The Chargers have signed 26-year old cornerback Fred Bennett.  Bennett played in 10 games (3 starts) with the Texans last year and he had 18 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 40 games (17 starts) in three years with the Texans in which he had 123 tackles, 21 passes defensed, 5 interceptions and 4 forced fumbles.  This was a good depth signing for the Chargers in the secondary and on special teams.

The Chargers have released 29-year old DE Ryon Bingham.  Bingham did not play in any games last season for the Chargers.  He played in 49 games (2 starts) in six years with the Chargers and he had 80 tackles and 4.5 sacks.  The Chargers won’t miss Bingham just like they didn’t in 2009.

Rookie first round pick (RB) Ryan Mathews is looking good so far this pre-season.  Mathews has carried the ball 34 times for 136 yards (4.0 ypc) and he has caught 5 passes for 33 yards (6.6 avg) so far this pre-season.  The Chargers have not been shy about giving the rock to Mathews this pre-season to get him ready for the grind of his rookie year as he will be the main man in the running game.

This game was a lot closer than the scoreboard shows as the Saints intercepted a pass and returned it to the house with 7 seconds left in the game (it was a 87-yard return).  Philip Rivers started this game and he looked sharp in completing 16 of 27 passes for 167 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Billy Volek finished up the game by completing 9 of 21 passes for 97 yards at 2 INTs.  Ryan Mathews led the way on the ground for the Chargers in this game with 43 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.3 ypc).  FB Jacob Hester pitched in with a 6-yard TD carry the only time he touched the ball in this game.  TE Antonio Gates (5 rec, 66 yards) and WR Malcolm Floyd (4 rec, 51 yards, TD) led the way in the passing attack for the Chargers last night.  They finished up with 68 yards rushing (3.4 ypc) and 255 passing yards last night.

LB Kevin Burnett (6 tackles) and CB Quentin Jammer (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Chargers’ D last night.  The Saints finished up with 129 yards rushing (4.6 ypc) and 423 yards passing in this game.    The Chargers are now 1-2 on the pre-season.

The Chargers were awesome on defense in this game but the offense just didn’t come through last Saturday Night.  Philip Rivers completed 11 of 15 passes for 125 yards with 1 INT.  He also had 1 carry for 1 yard and it went for a TD.  Billy Volek was so-so completing 5 of 12 passes for 94 yards.  5th round pick Jonathan Crompton finished up this game by completing 3 of 6 passes for 8 yards with 1 INT.  Rookie first round pick Ryan Mathews led the way for the Chargers on the ground in this game with 53 yards rushing on 12 carries (4.4 ypc).  Mike Tolbert pitched in with 10 carries for 34 yards (3.4 ypc) and 2 receptions for 21 yards (10.5 avg) in this game.  Marcus Mason pitched in with 8 carries for 7 yards (0.9 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 6 yards.  Darren Sproles only had 1 carry for 3 yards but he also caught 3 passes for 38 yards (12.7 avg) on Saturday.  WRs Seji Ajirotutu (3 rec, 71 yards) and Malcolm Floyd (3 rec, 47 yards) both pitched in for the Chargers in the passing game last night.  The Chargers finished up with 92 yards rushing (2.7 ypc) and 202 yards passing in this game.

Safety C.J. Spillman (7 tackles) and LB Darry Beckwith (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led a good effort by the Chargers’ D last night.  The Cowboys finished up with 54 yards rushing (2.3 ypc) and 140 yards passing on Saturday Night.