The Chargers Achilles Heel?

Sep 15, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson (10) is unable to make the catch in the end zone during the fourth quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Chargers defeated the Eagles 33-30. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Today was a great game and we are 1-1. Over the last two games the offense has put up 28 and 33 points. Philip Rivers has thrown seven touchdowns. Granted there were mental miscues on the offensive side of the ball but if you figure that your offense is scoring averaging 30 points a game you should be running over people but we’re .500. When looking at the first two games, two numbers stand out. Keep these in mind.

Matt Schaub 346 yards.Mike Vick 428 yards.

Defensively there is a pretty good push from the front seven. Not a lot of sacks against Houston or Philly but they are consistently flushing them out of the pocket and more than a few hurries. The Achilles heel at this point is our DB corps. Wright and Cox have been gashed for 774 yards in two games. In the first game they gave Andre Johnson 8-10 yard cushions and any wide out will gladly take 146 yards per game 10 yards at a time. In today’s game, DeSean Jackson torched our secondary for 190 yards. Shady McCoy added another 110. These were yards mainly gained against Wright and Cox.

To call this a serious problem is an understatement. Between now and January we will face more than a few quarterbacks who will be capable of side stepping initial pressure, extend plays and if Wright and Cox don’t step up, we’ll be locked up in shootouts every week. We aren’t built to have shootouts every week. Rest assured every team we play from the Titans next week to the Chiefs in December will try to get one-on-one match ups against Wright and Cox until they start shutting down their assignments.

What’s the answer if Wright and Cox continue to be the Achilles heel of the Charger defense? Could either Patrick or Marshall step up and perform at this level? Is there a capable free agent on the market? Is there a viable trade option before the deadline?

We are all pumped to have one in the win column and looking at the way the team has performed things will only improve. Many of us here hope that we won’t see the passing yards stay this high. But if this one aspect doesn’t improve NOW, this will be one long, disappointing and ultimately wasted year for all of us.