Chargers vs. Eagles

The Chargers, by virtue of their poor play on national TV earlier in the season, have worked themselves into a sleeper role, while the Eagles are still asleep. I think the Eagles come into this game a bit overconfident that they can handle a "finesse" AFC West opponent with their bruising, NFC East ways, and end up running into the buzz saw of confidence the Chargers will bring at home.

Both teams are 5-3 and both really need this win to stay competitive in their respective divisions, so San Diego fans will be treated to another playoff-like atmosphere. Once again, what more can we ask for?

The Eagles have been thriving on the big play abilities of their extremely fast and dangerous young receivers, Jeremy Maclin and the explosive DeShaun Jackson. However, Dallas had success last week and exposed these smaller receivers a bit by beating them up at the line of scrimmage and bumping them off their routes. Look for San Diego to do the same. Jammer and Cromartie have been absolutely stellar the past few weeks.

While we were all complaining about how horrible the defense was, they figured something out in the past weeks. Most Charger fans would be surprised to hear that San Diego has the 6th ranked pass defense in the NFL. Many of the sacks the last few weeks can be attributed to opposing QB's holding the ball a bit too long because nobody's open. In addition to the great play of the corners, Eric Weddle has hit a groove. Also, those huge breakdowns with wide open receivers haven't happened since the Chargers cut Clinton Hart. Ellison, Gregory and Oliver have provided enough smart play to shore up the gaps in the secondary.

Ron Rivera seems to have found the secret ingredient to help out the defense get off the field on third down: the safety blitz. The mere threat of the blitz forces opposing QB's to get rid of the ball a beat faster than they were earlier in the season (think of all the time Big Ben had). The Chargers will limit and harass Donovan McNabb more than he expects this week.

The Eagles' defense is aggressive in getting after the quarterback and the Chargers' offensive line will have to be at its best this week, but they seemed to also take a step forward last week in their ability to pick up the blitz. Rivers will be sacked this week, but he will also have enough time to get the ball down field enough for San Diego to score points.

The Charger running game will most likely continue to founder, but LT will be enough of a decoy to open holes for the receivers on play-action passes.

San Diego 28, Philadelphia 17

Chargers vs. Chiefs Preview

My wife and I are having a baby on Monday, so I will keep this one short and sweet. If the Chargers lose this game the franchise has officially imploded. Norv and company simply have to find a way to win.

Rays of hope? Rookie safety Kevin Ellison actually played very well last week and could end up as a major improvement to this secondary. The Chiefs have been generally horrible on both sides of the ball even though they got their first victory against even more horrible Washington last week. Though the division title may end up beyond the Chargers' reach right now, the Wild Card race is a virtual dead heat between many teams. If San Diego can win the next two games, they might even be able to control their own destiny going forward.

If they lose this game? Goodbye Norv and Ron Rivera at the end of the season...and the rest of us will be stuck with a lame duck coaching staff and roster for another ten games.

Chargers vs. Broncos Prediction

AJ Smith understands the San Diego Chargers are heading in the wrong direction. Cutting starting safety Clinton Hart last week was an attempt to change that direction and send a message to the rest of the team. Hart was a sub-par player at his position for years who simply never improved enough. At a certain point, coaches and management have to realize this and cut their losses (Raiders fans wish this would happen with JaMarcus Russell).

The Chargers look like they will start rookie safety out of USC, Kevin Ellison, in Hart's place in running situations and insert slightly more experienced Steve Gregory in passing situations. Look for the Broncos to attempt to flip these situations and attempt to get Brandon Marshall or Eddie Royal deep against Ellison in what appears to be running situations. Ellison showed his ability to come up to the line with some pop in the preseason, but the knock against him is his lack of optimal speed for his position. If the Broncos can exploit this lack of experience, it could be the difference maker in what will be a close game.

Denver Coach Josh McDaniels has proven he's a good student, learning the lessons from the Genius in New England and beating him last week. The key feature of the New England and now Denver coaching philosophy is a great ability to adjust, finding and taking advantage of their opponents' weaknesses. San Diego's weaknesses? There are many, but the run defense has been the most glaring, so look for Denver to attempt to pound the run, while taking a few shots down the field against the weak side safety.

If Rivera has been unable to figure out a way to shore up the middle of the defense, this could be a long day for the Bolts. San Diego brought back Ian Scott this week, who they cut after training camp, to shore up the middle. 33 year-old Alphonso Boone, brought in from the street two weeks ago will be used more at defensive end. Travis Johnson, brought off the street after being cut by Houston, then out two weeks with a groin injury, will also fill in at defensive tackle.

Are any of these guys in true playing shape? Were they even good enough to begin with? This position will continue to be the fatal flaw of this defense unless someone steps up and surprises us or AJ manages to pull off a trade and bring in someone who can really play.

On offense, look for the Chargers to pull out all the stops, getting aggressive, tricky and desperate from the start. Despite the Broncos top ratings on defense, San Diego will be able to move the ball and score touchdowns on their home field this week. The run game won't be great, but with a healthy LT, it will be enough of a threat to open up other possibilities.

When it comes down to it, the Chargers are not as bad as they played in their last game, and the Broncos are not as good as they think they are. Kyle Orton is not John Elway, and will be fallible this week. The Chargers, on their home field, in a game that means everything to the future of this organization, will pull out a win.

San Diego 31, Denver 28

Chargers vs. Dolphins Preview

Both of these teams really need a win this week, so look for a hard fought battle the whole way through. The Dolphins are probably shocked they've started the season at (0-2) and they lost a close one last week, so they will come out and play like their season is on the line. San Diego can't afford to lose a second home game in a row, especially since they're traveling to Pittsburgh next week to face the Super Bowl Champions. The helmets will fly in this one.

More than super-accurate "dink" passer Chad Pennington, the Chargers need to worry about the Wildcat and the running game with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Last week, the Dolphins exploited the soft middle of the Colts' defense with some option run plays up the middle. With Jamal Williams out, the Charger's middle is now soft as well. Stephen Cooper admitted that last week he wasn't aggressive enough, and Kevin Burnett hasn't shown he can stick his helmet in there and make a stop at the line of scrimmage when it matters. The inexperienced defensive tackles, Ogemdi Nwagbuo and Vaughn Martin were pushed around at times last week, probably due to lack of technique than lack of strength. The Chargers brought in a veteran Alfonso Boone this week, but he is a cast-off of the Chiefs, who aren't exactly stacked on defense. He seems like more of a desperation grab. The whole Chargers D has displayed poor tackling in the first two games. Hopefully they went back to the fundamentals this week.

With this situation, someone else is going to have show some run stopping toughness. San Diego can't afford to fall behind as they did last week, and let the Dolphins grind the clock and keep the ball away from the offense. Hopefully, Ron Rivera will stack the box, forcing the Miami to rely more on Pennington, or dare Ronnie Brown to fling a pass down field out of the Wildcat.

If the Chargers can get a lead and force Pennington to throw, I actually think the defense matches up well with a short passing offense. Both Cromartie and Jammer can play excellent man to man, while Cooper and Philips and Burnett have shown strong athletic ability in coverage. Deep balls aimed at Clinton Hart or Steve Gregory are what give this defense the most trouble.

The Charger's offense has proven it can move the ball against anyone. The challenge this week is going to be punching it in the end zone. Look for Norv to make a much more concerted effort to run the ball with Michael Bennett, who didn't get much of a chance last week.

In the passing game, Rivers will take advantage of his tall receivers again with big plays over the smaller Miami DB's. If the Dolphins focus too much on stopping Vincent Jackson, Chris Chambers and Malcolm Floyd, look for Gates to have a big game over the middle.

Lastly, San Diego has that magical wild card in Darren Sproles. Whether on kick off returns or in the screen game, even when you, I, the other coaches, the fans in the stadium and the cheerleaders can see it coming, he manages to make a cut a full speed that no one else can make, and wind his way down the field for huge play after huge play. He will again this week.

Chargers 27, Dolphins 24

Check out the NFL Films video preview:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-previews/09000d5d812e291a/Week-3-Dolphins-vs-Chargers-Preview

Chargers vs. Falcons Preseason Preview

The Chargers will face the Falcons tonight in the 3rd preseason game. Here are the big questions that still need to be answered:

Can the offensive line block? The run game has been horrible so far and the pass blocking revealed itself as a problem as well last week. I'll be watching right tackle Jeromey Clary for any sign of improvement. I'll also be looking for any push at the line of scrimmage on run plays. It doesn't look like LaDanian Tomlinson will go so we'll have to see what the other backs can do.

The UT reports that the right guard competition is still open between Kynan Forney and Louis Vasquez although Vasquez did not look stellar last week. He will get the start tonight, see if he can show growth in his 2nd NFL game.

On defense, we finally get to see Larry English make his debut. They used to call him "Darth Vader" because of his asthma and the evil things he would do to quarterbacks. Can he get to the quarterback in the NFL? Can he diagnose run plays, react, get off blocks, and stop a ball carrier at the line of scrimmage? If he can, and Merriman can truly recover from his injuries, the Chargers may suddenly become one of the most feared defenses in the NFL.

Will the secondary be able to ball hawk like it did last week with Kurt Warner? Matt Ryan is an excellent young quarterback with great passing options in Roddy White (pick this guy for your fantasy squad) and free agent acquisition Tony Gonzales (who just kills the Chargers). Safety Clinton Hart made some horrible plays and some good plays last week. Can he be consistent? Steve Gregory is in competition for that safety position, but he's been out for a week with the flu. He needs to get some playing time if he's going to have a chance.