The Chargers looked absolutely awesome on offense on Sunday Night but the pass defense showed some leaks against Matt Leinart and the Cardinals.  Philip Rivers looked ready for the regular season as he completed 20 of 29 passes for 282 yards with 2 TD passes.  Billy Volek finished up the game and he looked solid again completing 9 of 16 passes for 123 yards.  Andrew Pinnock was the workhorse running the football with 15 carries for 60 yards (4.0 ypc).  Michael Turner got his work in carrying the ball 9 times for 20 yards (2.2 ypc) but he suffered a high ankle sprain and could miss part of the regular season.  Darren Sproles was very active on Sunday with 6 carries for 20 yards (3.3 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 6 passes for 73 yards (12.2 avg).  WR Vincent Jackson looked like a true #1 WR as he caught 4 passes for 92 yards (23.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  TE Antonio Gates was also solid with 4 grabs for 56 yards (14.0 avg).  The Chargers finished up the game with 32 carries for 106 yards (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 45 passes for 400 yards.

The defense did a good job stuffing the Cardinals running game as they held them to 64 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.0 ypc).  The Cardinals did throw the ball all over the Chargers’ defense as they completed 20 of 30 passes for 311 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825022

Running back Tyronne Gross was making a huge run at making the opening day roster of the Chargers until he dislocated his knee cap against the Rams on Saturday Night.  He will likely miss the entire 2007 season.  Gross carried the ball 8 times for 39 yards (4.9 ypc) and he caught 5 passes for 19 yards (3.8 avg) in the Chargers first two pre-season games. 

The Chargers were efficient on offense, excellent on special teams and they played opportunistic defense against the Rams and that’s why they won the game on Saturday Night.  Philip Rivers completed 9 of 13 passes for 82 yards with a TD pass.  Billy Volek also looked sharp as he completed 7 of 10 passes for 61 yards and a TD.  Charlie Whitehurst only threw one pass and he completed it for 21 yards.  Michael Turner led the way with 9 carries for 48 yards (5.3 ypc) in the running game.  Tyronne Gross (6 car, 27 yards) and Germaine Race (5 car, 24 yards, TD) both looked good running the football against the Rams.  Both Malcolm Floyd and Antonio Gates each caught 2 passes for 39 yards.  Vincent Jackson looked good as he caught 3 passes for 23 yards with a TD and rookie TE Scott Chandler had another solid game with 2 grabs for 12 yards with a TD.  The Chargers finished up with 111 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.4 ypc) and they completed 17 of 24 passes for 147 yards. 

Darren Sproles was electric on Saturday Night as he returned a punt 81 yards for a TD.  The Chargers defense only allowed the Rams to rush for 73 yards on 25 carries (2.9 ypc) but the Rams completed 26 of 38 passes for 278 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270818014

Antonio Gates in the best tight end in the NFL, period.  He will probably be even better this season because of the Chargers’ youth at WR.  He played in 16 games (all starts) and he caught 71 passes for 924 yards (13.0 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Look for Gates to again be a Pro Bowler in 2007.  Gates has now played in 61 games (57 starts) and he has caught 265 passes for 3,378 (12.7 avg) with 34 TD grabs.

Second stringer Brandon Manumaleuna will be the Chargers’ run blocking TE.  He played in 16 games (7 starts) and he caught 14 passes for 91 yards (6.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Look for him to get his fair share of playing time but he won’t put up impressive numbers.  He has now played in 94 games (62 starts) and he has caught 80 passes for 739 yards (9.2 avg) with 9 TD grabs.

Rookie Scott Chandler is a decent receiver and he played well in the Chargers’ first pre-season game.  He will likely get a lot of playing time as a rookie.

The Chargers drafted two WRs in April and they are hoping that some of their other younger players step up so they can take some pressure off of Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson.  Of the returning receivers Vincent Jackson is the most likely one to step up.  He played in 16 games last season (7 starts) and he caught 27 passes for 453 yards (16.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 3 times for 16 yards (5.3 ypc).  Jackson is a big target and he can stretch the field but he has never earned a lot of playing time so far in his career.  He has played in 24 games (7 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 30 passes for 453 yards (15.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he also has carried the football 3 times for 16 yards (5.3 ypc).

Rookie WR Craig Davis of LSU will likely get a chance to battle Malcolm Floyd in Training Camp for the right to start opposite Vincent Jackson.  Davis has the speed to get down the field and he’s tough as he is not afraid to go over the middle.  He will likely be at least the #3 WR on the Chargers if he doesn’t win a starting job.

Malcolm Floyd is another young receiver who hasn’t reached his potential yet.  He has looked really good in Training Camp and in the first pre-season game so he could have an important role on the Chargers offense this year.  He played in 12 games last season (0 starts) and he caught 15 passes for 210 yards (14.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 16 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 18 passes for 259 yards (14.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

Eric Parker will miss a large chunk of the season after having toe surgery and this will hurt the Chargers because he started at WR and was the punt returner last season.  He is just a possession receiver on offense as he played in 15 games (12 starts) last season for the Chargers and he caught 48 passes for 659 yards (13.7 avg) with 0 TD grabs and he also carried the football 2 times for 19 yards (9.5 ypc).  Parker also returned 37 punts for 331 yards (8.9 avg) and 2 kickoffs for 19 yards (9.5 avg).   He will likely return as the #3 or #4 WR on the Chargers if the players in front of him step up while he is out.   He has now played in 62 games (40 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 187 passes for 2,586 yards (13.8 avg) with 11 TD grabs and he has run the football 13 times for 148 yards (11.4 ypc).  Parker has returned 105 punts for 881 yards (8.4 avg) and he also has returned 3 kickoffs for 35 yards (11.7 avg) over his career.

Kassim Osgood will battle rookie Legedu Naanee for the #4 WR role until Eric Parker is ready to return.  Osgood will likely make the team even if he loses his battle to the rookie because he’s a good special teams player.  He played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Chargers last year and he made 9 tackles but didn’t catch any passes.   Osgood has now played in 60 games (12 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 30 passes for 607 yards (20.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards and he has made 51 tackles.

Legedu Naanee looked good in his first pre-season game last week and he will need to continue to look sharp if he wants to make the Chargers this season.  Still, this is not a great group of wideouts so he could surprise and start working his way up the depth chart.