Oct

27

Chargers/Texans Week 8 Pre-Game Report

Posted by Charger_Girl

October 27, 2007 |

After being displaced by the wildfires, the Chargers finished up their training in Phoenix and have returned to San Diego to play as scheduled against the Houston Texans Friday.  The mayor of San Diego notifed the league that the stadium would be ready for the matchup as scheduled, and the NFL and Chargers organization decided it was a go.

But irrelevant to the venue, both teams are on a must-win mission.  San Diego needs a win, which would be their third straight, to stay atop the AFC West with Kansas City, who has a bye this week.  The surprising Texans need a win to keep them close to their division-leading team, the undefeated Indianapolis Colts.

With the addition of Chris Chambers, Houstons’ defense has yet another offensive weapon to cover, and there is not enough of a secondary to be able to contain Chambers, Jackson, Gates, or even LaDainian Tomlinson.  As long as the Chargers’ offensive line protects Rivers, he has many outlets from which to choose.

The key for Houston is to contain LT; however, this would extend to Michael Turner as well.  Even with Nick Hardwick out for a couple of weeks, replacement center Cory Withrow is more than adequate in protecting his quarterback.  The Texans also need to establish a running game — something quite difficult to do against a Chargers defense which is 6th against the rush.  Therefore, they will need to establish a passing game, and a lot of this depends on whether Matt Schaub will be healthy to play.  Backup Sage Rosenfels did well in the 4th quarter last week in a close loss to Tennessee; however he did throw 3 INTs in addition to his 4 TDs (interestingly, tying Joe Montana, Ken Stabler, and Vinnie Testaverde for the only QBs in history to throw 4 TDs in the 4th quarter.)  San Diego is currently tied for 13th in the league with 7 INTs.

Hopefully, the Chargers will be able to overcome the events of this past week, of worries and stress, and be able to focus on the game.

(Sources:  nfl.com, Chargers.com)


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