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The San Diego Chargers first and second team defensive units were both pushed around by a physically superior Seattle Seahawks offense. Sean Lissemore and Jahleel Addae both left early with leg injuries, but the story here was that the defensive front seven for San Diego had absolutely nothing for Seattle.
There was zero pass rush and the run defense was somehow even worse. No one looked good, but Melvin Ingram, Shareece Wright, and Manti Te'o stood out as being particularly bad (at this point, you can just assume the defensive line didn't bother to get off the bus) on first viewing.
The Chargers offense led by Philip Rivers showed significant signs of life against the talented Seahawks defense, though. Donald Brown, Malcom Floyd and Danny Woodhead all impressed in limited snaps. The refusal of San Diego's backs to go down on first contact looks like it will be a source of joy this season.
Once Rivers was out of the game, the offense was significantly worse. Kellen Clemens made a handful of good throws, but the enduring image will be his terrible underthrow into the end zone that should have resulted in an interception (or maybe that terrible throw behind David Johnson that should have been an easy TD).
Keenan Allen looked like the playmaker we saw last year as the first half winded down. Chris Watt was a lone bright spot on the offensive line (he seemed to finish every play on top of a Seahawks defender). D.J. Fluker and Mike Harris both looked atrocious during their turns at tackle. Branden Oliver played significant minutes, but wasn't quite as impressive against an NFL caliber defense.
When the 4th quarter rolled around, we learned that the Chargers still can't defend Terrelle Pryor. On the offensive side, we finally got to see Brad Sorensen get into the game. He showed off solid pocket presence and a live arm. Javontee Herndon dropped one of the prettiest throws of the night on 3rd & long.
B.J. Daniels entered the game to confirm that the Chargers have no concept of how to defend a mobile quarterback when he scored the FOURTH rushing touchdown by a Seahawks QB on the night. Seattle's punter never had to punt the ball. Overall, this game can be summed up by the following:
Once I publish the post game recap, it's moonshine time. #Chargers
— Richard Wade (@RichardWade) August 16, 2014