Tag: San Diego Chargers (Page 6 of 40)

      Vincent Jackson will sign tender, report to Chargers at the end of month

      October 21, 2010 /
      SAN DIEGO - AUGUST 25: Wide receiver Vincent Jackson #83 of the San Diego Chargers carries the ball on a 59 yard pass play in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks on August 25, 2008 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, setting up a Chargers touchdown. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

      Vincent Jackson and his agent know that if V-Jax doesn’t play in at least six games this season, then he won’t become eligible to sign with another team as an unrestricted free agent after this season.

      That’s why it’s no surprise to hear his representative Neil Schwartz say on Thursday that V-Jax will sign what’s left of his prorated $583,000 tender and join the Chargers on October 29.

      Jackson still must sit out three games due to his Roster Exempt status, which means he won’t play until Week 12 at the earliest. Given the Chargers’ early-season struggles this year, they can take all the help they can get, when they can get it.

      If he’s motivated (which is a big question mark), Jackson is a complete player. He can stretch a field, he’s a weapon in the red zone and he’s arguably the best blocker in the league from the wideout position. He has also reportedly kept in good shape because he was hoping to be traded by this point. He’ll help the Chargers once he reports.

      Of course, this isn’t about helping the Chargers for Jackson. It’s about accruing the six games needed so he can become a free agent at the end of the year. Neither he nor his agent want to deal with GM A.J. Smith and go through all of this again next offseason.

      External Sports, NFL

      Different week, same result: Rams win at home, Chargers lose on the road.

      October 17, 2010 /
      St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford looks for a receiver downfield in the second quarter against the San Diego Chargers at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on October17, 2010. UPI/Bill Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      They may play in one of the weaker divisions in football, but if the Chargers can’t figure out a way to win on the road then they’re going to be at home come playoff time.

      Thanks to their 20-17 loss to the Rams on Sunday, the Bolts have now dropped all four of their road games to start the season, including two in a row. And it’s not like they’ve been playing the ’85 Bears, the ’07 Patriots and the ’00 Ravens either. Their losses have come against the Chiefs, Seahawks, Raiders and Rams, which are four teams San Diego should beat if it considers itself a legit playoff contender.

      One of the main problems that the Chargers have had is that they don’t match their opponent’s intensity in the first half. Philip Rivers and the offense really struggled in the first half in St. Louis before finally coming alive in the final two quarters. But by that time, they were already down 17-3 and had to abandon the running game. They’ve followed that same script in nearly every one of their road games this season and now they’re 0-4 away from their home digs.

      The Rams, on the other hand, look like a freaking juggernaut at home, where they’re now 3-1 on the year. Sam Bradford completed 18-of-31 passes for 198 yards with a touchdown and for the first time all season, he wasn’t intercepted. (Although there were a couple of instances where he could’ve been.)

      Bradford did most of his damage in the first half when he led the Rams to a 17-3 lead. But the playcalling was completely unimaginative in the second half and his offense became stagnant. Still, St. Louis hung onto the win and now the rookie QB is averaging 226 yards per game with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.

      More importantly, thanks to the division they play in, the Rams are hanging around in the NFC West. It’s still early, but nobody expected this team to have three wins at this point in the year and they’ve already exceeded expectations. Now they just have to figure out a way to win away from the Edward Jones Dome.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 5 MVP, COY and ROY power rankings

      October 17, 2010 /

      You think it’s hard to predict the games and standings from week to week? Try picking MVP candidates. There are five or six different candidates emerging every week. We’ll do this as one post again today and start separating them out next week. And I’m sure by this time Tuesday everything will be turned upside down again. Enjoy the games today everyone!

      MVP Power Rankings

      1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—He didn’t play last week and yet the Eagles still won, but barely, on the road in San Fran. Against a team that still hasn’t won a game yet. And hence my case is made again. And when Kolb and the Eagles lose at home to the Falcons today, fans in Philly will be chanting Vick’s name, which will have made my case again.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Will teams show interest in Shawne Merriman once he’s released?

      October 14, 2010 /
      Aug 14, 2010; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman watches from the sidelines during the preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers defeated the Bears 25-10. Photo by Image of Sport Photo via Newscom

      Shawne Merriman’s career with the San Diego Chargers is finished. The team placed him on injured reserve with a minor injury designation, which means they have to release him once he’s officially healthy.

      With this being the eventual outcome, Chargers’ GM Alex Smith was wise not to give Merriman a new contract this offseason. Not that he was going to give into Merriman’s contract demands anyway. Despite the linebacker’s three-time Pro Bowl status, Smith wasn’t going to give the injury-prone Merriman a new deal when he hasn’t been productive in nearly three years.

      The question now becomes: once he’s released, will any team take a flier on him? Even if he’s deemed healthy enough to be released, he probably won’t be 100% for the rest of the year, which means the market could be completely bare for him in a couple of weeks.

      One team that may make him an offer is the Patriots, who have an obvious need for a pass rusher and who also play the 3-4 alignment that suits Merriman’s skill set. There haven’t been any connections to Merriman and New England yet, but then again it’s still early and it’s not Bill Belichick’s style to reveal his team’s future intentions.

      Another team that may be interested is the Saints, who also have a need for a pass rusher and could use the upgrade at linebacker. Even though they play a 4-3, Gregg Williams is known for his innovative schemes and he could certainly put together a game play fits Merriman’s pass-rushing ability.

      Again though, he’s not healthy and hasn’t been in two years. One team that has already said they’re not interested is the Cardinals, who would like to add depth at outside linebacker but they don’t want to take on the injury risk. It makes you wonder how many other teams feel the same way.

      External Sports, NFL

      Vincent Jackson to report to Chargers by end of the month

      October 14, 2010 /
      SAN DIEGO - AUGUST 25: Wide receiver Vincent Jackson #83 of the San Diego Chargers carries the ball on a 59 yard pass play in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks on August 25, 2008 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, setting up a Chargers touchdown. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

      In the end, Vincent Jackson’s situation was rather predictable.

      The player’s union has been telling agents for months that players who held out will be unrestricted free agents after season, even if they sat out all of 2010. However, players still have to be on the roster for six games in order to get an accrued season and thus become unrestricted.

      That’s why it isn’t surprising to hear that V-Jax will report to the Chargers by the end of the month. He wants a new contract and if he holds out all year, he may never get one because he would still be under the Chargers and GM A.J. Smith’s thumb. If he’s on the roster for six games, he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and then he can seek his millions elsewhere.

      But nobody really wins here. People will say that Jackson and his agent got one over on Smith, but the GM isn’t dumb – he knows what they were going to do and I doubt he even cares at this point. Smith has made it clear that Jackson has no future with the Chargers so he might as well sign off on his return (Smith has to agree to Jackson returning to the roster), get six weeks out of him (Jackson isn’t eligible to return until Week 12) and then bid him ado at the end of the year.

      What happens if Jackson blows out his knee in the final six games of the season? Then what would have this all been about? What if other teams have been turned off by the way he handled things in San Diego? Then there wouldn’t be a big market for him and thus, he may have to accept less than what he and his agent think he’s worth.

      V-Jax may get his big contract next year but as of this moment, he rolled the dice and he came up snake eyes – for everyone.

      External Sports, NFL

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