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When: Sun. 10/3 - 4:15 pm
ET
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Satellite Radio
10/3 - 4:15 pm - SIRIUS Ch 113
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Televised: Sun.
10/3 - 4:15 pm
ET (DirecTV Sunday Ticket )
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Overview
Last Game
Meet the Chargers
Cardinals Roster
Cardinals
vs. Chargers Matchups
Overview:
The Chargers were upset by Seattle.
The Cardinals were handed a present, courtesy of a missed FG by
Seattle's Sebastian Janikowski. Cards are 2 & 1. Chargers
(notoriously slow coming out of the box) are 1 & 2. Cards face a
toughie the following week when NO pays a visit - they'd be
ecstatic going into their Bye week 3 & 2, but considerably less so
if they were 2 & 3.
Last Game:
Chargers fell behind 17 - 0 early in the 2H,
came back to tie the game 20 - 20 only to watch their
comeback thwarted by a KO return in a 27 to 20 upset loss to the
Seahawks. Deciding factor came in the form of two long kickoff
returns for touchdowns (for 101 yards and 99 yards) by Seattle's
Leon Washington - the second one breaking a 20 - 20 fourth quarter
tie with 6:24 left to play.
First Quarter
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War of attrition. San Diego
received, but after a 16-yard Sproles run turned the ball over
at their own 46 on Naanee's fumble. They held Seattle to 3 &
out. Chargersmoved from their own 20 to their 40 in 7 plays
before punting. Seattle started from their own 14 but, after
10 plays, had to punt. Chargers ran off 5 plays and punted.
Next Seattle possession extended into the next quarter.
Seattle 0 - San Diego 0.
Second Quarter
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A 28 yard run by Forsett and a 37 yard
completion to Carlson moved Seattle out of the shadow of its
own goal line deep into Charger territory. They made it as far
as the SD 2, but were eventually forced to settle for a Mare
23 yard FG. Seattle 3 - San Diego 0.
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A sack by Mebane helped make the Chargers
go 3 & out. But on the very next play, Jammer intercepted a
Hasselbeck pass. Golden opportunity with SD ball on the
Seattle 20. On the 11th play of the Charger drive (at the
Seattle 12), Tolbert fumbled. Seattle ball at their own7 with
5:15 left til halftime. On the 9th play of the Seahawk
possession, Hasselbeck hit branch for 42 yards and an apparent
TD, but the play was eventually ruled a fumble. SD ball on
their own 20 with 1:38 left til halftime. They went 3 & out.
With 1:15 left starting from the SD 41, a 23 yard pass
interference call on Jammer set up a 9-yard scoring pass:
Hasselbeck to Carlson. Seattle 10 - San Diego 0.
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Sproles fumbled the ensuing kickoff and
Seattle ran out of clock at the SD 2 (Makes you wonder about
Pete Carroll's clock management). Halftime Score:
Seattle 10 - San Diego 0.
Third Quarter
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Leon Washington returned the 2H kickoff
for a 101 yard touchdown. Seattle 17 - San Diego 0
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Chargers received and, after Rivers'
completions to Gates (28 yards) and A Davis (49 yards), scored
on a 3-yard TD pass from Rivers to Floyd. Seattle 17 -
San Diego 7.
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Next Seattle possession started from their
26, used up 7 plays & ended at the Seattle 45-yard line with a
punt. SD possession started from their own 16, used up 10
plays & (after a Clemons sack of Rivers for minus-9) ended at
the Seattle 43 with a punt. Starting at their own 7,
Hasselbeck was sacked in the end zone (by Siler) for a safety.
The score tightens. Seattle 17 - San Diego 9.
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Chargers started the next series from
their own 45 and moved to the Seattle 11 in 8 plays capped by
a 29-yard Kaeding FG. Seattle 17 - San Diego 12.
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Seattle ran off one play before the
quarter ended. Third Quarter Score: Seattle 17 - San
Diego 12.
Fourth Quarter
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Seattle wound up going 3 & out. On the
third play of SD's next series, Rivers' pass intended for
Gates was picked off by Thomas and returned 34 yards to the
Charger 11. Seattle moved to the Charger 5 where Mare was
forced to kick a 23 yard FG. Seattle 20 - San Diego
12.
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Chargers mounted a key TD drive,
lasting 10 plays & resulting in a 12 yard scoring pass from
Rivers to Gates. 2-point conversion was good (Rivers to
Naanee) tying the score: Seattle 20 - San Diego 20.
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Unfortunately, with 6:44 left to play, the
Chargers blinked at the wrong time, and Leon Washington
returned his second of two scoring kickoff returns - this one
for 99 yards. Seattle 27 - San Diego 20.
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Returning the KO to their own 21, the
Chargers moved to the Seattle 14 where (after a 5-yard delay
of game flag) their drive stalled at the 19 where they
turned over the ball on downs with 2:28 left. The defense
held, and they got the ball back via the punt at their own 45
with 1:38 left on the clock. This time, they managed to move
all the way to the Seattle 12. Another delay of game penalty
on Rivers moved them back to the Seahawk 19. Two plays later,
Rivers' pass intended for Naanee was picked off by E. Thomas.
One knee; game over. Final Score: Seattle
27 - San Diego 20.
Highlights/Lowlights
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Pretty evident that Chargers were done in
by special teams play (the 2 KO returns).
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They were also plagued by penalties. (11
penalties for 83 yards vs. half as much for Seattle).
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And turnovers (3 fumbles lost/2 picked off
= 5) vs. 2 turnovers by Seattle.
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And sacks (Rivers was sacked 4 times)
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They controlled the clock (36:04 to 23:56)
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And outgained Seattle in total yards: 518
to 217, but still lost the game.
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But still lost.
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Their main rook (Matthews) didn't play
Tolbert was their main ball carrier with 73 yards on 17
carries.
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Despite being sacked 4 times and having a
2:2 TD to pick ratio, Rivers still had a QB-Rating of 80.3
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Gates was thrown at 13 times (7
completions). Floyd was targeted 10 times (6 completions).
Naanee 8 times (4 completions). Five others were thrown to at
least 3-times.
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Jammer had SD's only interception.
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Nine Charger defenders shared the workload
with total tackles ranging from 3 to 6.
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Siler, Phillips and Applewhite were each
credited with a sack. Oliver forced a fumble.
Meet the Chargers
They They entered the season dragged down by
contract disputes (McNeal and Jackson) and injuries to key players
(Merriman). McNeal just signed his tender. Whether he'll need time
to get in football shape is open to discussion.
Quarterbacks
17 Rivers, Philip QB 6-5 228 28 7 North
Carolina State
07 Volek, Billy QB 6-2 214 34 11
Fresno State
04 O'Sullivan, J.T. QB 6-2 232 31 8
California-Davis
Three deep in quality. Rivers is considered one of the NFL's top
throwers. Volek and O Sullivan are seasoned backups.
Running Backs
24
Mathews, Ryan RB 6-0 218 22 R Fresno State
43 Sproles,
Darren RB-KR 5-6 190 27 6 Kansas State
44 Brinkley, Curtis RB
5-9 208 25 1 Syracuse
22 Hester, Jacob FB 5-11 235 25 3
Louisiana State
35 Tolbert, Mike FB 5-9 243 24 3
Coastal Carolina
They traded up to get Mathews in the first round and expect big
things from him. But he didn't play last Sunday; Tolbert got most
of the work instead. Sproles is their breakaway specialty guy but
surprisingly tough inside (in the same vein as Reggie Bush).
Wide Receivers
80 Floyd, Malcom WR1 6-5 225 29 5
Wyoming
12 Crayton, Patrick WR 6-0 205 31 7
Northwestern Oklahoma State
11 Naanee, Legedu WR2 6-2
220 27 4 Boise State
84 Davis, Buster WR 6-1 210 24 4
Louisiana State
Naanee and Floyd play secondary roles to
Gates as Rivers' receiving options, but both get their share of
passes thrown their way.
Tight Ends
85 Gates, Antonio TE 6-4 260 30 8 Kent
State
81
McMichael, Randy TE 6-3 255 31 9 Georgia
88 Wilson, Kris TE 6-2 245 29 7 Pittsburgh
Gates is a proverbial Pro Bowl standout and Rivers' main go-to
target. McMichaels is highly-regarded throughout the NFL as a
quality backup TE.
Offensive Line
62 Dombrowski, Brandyn LT 6-5 323 25 2 San
Diego State
69 Green, Tyronne G
6-2 316 25 2 Auburn
68 Dielman,
Kris LG 6-4 320 29 8 Indiana
61 Hardwick,
Nick C 6-4 305 29 7 Purdue
63 Mruczkowski, Scott
C-G 6-5 310 28 6 Bowling Green
65 Vasquez,
Louis RG 6-5 335 23 2 Texas Tech
66 Clary,
Jeromey RT
6-6 320 26 4 Kansas State
78 Terry, Adam T 6-8
335 28 6 Syracuse
The absence of LT Marcus McNeal (contract dispute) certainly
hasn't helped any. McNeal just signed, but it's unclear whether
he'll be ready to play this Sunday. If he does, you're talking
about an All Pro instead of a second year backup protecting
Rivers' blind side.
1
Defensive Line
74 Cesaire, Jacques DE 6-2 295 30 8
Southern Connecticut State
96 Johnson, Travis DE-DT 6-3 311 28 6
Florida State
71 Garay, Antonio
DT 6-4 320 30 4
Boston College
91 Nwagbuo, Ogemdi DE-DT 6-4 312 23 2
Michigan State
76 Thomas, Cam DT 6-4 335 23 R North Carolina
93 Castillo, Luis DE 6-3 290 27 6
Northwestern
70 Boone, Alfonso DE 6-3 320 34 10 Mt. San
Antonio JC
92
Martin , Vaughn DE 6-4 330 24 2 Western Ontario
Your basic average 3-4 D-line
front. With possibly the exception of Castillo, a bunch of
no-names whose jobs are most likely to keep blockers off the LB's.
All we know is that they held Seattle rushers to less than 70
yards.
Linebacker
95 Phillips,
Shaun OLB1 6-3 250 29 7 Purdue
90 Applewhite, Antwan
OLB 6-3 258 25 3 San Diego State
57 Lang, Brandon LB
6-3 266 24 R Troy
54 Cooper, Stephen
ILB 6-1 235 31 8 Maine
59 Siler, Brandon ILB
6-2 239 24 4 Florida
99 Burnett, Kevin
ILB 6-3 240 27 6 Tennessee
53
Holt, James OLB 6-2 223 23 2 Kansas
56 Merriman,
Shawne OLB2 6-4 265 26 6 Maryland
52 English, Larry OLB
6-2 255 24 2 Northern Illinois
94 Tucker, Jyles OLB
6-3 258 27 4 Wake Forest
Merriman is considered one of the NFL's
elite defensive players. Phillips and Siler each were credited
with a sack last week.
Secondary
23 Jammer,
Quentin LCB 6-0 204 31 9 Texas
30 Strickland, Donald DB 5-10 185 29 7
Colorado
20 Cason,
Antoine RCB 6-1 195 24 3 Arizona
29 Bennett, Fred CB
6-1 200 26 4 South Carolina
28 Gregory, Steve SS 5-11
195 27 5 Syracuse
25 Stuckey, Darrell SS 5-11 208 23 R
Kansas
32 Weddle, Eric FS 5-11 200 25 4 Utah
27 Oliver, Paul FS 5-11 210 26 4 Georgia
41 Spillman,
C.J. FS 6-0 199 24 2 Marshall
Jammer continues to play at a
Pro Bowl level. Cason is solid on the other side. Weddle is highly
regarded. Don't know anything about Gregory.
Special Teams
10
Kaeding, Nate K 6-0 187 28 7 Iowa
05 Scifres, Mike P 6-2 221 29 8 Western
Illinois
58
Neill, Ryan LS 6-3 253 27 4 Rutgers
43 Sproles, Darren RB-KR-PR 5-6 190 27 6
Kansas State
Kaeding is among the NFL's elite. Scifres is solid. Sproles
strikes fear into the heart of any ST coordinator.
Coaching Staff
Norv Turner Head Coach
Clarence Shelmon Offensive Coordinator
Ron Rivera Defensive
Coordinator
Steve Crosby Special Teams Coordinator
CTuner is considered one of the best offensive minds in pro
football and a true "QB Maker." Rivera is a solid DC.
Cardinal Roster
QB - 03 Anderson, 06 Hall, 19 Skelton,
Anderson continues to be a work in
progress - in the Oakland game, his passing attempts looked crisp
25% of the time, were successful but still sort fo an adventure"
25% of the time and unsuccessful the remaining 50% of the time.
The 50-50 ratio is pretty much the way it's been all season, but
the ratio of "clicking" completions to adventures continues to
improve. Major area of vulnerability - If not Anderson, who?
(Answer: undrafted FA Hall).
RB -
34 Hightower, 31 Wright, 36 Stephens-Howling (KR/PR),
26, Wells
Beanie saw action and gained 75 yards (He
has to be careful not to grab face masks when using his stiff-arm
though). Interesting, most of Hightower's big gains occur around
right end; whereas Beanie seems most successful running outside
left tackle (Woe be to anyone who fails to anchor the edge vs.
Beanie). Wells provides more physical pop in the running game than
does THT, but Hightower may have slightly more explosive breakaway
speed. Ball vulnerability an issue, but not a pressing one at this
stage.
FB - 45 Mau'ia
Cards have been playing shuttle-diplomacy
with this position in their quest for the best available lead
blocker (FB's come, FB's go, FB's return). Right now it's
beginning to seem that the coaches have settle on the returning
Mau'ia to provide lead-blocking potency.
WR - 15 Breaston,
12
Roberts, 18 Komar, 80
Doucet
WR -11 Fitzgerald
(Probable), 14 S Williams,
Breaston has a sore knee (but he
can go). Fitz is slowly recovering from his injured knee. Doucet
is likely to be out indefinitely. Komar, Williams, Roberts and
most recently the returning Onrea Jones (arguably the most
reliable pass catcher of the youngest 4) are expected to pick up
the slack. Certainly not last year's (Fitz, Q, Stevie) group of
WR's, but if Breaston and Fitz are reasonably OK, we'll be OK.
TE - 89 Patrick,
83 Spach,
81
Dray
Patrick is slowly emerging as the big-play
go-to TE target for Anderson. Spach is the best blocker of the
three (although he can be expected to have at least one
frustrating penalty called on him each game). Dray is promising
but still a rook.
LT- 75 L Brown,
73
Bridges
LG-
66
Faneca, 70 Hadnot
OC- 63Sendlein,
62
Claxton,
(70 Hadnot)
RG-
76
Lutui
RT
72 Keith
This unit still too often lets pass rushers get the best of them
(& the worst of the pummeled Anderson).
Keith got busted by the "eye in the sky" who caught him with no
one to block, but standing around instead of looking for a new
target. Levi (like most LT's) tends to get beaten at least once a
game for a sack. But this is a young unit that is improving as
pass blockers. We're not sure if this is true every time, but
we're led to believe by the TV analysts that the reason why Beanie
is able to cut upfield off RT is due to Faneca's seal blocking.
DE - 93
Campbell, 79 Iwebema
NT - 97 B Robinson, 98 Watson,
92 D Williams
DT - 90 Dockett, 78 Branch
They're doing OK, but, for a group as talented and deep as this
one, they're not making enough things happen. A bit up and down
defending the run (Horrible vs. Atlanta. Decent but not great vs.
Oakland and McFadden. Without much fanfare, Dockett racks up a
surprisingly large number of tackles by the end of each game.
OLB1 - 55 Porter
ILB
51
Lenon,
52 Obiozor
ILB-
58 D Washington,
56 Walker,
OLB2
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53
Haggans,
59
W Davis
This is where a lot of the action takes
place in the Cardinal defense. Lenon and Washington are making
more than their share of plays for ILB's (whose traditional roles
used to be stopping the inside run and protecting inside zones).
Haggans and Porter make occasional big plays, but OLB's
traditional;ly flash more
RCB -
28 Toler,
37 McBride,
MacDonald
LCB-
29 Rodgers-Cromartie,
27 Adams
SS- 24 Wilson,
22 Ware,
41 Abdullah,
40
Tillman
FS- 25 Rhodes,
49
Rash Johnson
DRC is still going through the 2 big plays/one bad play cycle
typical of many young corners. Toler is getting the opportunity of
a lifetime at the other corner and, although "learning on the
job", he's making more than his share of big plays. Wilson had a
brief period of awful play last week when he got flagged for
roughness followed by getting turned around 2 or 3 times trying to
keep up with Zach Millers multi-moves before he made a deep TD
catch. (Save the tape as a collectors item; you may not see A-Dub
do something like that ever again). In addition to making one or
two key plays each game, Rhodes is quietly becoming the team's
leading tackler. Ware provides quality swing-DB depth. Adams is
another up & down player who messes up on one play and then comes
through with something big on the next.
K-04
Feely
P- 05 B
Graham,
H - 05 B Graham
LS-
82 Leach
KR -
37Stephens-Howling
PR -
12 Roberts, 18
Komar, 15 Breaston,
37Stephens-Howling
Feely and Graham provide
quality kicking and punting. LSH has taken two returns to the
house (1 legit/1 nullified) and has cemented his reputation as a
return man that had better be accounted-for. Roberts was a
disaster fielding punts last week (& almost cost us the game).
Cardinals
vs. Chargers Matchups
Injuries:
Cardinals:
Out: TBA . Questionable:
TBA Probable: TBA
Chargers:
Out: TBA . Questionable:
TBA . Probable: TBA .
Charger Passing Attack
vs. Cardinal Pass Defense
Rivers spreads the ball around to a lot of receivers (with his
TE - Gates - his main guy). Which means the entire Cardinal
back-eight had better be on its toes in the coverage game, with
A-Dub probably drawing main responsibility for containing Gates.
Without McNeal at LT, Rivers has been getting gotten to by pass
rushers (sacked 4 times last week). If McNeal returns (having just
signed his contract) in any kind of playing shape, it may be
tougher for Cardinal pass rushers to get to Rivers. Nevertheless,
expect Bill Davis to mix up his looks and have his guys come at
Rivers from all kinds of bizarre angles - but not at the expense
of getting lax in coverage.
Charger Running Attack vs.
Cardinal Run Defense
They went with their FB as the
main toter of the leather (Tolbert) last Sunday; which meant that
rookie sensation, Ryan Mathews didn't play. Tolbert gained 70+
yards a week ago. We don't know if Mathews will play Sunday.
Obviously if he does, we have to make sure we contain him. And if
it's Tolbert, the Cards have to do a better job at manning-up to
the SD smashmouth running attack than they did vs. Atlanta.
Cardinal Passing Attack
vs.
Charger Pass Defense
Anderson has been stuck on a 50% completion average throughout
regular season, but there has been one improving dynamic: Out of
the 50% of the passes he's completed, an increasing percentage of
those throws look relatively crisp (i.e. on time, on target etc.)
compared to those that still look more like "adventures" (I'd say
the ratio between "Crisp" and "Adventurous" is about 1-to-1 right
now - but it does represent an improvement). Fitzgerald (gradually
improving from knee injury) and Breaston (continuing to be nagged
by knee pain) are two execellent and experienced wideouts. With
Early Doucet shelved for the time being, the Cards are relying on
youngsters, Steve Williams, Max Komar, Andre Roberts and recently
activated Onrea Jones to pick up the slack. Just one man's
opinion, but the difficulty Anderson is having hooking up with
Fitz has a lot to do with (a) Fitz being the best in the business
at high-pointing high throws but (b) Anderson not being adept at
throwing balls that have a "high-point" (i.e. the trajectory his
medium to deep throws are either flat or hump-backed). I believe
his problem is mainly due to Derek's lack of confidence in using
his wrist on deeper throws. Gaining that confidence means lots of
"wrist-reps" during mid-week. Until then, he and Fitz will
continue to have "challenges" hooking up.
Jammer is one of the elite NFL corners. Cason is
sold. Chargers may be a bit less solid at at least one of the two
safety positions (Big week for Patrick)? The relative health of
Fitz and Breaston may turn out to be key factors.
Cardinal Running Attack
vs.
Charger Run Defense
The Chargers are tough against the run (limiting Seattle to under
70 ground yards). The Cardinal ground game (though far from where
it needs to be) has been improving from week to week, showing
brief flashes of explosion both from Tim Hightower and Beanie
Wells (with Hightower best attacking the right perimeter and Wells
hitting just outside left tackle. When Brandon Keith is into the
action, he can be devestating, but he occasionally will take a
play off if he doesn't find someone to block directly in front of
him. On the left side, Alan Faneca is superb at sealing off the
edge for Beanie. Assuming that the Chargers put extra emphasis on
protecting the perimeter, it might be the appopriate time to run 2
RB sets using Wright up the gut.
Special Teams
In the return game, we'd better watch them (Sproles) and
they'd better watch us (LSH). Kaeiding and Feely are pretty equal
as punters. Graham is arguably best in the business. I don't know
a whole lot about Scifres but he seems to be solid.
Final Word
This figures to be a game of question-marks. On the Charger side
of the ledger: "Who's going to play/not play? (Matthews? McNeil)?
On the Cardinal side: What improvement, if any, will we see from
Anderson and his receivers? Will Beanie take it up a notch from
what was a pretty impressive first outing last week?
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