Dec. 23, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; San Diego Chargers strong safety Brandon Taylor (28) is carted off the field after an apparent injury during the second half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Chargers won 27-17. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
Injuries, injuries, injuries! The San Diego Chargers are notorious for injuries, last season almost everyone and their Mom had a hamstring injury. This should come down to a slow with the addition of Strength and Conditioning coach, Kent Johnson. Johnson was a former Strength and Conditioning “Coach of the Year” and won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. Having an experienced and noteworthy S&C coach will do us good. A handful of players on the Chargers roster will be trusted upon to play a major role in the success of 2013, health is definitely a major key in returning to the playoffs.
• Ryan Matthews – The most obvious of injury prone Chargers, Matthews has had problems with ankles, knees, collarbones, wrists, ribs, etc. 2011 was a pro-bowl year for Matthews with 1,546 yards from scrimmage and only two missed games due to, you guessed it, injuries. He’s already broken all of his collarbones, there shouldn’t be anymore for him to break. He can be explosive and be a reliable back if he could just hang onto the ball and stop getting hurt after every play!
• Donald Butler – I hate to put his name up here, I really like this guy and I know he’ll be the face of the defense alongside Eric Weddle for years to come! Unfortunately, Butler was removed from his rookie season with a high ankle injury and sat out four games last season. Drafted the same year, even Matthews has four more starts than Butler!
• Derek Cox – One of the most intriguing and commendable additions thanks to Mr. Tom Telesco. A big corner that has all the tangibles and makes the team better, the down side is he’s missed three games in 2010, ten games in 2011 and four games in 2012. Behind him isn’t much depth at corner. Shareece Wright will outfit the other corner position and Steve Williams is positioned for the nickel, while Marcus Gilchrist is trying his luck at safety, after that there’s no one.
• Malcom Floyd – M80 has only had one injury-free season in 2009. Since then he’s had to sit out 11 games from 2010-2012. Fortunately, the Chargers are ridiculously deep at wide receiver that a Floyd injury wouldn’t hurt the Chargers too bad. Yet, Floyd wants to win a Super Bowl, he wouldn’t be much help if he’s sitting on the sidelines and every weapon counts!
• Antonio Gates – Hard to believe that Gates played six straight seasons (2004-2009) without even chipping a nail, but from 2010-2012 Gates has missed 10 games. After a dislocated left big toe in the 2008 playoffs Gates has continuously admitted the toe had been bothering him, he played through the pain at first when he was still under the age of 30, but last season was the first to affect his production. Gates missed the pro-bowl for the first time since his rookie year.
Offense, defense it doesn’t matter what side of the ball they are on we need every Charger to stay fit, primed and HEALTHY to the very end. If you’ve noticed the noise amongst the coaches, the players and the fans, we’re not just anticipating a playoff trip three years from now, we’re expecting one this year. Enough said, Go Bolts!!!