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Deep ball in effect against New England

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Monday, Oct 13, 2008
By Caleb Barber, Chargers.com

The Bolts were able to make the deep pass an effective part of their offense against the New England Patriots Sunday night despite having starting wide receiver Chris Chambers on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
 
Vincent Jackson had a career high 134 receiving yards as well as a touchdown catch. Quarterback Philip Rivers hit Jackson with a 48 yard pass on the very first play of the game, setting up a Nate Kaeding field goal to put the Chargers up 3-0.
 
“It was the play of the week,” Jackson said. “We started talking about it on like Thursday, so it wasn’t a surprise to me (that we ran it). It was either going to be the first or second play of the game from what Norv said so I was ready to run it and I was excited he said to start off like that.”
 
Later in the first quarter Rivers lofted a 49-yard pass to Malcom Floyd for his first touchdown catch of the season, extending the Chargers lead to 10-0. Before the half was over Floyd caught another 17-yard pass and Jackson caught another 13-yard pass, giving them 141 receiving yards on six catches collectively before halftime.
 
“Philip made a good read and I was pretty much one on one with the corner,” Floyd said. “He threw it out there and I had to slow down because I knew it was going to be a jump ball.”
 
Floyd was the beneficiary of the reps Chambers normally receives, and he took advantage as he scored his first touchdown in nearly two years. Rivers was thankful for the work Floyd and Jackson did Sunday night.
 
“Those guys were huge down the field,” Rivers said. “The throws were decent but the catches were awesome. Those two guys, if you give them a chance, they’ll make a good play for you. Anytime you throw the ball down field the guys upfront have to get you some time and the offensive line was great all night.”
 
Jackson’s second long grab of the night came in the third quarter when Rivers hit him with a 59-yard bomb. The catch set up a drive that ended with a one yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates, putting the Bolts farther out of reach by giving them a 24-3 lead.
 
“Vincent just keeps growing, growing and growing,” Head Coach Norv Turner said. “He’s had a heck of a year. He’s having a great year. The catch he made a week ago in Miami gave us a chance to get back in the game. Obviously the plays he made tonight were a big part of why we were able to score points and be in the position we’re in.”
 
The Chargers head coach showed satisfaction with his wide receiver on the other side as well. Prior to Sunday night, Floyd hadn’t caught a pass since Week 7 of last season. 
 
“Chris Chambers wasn’t available,” Turner said. “If Chris wasn’t available three weeks ago, we would’ve given Malcom those opportunities. It’s very nice to have a guy like Malcom here. I think he had a great training camp. Great production in terms of we’ve asked him to do. He’s going to be a big part of what we’re going to do down the road.”




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