I know there's two weeks left, but I'm still planning on doing a "2008 Draft Review" this week and am interested to know your opinions as far as the best rookie for the Chargers this year.  Here are some of mine.

Cason - He's been a solid nickel corner.  Certainly an upgrade from Florence in my book.  Good ball skills, good tackler and seems to have the ability to be in the right place at the right time.  So far this year he has 60 tackles, 1 INT and 6 pass defenses.

Hester - If you weren't a diehard fan, you could've gone the first 11 weeks without knowing Hester was on the team.  During that time he has 2 rushes for 3 yards and a lost fumble.  I was a big fan of his in college, as he always makes playing the game look like it's fun instead of work, and am glad to see him becoming another weapon for our offense to play with.

Tolbert - He's apparently the 2nd most famous Mike Tolbert, behind this insurance agent.  In 10 games of action this year he rushed 13 times for 37 yards while catching 13 passes for 171 yards.  His blocking has yet to really surprise or impress anyone, but if it can progress (and I'm thinking it can because he's built like a MAC truck) he can be quite the weapon.  With FBs disappearing in offenses across the country, I understand that to get a good, young one we're going to have to mold him ourselves.

Clark - Inconclusive since he hasn't seen much time on the field.  He's got great size and Texas A&M puts out a lot of good offensive lineman.  Right now he's stuck behind a logjam at the tackle positions (McNeil, Shelton, Clary), but if he shows promise in practice I could see him starting next year.

Applewhite - I know Applewhite technically is a 2nd year player, but he spent last year on our practice squad so I thought I'd throw him in there.  He's played in 12 games this year, seeing time at OLB and special teams.  He has only 16 tackles and 0.5 sacks for the year but had a big game against KC with 5 tackles and a crucial stop of Larry Johnson in the 4th quarter.

The Chargers showed up for all full sixty minutes and Sunday night and came away with a sound victory.  The offense didn't convert everything in the red zone, but still came away with 30 points.  This game was the mirror image of last week, where the Bolts really were dominant on both sides of the line.  Couple that with a Denver loss and the Chargers control their fate again; if they win out they don't need any help to take the division. With a road game against the Bill's, then the ultimate road game to jolly old England against the Saints the Chargers have some tough games ahead.

Quarterback - A

After two sub-par games, Rivers was really on his game.  He was hitting short and long passes with authority.  He was without one of his favorite targets, but didn't miss a beat with Malcolm Floyd doing an excellent job filling in; this team is deep with talented receivers.  He ended the night 18/27, 3 TDs and no interceptions and a robust 141 QB rating.  The team really took advantage of Deltha O'Neal's height deficit.  Rivers set the tone early completing a bomb to Vincent Jackson; they ended up settling for three, but you could see they were going to move the ball.

Receivers - A

I can remember one dropped pass by Vincent Jackson, but apart from that Jackson and Floyd were terrific; I was surprised that we didn't see Buster or Legedu more.  That first bomb to Jackson was up for grabs, and Jackson took it down; he is really turning into a dominant receiver.

Continue reading this post »

The Chargers lost to the Carolina Panthers 26-24 in the first game of the season.  This was not the result I was looking for, but one I feared.  The Panthers were uniquely qualified to hang a loss on the Bolts.  This Panther team is a powerful playoff contender; make no mistake.  The media saw 7-9, their best weapon missing vs. the Chargers stacked lineup and thought it would be a gimme.  No such luck.  The Panthers last year were awful after their QB went down.  This year they seriously upgraded with two number one draft choices, offensive lineman Jeff Otah and running back J. Stewart; both looked terrific today.  Those three factors, a good QB, Jeff Otah and J. Stewart, plus some amazing play by Donte Rosario at TE pulled the game together for Carolina. Even though Otah went out for a bit with an injury, he helped dominate the Chargers defensive line.  Both on run plays and pass blocking, the Panther line was in charge.  J. Stewart who picked up 53 yards in ten carries, was part of a formidable one - two punch.  The running game is the weak point on the Chargers defense and this offense was primed to take full advantage.  The Panther defense was great in the first half, but gave ground in the final quarter.  The temptation is to chalk this loss up to one lucky desperation play; this is a mistake.  The Panthers outplayed an excellent Bolts team in their own yard without their best receiver and fully deserved the W.

The Good

Antoine Cason is the real McCoy.  He came up huge on a fourth and goal, then again by causing a fumble with a ferocious tackle, which the Charger offense then put it in the end zone.  Big time plays under pressure for the rookie, this number one looks solid.  For that matter Jammer had a fantastic game; breaking up a number of big yardage plays and solid tackling.  Who would have thought, Cromartie would be the weakest link this Sunday, once playing too soft allowing a big gainer and once gambling for the pick and losing.  Even so there are zero worries either about Cromartie or the secondary; the Panthers caught a series of tipped passes, and there will be games when those gambles pay off; I don't know about fifteen, but the picks will be coming for Cromartie.

Continue reading this post »