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Chargers secure home field advantage with 27-20 win over the Cardinals

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by ravenhater on Sunday 31 December 2006 at 10:37 pm

The Cardinals made this an interesting game but the Chargers were just the better team.  Philip Rivers had his best game in over a month as he completed 19 of 24 passes for 231 yards with 2 TDs and an INT.  LaDainian Tomlinson took it easy today with 16 carries for 66 yards (4.1 ypc).  Michael Turner played well as he carried the ball 11 times for 58 yards (5.3 ypc).  The Chargers even gave the ball to Lorenzo Neal twice and he rolled off 46 yards.  Eric Parker led the Chargers receivers with 5 grabs for 62 yards.  Antonio Gates had a solid game with 4 catches for 56 yards and a TD.  Vincent Jackson added 3 catches for 28 yards and a TD.

The defense had a rough game for the Chargers.  The Cardinals carried the ball 22 times for 98 yards (4.5 ypc).  The Cardinals completed 22 of 32 passes for 346 net yards passing.

San Diego Chargers vs. Arizona Cardinals

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,This Week's Matchup Report by ravenhater on Friday 29 December 2006 at 6:45 pm
The Arizona Cardinals have been hot lately as they’ve won 3 of their last 4 games.  The Chargers are scorching hot as they’ve won 9 games in a row.

The Cardinals would be smart to run the ball as often as they can.  Edgerrin James (1,093 yards rushing) could find running room against a Chargers defense that is allowing 101.0 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so far this season.  The Cardinals will also have to throw alot of short passes because Kurt Warner is starting this game against a Chargers defense that has 60 sacks this season. 

The Chargers will just give the ball to LT and watch him work his magic.  Tomlinson (1,749 yards rushing) should have a field day against a Cardinals defense that is allowing 115.2 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Cards pass defense is also a little soft as they allow 231.7 net yards passing this season.  So maybe Philip Rivers can shake his slump of the last couple of weeks and have a good game throwing the ball.

The Chargers have too much firepower for the Cardinals to contend with.  This game could be over by halftime.

 

Chargers playoff scenarios

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by ravenhater on Thursday 28 December 2006 at 7:31 pm

The Chargers have clinched the AFC Western Division and a first round bye.  They can clinch homefield advantage with:  1) a win or tie  2) A Baltimore Ravens loss or tie.

I have a feeling that the Chargers will have no problem securing homefield advantage by beating the Arizona Cardinals in San Diego where the Chargers are 7-0 this season.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Marty Schottenheimer finally gets the monkey off his back and wins the Super Bowl this season.  After all, Bill Cowher won last year after being a career failure in big games during his NFL career.

Chargers prevail 20-17 over the Seahawks

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by ravenhater on Tuesday 26 December 2006 at 12:54 pm

The Chargers were in a little trouble in this game until Philip Rivers dropped back late in the 4th quarter and hit Vincent Jackson for his second TD pass of the game to seal this victory.  Rivers had a rough game overall as he only completed 10 of 30 passes for 181 yards and 2 TDs.  LaDainian Tomlinson had another good game with 22 carries for 123 yards (5.6 ypc).  Michael Turner backed him up with 4 carries for 29 yards (7.3 ypc).  Vincent Jackson had a huge game with 5 catches for 97 yards and 2 TDs.  Antonio Gates caught 2 passes for 63 yards.

The defense was very opportunistic against the Seahawks offense.  Shawne Merriman had a monster game with 5 tackles, 3 sacks and he defensed 2 passes.  Reserve DB Clinton Hart had probably his best game ever as a pro with 3 tackles and 2 interceptions.  DE Jacques Cesaire registered 6 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Chargers did have problems stopping the Seahawks’ running game as they carried the ball 33 times for 153 yards (4.6 ypc).  The Seahawks only completed 17 of 37 passes for 161 net yards passing.

The Chargers improved to 13-2 on the season with this huge come from behind win.

San Diego Chargers vs. Seattle Seahawks

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,This Week's Matchup Report by ravenhater on Thursday 21 December 2006 at 4:40 pm

The Chargers won their 8th game in a row last week 20-9 over the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Seahawks have lost two games in a row, including having a 4th quarter meltdown in a 24-14 loss last week at home against the 49ers.

The Chargers will do what they always do when they have the football and that is running it.  LaDainian Tomlinson (1,626 yards rushing) will get the bulk of the carries but Michael Turner (415 yards rushing, 6.4 ypc) will probably get a few carries as the Chargers try to keep LT fresh for the playoffs.  The Seahawks have not played well against the run this season as they’ve allowed 125.1 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry so far this season.  Philip Rivers had his worst game as a Pro last week, but he should rebound against the Seahawks who have allowed 207.6 net yards passing per game this season.  Rivers will probably keep his passes short and throw alot to LT and Antonio Gates.

The Seahawks will come out running against the Chargers with Shaun Alexander.  He could have some success as the Chargers are allowing 4.1 yards per carry so far this season.  The Seahawks must be able to run or Matt Hasselbeck will get severely beaten up by the Chargers pass rush that has 54 sacks so far this season.  Hasselbeck tends to get jittery in the pocket after he’s taken a few hits and starts making bad throws.  If he has time to throw, he will be able to get the ball to Deion Branch and DJ Hackett.

The Chargers should be able to run the ball at will against the Seahawks.  They will also probably get to Hasselbeck and force him to make some mistakes, so I’m siding with the Chargers in this football game.

Chargers get revenge on Chiefs in 20-9 victory

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by ravenhater on Monday 18 December 2006 at 2:13 am

The Chiefs called the Chargers “soft” after their first meeting in Arrowhead.  The Chargers looked anything but soft as they ran all over the Chiefs.  Philip Rivers had a rough time as he only completed 8 of 23 passes for 97 yards and 2 INTs.  LaDainian Tomlinson had an awesome game with 25 carries for 199 yards (8.0 ypc) and 2 TDs.  Michael Turner had a good game too with 7 carries for 58 yards (8.3 ypc).  Vincent Jackson had a very important 4th quarter catch as he caught 3 passes for 66 yards.

The defense played great.  Quentin Jammer led the defense with 10 tackles.  Donnie Edwards was all over the place as usual with 6 tackles, a sack and an interception.  Randall Godfrey also played a good game with 6 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Chiefs carried the ball 21 times for 90 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Chiefs completed 23 of 41 passes for 151 net yards passing.

The Chargers improved to 12-2 with this win.

San Diego Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,This Week's Matchup Report by ravenhater on Saturday 16 December 2006 at 1:10 am
The Chiefs have lost two games in a row.  The Chargers have won 7 in a row after losing in Kansas City 30-27.

The Chiefs must try to jump out to an early lead in this game.  I’m certain that the Chiefs will try to do it by running the football with Larry Johnson (1,432 yards rushing) who had 132 yards in the first meeting between these two teams.  The Chargers have only allowed 93.2 yards rushing per game at home, so it will not be easy.  It might be smart of the Chiefs to throw the ball a little more than usual providing that they can protect Trent Green from the Chargers defense that has 48 sacks this season.  Tony Gonzalez will be a mis-match with the Chargers safeties and the Chiefs will need to throw his way at least 10 times in this game.

The Chargers will come right after the Chiefs run defense with LaDainian Tomlinson.  Tomlinson is fired up that a few of the defenders on the Chiefs called them a “finesse” team after beating them at Arrowhead.  LT will be facing a Chiefs defense that has allowed 137.0 yards rushing per game on the road this season.  After Tomlinson is established, Philip Rivers will go to work.  Rivers will probably throw alot of short stuff to Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson to put pressure on the safeties and linebackers of the Chiefs.  The Chiefs have allowed 241.2 net yards passing per game so far this season and that’s not too good.  The Chargers will also take some deep shots with their young corps of WRs.

The Chiefs are a horrible road team, as they are 2-4 on the season.  The Chargers are 6-0 at home and have outscored teams by an average of 33.7-17.2.   I look for a score in the neighborhood of 35-17 with San Diego winning the game.

 

Linebackers dominate opposing offenses

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by ravenhater on Thursday 14 December 2006 at 5:06 pm

The Chargers defense has been led by their outstanding corps of linebackers.  Middle linebacker Donnie Edwards is the glue of the unit.  He has 117 tackles, a sack, 2 interceptions and 2 passes defensed.  OLB Shawne Merriman has racked up big numbers despite missing 4 games due to suspension.  Merriman has 42 tackles, 12.5 sacks, an interception, 4 passes defensed and 4 forced fumbles.  The other outside linebacker is former reserve Shaun Phillips.  He will never be a bak-up again if he continues to play like he has this season.  Phillips has 56 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 3 passed defensed and 4 forced fumbles.

Chargers destroy the Broncos 48-20

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by ravenhater on Monday 11 December 2006 at 1:41 pm

The Broncos never had a chance in this football game.  Philip Rivers completed 15 of 23 passes for 279 yards with 2 TDs.  LaDainian Tomlinson broke the all-time record in the 4th quarter for TDs in a season when he scored his 29th from scrimmage.  Don’t forget, he also has 2 TD passes this season too.  Tomlinson carried the ball 28 times for 103 yards (3.7 ypc) and 3 TDs.  Lorenzo Neal had a good game blocking and running as he carried the ball 3 times for 20 yards (6.7 ypc) and a TD.  Antonio Gates had his best game in a long time as he caught 7 passes for 104 yards and 2 TDs.  Vincent Jackson had one of his best games of his career with 3 catches for 95 yards.

LB Stephen Cooper led the way for the defense with 8 tackles and a sack.  Shawne Merriman was unstoppable with 3 tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery.  The Chargers couldn’t stop the running game of the Broncos that carried the ball 28 times for 162 yards (5.8 ypc).  The Broncos completed 17 of 30 passes for 166 net yards passing.

The Chargers took the lead in the AFC for home-field advantage and they should keep it as long as they don’t overlook anyone.  The Chargers are now 11-2 on the season.

Chargers have diamond in the rough

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,The Draft Report by ravenhater on Sunday 10 December 2006 at 10:06 am

When the Chargers drafted Antonio Cromartie in the first round, many thought they were nuts….I included.  Cromartie had not started a football game since college and was coming off major-surgery which caused him to miss all of last season.  Cromartie has played in all 12 games and has compiled 18 tackles and has defensed 4 passes.  Cromartie also has returned 7 kick-offs for 212 yards (30.3 avg)!