Offense takes steps forward, falls short
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Sunday, Nov 18, 2007
By Casey Pearce , Chargers.com
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers wanted to feel much better about the way he and the Bolts’ offense played Sunday, if only the scoreboard would let him.
“I thought we grew a little offensively today,” Rivers said. “Obviously it’s hard to appreciate it or really feel like you did when you lose, but I think we got better offensively. I know it doesn’t show on the scoreboard in the end. When you don’t win…that’s the bottom line.”
A week after struggling to put to sustain drives and mount much of an offensive threat, Rivers got in a groove Sunday in Jacksonville and had the offense rolling in the second half. The Chargers posted 388 yards of total offense, more than 200 more yards than they posted last Sunday against Indianapolis.
“It’s just the opposite of last week,” Rivers said. “We didn’t really execute (last week). There wasn’t a whole lot to look at and be proud of but we won. (Today) we threw it and caught it a lot better than we have the last couple weeks. We made some plays in the running game.”
Rivers finished the day 22-of-40 passing for 309 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He slid in the pocket and made plays. Despite being flushed on several occasions, Rivers was not sacked.
“I thought Philip competed awfully well under pretty good pressure from a good defensive front,” Head Coach Norv Turner said.
He completed passes to seven different receivers, five of whom caught at least three passes. There were nine passing plays that went for more than 15 yards.
“As a unit, a lot more guys got their hands on the ball,” Rivers said. “There was more of a rhythm to the passing game.”
Chambers had his most productive day as a Charger as he hauled in four passes for 93 yards and gave the Bolts another dimension. He praised his quarterback for the way he got him the football.
“We’re developing some trust,” Chambers said. “He’s a gutsy quarterback. There were a couple plays there they were pretty much giving us. We took advantage of it. He threw the ball up there and gave me a couple opportunities to make some plays. That’s all I can ask for him.”
While there seemed to be so much to build on, there were also a handful of plays that left the offense feeling a little frustrated. On a key fourth quarter drive, a holding penalty negated what would have been a 19-yard gain. Another miscue erased a 10-yard gain on a crucial 3rd-and-10.
“It seemed to be the same old story,” Rivers said. “Some penalties and a couple plays where we lacked execution. It cost us offensively. That’s kind of been the theme the last couple weeks.”
That frustrated the head coach as well.
“There are too many times where there’s one guy, whether it be a run or a pass, one guy is getting penetration, one guy is beating his guy and a run that looks like it’s going to be a big play ends up being a two-yard gain,” Turner said. “We’ve got to get those things fixed.”
Sam Greenwood, Getty Images North America
Wide receiver Chris Chambers gave the Chargers offense a boost Sunday.
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