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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Coaching staff finalized


San Diego Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner finalized his coaching staff for the 2009 season with the addition of Rob Chudzinski as tight ends & assistant head coach.

Chudzinski guided the Chargers’ tight ends from 2005-06 and was the Cleveland Browns’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. Antonio Gates recorded career highs in catches and receiving yards in 2005 and made the Pro Bowl in both of Chudzinski’s seasons with the Bolts.

In his first season with Cleveland, the Browns’ high-powered offense scored 402 points and racked up 5,621 yards, both of which were the third-highest totals in team history. Quarterback Derek Anderson, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, tight end Kellen Winslow and rookie offensive tackle Joe Thomas all made the Pro Bowl under Chudzinski’s watch.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Bolts' improving coaching staff


Wednesday, Jan 21, 2009
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

The Chargers are down to two vacancies on their coaching staff after the team reached agreements with two more assistant coaches Wednesday.

Former All-Pro cornerback Cris Dishman, who spent the 2008 offseason with the Chargers through the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship, will assist newly-hired secondary coach Steve Wilks.

Greg Williams, who was most recently a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh, agreed to terms to become the Chargers’ assistant linebackers coach.

Dishman played 13 seasons in the NFL and was named to two Pro Bowls. He began his career with the Houston Oilers, played for Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner with the Washington Redskins and played one season each with the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.

Since 2006, Dishman has been on the staff at Menlo College in the Bay Area where he’s served as defensive backs coach and most recently as defensive coordinator.

Williams comes to the Bolts after one season at the University of Pittsburgh, where he’s worked under former Turner colleague Dave Wanndstedt. Williams was a four-year letterman at the University of North Carolina and attended training camp with the Chicago Bears in 1998. Chargers Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera was a Bears assistant at the time.

Williams has also spent time at Arkansas Tech University, DuPage College and Arizona State. He played professionally in NFL Europe, the XFL and the Arena Football League.

With four hires in the last two days, Turner still has two open positions on his coaching staff. He’s in the process of hiring a tight ends coach and an assistant offensive line coach.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Lets keep the Rivers flowin'!!


Posted: January 21, 2009
Sporting News staff reports

The Chargers want quarterback Philip Rivers to stay in San Diego.

Chargers general manager A.J. Smith told the San Diego Union-Tribune Tuesday that the team will begin negotiations with Rivers on a long-term contract very soon.

"You offer a contract and hope for the best," Smith said. "We'll have a contract (offer) and hope it's successful. If not, we have the franchise (tag)."

Rivers, 27, will play the final year of his current contract next season. In 2008, he threw for 4,009 yards and a team-record 34 touchdowns.

San Diego has several key players whose contracts expire in the next two years, including running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

The newspaper reports another reason San Diego feels the pressure to get Rivers signed to a deal and avoid having to use the franchise tag is the Chargers might want to use the franchise tag on Shawne Merriman in 2010.

City of San Diego suing the Chargers?


Source: Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP)—The city of San Diego expects to quickly settle a breach-of-contract suit it filed against the Chargers, which claims the team owes the city more than $170,000 for use of Qualcomm Stadium in 2004.

City attorney Jan Goldsmith, who was elected in November, said the suit was filed just days before the four-year statute of limitations expired. Goldsmith said the matter should have been handled years ago.

“The Chargers sent over a lot of information a long time ago and the city should have gone through it and talked about it,” Goldsmith said Wednesday. “We should have talked about this years ago. The fact that we didn’t, it’s not the end of the world. We’ll sit down, we’ll deal with it. We haven’t even served the complaint. It will be resolved, no doubt about it.”

According to the lawsuit, the team underpaid the city by $125,795 in 2004 as a result of the Chargers claiming skybox rent credits that were previously disallowed by the city for the 1996 through 2000 seasons. The city is also seeking more than $44,000 in accrued interest.

We love you LT!!!!

Written by: J.D. Harrison

Ladainian Tomlinson wrote on his blog that he wanted to stay with Chargers, and the Charger fan base couldn't agree more. I think I speak on the behalf of Charger fans world wide, when I say that if LT were to leave the team it would be the worst decision in the history of the Charger franchise. Though LT has been struggling lately, he has ALREADY proven himself. He is one of the greatest football players to ever play the game and to think that the Spanos family would even consider letting LT go, just because of some salary cap and a couple of bad breaks, is just plain outrageous! The thought of LT wearing any color other than the yellow and blue, is almost unbearable. Hopefully the Spanos family comes to there senses soon and grabs LT for the rest of his career.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The hottest woman really are Charger fans!


Big shout out to Clay Pederson for sending these beautiful pictures in. This sexy woman's name is Tia. She is a die-hard Charger fan, and a damn fine one at that!


Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Chargers head to Pittsburgh


We already know this is going to be a fight between two of the most physical teams in the NFL.

They battled Nov. 16 and the defenses were so stingy that Tomlinson scored the only touchdown and the Chargers still lost. The score ended up a paltry 11-10, the first time that score had ever been recorded in the NFL.

According to weather.com, the temperature in Pittsburgh will vary from a low of 20 degrees to a high of 23, with a 30 percent chance of snow. The last game was a chilly, snowy night, and this one looks to be no different.

This part of the season, teams need to have a steady running game to stay competitive, but after RB Darren Sproles took a beating against the Colts over the weekend, it looks like the Bolts' running game will be in the hands of ex-Viking, Chief, and Buccaneer Michael Bennett. There is a possibility Sproles will be able to play extensively, but nowhere near his thirty-plus touches of the last game.

LT isn't even in the equation for the Chargers, because if they plan on getting past the Steelers, they'll need to rest him up in order to heal whatever is wrong—his groin, whether it's a tear or pull.

The Steelers have a bevy of healthy, well-rested runningbacks ready to play, but have a busted quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. He is expected to play despite suffering a concussion in the final game of the season against the Browns. The two offenses are completely opposite, though both teams have strong defenses that never give up.

Rivers. Pro Bowl snub.

Threw for a franchise record 34 touchdowns, leading the NFL in touchdown's and quarterback rating, 105.5. In the Chargers last game in Pittsburgh, Rivers threw for two interceptions, but that was before the team got hot and won five in a row.

Rivers most likely won't have a running game to keep the offense honest, so he'll have to sling it more than usual. But there is the possibility Sproles will be available for screens—though highly ineffective against the quick Steeler defense.

In order for Rivers to be efficient, the offensive line has to deal with the likes of LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison, a two-time Pro Bowler. These two linebackers combined for 27.5 sacks this season, and don't miss tackles often.

With the Steelers defense applying pressure, their maverick can fly all over the field making plays, whether it's the run or the pass: Troy Polamalu, No. 43, the one with the hair.

Polamalu ended the regular season with seven interceptions, a career best and has been voted to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl appearance. He is often the eighth man in the box, pulling back into coverage during pass plays and generally disrupting any offense that takes the field.

He is the key cog in the defense when it comes to stopping Philip Rivers on Sunday, as he can be deceiving when positioning himself before a play starts. The Steelers' defensive scheme uses Polamalu a lot in blitzes and stunts, made simply to confound quarterbacks and give the linebackers time to get to said QB.

If Rivers can connect with one of his tallest receivers (either Vincent Jackson or Legedu Naanee) consistenly underneath Polamalu's coverage, he may have a chance to hit a wide open Chris Chambers on the sideline or TE Antonio Gates down the seam.

Vincent Jackson arrested on suspicion of DUI


— Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence early Tuesday morning in Clairemont, authorities said.

Jackson, 25, was driving east on state Route 52 near Interstate 805 just after 2:30 a.m. when he was pulled over for an observed traffic violation, California Highway Patrol Officer Brad Baehr said.

Jackson, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound player who has been with the team since 2005, was driving a 2008 GMC Sierra registered to him, Baehr said.

He was booked into county jail and was released by 6 a.m., Baehr said.

Jackson faces the misdemeanor DUI allegation as well as charges that he was driving on probation for a prior DUI, Baehr said. The results of a blood test are pending.

The arrest will not keep Jackson from playing Sunday in the Chargers' divisional playoff game at Pittsburgh. The NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement gives authority to discipline players for alcohol and substance abuses to the league, not individual teams. Any suspension and/or fine would affect next season.

Jackson was at his career best in the 2008 season as the Chargers'second-leading receiver with 59 catches and 1,098 yards. He also scored 7 touchdowns.

Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith issued the following statement on Jackson's arrest:

"We're aware of the off-the-field issue involving Vincent. Obviously we're disappointed. We take these issues very seriously. Moving forward, we will monitor the situation and have no further comment."

After Saturday night's duel against the Indianapolis Colts, Chargers General Manger A.J. Smith called Jackson a true professional and ultimate team player.

“You win championships with players like Vincent Jackson,” Smith said.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Chargers dominate Colts in overtime!



SAN DIEGO — Peyton Manning has his MVP award and nothing more, outdone again in January by the San Diego Chargers.

Speedy little Darren Sproles scooted 22 yards for the winning score 6:20 into overtime and the Chargers beat the Colts 23-17 in an AFC wild-card game Saturday night, ending Indianapolis' nine-game winning streak a day after Manning won his third Associated Press NFL MVP award.

Sproles came up big on a night when the Chargers played the final 2 1/2 quarters without LaDainian Tomlinson, who stood on the sideline in obvious discomfort from a groin injury.

Fifty years after the Baltimore Colts won the first overtime game in league history by the same score over the New York Giants for the NFL title, Indianapolis wasn't so fortunate. It was victimized by Sproles, who rushed 23 times for 105 yards, caught five passes for 45 yards, had 106 yards on four kickoff returns and 72 on three punt runbacks.

The Chargers (9-8) won the overtime toss. Indy's Darrell Reid called heads, but referee Ron Winter's flip came up tails. Sproles sent the Chargers into the second round of the playoffs, either at Tennessee or Pittsburgh, by finishing off the only series of overtime with his TD run around left end against an exhausted defense for the Colts (12-5).

It was the 25th overtime game in the postseason, including one game in the AFL. The last overtime game in the playoffs was last season's NFC title game, won by the New York Giants and Manning's little brother, Eli, against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.