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What to Look for in Tomorrow's Chargers/Falcons Game

Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner (33) slips past St. Louis Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis on his way to a short gain during the first quarter of a preseason NFL football game Friday, Aug. 21, 2009, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

3 months ago: Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner (33) slips past St. Louis Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis on his way to a short gain during the first quarter of a preseason NFL football game Friday, Aug. 21, 2009, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

  • Larry English is playing!  Anything less than 3 sacks and 2 spinal cord injuries to opposing players will be booed.  Just kidding.  All I want to see from English is the same smoothness coming off the edge as a OLB as I saw from him as a DE in college.  I'd also be interested to see at least one play with Shaun Phillips, Shawne Merriman and Larry "Sean" English on the field at the same time.
  • The Right Guard position is not as locked up as we once thought.  I haven't heard who is starting, but I'm willing to bet it's Kynan Forney (partially because they're playing his old team).  If Forney plays bad and Vasquez stands out with an excellent performance, this could get serious.
  • First team offense and defense typically play the most in the 3rd preseason game.  Word from the team is the first teamers will play the entire first half and maybe more, with some obvious exceptions (LT, Gates, Cesaire).  It's the most entertaining game of the preseason and also the one with the most risk (especially on turf).  I want to see the offensive line holding their own and the LBs getting some pressure on a few blitz packages.
  • Michael Turner will undoubtedly be pumped up to be going against his ex-teammates and they'll want to stop him in his tracks.  The first half of this game will tell us everything we need to know about the strength of our run defense without Jacques Cesaire.  I feel like Kevin Burnett will make some big plays.
  • Without LT, and wanting to avoid injury to their most important players, the Chargers running game will probably be handled mostly by Michael Bennett, Gartrell Johnson and Jacob Hester.  A lot of decisions are made after this game, so Gartrell and Mike Tolbert should be focused and determined.
  • I can't get enough of the Chargers secondary.  I don't know if it can possibly be as good as it looks in practice and looked against Arizona last week.  Can it?  I think almost anyone could play SS with these guys around them and a good pass rush, so I'm not worried about Clinton Hart.  (Pick City!)
  • How do we handle Tony Gonzalez?  He's a player we're familiar with, and one that our defense had trouble defending in 2008 (16 catches, 175 yards, 3 TDs in two games).  Does Burnett follow him all over the field?  How do the Safeties (Weddle, Hart, Gregory) handle him?  When Atlanta is on offense I'm going to keep an eye on Tony G.
  • Ogemdi Nwagbuo could make a great impression with fans and coaches with a strong performance against Atlanta's first-team offense (if he's not starting, he's definitely in the rotation).

Don't forget to e-mail me your questions for tomorrow's inaugural BFTB Mailbag.

0 recs  |  Comment 12 comments |

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 I also vote that Larry English be forced to change his name to some variant of shawn

I’m also looking forward to see how we use the three shawns on passing downs.

by Stephen (shaynes41) on Aug 28, 2009 12:58 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Why is it an injury risk playing on turf?

I thought the modern turf with the rubber (recycled tires) surface is pretty soft.

by SJO on Aug 28, 2009 3:10 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Softer than AstroTurf

Still significantly harder than regular grass. Mostly because you can’t rip it up, so cleats are more likely to get caught in it.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John (obviousman) on Aug 28, 2009 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Just freaked out

I saw preseason games on TV and I thought it was Saturday and I thought I wouldn’t see the game on Tv.

What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this blog is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on our souls.

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Aug 28, 2009 4:38 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

not even 6 months in NYC

and ’Tec is already smoking crack. Sad…..

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John (obviousman) on Aug 28, 2009 5:45 PM PDT up reply actions   1 recs

Looking forward to a National Broadcast

CBS coverage will certainly be better than watching delayed broadcasts of Seahawks and Cardinals local coverage. The interviews with Seahawk players while plays took place (with disregard to what was happening on the field) was particularly brutal.

by Hoot1969 on Aug 28, 2009 6:46 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

totally

What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this blog is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on our souls.

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Aug 28, 2009 8:15 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Vasquez is starting because of Forney's neck injury.

If he shows substantial improvement over last week…

Greg Maddux for manager.

by maestro876 on Aug 28, 2009 6:49 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

The Chargers have been practicing what Acee called a "mini-gameplan" for tomorrow.

They even broke out the big, loud white noise speakers to simulate the opposing crowd. They’re taking this game fairly seriously.

Greg Maddux for manager.

by maestro876 on Aug 28, 2009 6:50 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Best not worry about Tony Gonzalez.

The guy killed us every time without fail on a crappy KC team, no matter how good our defense. I’d expect nothing less of him now that he’s on a halfway decent team.

Greg Maddux for manager.

by maestro876 on Aug 28, 2009 6:51 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Yeah

He and White ought to work the secondary pretty hard. Of course Arizona had some decent receivers too. I’m real interested to see how Burnett does with Turner running too; this game is a good test if they play their first string much.

"Football is a physical sport, sometimes you have a disagreement on what's going on, and you have a discussion about it." Kris Dielman

by Brian (DaBolts) on Aug 28, 2009 8:11 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

OUr secondary was rock solid against AZ's reciever core

very promising

What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this blog is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on our souls.

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Aug 28, 2009 8:16 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

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