Bolts needed one more red zone stop

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Sunday, Sep 07, 2008
By Jay Jay Maniquis, Chargers.com

The Chargers’ red zone defense kept Carolina out of the end zone for more than 58 minutes Sunday. If only they could have come up with one more stop.

In the first half of Sunday’s season opener, the Panthers had a total of three red zone opportunities and failed to convert any of them into touchdowns.

On the Panthers first red zone opportunity, Chargers rookie cornerback Antoine Cason prevented a possible Panthers touchdown in the red zone with a solid tackle on Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad at the one yard line. The Panthers then went for it on fourth down and failed to convert.

“I felt that we stopped them in some situations but they capitalized in some of the mistakes that we made,” Cason said. “That is what good teams do and we give them credit.”

The first red zone stop extended the Chargers streak of not allowing a single point at home in the first quarter to an opposing team since the Arizona Cardinals scored a first quarter touchdown back in December of 2006.

The second opportunity for the Panthers to score a touchdown came in the second quarter when Chargers safety Eric Weddle broke up a short pass down the middle by Jake Delhomme intended for Muhsin Muhammad.

The drive ended up stalling at the 15 yard line where Panthers kicker John Kasay hit a 33 yard field goal.

On the Chargers final red zone stop of the first half, defensive end Igor Olshansky got the Bolts’ first sack of the season with the help of linebacker Shaun Phillips after dropping Delhomme for a one yard loss on second down.

The third down play showcased safety Steve Gregory, who broke up a would-be touchdown from Delhomme to Panthers wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett in the end zone.

“It’s tough,” Chargers Linebacker Shawne Merriman said. “You can make all the great plays and stops in the world but when you can’t make the stop that matters, that is when the game is decided.”

The Chargers defense did not give up a touchdown at all in the first half and held them to only six points in the red zone.

“There are definitely some things that we need to do in order to not get into those positions,” defensive end Ryon Bingham said. “The fact that we stopped them in the red zone in the first half was great but we just can’t put ourselves in those positions. The Panthers are a good football team but we need to pick it up and play better.”

The consensus in the Chargers locker room was that although they played good defense in the red zone in the first half, better play on third down and against the run would have helped them avoid having to come up with big stops deep in their own territory.

“The first half was great, but we have got to come through when it really counts,” safety Clinton Hart said. “I mean it always counts, but that last time counts the most. We let some things get away and we have to do a better job. We have to go back to the drawing board and make it tougher for teams to move the ball up and down the field on us.”

Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner also felt the red zone defense did well in the first half but recognizes there still is a lot of room for improvement.

“The good thing we did defensively was that we held them to field goals in the first half,” Turner said. “We played red zone defense extremely well. We know like every team in this league that we’ve got to get better.”

DENIS POROY, FR59680 AP

Antoine Cason's tackle of Muhsin Muhammad sparked one of the Chargers' red zone stops.

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	Gameday: Norv Turner Head Coach Norv Turner speaks with the media following Sundays home opener at Qualcomm Stadium. Play
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	Gameday: Eric Weddle Eric Weddle talks with the media after the home opener against the Carolina Panthers. Play
	Gameday: Shawne Merriman Shawne Merriman talks with the media after the home opener against the Carolina Panthers. Play
	Gameday: Matt Wilhelm Matt Wilhelm talks with the media after the home opener against the Carolina Panthers. Play

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