The San Diego Chargers hired a completely new coaching staff in the offseason. Norv Turner was fired as head coach and Mike McCoy was brought into replace Turner. McCoy was brought in on the basis that he showed a deep understanding of how to put together a dynamic pro offense, both in his time with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers as the offensive coordinator for both of those organizations. The youth movement is definitely going to be a big theme in San Diego. The team has already released veteran linebacker Takeo Spikes and veteran tight end Randy McMichael. The team also cut loose left tackle Jared Gaither.

The Chargers were particularly worried that Gaither’s performance was ready to tail off and they needed someone more reliable to protect Phillip Rivers. Rivers isn’t a particularly mobile quarterback and he tends to get flustered when the pass rush is breathing down his neck. McCoy has brought in a lot of people who he has worked with in the past. The Chargers were particularly happy to land Fred Graves as their wide receivers coach. Graves worked with McCoy together with the Carolina and he has a proven record working with wide outs like Steve Smith.

Offensive Scheme

A big question for the Chargers may be whether two offensive masterminds like Mike McCoy and Ken Wisenhunt can co-exist. A veteran like Wisenhunt was brought in to be McCoy’s offensive coordinator with the Chargers and Wisenhunt will get the chance to work with offensive weapons like Danny Woodhead, Ronnie Brown and Antonio Gates. It would be a real joy to work with one of the top tight ends in the game in Gates. Wisenhunt and Graves should be able to get the most they can out of receivers like Malcolm Floyd and Eddie Royal. Most prognosticators have the Chargers slotted in to finish third in the AFC West. It is hard to say whether that prediction is fair given the fact that we don’t really know how things are going to shake out for the new administration running the Kansas City Chiefs.

Defense

John Pagano has been kept on as defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers. The question on defense may be whether or not the team will be allowed to spend the money necessary in order to remain competitive. John Spanos, the owner of the team has been known to be fairly frugal with resources in the past. John Pagano’s biggest task as defensive coordinator may be to get the most he possible can out of players like linebacker Larry English and defensive linemen, who have underperformed in the eyes of most analysts out there. The Chargers were reportedly in the running for Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson, but the team decided not to overreach financially.

The Chargers may be a team that should take a look at Albert Haynesworth. John Pagano is the kind of guy that even disgruntled players enjoy working with. John Pagano may be able to steer “project players” like Haynesworth in the right direction. The Chargers may have to think outside the box in order to truly have a good season in the standings in 2013.

The Chargers were able to stop the Steelers throughout the first quarter with the defense forcing two Steeler punts. Nick Novak brought the Chargers on the board first with a 51-yard field goal.

The second quarter featured more defense protections from the Chargers with a few three-and-outs to keep the Steelers from going anywhere. Philip Rivers threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Danario Alexander to get the first touchdown of the game. The Chargers had a 13-3 lead at the half.

The Chargers took over in the third quarter. The Chargers took a nine-and-a-half minute drive to start the half with four third down conversions en route to a touchdown pass from Rivers to Malcolm Floyd.

Just one play from scrimmage after that touchdown, Roethlisberger fumbled the ball near his end zone, thus allowing Quentin Jammer to recover it in the end zone for another Charger touchdown. Big Ben did end up getting a touchdown in the next possession though.

Bront Bird got an interception in the fourth quarter, thus leading to Rivers’ second touchdown pass to Alexander. The Steels did make an attempt to come back, scoring two touchdowns in the final ten minutes of the game. However, an unsuccessful onside kick attempt allowed the Chargers to run out the clock to end the game.

The key to the game was the Chargers limiting the Steelers to a 5-13 run on third downs. In addition, the Chargers limited Ben Roethlisberger to a 22-42 passing rate with a little less than three hundred yards allowed.

In addition, the Steelers only had 69 rushing yards. This continues the trend of the Chargers having one of the strongest rush defenses in the league. The Chargers are giving up 92.5 rushing yards per game this year. This equals fourth among all of the teams in the NFL.

However, Philip Rivers did not have much of a game himself. He went 21-41 and had only two hundred passing yards despite having three touchdowns and getting sacked only once. Rivers will need to focus more on distance with his throws instead of simply going with screen passes and hoping that his receivers can pull off long runs after the catch.

The Chargers also need to concentrate on handling an appropriate rushing plan for third downs when in close distances. The Chargers were only 12-22 in third down conversions during this game.

The Chargers will return home on Sunday for a game with the Carolina Panthers. A key for this particular game will be to continue to focus on stopping the Panthers’ running game. This includes anticipating what may happen with Cam Newton, seeing that he actually leads the Panthers in rushing yards and touchdowns even though he is the quarterback.

Overall, the San Diego Chargers should be relieved to have ended a four game losing streak. However, the challenge will continue to stick around as they take on a Panthers team that just made a huge upset over the Atlanta Falcons.

Both teams practiced punting to each other until midway through the first quarter when Manning, deep in Bronco territory, was picked off by Eric Weddle for a 23 yard touchdown play. On the next series the Broncos moved the ball a little bit, such as a 21 yard pickup by Hillman. But neither team was able to score again the rest of the quarter, as the Chargers led 7-0.

The Broncos moved in for a touchdown early in the second quarter. At first the ruling on the field was an incomplete pass from Manning to Demaryius Thomas that would’ve been a touchdown. But then the call was reversed and the Broncos expanded their lead to 14-0. On the next series Rivers was intercepted by Bronco Wesley Woodyard, who ran 25 yards to set up the Broncos at the San Diego 8. After an incomplete and two short passes, the Broncos kicked a Matt Prater field goal, increasing the lead to 17-0. Later the Broncos recovered a blocked punt then Manning threw a 31 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley. At the end of the second quarter the Broncos led 17-7.

The Chargers fumbled early in the third quarter but recovered the ball and gained momentum by punting deep on the next play, pinning the Broncos at their own 2. Two plays later Philips took a sack in the end zone as the Bronco lead narrowed to 17-9. Later in the quarter the Broncos scored a touchdown pass for 20 yards from Manning to Eric  Decker, extending the Bronco lead to 24-9. They answered with a touchdown on their next drive in which Rivers connected with Danario  Alexander for an 8 yard scoring pass as the Chargers stayed alive and now trailed 24-16.

In the fourth quarter the Chargers were only able to add one touchdown while the Broncos sealed the victory with two field goals of 30 and 32 yards. They were able to get back in the game with 1:29 left by scoring a 21 yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Alexander, making the score 30-23. The onside kick failed and Denver ran down the clock. The Chargers got the ball back one more time with 23 seconds left, deep in their own territory but couldn’t move the ball.

The obvious problems with the Chargers were the turnovers and lack of a significant ground game. Rivers was able to balance passes with receivers, but Manning simply had a better day. The win helped the Broncos widen their AFC West division lead over the Chargers as the Broncos climbed to 7-3 while the Chargers fell to 4-6 and the Raiders fell to 3-7. The Chargers are still alive but need to run the table the rest of the season. Next week the Broncos play the 1-9 Chiefs while the Chargers host the Ravens.

Phillip Rivers had a near perfect game if you don’t count the one interception. He connected on 18 of 20 passes for 220 yards, leading the San Diego Chargers to a 31-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Matt Cassel, playing for the injured quarterback Brady Quinn, spoke of team frustration after the game. Clearly, the rest of the Chiefs’  season becomes a rebuilding year for next season, while the Chargers still have a shot at the playoffs.

In the first quarter the Chargers opened the scoring with a touchdown. Phillips went to work early with long passes to Seyi Ajirotutu and Antonio Gates. Rivers finished the drive by throwing a 14 yard touchdown pass to Gates. Cassel responded with a methodical drive of short passes and a scramble up the middle, leading the Chiefs to scoring a Ryan Succop field goal. Another highlight of the quarter was Quentin Jammer  recovered  a Kansas City fumble for the Chargers on the San Diego 22.

Both teams added field goals in the second quarter. The end of the quarter was controlled by the Chargers until Rivers threw an interception intended for Dante Rosario but was picked off by Eric Berry. The half-time score was a 10-6 lead for the Chargers, who were helped by a 30 yard pass play from Rivers to Danario Alexander, bringing San Diego to the Kansas City 15. Rivers went on to throw a 7 yard pass to Ronnie Brown at the Kansas City 7 before the Chargers settled on a field goal. The end of the third quarter was still a close game with the Chargers leading 10-6.

The Chargers dominated the fourth quarter, scoring three touchdowns. Rivers began his trio of  touchdowns with a 13 yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Floyd. On the next series the Chiefs gave up a quick touchdown when Cassel was getting sacked by Jarret Johnson and let go of the football, which was recovered by Charger Shaun Phillips for a touchdown. Suddenly the score was 24-6, but the Chargers weren’t done yet. Cassel threw another interception that was a deflection off the hands of Dexter McCluster and into the hards of Demorrio Williams, who ran the ball back for a touchdown as the blowout expanded to 31-6. Kansas City added a touchdown drive built on short passing plays.

Matt Cassel actually had a decent game, completing 19 of 29 throws for 181 yards. He threw one interception. The Chiefs mixed up their running, gaining over 100 yards on the ground. The Chargers managed to put up bigger numbers both in the air and on the ground. But Phillip Rivers simply created more action. While the Chiefs fell deeper in the the hole to 1-7, The Chargers came back to life, earning a 4-4 record at the mid-season mark. The main Chief weakness has clearly been turnovers while the Chargers overcame their weakness of blowing second half leads.

Trent Richardson showed why Cleveland selected him third in this years draft following Andrew Luck and RG III who have been successful in their own right. Time after time, he broke tackles attempted by Charger defenders. His first quarter TD was for 26 yards and he wound up with a total of 122 on 24 attempts, all the while still sore and recovering from a rib injury which had limited him to 8 yards on 8 carries last week.

All the blame cannot be placed on Philip Rivers in this one. Robert Meachum failed to catch a possible touchdown pass in the third quarter. Another potential TD pass was knocked away with just 1:24 remaining in the fourth quarter. Rivers finished the afternoon going 18-34 for 156 yards without allowing a pick and was sacked just once. He has demonstrated durability in his career with the Chargers as Sunday was his 103rd consecutive start behind center. Only the Giants Eli Manning has more with 127 among current QB’s.

Weather was as much the culprit as any one Charger. And while it is true the weather was the same for both units, the Browns had Richardson and the Chargers did not. That said, with the rain and 40 mph gusts of wind forcing more ground action than through the air, Ryan Mathews was more than serviceable rushing for 95 yards on the same number of attempts as his Browns counterpart (24). It was the kind of day when a running back is the game leader in receptions, as Ronnie Brown was for the Chargers on Sunday, logging 85 yards on 7 catches.

The Chargers defense will have to practice the “wrap up” technique in this short week leading up to their next contest against Kansas City on the NFL Networks Thursday night football. Although they still are second in rushing yards allowed at a stingy 80 yard per game average. They have yielded 247 passing yards, good for only 21st in the NFL. They may also have to find a new kick returner due to a hamstring injury suffered by Richard Goodman.

The weather will most assuredly be better with this one taking place in Qualcomm Stadium. The offense must find a consistency after failing to score a touchdown for the second time this season. The first was in a 27-3 loss to Atlanta on 9/23. They rank 20th in the league running the ball (103 yds.) and 21st when Rivers sails it through the air (217 yds.).

They are now 3-4 on the year after having lost 3 in a row over the past month with their bye awarded last week. They will look to improve on their 1-2 home record thus far, this year, against the Chiefs on Thursday.

The game started in the first quarter with Philip Rivers getting a quick touchdown pass off to Robert Meachem. Four minutes later, the Saints’ Drew Brees made history with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson. Brees set a record with his 48th consecutive game with a touchdown pass. This broke the record Johnny Unitas set more than fifty years ago.

The Saints got another touchdown not long after the Chargers had a field goal in the second quarter. Rivers helped get the Chargers to a 17-14 lead at the half with a 1:12 drive shortly after the two minute warning. The 86-yard drive was highlighted by Rivers connecting to Meachem again for 44 yards. The Chargers also kept Brees from advancing too far before the half.

Quentin Jammer intercepted a pass and Ryan Mathews ran for a touchdown within the first two minutes of the third quarter, thus giving the Chargers a 24-14 lead. However, the Saints started to gain momentum after an interception and touchdown by Demorrio Williams was nullified due to a roughing the passer penalty. Brees ended up throwing a touchdown to Marques Colston in that drive. It was particularly highlighted by Pierre Thomas making two catches of more than thirty yards each.

The wheels came off for the Chargers in the fourth quarter. After another touchdown pass to Colston, Rivers was intercepted by Roman Harper. A late drive in the last three minutes also resulted in Rivers being sacked twice with Martez Wilson forcing and recovering a fumble.

There were a few positives from the Chargers in this game. The Chargers were able to get enough receivers in play during the game. Eight players had receptions during the game.

However, there were a few negative issues for the Chargers. While Rivers did well in the first half by getting more than 200 passing yards in the first half, he was also sacked four times in the second half. Rivers will need to focus on keeping his stamina up all game long in order to have a better chance in the next game.

Also, kicker Nick Novak has had some issues with long field goals lately. While he did make a 20 yard field goal in the game, he missed the 55 yard attempt. Novak needs to start working on longer field goals. This is especially important seeing that Nate Kaeding might be out for a while.

The Chargers will be back in Qualcomm Stadium on Monday night for a game with the Denver Broncos. Rivers will have to concentrate on reserving himself for the entire game while Ryan Mathews and Jackie Battle will have to divide the runs among themselves. The secondary also needs to have a man on man coverage plan going. This is particularly since Peyton Manning has been targeting six or more players a game for passes.

Rosario caught four balls on the day; he started out the game with an 11 yard reception to cap the Chargers first drive, then caught a four yard pass on the second drive for his second touchdown reception, in the third quarter, Dawson caught his third pass from Rivers on the day for a score from 15 yards out.

["Image by Bisayan lady via Flickr"]

In his first game at Qualcomm Stadium as a San Diego Charger, Rosario’s three touchdowns gave him eight total touchdowns in his career, and he now has four in Qaulcomm.

Growing up in Beaverton Oregon, it was no surprise that the high school football star was destined for the University of Oregon. Rosario came into Oregon to be a H-Back, but was quickly moved to full back before becoming at tight end in his Junior year.

During his senior season at Oregon, and just his second year playing tight end, Rosario had 42 receptions, a school record from a tight end. Between his receiving skills and his willingness even as a senior to play special teams, Rosario was then drafted in 2007 by the Carolina Panthers.

In 2007 Rosario had a solid rookie campaign for the Panthers, but saw a very limited role in the passing game. In one of the final games of the season against the San Francisco 49ers, Rosario got his first NFL reception, a five yard touchdown pass.

In 2008, Rosario became a household name of sorts. In the season opener the Panthers flew to San Diego to play in a game against the Chargers. San Diego came into the game heavily favored. But Rosario and the Panthers would end up winning the game on a touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone as time expired to beat the Chargers 26-24. After the score, FOX Sports displayed Rosario’s name as “Rosario Dawson” makes game winning catch. However, the actress Rosario Dawson is still yet to register a catch in the NFL, but Dante Rosario has, and is starting to gain national attention again, this time in his name after yesterday’s performance in place of Antonio Gates.

Dawson started 22 games in a four year career in Carolina before being released in 2011. Last season , Dawson signed with the Miami Dolphins just before that start of the 2011 season, however the veteran tight end was a victim of the NFL’s shortened offseason in 2011, getting released by Miami before the season ever started. Two days later, Rosario signed with the Denver Broncos reuniting with former Head Coach of the Panthers John Fox in Denver.

["Image by SD Dirk via Flickr"]

In 2011, Rosario caught only seven passes for 117 yards on the season, but with Tim Tebow as your Quarterback, not even Antonio Gates would’ve put up much better numbers.

In 2012, Rosario was signed in the offseason as a second pass catching threat behind Gates. Seen as the third string tight end in San Diego, Rosario’s role changes regularly depending on which tight end he is spelling on any given day. If Rosario is in for Randy McMichael he is in for blocking, but given what New England has done with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, it wouldn’t surprise me to see San Diego offer up more two tight end sets featuring Gates and Rosario together. 

• San Diego setting the right tone early – ESPN (blog)
• Chargers 38, Titans 10 – CBSSports.com

["Image by SD Dirk via Flickr"][Limiting Quarterback Matt Ryan and the Falcons' passing game will be key to beating Atlanta on Sunday.]

The Chargers have strated out 2-0 as well beating the Tennessee Titans and the directionless Oakland Raiders. Sunday's matchup against the Falcons could be key for the Chargers to re-establish themselves as the best team in the AFC West. Starting out 3-0 would be huge for San Diego, a team that has traditionally started out slow under the guidence of Head Coach Norv Turner.

If there's one thing we know about Norv Turner's San Diego Chargers, it's that whatever ails the team early in the season will be fixed by the 10th or 11th game of the schedule. At that point, the team becomes pretty hard to beat….More at San Diego Chargers Ryan Mathews Set to Return against the Falcons – Bleacher Report

More Reading

• Falcons-Chargers Preview – CBSSports.com
• Dante Rosario, Chargers Beat Titans 38-10: San Diego Tight End Catches 3 … – Huffington Post
• San Diego Chargers: Hometown heroes to local children in need – Examiner.com

["Image by SD Dirk via Flickr"]

The Atlanta Falcons haven't been getting much out of their running game, but Michael Turner could still play a major role in the team's 2012 success.

It's uncertain if Turner will be able to play at all against his former team following a recent arrest.

Atlanta will try to win its sixth straight against the San Diego Chargers and stay unbeaten on the road in this series when two of the league's six remaining undefeated teams meet Sunday….More at Falcons-Chargers Preview – CBSSports.com

More Reading

 

• San Diego Chargers vs Atlanta Falcons Preview – Rant Sports

["Image by SD Dirk via Flickr"]

. “You've got to get the reps,” Mathews said. “Just get the speed down again. That's the main thing. Just getting my speed down. It should be fun. I've got to do it one day at a time to see how it looks for Sunday.

Mathews should add consistency to the Chargers backfield in his return. While assuming that Mathews is capable of a 14 game MVP season, besides Rivers, Mathews is the most important cog in the Chargers wheel. This will be shown on Sunday as the Chargers will get thier first true test of the season. Against two teams that are often mistaken for dumpster fires, the Chargers offense has looked for efficient despite a struggling run game. Philip Rivers only has one turnover so far this season, a trend that must steady its self to have a chance to beat Atlanta. 

Running back Ryan Mathews was back on the practice field on Thursday for the San Diego Chargers, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune beat writer Michael Gehlken.……More at Mathews returns to practice for Chargers – National Football Post (blog)

@MatthewBerryTMR I know the podcast hates Ryan Mathews but I just dealt CJ for him. Good or bad move for the rest of the year?

— brandonjvieira (Brandon Vieira) (@brandonjvieira) Tue Sep 18 2012

More Reading

• San Diego Chargers Ryan Mathews Set to Return against the Falcons – Bleacher Report
• NFL Injury Report: AFC West Has Some Big Names Banged Up – SB Nation (blog)
• Chargers' Mathews cleared for contact – FOXSports.com