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Chargers ILB
Junior Seau
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The day before his team reported to training camp last month, San Diego head coach Mike
Riley said he wasn’t sure where the Chargers fit in with the rest of the AFC West.
"We could finish first," Riley said, "or we could finish last."
OK, so maybe his prognosticating skills need some refining. But no one can doubt
Riley’s coaching skills, not after last year, when he led a team most people had
picked for five or six wins — a team that should have had five or six wins
— to an 8-8 record. Riley didn’t get the attention that went to Dick Vermeil or
Jim Mora or Jeff Fisher, but it’s hard to believe anyone did a better job than San
Diego’s rookie coach.
The question now is: Can Riley do it again? He’ll have to, if the Chargers are to
contend for first rather than worst in the AFC West.
San Diego remains a team with several glaring weaknesses, the primary one being its
lack of offense. And since everyone knows the goal of football is to score more points
than your opponent, that can be a rather large problem.
How bad has it been? During the last three seasons, or ever since Bobby Ross (the only
coach to take San Diego to a Super Bowl) resigned from the Chargers, the club has scored
one offensive touchdown or less in 32 of its 48 games.
During that time, San Diego’s offense has scored a total of 61 TDs (17 in ’97
and 22 each of the last two years). By comparison, the St. Louis Rams’ offense scored
55 TDs last year alone.
The offense actually has only two problems: It can’t run, and it can’t pass.
Last year the running game produced 3.0 yards per carry, the worst average in the league,
and QB Jim Harbaugh ranked 15th in efficiency among the 17 qualifying AFC passers,
although he was better when the Chargers went to the no-huddle offense at midseason.
The Chargers signed WR Curtis Conway during the offseason, hoping his speed would open
up both the passing and running games. But Conway was hurt throughout training camp, and
as recently as two weeks before the season opener, the team still didn’t know who
it’s No. 1 running back or No. 1 quarterback would be.
The situation, as usual, is better on the defensive side of the ball. The Chargers
slipped from first in the league overall in 1998 to 12th last year, but the addition of CB
DeRon Jenkins and the return from injury of Pro Bowl S Rodney Harrison should help repair
an injury-ravaged secondary. The run defense, first in ’98 and third last year, must
overcome the losses of DT Norman Hand and LBs Lew Bush and Eric Hill.
Special teams actually should be better with the addition of speedy KR Ronney Jenkins
and former Dolphin PR Nate Jacquet, but unless they can run back a kick a week for a TD,
the Chargers will struggle to score — and therefore to win more than half their
games. Again.
Top of page
| Quarterbacks |
Grade C- |
| Remember Ryan Leaf? In the past two years he went from
potential franchise quarterback to potentially the biggest bust in the history of the NFL
draft. But he reported to camp this summer with a new (surgically repaired) shoulder and
(more positive) attitude, and the results were mostly good. Assuming he remains healthy
and focused, he will be the starter, if not at the beginning of the season, then sometime
soon. He’s the one quarterback in the division capable of being great. Harbaugh
can’t stretch the field the way the Chargers would like, and Moses Moreno is even
more inexperienced than Leaf. Top of page |
| Running backs |
Grade C- |
| Jermaine Fazande and Robert Chancey weigh more than 500
pounds combined, but can either rush for 500 yards in a season? Will either get the
chance? Riley has said the Chargers will have to use the committee approach at this
position, which is a nice way of saying no one deserves to be No. 1. Fazande made an
impact in the season finale last year with 183 yards against Denver, but only two weeks
earlier he had been inactive despite being healthy. Kenny Bynum also figures into the
group because of his speed, and the Chargers were working with the rookie Jenkins to get
him more touches. Terrell Fletcher contributes as a third-down back, and FB Fred McCrary
is a good blocker and receiver. Top of page |
| Receivers |
Grade C+ |
| All you need to know about this position is that no Charger
caught more than two — count ’em, 1-2 — touchdown passes last year. Conway
can help immeasurably, if he’s healthy. Without him, the Chargers lack a
game-breaker, since Jeff Graham, Mikhael Ricks and Charlie Jones are all possession
receivers. Rookie Trevor Gaylor showed promise during camp. TE Freddie Jones should
produce better numbers than he has, but consistency has been a problem. Steve Heiden and
Reggie Davis provide good depth. Top of page |
| Offensive linemen |
Grade B- |
| The lack of a running game wasn’t all the backs’
fault. The line didn’t perform well last year, and now it welcomes three new starters
— OLT Ben Coleman, OLG Raleigh Roundtree and ORG Kevin Gogan — along with
holdovers, C Roman Fortin and ORT Vaughn Parker. The summer was a bit shaky, especially on
run blocking, but it’s too early to write them off. Top of page |
| Defensive linemen |
Grade C+ |
| Losing Hand to New Orleans hurts the Chargers’ depth
more than anything. He was part of a three-man rotation that made it almost impossible for
any opponent to run up the middle. John Parrella and Jamal Williams will be the starters.
The Chargers hope Darren Mickell, who will play inside in passing situations, converted DE
Michael Mohring or rookie Leonardo Carson can be an adequate third tackle. On the outside,
Raylee Johnson had a breakthrough year at right end with 10½ sacks, but he suffered a
torn anterior cruciate ligament late in the preseason and was placed on injured reserve.
Al Fontenot and Mickell are serviceable on the left side. Top of page |
| Linebackers |
Grade B- |
| Any unit that starts with Junior Seau can’t be too bad,
and that’s the case with the Chargers. Even at 31, entering his 11th season, Seau
doesn’t seem to have lost anything. In fact, he might be getting better, and this
year he has the added motivation of not getting voted on to the Pro Bowl team last year.
(He was added at the last minute.) The Chargers lost MLB Hill to a neck injury, and while
his experience will be missed, the club is hoping the combination of young Orlando Ruff
and veteran Steve Tovar will be OK. On the strong side, Bush left for Kansas City in a
salary-cap move, but veterans Gerald Dixon and Richard Harvey are adequate replacements. Top of page |
| Defensive backs |
Grade C+ |
| Rodney Harrison finally got his due in 1998 — his first
Pro Bowl appearance — but then he missed 10 games last year with a shoulder injury.
Healthy again this year, he should be back at a Pro Bowl level. Harrison and FS Michael
Dumas are both strong against the run, and Dumas also is excellent at blocking kicks. On
the corners, the Chargers were hoping Fakhir Brown would win the job on the left side, but
he spent the summer recovering from a shoulder injury. That leaves Darryll Lewis as the
starter and Scott Turner as the nickel back, at least until Brown returns. The right side
will be manned by DeRon Jenkins, who had an excellent camp after coming over from
Baltimore. Top of page |
| Special teams |
Grade B+ |
| John Carney is the most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL
history, and Darren Bennett was named the punter on the All-Decade team. No worries there.
Jenkins and Jacquet will add life to a moribund return game. Top of page |
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