The Chargers have signed 27-year old, 6’3″, 315 pound DT Ian Scott.  Scott last played in a regular season game in the NFL during the 2006 season with the Chicago Bears.  Scott has now played in 49 games in his NFL career and he has made 96 tackles, has defensed 14 passes, has 2 sacks, he’s forced 1 fumble and he has 1 interception.  The Chargers needed to add some bulk on the D-Line to help stop opposing offenses from running all over them.  Opposing teams are averaging 151.0 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry this season.  The Chargers hope Scott can help them.

The San Diego Chargers (2-2) big fourth quarter was not enough as they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) on the road Sunday night.  The Steelers were able to put up a big early lead on the Chargers and were up 21-0 at halftime.  A lot of the credit has to go to Rashard Mendenhall, who had a break out game and finally got the Steelers running game going.  Mendenhall had 165 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries(5.7 avg).  Phillip Rivers played well for the Chargers in the few chances he had, but with no running game to support him Rivers was playing catch-up all game.

The Chargers were not able to get on the board until late in the third quarter when Phillip Rivers hit Antonio Gates for a 3-yard touchdown.  The Chargers, down 28-7 early in the 4th, got a huge defensive play when Jacob Hester returned a fumble 41-yards for the touchdown to put them down 28-14 with 12 minutes to play.  The Steelers answered a few minutes later though and the Chargers were down three touchdowns again.  Rivers did everything he could to get the Chargers back in the game, as he had two more touchdown passes to bring the Chargers within one score.  The Chargers and Rivers ran out of time though and the Steelers sealed the victory with a late field goal.  The Chargers, once known for their explosive running game, continued their poor running attack.  LaDainian Tomlinson had only 15 yards on 7 carries (2.1 avg) and the Chargers basically gave up trying to run the ball.  The defense wasn’t much better for the Chargers, as they let Mendenhall run all over them and let the Steelers get a big early lead.  The Chargers have a bye next week.

The San Diego Chargers (2-1) are on the road against the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) this week.  The Chargers are looking to bring more disappointment to the Steelers disappointing start to the 2009 season.  The Steelers have lost two in a row now, both on the road, but are at home in this match-up.  The Steelers are still without safety Troy Polamalu and the Chargers are getting LaDainian Tomlinson back, but I don’t know how effective he will be.

I expect the Steelers to come out and try and make a statement in this game at home, as they have lost some of the intimidation factor that a Super Bowl brings to a team.  The Steelers really need this win, as a 1-3 start does not look good for their playoff and repeat hopes.  Tomlinson is back for the Chargers, but I don’t think he is 100 percent no matter what LT says.  Look for he and Sproles to split the carries, but if Tomlinson is not effective they may just go with Sproles later in the game. The Chargers have been struggling to get their running game going this year and are only averaging 66 rushing yards per game.

The Steelers defense is only giving up 76 rushing yards per game, so Phillip Rivers will need to get the passing game going early if the Chargers want their running game to work.  Rivers has been racking up a lot of yards through the air, but only has three touchdowns with three interceptions.  The Steelers running game has been pretty weak as well, and now it looks like their running back Willie Parker wont be able to go.  Rashard Mendenhall will be the main running back for the Steelers.  The Chargers need to be aware of Roethlisberger on the ground as well.  When the Steelers get close to the goal line, the 6’5″ 240 pound Roethlisberger has the ability to run it in himself, something he has done two weeks in a row now.

This will be a tough, hard fought game and it could go either way.  If Rivers is able to get that passing attack going early it will open up their running game, and if Tomlinson is as healthy as he says he is then the Chargers could pull away in this one.  The Steelers’ defense is still one of the best in the league even without Polamalu and I think they will be able to limit what the Chargers want to do.  I think the Steelers need this win more than the Chargers and will pull out a close victory.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chargers 24, Steelers 28

Vincent Jackson had a breakout season last year for the Chargers as he became Philip Rivers’ favorite target down the field.  But this year Jackson has turned into one of the best receivers in all of football.  He has caught 16 passes for 317 yards (19.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs this season.  He is looking like a Pro Bowler right now and with the problems the Chargers have had running the ball look for Jackson to keep putting up huge numbers.

Defensive line issues have led to opposing teams rushing for 142.3 yards and 4.5 yards per carry so far this season against the Chargers.  Linebacker Stephen Cooper has been really busy for the Chargers so far this year.  He has 28 tackles (leads the Chargers), 2 tackles for a loss, he has forced a fumble and defensed two passes.  It’s too bad that the Chargers don’t have a better D-Line to protect Cooper or he would probably have many more tackles this season.