Paralysis by Analysis: Ryan Mathews

Comparing players coming into the NFL Draft is always an interesting discussion to take part in, but rarely do the players themselves do the comparisons voluntarily. With the Chargers rookie in the backfield, Ryan Mathews, he didn’t hesitate to proclaim the player that he models his game after and plenty of scouts have agreed. Mathews’ idol growing up in Bakersfield just happened to be the nearby gridiron superstar LaDainian Tomlinson and the irony really begins there. With San Diego choosing to move in a different direction from Tomlinson in the backfield this past offseason, running back quickly became the team’s biggest priority in the draft and the scouting of potential replacements began. Their General Manager A.J. Smith looked into every possibility plotting out a strategy for the franchise moving forward and looking into each collegiate back in the 2010 class, but Mathews was the player he fell in love with and ultimately had to select.

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Tags: A.J. Smith, Barry Sanders, Darren Sproles, Emmitt Smith, Fresno State, Hall of Fame, LaDainian Tomlinson, Lance Alworth, NFL Draft, Norv Turner, Ollie Wilson, Ron Mix, Ryan Mathews, Super Bowl, Walter Payton, Warrick Dunn

The Most Telling Preseason Action

Many would argue that no part of the preseason is important, but according to NFL coaches and aficionados, the third preseason contest is the most critical for teams in preparing for the upcoming season. Thankfully for the Bolts they had a nice test for the third installment to their preseason itinerary with the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints on their schedule playing in the loud confines of the Superdome. Although this showdown lacks the bravado of a regular season test, the Philip Rivers and Drew Brees comparisons are certainly still evident from a Chargers perspective as the team decided to move on from Brees following an ugly shoulder injury in the 2005 season. Both quarterbacks have proven to be Pro Bowl level signal callers in the NFL and it’s hard to say that Bolts made the wrong choice in the matter. Still Brees does have one Super Bowl ring to Rivers’ none and that has to be the distinguishing characteristic between the two at this point.

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Tags: Antoine Cason, Antonio Gates, Buster Davis, Devery Henderson, Donald Strickland, Drew Brees, Eric Weddle, Jacob Hester, Jason LaCanfora, Jeremy Williams, Legedu Naanee, Malcom Floyd, Nathan Vasher, New Orleans Saints, Philip Rivers, Pro Bowl, Quentin Jammer, Richard Goodman, Robert Meachem, Ron Rivera, Ryan Mathews, Shawnbrey McNeal, Super Bowl, Vincent Jackson

Replacement Players?

Holdouts continue to dominate the headlines in San Diego despite some great play by the depth of the team’s roster in the preseason. Marcus McNeill isn’t walking through that door any time soon so it appears that the Bolts will have to make due with their depleted depth chart at the left tackle position for the 2010 season. San Diego has been put in an unenviable of trying to sign two of their biggest offensive names in the midst of an unsettled labor climate and uncertain frontier in the NFL. With the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) operating under its predetermined uncapped state for this season, plenty of teams are hesitant to spend money while players are unwilling to play without financial security in this current state of affairs. This catch twenty-two has been particularly well personified by the Chargers and their conundrum at both wide receiver and offensive tackle. The wideout spot appears to be solid enough that the team can survive Vincent Jackson’s absence, but fans and experts around the league are still not sold on Brandyn Dombrowski as an adequate replacement for a Pro Bowler protecting franchise quarterback Philip Rivers’ blindside.

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Tags: A.J. Smith, Brandyn Dombrowski, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Demarcus Ware, Julius Peppers, Marcus McNeill, Neil Schwartz, Norv Turner, Philip Rivers, Pro Bowl, Ryan Mathews, Tyronne Green, Vincent Jackson

Bolts and ‘Boys

San Diego has been in chaos with the rumors swirling about holdouts Marcus McNeill visiting the team’s facilities this past week and Vincent Jackson being dealt to the Seattle Seahawks. In spite of this turmoil away from the field, the Bolts had some football to play on Saturday night in their second preseason contest of the year against the Dallas Cowboys. This match-up has been dubbed by many as a potential Super Bowl preview (that is if the Super Bowl were played primarily by second and third teamers). Nevertheless, the Chargers a looking to get their youngsters some reps as the preseason wears on just in case they should have to tap into their depth at some point during the year. The Bolts first action of the year went quite well as the team escaped without any serious injuries and saw some impressive signs from rookie Ryan Mathews in his first taste of NFL action against another team. Continued improvement will certainly be expected of the Bolts first rounder throughout the course of the preseason as the Chargers expect a lot from their new feature back.

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Tags: A.J. Smith, Antoine Cason, Antonio Gates, Brandyn Dombrowski, Dallas Cowboys, Jacob Hester, LaDainian Tomlinson, Legedu Naanee, Malcom Floyd, Marcus McNeill, Martellus Bennett, Mike Tolbert, Nick Hardwick, Norv Turner, Philip Rivers, Quentin Jammer, Richard Goodman, Ron Rivera, Ryan Mathews, Seyi Ajirotutu, Super Bowl, Tony Romo, Tra Thomas, Vincent Jackson

Holdout Progress?

There’s no doubt that the prevailing headlines from the San Diego Chargers this offseason has been the stories of their two disgruntled employees refusing to play for the team’s offers in this uncapped year. Both wideout Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus McNeill are Pro Bowl caliber players and both mean a great deal to the Bolts offensive functionality. Despite all of this, General Manager A.J. Smith has played hardball all of the way slashing the restricted free agent tender offers on the table for both when they refused to sign by a particular arbitrary date. This gesture was a sign of things to come for the relationship between team management and the players involved in this disagreement as both players have stuck to their guns and continued on in this state of mutual disdain.

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Tags: A.J. Smith, Brandon Marshall, Brandyn Dombrowski, Charlie Whitehurst, Dean Spanos, D’Brickshaw Ferguson, Eric Weddle, Malcom Floyd, Marcus McNeill, Mike Williams, New York Jets, NFL Draft, Norv Turner, Pete Carroll, Philip Rivers, Pro Bowl, Seattle Seahawks, Tra Thomas, Tyronne Green, Vincent Jackson

In-Depth Analysis of the Preseason Opener

The Bolts are now officially one game deep into the twenty contests that must be played in the 2010 season, but San Diego has higher hopes of playing deep into January this year. Every journey must begin with a first step however and the Chargers took that initial stride on Saturday night in their tilt with the Chicago Bears. It’s very difficult to draw any true conclusions from just sixty minutes of action, but it’s quite simple to see some potential in several different areas as far as the Bolts are concerned. Perhaps the most positive thing to take away from the 25-10 victory is that no real serious injuries occurred which proved to be quite a problem for the team last season. No teams are ever lucky enough to completely avoid the injury bug for an entire rigorous schedule so it’s all about managing the injuries that do occur with a solid depth chart.

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Tags: Antoine Cason, Antonio Gates, Buster Davis, Cam Thomas, Darren Sproles, Gary Banks, Jacques Cesaire, Jeremy Williams, Jeromey Clary, Kris Wilson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Legedu Naanee, Luis Castillo, Malcom Floyd, Marcus McNeill, Nathan Vasher, Norv Turner, Paul Oliver, Randy McMichael, Ryan Mathews, Seyi Ajirotutu, Vincent Jackson

The Preseason is Officially Underway

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Tags: A.J. Smith, Antoine Cason, Antonio Cromartie Quentin Jammer, Boltman, Brandyn Dombrowski, Chicago Bears, Dan Jauregui, Larry English, Marcus McNeill, Nathan Vasher, Norv Turner, Shaun Phillips, Shawne Merriman, Tyronne Green, Vincent Jackson

Offensive Excitement for the Preseason Opener

With the Bolts preseason getting underway this Saturday when they meet the Chicago Bears at Qualcomm Stadium, there is a wealth of anticipation for the debut of this 2010 Chargers squad. It’s probably not even arguable at this point that the largest issue facing the Chargers moving forward into the upcoming season are the current holdouts by two very important players to their lineup. Still there is plenty of optimism among the Bolts current ensemble of players and their coaching staff as well with spirits high around Chargers Park. Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill may be missing from the game this Saturday night, but there will definitely be some commentary after the game concerning their absences and what those question marks may mean for the team heading into the regular season.

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Tags: A.J. Smith, Antonio Gates, Chicago Bears, Darren Sproles, Dedrick Epps, Kris Wilson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Marcus McNeill, Norv Turner, Philip Rivers, Randy McMichael, Ryan Mathews, Vincent Jackson

Relying Heavily on Rookies

As if the road ahead for the Chargers this season wasn’t complicated enough already via holdouts, the team was dealt another tough blow this past week when rookie inside linebacker Donald Butler was lost for the year with an Achilles tendon injury. In response to that loss, the Bolts went in pursuit of some more depth at the inside linebacker spot for their 3-4 defense. They found a player capable of providing that much needed depth in Ali Highsmith after he was waived by the Arizona Cardinals just a few days earlier. His professional career has been stuck in neutral for the most part since going undrafted in 2008 and agreeing to terms with the Cards as an undrafted free agent. The limited contributions that he has made to this point have all been negligible on the scale of importance, but with 17 tackles on defense and 15 more on special teams, Highsmith is a versatile player that can provide depth to the Bolts at a position of need.

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Tags: A.J. Smith, Ali Highsmith, Antoine Cason, Brandon Siler, Cam Thomas, Clint Bowen, Dean Spanos, Donald Butler, Eric Weddle, Jamal Williams, Kansas Jayhawks, Kevin Burnett, LaDainian Tomlinson, Mike Harrity, Nick Hardwick, Norv Turner, Ryan Mathews, Stephen Cooper, Steve Gregory, Tim Dobbins

Leadership Questions and Answers

Much of the noise being made about the Chargers recently has pertained to comments made by current team leaders Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates regarding their former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson. Fortunately for the players currently on the roster there is a respite from this continuous banter and it is called training camp. San Diego’s players have been hard at work trying to get back into the flow of things and generate some chemistry with one another in the process. Some of the positions where this will be most important include those currently vacated by holdouts Vincent Jackson, Marcus McNeill, and Shawne Merriman as well as the aforementioned offseason departure of LT from the team’s backfield. After what the team has seen from the potential replacements for those missing pieces thus far in camp however, those areas don’t seem to be of much concern.

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Tags: A.J. Smith, Brandyn Dombrowski, Buster Davis, Chicago Bears, Donald Butler, LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry English, Legedu Naanee, Malcom Floyd, Marcus McNeill, NFL Draft, Norv Turner, Philip Rivers, Ron Rivera, Ryan Mathews, Shawne Merriman, Super Bowl, Tra Thomas, Vincent Jackson