Here’s the review of the defense. That should do it for the San Diego game. We start talking (and practicing) Denver Broncos now.

Starters

NT – Jay Ratliff. Surprisingly, I didn’t see anything for the Rat. No worries, I trust the vet now.

DE – Chris Canty. I only got Canty down for one play, he ran an inside stunt and got to the QB to pull him down forcing a bad pass. Marcus Spears. Big game from Marcus. He broke through with Tank on his sack, he disrupted another run in the backfield that Zach cleaned up, and on the short TD run he broke through again but just wasn’t quick enough to get the RB. Nice to see disruption in the backfield.

OLB – DeMarcus Ware. I got Ware for one nice tackle at the line of scrimmage on a run. Greg Ellis. Ellis had a good assist on a tackle at the line of scrimmage using an inside stunt.

ILB – Bradie James. One good blitz but it was a hitch pass and he didn’t have time to get the QB. But he got busted up by the FB on a run at the goal line. Zach Thomas. Sensational. Just like advertised, and just like training camp, he’s always around the ball. He diagnoses a play and makes a path to the ball. He had a great tackle up the middle, and he got a tackle for loss cleaning up after Spears. He also had an assist with Roy.  He did get blown out with Burnett on a trap block for one TD.

CB – Anthony Henry. Had good coverage on Chambers deep when the P.I. call was made on Hamlin. He blasted a Charger at the goal line, a beautiful stick. Pretty good day. Mike Jenkins. Jenkins gave up a pass early but made up for it by deflecting the ball on a short third down pass. He also got a tackle on a swing pass later. Mainly, he didn’t give up anything big. Nice start.

S – Ken Hamlin. Not much except for the questionable P.I. call. Roy Williams. On the first play of the game Roy came around the edge from deep in the secondary and tackled the RB for a short gain.

Backups

NT – Tank Johnson. Blew through the line for a sack. Not much else except they used a double-team to blow him out on a short run for a TD. Junior Siavii. He didn’t get credited with a lot of tackles, but he got a little active toward the end of the game. He needs work on tackling technique. He also allowed a single blocker to uproot him at the goal line.

DE – Jason Hatcher. Nothing from Hatcher, I expected to see more out of him. Stephen Bowen. Bowen had one good play were he worked off a block to help on a tackle of a run. Marcus Smith. Smith had a pretty good day against the run, stopping a few of them at the line or near it. But at the goal line, he gave up position against a single blocker, exposing the linebackers. Remi Ayodele. Managed a couple of tackles late.

OLB – Anthony Spencer. He had one great play where a run went to the opposite side of the line and Spencer must have sniffed it out. He cut across the line behind the DE and NT and hit the ball carrier at the line. He also picked up and offsides call. Justin Rogers. Gave up the edge way to easily on a couple of runs, including a long one by the Chargers, he doesn’t appear strong enough to hold the point of attack outside. He did have a couple of tackles based on his athleticism. Erik Walden. Made one good play by taking on the block at the point of attack, shedding him and tackled the RB. Got in on another tackle. Tearrius George. At the end of the game he rang up a couple of tackles and had a couple of good penetrations. Needs to produce earlier in the game against better players.

ILB – Kevin Burnett. ILB was probably one of the most interesting spots to watch. Burnett started out great with an excellent open field tackle against a screen and he also made a nice stop at the goal line after getting off a block. He made another good tackle later. But he got blown out a couple of times by blocks at the goal line, and he whiffed twice in the open field on swing passes. And he let Jacob Hester bust him up while running the ball. Up and down night for Burnett. Bobby Carpenter. Sort of like Burnett. He got washed out at the goal line, he got blocked by the FB at the goal line and he struggled out in space with Burnett on swing passes. Sometimes Carpenter plays too fast and not under control, overrunning plays. But he did have a play where the guard shot right out on him, he absorbed him and shed him to make the tackle. He also made a good open field tackle on a shot pass, and raced out to help Scandrick make a tackle after he covered his own zone. He had a couple of stops against the run and at the end of the game, he rang up a few garbage tackles. He was active and involved, but not always strong enough in the middle against blocking and not always under control. Tyson Smith. A couple of late tackles, got beat by the FB for a third down conversion.

CB – Adam Jones. Tough night. Chambers beat him over the middle, he had a P.I. call to set up a TD and he whiffed twice in run support that cost big yards. Rusty. Orlando Scandrick. Nice debut. He made a nice play on a short third down play, upending the receiver. He hit the Chargers QB so hard he hurt himself and collected a sack. He only got beat once. Not too bad. Evan Oglesby. Had a couple of tackles and didn’t give up too much in coverage. Alan Ball. Got called for P.I. because he didn’t get his head turned, he got beat for one pretty long pass and not much else.

S – Pat Watkins. Made a good tackle on a long run after a screen pass, and caught an INT but AJ was called for interference. Played decent at gunner on punts, they always ran to the side away from him. Courtney Brown. Never saw him involved on any play. Dowayne Davis. Had one good tackle.