Jammer stops the ball and critics

Sunday, Dec 31, 2006
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

When Chargers free safety Marlon McCree joined San Diego’s secondary as a free agent in the offseason, he heard about the criticism cornerback Quentin Jammer has endured. He says he has yet to see a reason for it, though.

“What I’ve seen from day one is a guy who has played with a tremendous amount of confidence,” said McCree, the sage leader of the secondary. “I don’t where all the flak he took was coming from. He has carried our secondary. He’s the MVP of the secondary.”

Jammer, recognized as one of the best tackling cornerbacks in the NFL, made one of his more important tackles of the season at the end of the first half of Sunday’s 27-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the regular-season finale at Qualcomm Stadium that secured home-field advantage for the Bolts throughout the playoffs.

With the Chargers leading 17-7, the Cardinals faced a third-and-5 from San Diego’s 9-yard line with 13 seconds remaining in second quarter. Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner hit Anquan Boldin in the right flat, but Jammer quickly wrapped up Bolden at about the 5-yard line. In trying to break Jammer’s tackle, Bolden was wrestled to the ground by Jammer until time expired.

“He kept them out of the end zone; they didn’t even get three points out of it,” McCree said. “He took points of the board. Jammer has been playing huge for us all year.”

The Chargers went into the locker room with a 10-point lead intead of 7 or 3 with Arizona preparing to receive the second-half kickoff. With a cushion to build on, the Chargers moved ahead 27-7 and still led 27-10 at the start of the fourth quarter. That allowed Chargers Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer to pull quarterback Philip Rivers and running back LaDainian Tomlinson to rest for the playoffs.

“I was just trying to keep him in bounds and away from the sidelines,” Jammer said of his key tackle. “I thought he would just fall down, but he’s a big strong guy. He didn‘t go out of bounds and the clock went down to zero.”

Jammer’s tackling ability and run support have never been in question since he was taken in the first round with the fifth pick of the 2002 draft. The 6-foot, 204-pounder delivered some punishing tackles against the Cardinals and finished with seven for the game. His 88 tackles for the season rank him second for the year to linebacker Donnie Edwards.

“I’ve always been a physical, big hitter and try to punish guys,” Jammer said. “It helps me if guys see I’m being physical. I think it kind of rattles them. They don’t want to run those outs. They don’t know what I’m doing. If I’m in cover two and I see a guy running in the flat, I’m going to try and knock him out. That’s been my M.O. since college.”

The criticism Jammer endured -- some of it unfair when he didn‘t get help he was supposed to receive -- had mostly to do with his lack of interceptions. He has worked diligently to improve his ball skills, including undergoing LASIK eye surgery and hand-eye coordination drills.

Jammer picked off two passes early in the year -- the second game against Tennessee and the third game at Baltimore. He had his fourth interception in the 11th game against the Oakland Raiders to halt a drive and save the game. The Raiders were deep in Chargers’ territory and had gained the momentum in a game the Bolts eventually won, 21-14.

“He’s becoming a shudown cornerback,” said Chargers wide receiver Kassim Osgood, who works against Jammer in practice. “He has much more confidence and his instincts are sharpened this year.”

It was about the middle of the season when opponents stopped throwing his way. 

“It’s a compliment,” Jammer acknowledged reluctantly, adding he still wants more interceptions.

One reason is interceptions seem to count more with Pro Bowl voters than being perhaps the league’s best tackling cornerback.

“One of my goals was to make the Pro Bowl this year,” Jammer said “I didn’t make it, but I look forward to trying to get a Super Bowl ring because that’s way more important. I think the Pro Bowl is a glorified prom contest. Who’s the prom king? It’s just a popularity contest.”

Jammer, it could be said, has already won the tackling contest and is gaining ground in the interception contest.