Burning dem Boys!

Last night my beloved Chargers played the Cowboys in the preseason opener, coming away with a 31-17 victory. Sweet, we covered the spread! Granted the victory means bupkis, but still its always nice to end up on top on the scoreboard. And yes, I did stay up till 1 AM ET to watch the whole thing. Don't judge me, this is my team, and I so rarely get to see them play. You probably have some sick fetishes of your own. Some observations from the game:

Jacob Hester was the star of the night, and he looked good running the ball and blocking. A couple really good runs, a couple TDs, and at least one play where he trucked a linebacker who had him lined up for a tackle. All in all a nice debut. LT was right when he said that it doesn't matter how slow, small or white he is, Hester is a player. He's a wise man, that LT.

Marcus Thomas, the Bolts 5th round pick, had a decent night as well. Its hard to judge too much because he played the 4th quarter, where it was 2nd and 3rd string against 2nd and 3rd string, and the offense wasn't that hard to figure out at that point: dive up the middle, dive up the middle, pass attempt, repeat. But I liked the fact that he was always moving forward. If he ran straight into a pile, he pushed it forward. If there was a little crease, he dove forward for a few extra yards. If you went to tackle him high, forget about it. Either tackle him low or you better bring some friends to help you out.

I have nothing against #82 Mark Jones, brought in as a free agent to return punts, but we need to cut him at the end of camp. All he does is return punts, and we already have Sproles and Cro to do that and they are higher on the depth chart at the returner position. Sorry Jones, but roster spots are too precious to give you one. I'm sure another team will be glad to have you.

Rivers looked OK, not great but not bad. You have to consider of course that he was lacking his pro bowl RB, Pro Bowl TE, Pro Bowl Left tackle, and his favorite outside target in Vincent Jackson. His knee is obviously fine, and his goofy throwing motion is just as goofy as ever.

We relied a lot on PI penalties on deep passes. Granted they were legit, and had they not happened the Chargers may have completed the passes anyway, but I never like having to rely on the zebras to make the right call.

Antoine Cason had a decent game for a rookie. The Cowboys were picking on him a little bit but he never backed down and made some plays. One thing I didn't like was a swing pass where he had the first shot at the runner but was flatfooted and wiffed on the tackle, the result being a big play. Needs Improvement, Antoine.

Anthony Waters was beastly at times. One play he filled hard against the run, pursued the running back who was heading the opposite direction, and made the tackle from the backside. He looked like he was full step faster than everyone else.

Sproles is as fun to watch as ever. My favorite moment of the night was when they ran my favorite Charger play, the play action misdirection back to an RB screen. My biggest joy as a Charger fan is seeing this play develop, seeing for a split second that the running back, usually LT, is in position with two lineman clearing the way in front of him. This time it was Sproles who was getting the pass, and Sproles in the open field is a thing of beauty, as he zipped by defenders for a huge gain which set up a TD.

The Chargers Kickoff Coverage unit is going to kill someone. In the NFL Preseason most guys on kickoff coverage are trying to secure their roster spots, so they go balls out trying to make a big hit on special teams. The Chargers are no exception, and they were flying around full speed going for the big hit. One kickoff was especially cool, where someone, I think Brandon Siler, leaped full speed onto the ball carrier, who was already being tackled by a teammate. Its total reckless abandon from those guys, and its awesome.

Nate the Great looked like it. He had only one attempt but he hit a 53 yarder without breaking a sweat. Looked like it would have been good from 60. Clearly his leg is healed and his leg is stronger than ever.

Sadly, no sign of Jessica Simpson or Double J. Maybe they were hitting the town together behind My Boy Romo's back. Scandal!

That's all for now, next game is Saturday at St. Louis, 8PM et. Go Bolts!