Chargers first preseason game breakdown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM2WnxsT8Ig

Preseason or not, it was awesome to see the boys in bolts play man on man with another team. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time and it seemed even sweeter freshly out of all the lockout dredge we had to wade through all summer.The Greg One sees big things about to happen with this team. More props go out to management for resigning Stephen Cooper. The Chargers linebacking corps is looking better and better. Here are my thoughts after the first preseason game.

Philip Rivers: The man is going to break passing records this season, bank on it. After seeing him dissect Seattle’s first string defense and barely breaking a sweat, there’s no doubt he’ll be up to the task when the New England’s of the world come calling.

Offensive line: Starting unit was excellent. By the end of the first drive, Rivers jersey was still spotless and unwrinkled. That’s what I want to see all season!

Running Backs: Good to see Mathews on the field getting touches even if he didn’t get far. He needs more field and weight room time to toughen up. If he can be the back we saw in Denver in the last game of last season the Chargers will average an extra eight points a game. Mike Tolbert needs more carries. I hate the Dougie except for when Tolberts doing it because that means another touchdown so here’s hoping Mike does the Dougie a lot this season. Hell, I might get up and do it with him in my living room! Jordan Todman looked great and impressed me by taking the ball up the middle and still gaining good yardage. Looking forward to seeing Isaac Odim get more carries.

Wide receivers: Welcome back V Jack!! That 48 yard bomb is a sign of things to come. This is a contract year for Jackson so no doubt he’ll put up pro bowl worthy numbers to get his big payday. Good to see Floyd on the field opening up space in the middle.

Special teams: Not only did they cover effectively every time down they actually returned a kick for a touchdown! Only one Seattle return got more than an acceptable amount of yardage but that’s a VAST improvement from last year. Let’s hope this unit stays solid throughout the preseason. Mad love to Bryan Walters on the kick return touchdown and to Marcus Gilchrist for sticking with it after that muffed catch.

Darryl Gamble: Seattle is back home practicing and Gamble is STILL in their backfield! Are you kidding me?? Gamble was always around the ball and supplied relentless pressure in accruing multiple tackles for loss and a sack. Nevermind the offside penalty, its better to be too aggressive than not aggressive enough. Put this man into the rotation PDQ!! Awesome!

Defense: First and second team defense kept Seattle quarterback Tavaris Jackson on the run all quarter and unlike Rivers, his jersey was dirtied many times over. The defense mowed down Jackson and the Seattle backs for losses and for no gain often. The third and fourth units may have given up points but they did a good job wrapping up on their tackles and made Seattle earn every yard. It was also great to see Bob Sanders on the field in a Chargers uniform. Corey Liuget had some nice tackles and fills up a lot of space, reminds me of a smaller Jamal Williams.

Overall, this was a great game for the Chargers despite the final score. The Rivers to Jackson connection is still there. The defense looked great. The rookies looked impressive. Most importantly, no one was injured. When you consider the team will only get better as preseason unfolds and more pieces are being added, there’s no doubt the AFC West is there for the taking.