The Chargers started out the season 1-3 and they looked bad doing it.  But in the last two weeks the Chargers won both of their games by a combined score of 69-17!  The Chargers made an outstanding move in trading for Chris Chambers this Tuesday as he will replace rookie Chris Davis who was not playing up to his ability.  This will give the Chargers a good chance to stretch the field with the speed of Chambers and Vincent Jackson which could open up more running room for L.T.  The Chargers also must focus on improving the pass defense as they have allowed an average of 238.2 yards passing per game so far this season and that’s way too many. 

The Chargers have placed Eric Parker on the Injured Reserve List with a toe injury.  This helped prod the Chargers to trade for Chris Chambers because they couldn’t afford to wait around for another receiver to step up. 

The Chargers have been looking for a impact receiver to add to Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson to help spread the offense and Chris Chambers could be that guy.  The Chargers must think he can be too because they traded a second round pick in the 2008 Draft to acquire him.  Chambers wasn’t having a big season for the Dolphins as he has caught 31 passes for 415 yards (13.4 avg) with 0 TDs.  Look for him to improve big-time in San Diego as he will often draw single coverage and Philip Rivers will be throwing to him instead of Cleo Lemon and that’s a gigantic improvement for him.  Chambers has now played in 100 games (90 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 405 passes for 5,688 yards (14.0 avg) with 43 TD grabs and he also had carried the ball 41 times for 355 yards (8.7 ypc).  The bottom line is that this is probably a good trade for both teams as the Dolphins are clearly in rebuilding mode.

The Chargers didn’t do anything fancy in this game as they just lined up and kicked the crap out of the Raiders.  Philip Rivers certainly didn’t have his best game of the season as he completed 14 of 21 passes for 156 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT.  The interception was returned 66 yards for a TD by Raiders linebacker Thomas Howard.  LaDainian Tomlinson had the breakout game everyone knew was coming soon as he carried the ball 24 times for 198 yards (8.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs!  He also caught 4 passes for 16 yards (4.0 avg).  TE Antonio Gates pitched in with 3 grabs for 58 yards (19.3 avg).  The Chargers finished up with 206 yards rushing on 32 carries (6.4 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 21 passes for 156 yards.

Linebackers Shaun Phillips (9 tackles, 2 sacks) and Shawne Merriman (6 tackles, 2.5 sacks) came up with monster efforts to lead the way for the Chargers defense.  The Raiders only rushed for 53 yards on 23 carries (2.3 ypc) and they completed 24 of 37 passes for 193 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=271014024

The Oakland Raiders have a 2-game winning streak and they have played much better under rookie coach Lane Kiffin than anyone had a right to believe that they would.  The Chargers are coming off of their best performance of the season as they trashed the Broncos 41-3 last week in Denver.

The Raiders will come off of the bus trying to run the football against the Chargers.  The Raiders are averaging an amazing 194.3 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry so far this season.  The Raiders hope to have LaMont Jordan back (424 yards rushing, 128 yards receiving) from his back injury but they are in good shape even if he’s not ready.  That’s because Justin Fargas (261 yards rushing, 6.1 ypc) and Dominic Rhodes are more than capable of putting up big yardage behind the Raiders offensive line.  The Chargers do have a solid run defense as they are only allowing 92.8 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.  The Raiders would like to throw the ball deep as long as Daunte Culpepper has time to throw the ball but the line could have problems blocking outside linebackers Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman.

The Chargers will likely come out running the football against the Raiders who have had no luck stopping the run.  The Raiders are allowing 129.5 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry this season.  Look for the Chargers to feed the rock to LaDainian Tomlinson (329 yards rushing, 194 yards receiving) and Michael Turner (201 yards rushing, 7.4 ypc, 2 TDs) early and often.  Look for the Chargers to run a lot of play action passes after the running game is established.  TE Antonio Gates (40 rec, 489 yards, 3 TDs) and WR Vincent Jackson (19 rec, 315 yards, 2 TDs) will challenge the tough secondary of the Raiders.

PREDICTION:  The Raiders will put up a better fight than most expect before the Chargers pull away late because they have better players, period.