What we learned: Mega-edition from Saturday night - Gregg Rosenthal
San Diego’s starting defense had a poor night, but first round pick Corey Liuget is living up to his name.
Chargers overcome deficit in thriller - Christopher Smith
A Darryl Gamble fumble recovery for a touchdown and a two-minute drive headed by Billy Volek and Bryan Walters helped San Diego to a 34-31 comeback Saturday in Phoenix.
Gates scores TD in return - Jay Jay Maniquis
The tight end hasn’t played a game in almost nine months. What else did you expect than for him to find the end zone immediately?
Jabs set up big run - Christopher Smith
San Diego’s run offense plans to get better as games develop, wearing on defenses until they allow a big play like Saturday’s 48-yard Ryan Mathews sprint.
Six new coaches facing toughest challenges - Doug Farrar
The 2010 Chargers were one of the more talented teams to miss the playoffs in recent NFL history, and most people would like to blame the season-ending injury to tight end Antonio Gates, not to mention general manager A.J. Smith’s contract squabbles with receiver Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus McNeill. But the real culprit was the worst special teams unit the NFL had seen in more than a decade – and that’s no hyperbole.
Barnes finds role in SD - Christopher Smith
The fifth-year outside linebacker emerged in a limited but defined role with the Chargers last season. Now he hopes to be a major part of the rotation along with Shaun Phillips, Larry English and Travis LaBoy.
Breaking down Chargers vs. Cardinals -Bill Williamson
For the first time in the preseason, the Chargers’ starters struggled. The first two preseason games were a lark. Saturday night, the Chargers were punched in the face a few times.
Bolts have blue-collar feel - Christopher Smith
Antonio Gates feels a relatively quiet offseason regarding lofty predictions for the Chargers as well as missing the playoffs last season has allowed San Diego to build a more focused, lunch-pail mindset.
Chargers have work to do after beating Cardinals - Kevin Acee
"Really, I think it was good for us to not have it go so smooth," Philip Rivers said afterward. "Obviously, we did some things we’ve got to do better. If everything had gone perfect in this game, we would have floated into that first (regular season) game, kind of. Now it will really make everybody (know) we’ve got to bear down. It’s perfect."