30-year old WR Malcom Floyd was a huge key in the explosive passing game of the Chargers in 2010 and 2009.  But in 2011, he just can’t stay healthy and the offense has missed him big time.  Floyd has only played in 7 games for the Chargers this year and he has 19 catches for 401 yards (21.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 69 games in his first 7 years with the Chargers and he has caught 153 passes for 2,715 yards (17.7 avg) with 16 TD grabs.

29-year old QB Philip Rivers has been awful so far this year.  He has played in 10 games for the Chargers so far this year and he has completed 237 of 383 passes (61.9%) for 3,023 yards with 15 TD passes and 17 INTs (81.1 QB Rating).  Rivers has also carried the ball 22 times for 38 yards (1.7 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Rivers has a career high of 17 interceptions already this year as he has been pretty terrible.  Rivers has 7 multi-interception games already this year and the Chargers are 2-5 in those games.  The Chargers are still only two games behind the Raiders in the AFC West, so if Rivers turns things around, they could still win the division.

59-year old Norv Turner just doesn’t seem to be the right guy to get the Chargers where they want to go.  The Chargers are 4-4 this year despite averaging 407.0 yards offensively and only giving up 311.6 yards defensively per game so far this year.  With the talent the Chargers have had the last six years, it’s amazing to me that they have not played in a Super Bowl.  I think a big reason for that is Norv Turner.  Sure, he has compiled a 45-27 (62.5%) regular season record in his six years with the Chargers, but this team is much better than that.  I think the Chargers need to get rid of Turner after this year and go in a different direction.

The Chargers need more out of the return game.  Richard Goodman has gotten most of the work on kickoff returns as he has 14 of them for 320 yards (22.9 avg) so far this year.  Jacob Hester (2 returns for 48 yards), Kory Sperry (1 return for 13 yards) and Curtis Brinkley (1 return for 12 yards) also have gotten in some work on kickoff returns this year for the Chargers.  Patrick Crayton has returned 12 punts for 140 yards (11.7 avg) as he has looked pretty good in this role so far this year.  Bryan Walters has returned 8 punts for 45 yards (5.6 avg) so far this year for the Chargers.  The Chargers have returned 18 kickoffs for 393 yards (21.8 avg) and 20 punts for 185 yards (9.3 avg) so far this year.

The San Diego Chargers need more from their WRs going forward.  Vincent Jackson has been in and out of the lineup due to injury.  He has caught 24 passes for 423 yards (17.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year.  The Chargers really need him to get healthy and be the #1 guy he has always been.  Malcom Floyd has also been banged up this year for the Chargers.  He has caught 14 passes for 294 yards (21.0 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  He is much better than that.  Patrick Crayton (8 rec, 63 yards) and rookie Vincent Brown (2 rec, 26 yards) have not gotten in on the action much for the Chargers so far this year.  The Chargers need these guys to step up.

Sure, the Chargers are 4-1 on the year, but that is in spite of QB Philip Rivers instead of because of him.  Rivers has played in all five games for the Chargers so far this season and he has completed 125 of 186 passes (67.2%) for 1,536 yards with 6 TD passes and 7 INTs (87.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 35 yards (2.2 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Hopefully Rivers will come back from the bye week ready to rock.

The Chargers will be without 31-year old DE Jacques Cesaire until at least week #6 due to a knee injury.  He has played in all 3 games for the Chargers this year and he has 6 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  25-year old Vaughn Martin is the next man up as he will likely step into the starting lineup in place of Cesaire.  Martin has played in all 3 games for the Chargers so far this year and he has 10 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  In his first two years with the Chargers (2009 and 2010), Martin played in 20 games in which he had 12 tackles and 1 sack.

Due to the injury to Luis Castillo, 31-year old Jacques Cesaire will find himself in the starting lineup.  He had 1 tackle and 1 tackle for a loss against the Vikings last Sunday.  Cesaire has now played in 114 games in his first 9 years with the Chargers and he has 204 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 9 passes defensed and 7 tackles for a loss.  The Chargers hope that Cesaire will be up to the challenge.

23-year old, undrafted rookie QB Scott Tolzien is currently the Chargers’ #3 QB.  If he wants it to stay that way, he will need to step up in the last preseason game.  He has played in all 3 preseason games for the Chargers and he has completed 9 of 17 passes (52.9%) for 76 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (64.8 QB Rating).  Tolzien has also carried the ball 3 times for 6 yards (2.0 ypc) in the preseason.  If Tolzien doesn’t step up this week, don’t be surprised if the Chargers start combing the waiver wire for a #3 QB.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Chargers have waived Scott Tolzien.  He was quickly claimed off waivers by the 49ers.

The Chargers traded up last April in order to select 23-year old RB Ryan Mathews with the #12 overall pick of the first round.  With that in mind the Chargers expect much more out of Mathews than what they have gotten so far this year.  Mathews has played in 9 games for the Chargers so far this year and he has carried the ball 103 times for 447 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 16 passes for 98 yards (6.1 avg) so far this year.  The most troubling thing about Mathews’ rookie season is that he can’t beat out fullback Mike Tolbert for the featured role in the offense.