Chargers Pre-Season Game One

[Tigam]

*Chargers owner Tigam walks up to the podium*

First let me say to you all thank you for coming. We are looking forward to a productive season this year and expect great things from this team.

Let me first address our injuries. Randall Godfrey went down late in the first quarter when he rolled his ankle. It had some swelling, and as a precaution we kept him out of the game so it didn't swell further... We didn't feel it was worth possible further injury for a preseason game for a proven starter.

We had a couple players take a hit and get the wind knocked out of them, but nothing serious to report. No injuries for the Chargers. Godfrey will likely have playing time next week.

Now... My thoughts on this game.

Offense:
I think we played very well against a good team. We controlled the clock for most of the first half and kept the opposing offense off the field. Darren Sproles did a good job of moving the ball on the ground... And we only had one drop from the receiving core.

I was pleased with Rivers checkdowns and how he spread the ball around. Our third down percentage was decent, something that we really lacked last year.

Billy Volek also did a pretty good job save for a single throw... I guess he thought since Brett wasn't out there on the field that he would try the magic himself and throw the ball while in the grasp of one of the 300 ponders.

But even with that said, we learned a little something about Humes that play that I'm grateful for... He may be a third string HB... But he players like he's on special teams on turnovers... Nice tackle.

<chuckles>

Defense:
We played pretty well... I was expecting a bit more than two sacks, but there was pressure on the QB on most throws... The Packers did a pretty good job of lulling our defense to sleep with all those runs.

Looking at the film it was really a good job of the through the whole game... We did get a little aggressive in the forth quarter and it bit us back on a 40+ yard rushing TD... But all in all I'm happy with what we did, and have just a few things that we need to address as a team.

Special Teams:
Darren Sproles really shined for us on kick returns. Getting the ball at or around the 30 every time rather than the 20 really adds up at the end of the game. I see him breaking a couple for big gains this year.

The Duty of returning is going to Sproles or Parker.. Which ever one wants it more. Right now... Sproles is getting the job... But we have three more games to go before making that final.

And of course... We won the game 23-20 with a winning field goal... It's what we expect out of a clutch kicker. In a way I hope we get to see how strong Nate Kaeding's leg is doing this year on a game winning, or tying, field goal from farther out.

I think that about does it for my rambling... Questions?

[Disturbed]

Does the ability of the Packer's Quarterbacks to complete such a high percentage of their passes worry you when you take into account that Bret Favre never saw the field?

[Tigam]

Originally Posted by Disturbed

Does the ability of the Packer's Quarterbacks to complete such a high percentage of their passes worry you when you take into account that Bret Favre never saw the field?

That's a good question...

The simple answer is 'no'. But of course it's a bit more complex than that.

The Packers had a total of 42 plays in the game. 18 passing, and 24 running. We had 33 passing plays, and 36 running plays for a total of 69 plays.

With 27 more plays to our offense, and the final score... I would say the young quarterbacks took what the defense gave them. Which wasn't very many first downs.

With a vet like Favre, it's very likely he would not have thrown those throws as he knows what it is to manage a game. His completions wouldn't be as high as the young bucks... But he would but his team in a better position to win the game.

So... Ratings really can be misleading...