Chargers vs Titans: In Enemy Territory
By Ernie Padaon
In order to prepare for the Tennessee Titans matchup on Sunday, I connected with Titan Sized writer Jason Peters. Here is a little information to prep for this weekend’s showdown:
What in the world is wrong with Chris Johnson?No more than ever was. CJ is still CJ, for better or worse. He has made a career out of lateral moves at or around the line of scrimmage, but he always had an offensive line that could block well enough. The line has regressed considerably in the last two years, and it is hard to make positive runs when you’re constantly blown up in the backfield.
Do you think it was the right choice to start Jake Locker over Matt Hasselbeck?I do. More recent rookie quarterback performances from Cam Newton and Matt Ryan have skewed expectations considerably. It was not that long ago that you gave a quarterback until year 3 to make a determination on him; know quarterbacks are lucky to get 3 weeks before final judgement is cast. We believe that Locker is a quarterback capable of becoming elite, and we needed to plug him in so we can get the growing pains out of the way.
How much of an impact to the offense will Kenny Britt bring with his return?Considerable. Last year, Britt showed he was a true force to be reckoned with at the receiver position. Even if he doesn’t have a huge game, he will need to be accounted for on every play to a higher degree than our other receivers Washington and Wright. I also expect his presence to benefit the running game, as he is a big physical receiver who can block effectively.
How important was Colin McCarthy to the defense? (likely sidelined this weekend with an injury)Colin McCarthy IS incredibly important. His coverage abilities were far beyond where everyone expected them to be, and it showed as he led the pre-season in interceptions with 3. After week 1, our liabilities in pass coverage were exposed, and with his versatility, our defense regresses into a vanilla scheme that fails to provide any sort of pressure.
Which Chargers player do you fear the most?Despite being your highest profile player and an obvious choice, I have to say Philip Rivers here. Rivers has the ability to take a game into his hands, and especially with our struggles against the pass last week, he could easily have a field day dissecting the youngest starting defense in the league.
Thanks go out to Jason and Titan Sized for taking the time to share some info on the Titans. Now it is time for the Chargers to kick his team’s tail!