The Chargers looked pretty solid in this game last Friday Night.  Billy Volek was great in this football game as he completed all six of his pass attempts for 55 yards with 1 TD pass.  Charlie Whitehurst wasn’t near as good as Volek in this game as he completed 15 of 32 passes for 144 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also fumbled three times losing one of them.  Marcus Thomas led the Chargers in rushing in this game with 57 yards on 15 carries (3.8 ypc).  Fellow rookie RB Jacob Hester also had a decent game with 44 yards on 10 carries (4.4 ypc).  WR Malcolm Floyd was the leading receiver on the Chargers with 6 grabs for 68 yards (11.3 avg) in this game.  The Chargers finished up with 113 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 38 passes for 175 yards.

Cornerback Steve Gregory led the way for the Chargers on defense in this game with 6 tackles.  Safety Tra Battle also had an exceptional game with 5 tackles and 2 interceptions.  CB Cletis Gordon also had a great game with 2 interceptions against the Niners.  The 49ers finished up with 90 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 27 passes for 205 yards.  The Chargers  finished up the preseason with a 3-1 record.

The Chargers pulled this game off with a 2-point conversion in the 4th quarter with 2:30 minutes left in the game on a Billy Volek pass to Malcolm Floyd.  Philip Rivers had a solid game completing 11 of 21 passes for 143 yards.  Billy Volek finished up the game by completing 3 of 9 passes for 33 yards.  Darren Sproles was outstanding for the Chargers in this football game as he rushed for 102 yards on 13 carries (7.8 ypc).  Jacob Hester pitched in with 21 yards rushing on 9 carries (2.3 ypc).  Both Sproles and Hester each scored TDs on 1-yard runs.  Vincent Jackson led the Chargers in receiving yards in this game with 84 on 3 catches (28.0 avg).  The Chargers finished up with 130 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 30 passes for 168 yards.

CB Quentin Jammer led a sub par effort by the Chargers’ defense with 6 tackles.  The Seahawks finished up with 162 yards rushing on 32 carries (5.1 ypc).  The Seahawks also completed 21 of 33 passes for 230 yards.

The Chargers didn’t look too good against the Rams last Saturday Night, but, what do you expect when Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates all sit out?  Billy Volek started this game and he completed 5 of 7 passes for 58 yards.  Charlie Whitehurst finished up this game completing 6 of 14 passes for only 67 yards.  Rookie RB Jacob Hester led the way for the Chargers yesterday with 59 yards rushing on 12 carries (4.9 ypc).  Fellow rookie RB Marcus Thomas pitched in with 14 yards rushing on 3 carries (4.7 ypc).  Fullback Mike Tolbert was also busy with 3 carries for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 13 yards (4.3 avg) on Saturday Night.  The Chargers finished up this game with 104 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 21 passes for 99 yards.  The Chargers only had possession of the football for 23:54 of this game.

The Chargers’ defense was led by CB Cletis Gordon who made 5 tackles and intercepted a pass.  Rookie CB Antoine Cason had another impressive game as he made 3 tackles and intercepted a pass off Marc Bulger that he returned 53 yards.  The Chargers did not defend the run well as the Rams rolled up 183 yards rushing on 38 carries (4.8 ypc) on Saturday Night.  The Rams also completed 18 of 31 passes for only 126 yards in this game.

Everyone (including myself) thought that the Chargers were insane to fire Marty Schottenheimer who was 14-2 in 2006 and replace him with Norv Turner who had never been much of a head coach.  But, Turner led the Chargers to a 11-5 record and he got the Chargers to the AFC Championship where they lost 21-12 in New England.  They might have been able to beat the Patriots if Philip Rivers wasn’t playing with a torn ACL.  Regardless of the AFC Championship Game the Chargers did win two playoff games last season (17-6 at home vs. Tennessee, 28-24 at Indianapolis) which was very impressive.  It will be interesting to see if Turner can build on his success last season and improve his career record of 69-87-1 (44.2%) during the regular season.  He is also 3-2 in his post season career.  The Chargers appear to have made a smart move in signing Norv Turner last season to be the head coach.

The Chargers operated on a lot of short fields in this game and that’s the big reason for the win.  Philip Rivers looked sharp in the preseason opener completing 5 of 6 passes for 54 yards.  Billy Volek was only 2 for 4 passing for 12 yards.  Charlie Whitehurst finished up the game hitting 5 of 7 passes for 40 yards.  Jacob Hester had a solid NFL debut carrying the ball 13 times for 49 yards (3.8 ypc) and scoring two TDs (1 yard, 2 yards).  Fellow rookie Marcus Thomas pitched in with 48 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.7 ypc).  Mighty mite Darren Sproles only rushed for 7 yards on 5 carries (1.4 ypc) but he scored a TD.  He also caught a pass for 21 yards.  Mike Tolbert only rushed for 1 yard on 1 carry but he scored a TD.  Chris Chambers led the WR corps of the Chargers with 3 catches for 34 yards (11.3 avg) in this game.  The Chargers finished with 116 yards rushing on 36 carries (3.2 ypc).  They also completed 12 of 17 passes for 97 yards.

Rookie CB Antoine Cason led the Chargers’ defense on Saturday Night with 8 tackles.  The Cowboys finished up with 111 yards rushing on 22 carries (5.0 ypc).  They also completed 18 of 33 passes for 174 yards.