background. The Bolts have to use their bye week to quickly steer San Diego back in the winning column. Being 2-2 does not go well with Chargers’ fans and the team has now compiled a 13-13 record over 26 games.

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com

Chargers Injuries

The San Diego Chargers have been plagued by injuries this season. Linebacker Stephen Cooper and Center Scott Mruczkowski will miss practices during the bye week due to knee injuries. More than a half-dozen other starters will also be limited for practices. The Bolts (2-2) have played four physical games and are off to another slow start. Travis Johnson returned to the Chargers defensive line rotation while Ogemdi Nwagbuo is still learning and will not be prepared for 60 snaps a game. Although Outside Linebacker Shawne Merriman has missed most of the past two games, he is expected to be ready for  their October 19th match-up against the Denver Broncos. The Bolts will have to keep an eye on Broncos’ inside linebacker D.J. Williams, who has been blessed with the physical tools to succeed. The switch to the weak side inside linebacker position in the 3-4 scheme has worked for Denver so far this season. “Williams aligns deep at times, near the line of scrimmage, blitzes and his frequent movement and the surprising play of the linemen has allowed him to roam freely and make plays with his topend pursuit abilities.” Williams hit Dallas wide receiver Roy Williams on Sunday. The wide receiver stated that it was the hardest hit he had ever encountered. D.J. Williams was all over the field against the Cowboys. He knocked down two passes, added a sack and recovered a fumble.

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com.

Chargers Will Have To Regroup During The Bye Week

After the San Diego Chargers were dominated by the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, coach Norv Turner will spend the bye week trying to solve multiple problems with a team that lost 38-28 and is already two games behind the surprising Denver Broncos in the AFC West. Turner acknowledged that the Bolts did not play at a level they wanted to against the Steelers. The Chargers were manhandled at Pittsburgh, falling behind 28-0 and allowed 497 total offense. However, Turner did not use the word “manhandled” during the press conference. “I would not use that word,” Turner said. “I don’t think that’s fair in terms of, I can take plays where one of the Steelers players was blocked and put on his back, and take plays where one of our guys was. We did not handle some situations very well, and manhandle makes it into something physical. And as many of our problems were mental as they were physical.” This was the third time since last year that the Chargers lost at Pittsburgh, including a playoff loss where the Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl. If the Bolts want to win it all, their going to have to play much better against the dominate teams in the top of the AFC.

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com.

Chargers vs Steelers: The Rematch

Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 333 yards, and the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the San Diego Chargers 38-28. Running back Mewelde Moore caught a TD pass and threw for another to Heath Miller on a goal-line play. Pittsburgh (2-2) finally secured a victory after losing to Chicago and Cincinnati in the closing seconds in the previous two weeks. Jeff Reed made a 46-yard field goal in the final minute to finish the game. The Chargers (2-2) did not play well until late in the third quarter. The Bolts scored three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter; Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers connected with Antonio Gates for a 30 yard score and threw a 13 yard TD to Chris Chambers, and Jacob Hester scored on a 41-yard fumble return. But the Steelers built such a big lead that their horrible performance in the fourth quarter did not matter. Chargers coach Norv Turner said, “They came out and played about as well as they could play in the first half. Obviously from our standpoint we’d like to think we could do some things to handle that. But we weren’t able to respond the way I’d like to have seen us.”

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com

Turner Says Tomlinson Will Play On Sunday

San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson sprained his ankle in the season opener and has not played in two games since. Missing L.T. from the lineup has definitely hurt the Chargers’ offense. After all, L.T. holds the NFL record for most touchdowns in a season with 31. He would have most likely scored a couple of touchdowns for the Bolts (2-1) in the red zone, where the team has struggled to get in the end zone without their star running back. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Chargers coach Norv Turner is saying that it’s likely that L.T. will play this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2). The coach said, “We’re making the kind of progress we’d hoped for. Based on what I’ve seen, I think there’s a good chance (he plays).” The Bolts have not won in Pittsburgh since the 1994 AFC Championship game. Tomlinson will help the Bolts’ chances of winning if he can play. Otherwise, he will miss his third straight game of the season and go into the bye week to heal his ankle. Tomlinson will apparently be splitting his duties with the NFL’s shortest player, 5′6″ running back Darren Sproles.

Purchase San Diego Chargers tickets at stubhub.com and enjoy the game!

L.T. Returns To Practice

San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson was back at practice Wednesday for the first time since spraining his right ankle during the season opener. After missing two consecutive games for the first time in his nine year NFL career, L.T. said that he hopes he can play in Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh. The Chargers have not won a game in Pittsburgh since the 1994 AFC Championship game. The Bolts do not want to rush L.T. back. They could either decide to play him on Sunday or have him sit out a third consecutive game and then have the bye week to continue to let him recover from his injury. “I want to play in this game,” Tomlinson said. “But again, that’s dependent on how the ankle does. I think having the bye week definitely helps us both ways, playing and not playing. I think we’re going to wait and see.” L.T. participated in all of practice on Wednesday. The explosive running back said he’s testing his ankle to see how it feels during practice. L.T. continued to say that you gain confidence by practicing and on Wednesday it was “a measuring stick” of where he was with his injury. The running back stated he felt pretty good.

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com

Chargers Need To Run The Ball

The San Diego Chargers continue to struggle running the football. With LaDainian Tomlinson sidelined, the Chargers are forced to throw the ball more; more pass attempts means the opposing defenses blitz more, and hits on the quarterback and errant throws begin to pile up. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has taken quite a few hits this season. He has thrown only three touchdowns and has three interceptions. “Week in and week out, we are seeing Philip Rivers absorb big blows and gingerly get back to his feet. Capable as he may be, the Chargers are not going to be a championship team if they have to rely on Billy Volek for an extended period of time.” If the Chargers can not run the ball with consistency, they will be putting a lot of pressure on Rivers to win the ball game. Rivers is a Pro Bowl caliber QB, but he needs a solid running game to help him win games for the Bolts. Chargers coach Norv Turner said, “We need to continue to run the ball and we need to continue to run the ball better. There’s no question it’ll help us in our protection.” The coach added, “I think if you look at the good teams, the type of team we would like to be, you see they have the ability to run the ball.”

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com

Bolts’ Red-Zone Woes

The San Diego Chargers have struggled inside their opponent’s 20-yard line this season. Chargers’ fans have seen Nate Kaeding trot onto the field too many times in the red zone. The Bolts have made 11 trips into their opponent’s red zone the last two weeks, and came away with only one touchdown. Coach Norv Turner stated that “Somebody made a comment to me it’s inside the 20 that you’re having struggles. We really aren’t. It’s inside the 10. We’re getting the ball first-and-goal on the 10, the 9, the 8, the 7, and we’re having a tough time getting it in.” The coach continued to say that the problems they are having are “correctable.”  When a reporter asked Turner what was the problem inside the opponent’s 10, the coach said the problems are more communications related than physical. The coach added that the Bolts had a couple of chances to throw a couple of touchdowns in the red zone, but they just missed. The Chargers made six trips inside the red zone against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and scored only one touchdown.  In the third quarter, San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers scrambled from the 5-yard line and ran up the middle for the score. The Bolts (2-1)  play the Steelers (1-2) in Pittsburgh on Sunday Night. The Super Bowl Champions beat the Chargers twice last season in Pittsburgh, 11-10 in the regular season and 35-24 in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com

Chargers Get Ugly Win Over Slumping Dolphins

San Diego Chargers Eric Weddle picked off Chad Henne’s pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown with 5:45 left to put the Bolts up 23-6. The Dolphins scored a late touchdown, but did not draw any closer as San Diego won 23-13 on Sunday.  Miami quarterback Chad Pennington left the game with a shoulder injury in the third quarter and was replaced by Henne. Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman also left the game in the third quarter due to a groin injury. LaDainian Tomlinson missed his second straight game because of his ankle injury. Bolt’s wide receiver Vincent Jackson gain 100 yards receiving for the second consecutive week. “Chargers linebacker  Kevin Burnett led the Chargers defensively with nine tackles and one sack. The Chargers have struggled against the run in the early part of the season, but the team did a credible job of keeping the Dolphins out of the end zone for most of the day.” With Weddle’s interception, the Chargers have recorded 49 picks since 2007, the most in NFL. We can argue that Pennington’s injury allowed the Bolts to secure a victory. Next up for the Chargers, a date with the Steelers in Pittsburgh. If the Super Bowl Champions lose that game, they will fall to 1-3 and the Bolts will start the season with a 3-1 record.

Purchase Chargers tickets at stubhub.com

 Page 4 of 69  « First  ... « 2  3  4  5  6 » ...  Last »