Chargers, Rivers roll to win in preseason opener

Sunday, Aug 13, 2006
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer wasn’t surprised.  Quarterback Philip Rivers took it in stride.  Tight end Antonio Gates simply said “I told you so.”

“I’ve been telling you all along that Philip was going to perform when given the chance,” Gates said.  “He was poised, made good reads and spread the ball around tonight.  It was a good start for all of us, but I still believe the best is yet to come.”

Rivers let his arm do all the talking Saturday night as the first-year starter led the Chargers on two first-half scoring drives and completed 15 of his 21 pass attempts as the Bolts rolled to a 17-3 victory over the Green Bay Packers in front of 57,777 fans at Qualcomm Stadium. 

“There wasn’t anything (about Philip) that was like, ‘Wow, we didn’t expect this,’” Schottenheimer said.  “I think we all thought that he would be pretty good, and he was tonight.”

Rivers appeared poised throughout the evening as he quickly distributed the ball and moved his team down the field.  He turned in a passer rating of 111.0 on the evening.

“Overall, it was a good night,” Rivers said.  “It was just what you want to do in the first preseason game: get things going, spread the ball around, make some mistakes on both sides of the ball but also know you are going to be able to correct them without any consequence.”

Although they got production out of the running game, the Chargers certainly didn’t rely on it with Rivers in the contest.  During his two quarters of play, the Bolts put the ball in the air 21 times and only ran the ball 11 times. Michael Turner had nine carries for 43 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.

Schottenheimer put the ball in Rivers’ hands early and often.  On the first drive of the night, the Chargers passed every time as Rivers completed four of his five passes for 74 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

“We wanted to get the passing game cranked up,” Schottenheimer said.  “We decided we’d go to that early, and everyone did a nice job.”

Tight ends Antonio Gates, Brandon Manumaleuna and Ryan Krause caught nine passes from Rivers, including catches all over the field.  He worked all areas of the field as nine of his 15 completions went for 10 yards or more.  Krause led the Bolts with six catches for 64 yards, and Jackson caught four passes for 46 yards.

“We got good production out of the tight end position,” Schottenheimer said.  “Vincent did a nice job.  He got open and when his number was called, he caught the ball.”

While Rivers stole the show, the Bolts’ defense gave San Diego fans plenty to be excited about as well.  The Chargers’ defensive starters played the entire first half and kept Green Bay off the scoreboard.  The league’s reigning top-ranked run defense allowed just 44 yards on the ground and frustrated Packer quarterbacks throughout the night.   The Chargers logged five sacks and delivered several bone-crushing hits on Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

“Our focus was to stop the run and pressure the quarterback,” linebacker Steven Cooper said.  “We got after them and accomplished both of those goals.  We’re pretty happy with the way that we played as a group.

A.J. Feeley took over for Rivers in the third quarter and the offense remained efficient.  Feeley led the Chargers’ on an 18-play, 82-yard drive that culminated with a 23-yard Nate Kaeding field goal.

The Chargers drafted cornerback Antonio Cromartie to be a playmaker, and he did just that in his first appearance at Qualcomm.  With the Packers seeking their first touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter, Cromartie picked off a Rodgers pass intended for Mark Boerigter at the San Diego two-yard line.

“Cromartie showed what he’s able to do athletically, and I think we knew that going in,” Schottenheimer said.

The only beef the Chargers’ head coach had with the team’s preseason opener was what he called “self-inflicted wounds.”  The Chargers committed eight penalties which cost them 68 yards of field position.

“That will end up getting you if you don’t solve it,” Schottenheimer said.  “We talk about it all the time.  It’s not due to a lack of attention, we’re just not getting it done, and it’s annoying the heck out of me.”

“Fortunately, we didn’t turn the ball over; we were solid against the run and accomplished some good things.  It’s a nice way to start.”