Chargers Press Conference Week 1

[Tigam]

*Tigam steps into the room and has a seat*

Well, after watching some other games and the one we just played this is going to be one interesting year. I'd like to publicly apologize to the bookies on behalf of the Chargers. <smiles>

Ok... This is likely one of the best things that can happen to this franchise. We came into the game with a game plan in mind... And after completely converting it on the first drive on both offense and defense I believe some of our players just relaxed a little too much thinking the game was in the bag. Finishing a game actually means playing the whole thing. Not just the end. And while we finished the game ahead by scoring during OT... I don't feel we established and ran our gameplan effectively in a couple aspects of it... And dominated everywhere else. We need to be consistent.

Offense:
We executed well but made some very poor decisions. If we continue to turn over the ball on our side of the field I think we are going to have a repeat of last year. Giving a team automatic field goal position if the defense does stop them is not a good way to win a game, and really is what creates these close games for us.

But with that said I must say I'm happy with the way the receivers played and taking away the INT's we really were very successful at what we were trying to do. Harrell continues to be consistent and progresses very well within our offense scheme. With the addition to Bradford on the team I think both of them will see more looks than what we had last year.

We have the trifecta in place. We have our possession, speed, and all around WR's on the team and will look to exploit whichever the defense isn't covering when passing... And allowing LT more room on the line when they have to watch out for those plays they think are going to be a pass. Something we struggled a bit with last year, as they could sneak up to the line and still have time to get back if it was a pass... With Bradford in the game it sets up a new dimension...

Defense:
I think we really did everything we needed to do here. We dropped a couple INT's we shouldn't have, but everyone was pretty much everywhere they needed to be. We held the opposing offense to under 200 yards passing, the rusher under 100 yards and collected 6 sacks and a interception. This is NOT the defense of last year. With the addition of Weaver and the move for Jammer to the secondary receiver we really have added some depth to stop long runs while keeping the ability to bullie receivers at the line and put pressure on the QB.

If the defense continues on pace we'll be able to concentrate more on offense and those things we are doing wrong there. I truly hope this will be the case.

Special Teams:
I'm sure everybody noticed that we had LT returning kicks. This was done to allow us better position starting the drives. While doing drills we noticed that Simon was better at seeing the coverage and reacted to it... LT fumbled less and just used his speed to get what he could and go down. No chances.

Simon did well on PR's, and will continue to do it despite the fumble that plagues the league.

I'm pleased with with our kicker and punter, and look forward to their continued reliability in the future.

Questions?

[Esimorp]

Do you feel you came in to the game underestimating the cards and they are better than expected? Also we got a brief look at the youngster Rivers....could you give an evaluation of his performance and update us on Brett's Situation

[Tigam]

Originally Posted by Esimorp

Do you feel you came in to the game underestimating the cards and they are better than expected?

I don't believe the coaching staff did... I do believe the players did and have learned a damn nice lesson early in the season. We say it all the time, but it doesn't always stick when it comes time... Any given Sunday.

Also we got a brief look at the youngster Rivers....could you give an evaluation of his performance and update us on Brett's Situation

Right now we still don't have a question on who is starting, and running, this team. Both had a few things that they shouldn't have done. But we can't ignore Brett's knowledge of the game and leadership on the field. 23/33 for 287 yards is doing what we want to do. Control the ball, and allow LT to take what he can get and kill the clock.

But to truly look at Rivers without competing with Brett on the field... I think we still need to work on his throwing Mechanics. He isn't getting the ball over the Linebackers heads and allowing him to get a hand on it. Sometimes with disastrous effects, sometimes with nothing more than a knock down ball and loss of down. He clearly understands what we expect and where to go with it. Just not how to get it there in a manner we prefer. We'll continue to work on it.

[holyjabroni73]

Do you think Rivers will become a better QB by playing behind Brett for this year at the very least?

Their D scored two touchdowns on you......ouch. You must have been furious about those. Anything you will do differently to try and keep those kinds of scores to a minimum?

[titansrule]

Watching the game, I thought that the only reason your team didnt lose this one was LT...He was breaking big runs at the right time...Are you most pleased with LT in comparison to the rest of the team?

[Short]

Coach, turnovers seemed to be one of your biggest problems today. Are you planning on playing more conservatively in the future to limit your turnovers?

[Tigam]

Originally Posted by holyjabroni73

Do you think Rivers will become a better QB by playing behind Brett for this year at the very least?

I think Rivers will continue to learn if he's starting or playing a couple snaps through the year either way. So yes... I think he'll be a better QB for it as now he also gets to learn behind a quality QB. Brett is running into the problem that his body can't catch up with his mind anymore. But we brought Brett on because of said mind. If Rivers, through competition, doesn't earn the starting spot next year... He'll not be apart of the Chargers organization next year. He knows this, but we have faith that his continued improvement of the understanding of the game will make him what we are looking for next year.

Their D scored two touchdowns on you......ouch. You must have been furious about those. Anything you will do differently to try and keep those kinds of scores to a minimum?

No one is every happy when a D scores on you. But no, we will no change anything drastically. We've set up the team to exploit whatever the D isn't covering when trying to stop something else. We'll instead work on letting both QB's know it's alright to throw the ball away when it's not there.
--------------- Madden 2007 Next Gen football ---------

Originally Posted by titansrule

Watching the game, I thought that the only reason your team didnt lose this one was LT...He was breaking big runs at the right time...Are you most pleased with LT in comparison to the rest of the team?

LT is one man among ten others... His excellent play has improved the play of everyone around him. Which in turn makes himself more productive when it comes time late in the game.

Some say that LT carried the team. I say LT can have a game like he did when your starting QB completes 75% of his passes.

Some say that LT carried the team. I say when receivers as a collective only dropped two balls the whole game that gave the other team a threat we haven't seen from the Chargers in several years.

Some say that LT carried the team. I say when your front five Oline move the line two yards off the line of scrimmage that's two yards gained from them... Not LT.

I think LT is still the heart and soul of this offense. But without the body, it gets nothing done.
--------------- Madden 2007 Next Gen football ---------

Originally Posted by Short

Coach, turnovers seemed to be one of your biggest problems today. Are you planning on playing more conservatively in the future to limit your turnovers?

No. In fact we might play less so. All the INT's were picked off by Linebackers. Perhaps we need to throw farther down the field to correct the problem, rather than shorter.