San Diego-It’s all about the defense. Since the beginning of the preseason the San Diego Chargers came into the 2012 NFL season with a defensive mind-set. Two games into the regular season, the Chargers have looked like they have bought into that philosophy.
Sure, the Chargers have their usual weapons on the offensive side of the ball to opposing teams enough headaches to stay up late at night. But where the Chargers want to go this season depends on how well their defensive unit plays.
On a day when the Chargers honored former NFL great Junior Seau, it was fitting that the team’s defense answered the bell when it came down to playing lights out on their opponent, handing the Tennessee Titans a technical knockout with a 38-10 win at Qualcomm Stadium.
“It’s a total team effort, “Chargers linebacker Takeo Spikes said. “One of the things that I always tell the guys is that we have to earn the right to rush the passer. With that being said, we have to be able to them (opponents) in long-yard situations.”
Quarterback Philip Rivers and Co. can light up the scoreboard against any team in this league like they did against the Titans. Rivers connected to backup tight end Dante Rosario for three touchdowns enroute to another productive day at the office, throwing for 284 yards on 24 of 36 passing attempts.
That’s wonderful, but shutting opponents have been a matter of deep concern the last several years for the Chargers. So head coach Norv Turner and his defensive coaches revamped that unit this offseason. The Chargers got younger and more athletic.
Only two games in, the results are still a long ways off from being complete. However, those two games are very much reflective of the direction the team’s defense is going in. That’s a good thing for coach Turner and the Chargers. Offenses, with all of its aerial showmanship and glory, remain the glamour side of football. Defenses represent the grit and backbone of a team.
If that’s the case, the Chargers have plenty of it this year. So far, so good. Against the Oakland Raiders in the season-opener for both teams, the Chargers forced their division rivals into four turnovers. Rookie linebacker Melvin Ingram set the tone for the rest of his teammates to follow, effectively ending the Raiders’ first drive of the night by smashing into an Oakland runner, forcing him to cough up the ball.
The Chargers served notice to the rest of the AFC West Division teams by holding the potent Raiders offense to just 14 points. The Chargers defense kept Darren McFadden and the Raiders rushing attack off-balance all night, limiting the Silver and Black to only 45 yards for the entire game. Carson Palmer, the Raiders big-arm quarter to under 300 yards passing on 46 throwing attempts for the game.
The Chargers backed up that performance with a blanket, closeout statement against the Titans, thanks to another solid outing by their defensive unit. During these two wins, the Chargers appeared to have mastered the art of shutting down high-profile running backs like McFadden and Tennessee’s explosive rusher Chris Johnson.
“This is a testament of what we put in through the week,” Spikes said. “I guess the old saying comes through to where what you do in the dark will come to light. So, we prepare hard and we talk about it a lot. What this performance really showed and said is that we did what we were supposed to do.
There’s nothing NFL, into an expensive decoy, holding the All-Pro running back to just 17 yards on eight carries. The Titans managed just 38 yards on the ground as a team.
“It’s attention to detail, understanding what we get throughout the week, guys working hard and putting in the extra time…we want to be great. We feel like we have all the pieces here to be a great defense.”
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com