Charger fans had to be excited to beat up on their most hated rival!  Philip Rivers didn’t need to pass much, but he was effective when he did.  Rivers completed 8 of 11 passes (72.7%) for 108 yards and a TD.  RB LaDainian Tomlinson continued his domination of the Oakland Raiders, carrying the ball 31 times for 131 yards (4.2 ypc) and catching 3 passes for 18 yards.  RB Michael Turner carried the ball 10 times for 37 yards and a TD.  TE Antonio Gates caught 2 passes for 26 yards and a TD.  WR Eric Parker had one catch for 38 yards, and one carry for 18 yards.

The defense totally dominated the Raiders from the get-go.  The Raiders only could muster 129 total yards offense.  The Chargers only allowed the Raiders to complete 42.1% of their passes for 42 net yards thru the air.  The Raiders ran the ball 20 times for 87 yards (4.4 ypc).

The following players all had sacks for the Chargers defense:  LB Shawne Merriman had 3, DT Luis Castillo 1.5, LB Shaun Phillips 1.5, LB Donnie Edwards 1, LB Stephen Cooper 1, and DT Jamal Williams 1.  All total, that’s 9 sacks!

 

Click here to see if the Chargers are favored

When Coach Schottenheimer is breaking in a young QB, he leans heavily on his running backs and tight ends. It seems as if the Chargers have the perfect offense to take alot of pressure off young Philip Rivers. Rivers doesn’t look pretty out there, as he comes from a 3/4 angle to throw the football, but he’s very accurate. Make no mistake, the Chargers are gonna run the football until the Raiders prove they can stop it. LaDainian Tomlinson creates tons of match-up problems for the Raiders defense. If the Raiders attempt to cover Tomlinson with one of their OLB, Tomlinson could have a career day catching the football. Antonio Gates will also cause huge problems for the Raiders, especially if rookie Michael Huff has to cover him.

I look for the Raiders to try to establish the running game with Lamont Jordan. That will be hard for the Chargers to do because of the athletic ability of the Chargers linebackers. Where the Chargers are weak is in the secondary and the Raiders are deep at receiver. If Araon Brooks gets time in the pocket, Randy Moss will score at least 1 TD and go over 100 yards, without a doubt.

This is a much better match-up than many people think it is. I think the Chargers will win, but it will be close.

Coach Schottenheimer has a career record of 186-124-1 (60% wins) and is 5-12 in the post-season.  Marty has won 7 division titles in his career.  With the Chargers, Marty has a career record of 33-31 (51.6% wins).  Coach Schottenheimer is a good coach during the season, but one has to question if he can win the “big game”.

Steve Foley was being followed by police early Sunday morning because they suspected that he was a drunk driver.  Foley confronted one of the officers in front of his house, and was shot three times.  Foley is expected to live, but he had emergency surgery for the wounds.

Philip Rivers has never started a game and has a career QB rating of 67.1.  Rivers is the only QB on the roster with NFL experience.

The Chargers mainly played a bunch of players last night that will get cut today.  Charlie Whitehurst completed 5 of 9 passes for 52 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions.  Brett Elliott completed 5 of 10 passes for 46 yards and 2 pick-offs.

RB Tyronne Gross had a good game, carrying the ball 10 times for 61 yards.  WR Malcolm Floyd caught 4 passes for 44 yards and a TD.

The Niners ran 39 times for 141 yards.  The Niners completed 16 of 27 passes for 155 net yards thru the air.