First, how has the Charger D adjusted to the loss of Jamal Williams and would you attribute their struggles against the run to his absence?
Fresh bodies. The situation, heading into the season, was to have 3 starting D-linemen (Williams, Castillo, Bingham) with one legitimate backup (Cesaire) and one project (Vaughn Martin). With Williams and Bingham out for the season, the philosophy has been changed to just trying to keep everyone out there fresh. The advantage has switched from talent to health/energy. So now it’s kindof unknown (and not important) who the starters are.

Travis Johnson, Luis Castillo, Alfonso Boone and Jacques Cesaire all see equal time at the DE spots (Castillo probably sees a little more than the others, but not by much). Ian Scott and Ogemdi Nwagbuo share most of the time at DT, but the DEs can rotate into that spot as well. Vaughn Martin is usually inactive, but saw significant time with Castillo on the shelf for the past two games.

Second, how much has the Charger D changed since Wade departed? My thought is that he may still have some “inside” knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses and have some insite on how to attack them.
Cottrell learned from Wade, Rivera learned from Cottrell. So obviously there’s some of the same stuff in there, but Rivera has also mixed in a lot of stuff that Wade never did (like Safety and CB blitzes) that he picked up under Jim Johnson years ago in Philly.

I don’t think any team, or defense, in the NFL can keep their strengths and weaknesses a secret. Everybody has the tape, everybody knows the score. Whether or not Wade has info on some of the individual players (fake example: “Stephen Cooper hates it when an RB dives at his knees, and it makes him soft for the rest of the game”) is debatable. I think the main advantage, for Garrett and Romo, is that they play against a 3-4 defense with a strong pass-rush and not-so-great Safeties in practice every day. The play-calls don’t matter, it’s the similar personnel that makes the defenses similar.

Average Chargers fans? It’s high. Mostly because the Chargers have won 15 straight games in December and 7 straight games this season. Average fans think this team is invincible.

As I said above, I’m confident that the Chargers passing offense will have a good day. I’m almost sure of it. However, I think Marion Barber is exactly the type of RB that the Chargers have struggled with this season and the defense seemed completely incapable of defending TEs with Eric Weddle last week. I see it as a high scoring affair and an even matchup. In my head, the winner will be whoever gets luckiest.

There isn’t one anymore strictly because Merriman has lost a year to injury, and has spent this year struggling to get the rest of his body in “game shape” after the year off.

I still think that when they’re both healthy they’re equal. Ware has a little more speed, Merriman has a little more strength. If they were both healthy, playing the same position on the same team….I think you’d get roughly the same result.

Lucky for you guys, you’re probably getting Merriman at about 75% on Sunday.

he makes me very nervous. He is smart with football. To be honest in 4th quarter I would only take Peyton, Brady(pre-knee injury), and Ben R over him.

IMO Chargers are playing the best football in the AFC.

3rd best QB in the league behind Peyton and Brees (And healthy Brady, if he ever returns).
You think the uptick in Rivers’ efficiency had a little something to do with Chris Chambers going elsewhere? I think I read on FO that he was the 2nd most inefficient receiver in the league (Behind Roy WIlliams) when he got cut.

The line was bad in the preseason because most lines are bad in the preseason. They were bad early in the season because in Week 1 the Raiders knocked out the starting Center, Nick Hardwick on a cheap shot (he’s still out) and then knocked out the starting Right Guard for good measure. The Chargers were carrying one backup Guard/Center. So not only were there two backups starting on the line, but one of them was playing a position he had never played before.

Currently, Hardwick is still out but his replacement (Scott Mruczkowski) has gotten better every week and is one of the stronger points on the line now. Jeromey Clary, the starting RT, got knocked out for the season two weeks ago and Brandyn Dombrowski has started there since (much better at his natural position). Jon Runyan signed with the team less than two weeks ago and is slated to take over the starting RT spot either this week or next.

So, what has changed is that Louis Vasquez (rookie RG) got healthy, Mruczkowski got better and the line gelled after a few games.

The Chargers have allowed 21 sacks this season, good for 7th least in the league. The majority of those came early in the season when the line was struggling. Rivers was sacked 15 times in the first 5 games of the season, and only 6 times in the 7 games since. He’s been sacked only once in the last 3 games.

Marcus McNeill is having a Pro Bowl season at LT and can handle just about any pass-rusher one-on-one. Jeromey Clary was having a pretty good year at RT, but has since gone on IR. If Brandyn Dombrowski starts at RT, he’ll get lots of help in the form of TE/OT Brandon Manumaleuna. If Jon Runyan starts, he’ll get significantly less help and Manumaleuna can be replaced on the field by another WR.

If the Cowboys start getting pressure on Rivers, watch out for the big-play screen pass.

I’m a firm believer in a RB’s “football age” being dictated by the number of carries he’s had in his career. Thomas Jones, who spent a few years as a backup in Arizona and has only ever carried the ball more than 300 times in a season twice, is 27-28 according to his carries/mileage.

Tomlinson has carried the ball more than 300 times in a season seven times. If you’re a believer of your “mileage” dictating your performance as an RB, this list of the active leaders in carries will surprise you.

1. Edgerrin James – 3,028 carries
2. LaDainian Tomlinson – 2,825 carries
3. Jamal Lewis – 2,542 carries

Are any of those guys that you would expect big seasons from? Of course not. They all lost something somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 carries. The legs don’t have that spring anymore.

You’ll notice when you watch LT, that the cuts he used to make he still tries to make. His mind is still trying to do the same things. However, what used to be a juke and 20+ yards is now him falling down for 2 or 3. He just doesn’t have the leg strength to maintain the balance he once had, which was the key to everything for him.

Also, Sproles will never take over for LT. He’ll never be a starting RB in the league. He simply cannot be. When going up the middle, he is incapable of getting anything more than 2-3 yards. He’s Kevin Faulk, at best.

Indeed he did, and at one point was seen as the leading candidate. That was also before the Chargers job was available though. I think he’s 100 times happier in San Diego than he would’ve been in Dallas. He’s a mellow guy who doesn’t really like being under the microscope, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have been too happy with the idea of Jason Garrett calling the plays for him.

San Diego is a much better situation for him and he’s smart enough to realize that, so I doubt there’s any bitterness. If anything, he’ll just look forward to coaching in front of some old friends and family from the area. Nothing that will change how he prepares or manages Sunday’s game.

Your assumption is correct. Charger fans are happy for Brees and rooting him on. If the Chargers play the Saints in the Super Bowl, Chargers fans will obviously root against him but there will be very small amounts of vitriol.

However, there are differences.

-The Cowboys running game is much better.
-I consider Philip Rivers to be better/more efficient than Romo.
-The Cowboys pass-rush is better.
-Jay Ratliff is better than whoever is playing DT for the Chargers currently.
-Chargers special teams are better.

They’ve sold out all of them, but the ones against lesser opponents (like the Chiefs) have really come down to the last minute and have needed an extension for them to reach it.

It would take a long time for me to explain why, so here it is in a nutshell.

-San Diego was absolutely crushed by the economy (moreso than most places because of the incredible amount of construction that was going on when the housing market crashed)
-San Diego is filled with people who moved there from somewhere else, so the population of the city doesn’t equate exactly with the number of Chargers fans.
-Qualcomm Stadium is an awful place to watch a football game.
-Nobody wants to watch the Chiefs
-There are better, free things to do on Sunday afternoon. Like hang out at the beach.

I have an e-mail into their writers. It’ll get done. Patience is a virtue.

There hasn’t been much of a difference between the Chargers at home or on the road this season.

I wasn’t doubting the talent of your secondary, just the size. I don’t think 5’10", 198 lb Mike Jenkins is going to be able to handle 6’5", 230 lb Vincent Jackson. He won’t be able to bump him on the line, he certainly won’t win jump balls and he’ll have a difficult time getting in the proper position to stop VJ from getting the ball. Jackson has shown this season that he simply cannot be covered by a corner that’s shorter than 6’1".

The secondary has been the defense’s strength all season. It’s the reason the Chargers are ranked 8th in passing yards allowed. Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer are playing like Pro Bowlers and have been all season. The chink in the armor, for this game, is Eric Weddle. Normally the Weddle plays FS, Kevin Ellison and Paul Oliver play SS, and Steve Gregory plays nickel corner. With Weddle out, Gregory plays FS and Antoine Cason becomes the nickel corner. Also, Weddle is the key to the zone coverage being able to stop TEs. Just look at how much success the Browns had last week throwing to their slot receivers and TEs. I’m not worried about Austin or Crayton for this game, but I am worried about Witten. Kevin Burnett is our best chance at covering him, but even he’s been inconsistent this season.

Legedu Naanee is a beast in the slot. He’s at least 6’2" and over 200 lbs. He’s fast, quick, strong and has the best hands on the team. He is also a former Boise State QB, which shows up occasionally in a trick play. He’s yet to have a big game, statistically, but he’s one of Rivers’ favorite red zone targets.

..and deal.

Am I wrong?

“No, your just an a-hole, Walter.”

Calmer than you are.

“You want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don’t wanna know about it, believe me. Hell, I can get you a toe by 3 o’clock this afternoon… with nail polish!”

Defenses don’t care that Rivers is throwing to open receivers all day, they are refusing to let up on the double and sometimes triple coverage of Jackson (which wasn’t happening much early in the season). We’re fine with it, and so is Rivers.

No. Mike Scifres holds for kicks. Although he’ll be inactive for this game, Eric Weddle is the backup holder on kicks (he held for kicks in college). Philip Rivers will never hold for kicks.

Nice to meet you too. I’m not sure what Smitty’s knowledge of politics has to do with anything, but I highly doubt the Chargers are going to leave the city simply because there are a lot of road fans at each game. It’s a touristy town that’s filled with people who moved there later in life, the road crowd is something that you have to expect.

We’ll attack Newman the same way we attack everybody. We’ll get receivers on him that are at least a half-foot taller and 50 pounds heavier, then we’ll throw jump balls at him.

Ratliff is a different animal all together. I imagine he’ll be double-teamed, with a RB left in to block in case he beats it.

Which is the biggest reason why he’s having a career year.

Also, even though the run game hasn’t been working very well, does the offense still use the run to set up play action, or do they now try to throw to loosen up the defense?
They try, very hard, to run to set up the play-action. Somehow, and we really don’t know how, it works even though the running game has no fangs at all. The Chargers offense has four main plays:
1) Running play for a couple of yards
2) Short pass
3) Play-action DEEP pass
4) Trick play (Wildcat, reverse with Naanee throwing downfield, etc.)

You see #2 the most, #3 the second most and #1 if they’re still in the game and looking to chew clock while setting up the bomb.

Off topic, a little, V Jax is due for a new contract. What’s your guess at the figure amount?
Big. I wouldn’t be surprised if they base it off of Fitzgerald’s contract (4 years, $40 mil). So 4-5 years (probably 4, his DUIs scare the team a little bit), and $8-10 mil per. The Chargers will pay it, too.

I’ll look for it.

with a whole bunch scored in the last two quarters. I wish we could open a good lead, though, and chew up clock. I just don’t want to invite them to become pass-happy, but rather force them into their weak point, if possible, which is the up the middle run. It will be REALLY difficult to stop all the other options they have.

It’s really hard to pick one of those guys this year. Tie.

jackson couild be a randy moss type

Agreed

For all the grammatical and spelling errors, I was on my phone. Hope it’s readable.

I’d prefer the QB that’s more protective/careful with the ball.

Also, I’d like to argue that Rivers is every bit the “gunslinger” Romo is. By that I mean they both take chances with the football that payoff with big plays. Year in and year out, they’re posting roughly the same number of 20+ yard pass plays and 40+ yard pass plays.

After analyzing this to death, it really seems to me that the difference is in the WRs. Rivers may seem to have less picks because he’s more accurate, but perhaps he has less picks because all of his WRs moonlight as skyscrapers and that means he doesn’t have to fit the ball in a tiny window the way Romo does.

I’m amazed at how similar these guys are in terms of stats. With that being said, I still take Rivers over Romo any day of the week. Not that you would expect anything less.

Malcolm will possibly walk, (i personally hope he doesn’t) Vincent isn’t going anywhere. if there is not a new cba Vincent will be a RFA anyways, and even if there is a new cba i couldn’t imagine the chargers letting him walk. whether it be a new contract or a franchise tag.

hope you dont mind me answering this one john.

Burnett has been arguably the best LB on the team when he’s healthy. Unfortunately, he’s had a hard time staying healthy in training camp and has missed a few games during the season. If the team can figure out a way to keep him on the field, he could be a Pro Bowler.

You should see the stadium they’re building in the City of Industry for whoever wants it. It’s the closest thing to JerryWorld west.

One team is good at scoring from outside the red zone, and the other is good at keeping the opponent from scoring from outside the red zone. An even score (0-0) is an even match.

It was my pleasure.