Bolts put in their place



Philip Rivers

Reality set in for the 2012 San Diego Chargers this past Sunday. After winning the first two games of the regular season over below-average teams (Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans), the Chargers were pounded, 27-3, at home by the Atlanta Falcons, a club which many perceive as one of the elites in the NFL. What reality has set in, one may ask? Simply put: Despite its 2-0 record heading into last Sunday’s game, San Diego clearly isn’t one of the best teams in the NFL right now. If anything, one could make the argument the Chargers are a mediocre squad not much better than the 1-2 Raiders.

Although San Diego’s offense showed its ineptitude to protect the football, what was most alarming was the blockers’ failure to protect quarterback Philip Rivers, who was under relentless pressure throughout the contest. According to U-T San Diego’s Michael Gelhken, left tackle Jared Gaither, who this past offseason signed a lucrative contract to protect Rivers’ blind side for this year and beyond, is once again practicing for the first time since late July. Gaither had been out of action completely for the last two months due to some mysterious back issues. The hope is he’ll return this coming Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs and perform to the outstanding level that he exhibited during the final five games of last season. In other words, let’s hope he actually earns his paycheck.

Meanwhile, Chargers fans have to be concerned about the cornerback position—and the secondary in general. Yes, there’s probably not a defense in the NFL that could stop the outstanding trio the Falcons possess in tight end Tony Gonzalez and receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones, but allowing the three to haul in 19 receptions for 213 yards and two touchdowns is just downright unacceptable. Then again, it’s not easy for the secondary when the defensive front allows a top-10 quarterback such as Matt Ryan to stand in the pocket without fear of getting smashed. The Chargers' first-round pick from this past April, outside linebacker Melvin Ingram, needs to step it up and spend more time in the opposing teams' backfields.

The best news about last Sunday’s debacle was that the defeat was against an out-of-conference opponent. Still, for those of us who have the ultimate expectation for the Chargers, the loss was quite depressing. Hopefully the Lightning Bolts will restore their fans’ confidence by blowing the Chiefs out at Arrowhead Stadium this coming Sunday.

The theme is depth



Dante Rosario hauls in one of his three touchdown receptions Sunday

 

During the 2012 offseason San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith expressed his desire to bring in better backup players for the upcoming year. Loyal Chargers fans, many of whom had grown tired of Smith’s foolish transactions over the previous two seasons, rolled their eyes and laughed at what they perceived to be yet another example of the GM's incompetence. The fans wanted more marquee players, not inconsequential backups.

Well, with several “backup players”, two in particular, coming through with impressive performances in a 38-10 blowout triumph over the Tennessee Titans this past Sunday, the statement Smith made is beginning to make a lot of sense. With the comfortable victory in the home opener, which featured a tribute to the late, great Junior Seau, San Diego improved its record to 2-0.

All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates was sidelined with injured ribs, and his absence usually leaves the Chargers’ offense in a moribund state. No worries this time around, however, as backup tight end Dante Rosario, who saw very little action the week before, exploded with three huge touchdown receptions and finished the day as San Diego’s second-leading pass-catcher. But Rosario wasn’t alone in filling Gates’ immense void; fellow veteran backup Randy McMichael contributed with three catches for 31 yards, and rookie Ladarius Green hauled in his first career catch, which covered 31 yards.

The running game, which was a disaster during the 22-14 win over the Oakland Raiders in Week 1, received a jolt from veteran free agent pickup Jackie Battle. The fourth-string ball-carrier heading into the game, Battle came up huge in helping the Chargers pull away in the second half. He gained 69 yards and scored two touchdowns on 14 second-half carries.

“Obviously, we talk about our depth,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers told U-T San Diego’s Kevin Acee. “Unfortunately for the guys injured, we're having to challenge that depth early and find out about it. But it held up. Those guys, I've said all offseason about we've got more guys that love to play football.”

A huge challenge is forthcoming this Sunday, what with the undefeated Atlanta Falcons next on the schedule. The Falcons’ defense intercepted Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning three times in the first eight minutes of last night’s game and held on for a 27-21 win. Atlanta has a very good defense and explosive players on offense, so Rivers and the Chargers' offense will have to continue to protect the ball if San Diego hopes to stay in the game.

Causes for concern



Greg Gatson

The San Diego Chargers got off to a good start by beating the hated division rival Oakland Raiders in the season opener this past Monday night. Still, San Diego possesses one extremely glaring weakness and a potential disaster on the horizon that could make the team playoff-less for the third straight season.

The 2006 season, during which LaDainian Tomlinson had an MVP campaign, seems so long ago when one thinks about how poor the Chargers’ run-blocking unit has been over the last handful of years. If the first game of the 2012 season is any sign of what’s to come, then San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers will have to carry the offense on his back once again. Collectively, the Chargers’ running backs ran for an embarrassing 22 yards on 17 carries. Curtis Brinkley was the leading rusher, finishing the night with 12 yards on 10 carries. That output is just downright unacceptable.

Although the defense stepped up and showed a ton of promise, the cornerback position, which was very thin on the depth chart to begin with, took a major hit, as Quentin Jammer broke one of his hands and Shareece Wright sprained an ankle. Jammer is expected to play this Sunday in the home opener against Tennessee. How effective he’ll be is a huge question mark. Wright, on the other hand, could be out this Sunday and perhaps the ensuing weeks. That means the Chargers will likely pull undrafted rookie Greg Gatson up from the practice squad. Gatson is listed at 5-11, 165 pounds. Yikes. If Wright isn’t able to make a quick recovery, things could get real inauspicious for San Diego’s secondary.

As joyful as Monday night’s victory was, Chargers fans should not relax. The run-blocking has to improve, and the cornerbacks need to hold up. Let’s hope for a win against the Titans.

For better or worse, 53-man roster is set

Although there weren’t any Earth-shattering decisions, the San Diego Chargers made a couple surprising cuts to get to the 53-man roster limit last Friday. Perhaps the most unexpected cut was the release of fullback/special teams stud Jacob Hester, whom the Chargers traded a 2009 second-round selection to move up and get in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. (Nice work on that one, A.J. Smith).

Nevertheless, for better or worse, San Diego is all set for the 2012 regular season. Here’s the 53-man roster.

Quarterback

1.      Philip Rivers

2.      Charlie Whitehurst

Running back

1.      Ryan Mathews

2.      Ronnie Brown

3.      Jackie Battle

4.      Curtis Brinkley

Fullback

1.      Le’Ron McClain

Wide receiver

1.      Robert Meachem

2.      Malcom Floyd

3.      Eddie Royal

4.      Vincent Brown

5.      Richard Goodman

6.      Michael Spurlock

Tight end

1.      Antonio Gates

2.      Randy McMichael

3.      Dante Rosario

4.      Ladarius Green

Left tackle

1.      Jared Gaither

2.      Michael Harris

Left guard

1.      Tyronne Green

2.      Rex Hadnot

Center

1.      Nick Hardwick

2.      David Molk

Right guard

1.      Louis Vasquez

Right tackle

1.      Jeromey Clary

Offensive concerns: With Gaither out with a mysterious back injury, the line may be the worst in the NFL. Harris is an undrafted rookie protecting Rivers’ blind side, and at the other end Clary is simply not a starter in the NFL. Therefore, the immense talent at the skill positions will probably be wasted for yet another season. Expect to see a lot of one- and two-yard gains on first down followed by Rivers running for his life on second and third downs.

With Vincent Brown out with an ankle injury that will prevent him from playing for half the season, there’s also uncertainty at the wide receiver position. Due to an injured hamstring, Royal missed a lot of time this preseason, so he didn’t get much work with Rivers. Meanwhile Meachem, expected to take hold of the #1 receiver role, hasn’t seemed to get in sync with Rivers. It’s also pretty much a given that Floyd will suffer an injury that will keep him out of action for a handful of games.
 

Right defensive end

1.      Corey Liuget

Nose tackle

1.      Antonio Garay

2.      Aubrayo Franklin

3.      Cam Thomas

Left defensive end

1.      Vaughn Martin

2.      Kendall Reyes

Strong outside linebacker

1.      Jarret Johnson

2.      Melvin Ingram

Inside linebacker

1.      Takeo Spikes

2.      Donald Butler

3.      Demorrio Williams

4.      Jonas Mouton

5.      Andrew Gachkar

Weak outside linebacker

1.      Shaun Phillips

2.      Antwan Barnes

3.      Larry English

Cornerback

1.      Quentin Jammer

2.      Antoine Cason

3.      Shareece Wright

4.      Marcus Gilchrist

Free safety

1.      Eric Weddle

2.      Darrell Stuckey

Strong safety

1.      Atari Bigby

2.      Brandon Taylor

 
Defensive concerns: There are just four cornerbacks on the 53-man roster, and none of them is a top-25 player at his position at this point. The Chargers are going up against some premier passing offenses (Atlanta, Carolina, New Orleans, Pittsburgh—to name a handful), so let’s hope Jammer and Cason hold it down, and Gilchrist and Wright make a lot of progress as sophomores.

Strong safety doesn’t look too bad, but let’s hope Taylor is the man to take over the position for many years to come. That spot needs a fixture, as it hasn’t had one since Rodney Harrison left following the 2002 season. Bigby is nothing more than stopgap.
 

Kicker

1.      Nate Kaeding

Punter

1.      Mike Scifres

Long snapper

1.      Mike Windt

Special teams concerns: I hate tobe  mean, but unless he proves otherwise with clutch kicks in the postseason, Kaeding will go down as one of the biggest choke artists the NFL has ever seen. Thus far in his career Kaeding has been nothing more than a respectful Mike Vanderjagt.