San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers should re-sign Vincent Jackson, or go after another receiver
Vincent Jackson may have been the MVP of San Diego’s offense last season. Jackson led the team in receiving yards with 1,106, touchdown receptions with nine and was second on San Diego with 60 receptions. San Diego does not utilize their third wide receiver like some teams, so this could explain why Jackson had more touchdown receptions and was 80 yards why of having more receiving yards than Malcom Floyd and Vincent Brown combined. Antonio Gates and Jackson open up the field for Floyd which explains why he averaged more receiving yards per game than them.
There was talk of possibly using the franchise tag on Jackson to keep him for another year and make a decision on his future following the 2012 NFL season. However, there are now reports that San Diego is hesitant to use this tag. Jackson was a hold out in 2010 because of a contract dispute and was placed on the Roster Exempt List, which made him serve a three game suspension. Players seem to be angered by the franchis…
Chargers Reluctant To Use Franchise Tag On WR Vincent Jackson Again
The San Diego Chargers are unlikely to use the franchise tag to retain wide receiver Vincent Jackson, according to NBCSanDiego.com. The Chargers have until March 5 to use the tag on Jackson, otherwise he will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent on March 13. Tagging Jackson would cost San Diego nearly $13.7 million. The Chargers used the franchise tag on Jackson last season, and another use of the tag would result in a 120 percent salary increase from the $11.4 million he made in 2011. Chargers general manager A.J. Smith wants to retain Jackson, but is “extremely uncomfortable” with that much guaranteed money on a one-year deal, according to the report. Last season, Jackson had 60 receptions for 1,106 receiving yards and nine TDs. Source: Sporting News Attached Thumbnails
Report: Chargers still unsure if they want to franchise Vincent Jackson
According to Michael Gehlken NBC San Diego, the Chargers want wide receiver Vincent Jackson to remain in San Diego, but they don’t want to place the franchise tag on him, since they would then owe him $13.7 million for one season.
Right now the Chargers simply have too many other needs to pay Jackson the money he’d command in free agency as well. This will likely lead to him hitting the open market and signing with another team.
If the Chargers and LaDainian Tomlinson can put the past behind them, he could be their backup running back
LaDainian Tomlinson is an unrestricted free agent, and the Chargers could use an upgrade at backup running back. Tomlinson has 294 attempts for 1,194 yards over the last two seasons, which is an average of 4.1 yards per attempt. This is not far off from his career average of 4.3 yards per attempt. I am not saying that Tomlinson is anywhere near being the RB he was in the prime of his career. I am saying that he is still productive enough to be a backup running back.
I understand that things deteriorated with Tomlinson the first time around in San Diego. I also understand there was controversy because Tomlinson said “It’s tough being the guy” referring to Philip Rivers last season. ”You get all of the questions of what’s right and what’s wrong.” A.J. Smith responded by saying “I think it’s a lot harder when it’s no longer your team, and you’re not the guy.” I think we are in a day and age where there is t…
Signing Cliff Avril would give the Chargers a proven pass rusher at defensive end
The San Diego Chargers were ranked second as a team during the 2010 NFL season with 47 sacks, but they dropped 21 spots and were ranked 23rd during the 2011 season with 32 sacks. Shaun Phillips averaged nine sacks per season from 2005-2010, but had just 3.5 during the 2011 season. Phillips fought through an injured foot which caused him to miss four games in 2011, so he could return to form in 2012. Antwan Barnes led the team with 11 sacks, and had more sacks than the second, third and fourth leaders combined on the team in this category. Barnes and Phillips are linebackers, so adding Cliff Avril would allow San Diego to put pressure on quarterbacks with a defensive end.
Avril racked up 11 sacks during the 2011 season, forced six fumbles and recovered three. Barnes had 11 sacks, but San Diego’s team forced seven fumbles and their defense had five fumble recoveries. Avril has averaged 1.5 sacks per game the last two seasons on Detroit. The Lions have discussed the possib…
San Diego Chargers: Who Should Be Their Top Free Agent or Draft Day Target?
The San Diego Chargers missed out on the Playoffs in 2011 due to a slow start and an 8-8 record. Philip Rivers made the Pro Bowl but did not have the MVP season everyone in San Diego was expecting. RB Ryan Mathews bounced back from a poor rookie season to lead the Chargers in rushing and made his first Pro Bowl appearance. San Diego has 16 UFA, the big name being WR Vincent Jackson, who Rivers might not want back. While they need to make an attempt to re-sign Jackson to keep Rivers with his prime target, they should not break the bank in doing so. Of their 16 UFAs, four are offensive linemen, and Marcus McNeill’s future is in question because of his spinal stenosis. Even with all these questions on the offensive side of the ball, the Chargers have to be focused on defense.
The Chargers ranked 16th in the NFL in total defense last year and 20th against the rush. They allowed 122.2 yards per game last year and that is something that needs to improve in the run-happy AFC We…
Chargers LB Shaun Phillips joins Katsuya San Diego’s ownership group
Chargers Shaun Phillips is getting into the restaurant business. The linebacker/DJ has partnered up with the SBE restaurant group to bring Katsuya to the San Diego area. “Sam, Matt and the sbe team have created some of my favorite nightlife and dining experiences,” said Phillips. “I’ve been a regular at Katsuya for years and I [...]
Bolts Could Be Tweaking Defensive Approach
The Chargers offense, while having holes to fill, isn’t in the need of attention like the ball’s other side. If the Chargers are to climb from mediocrity and erase a two-year absence from the playoffs, they need to get better on the defensive side.
Marques Colston would be a great fit with the Chargers
If the San Diego Chargers are unable to re-sign unrestricted free agent Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston would be a great replacement. Jackson played in at least 15 games in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. In these 63 games, Jackson has caught 228 passes for 3,994 yards and 28 touchdowns. In this same time span, Colston has caught 295 passes for 4,179 yards and 33 touchdowns while appearing in 57 games. I took out their 2010 stats because Jackson only played five games that season.
Drew Brees and Carl Nicks are two of the top free agents available. One would have to believe that re-signing Brees and Nicks will not leave much money on the table for Colston. Jimmy Graham’s contract will expire in two years, so it would be difficult for New Orleans to pay Brees, Nicks, Colston and Graham. Colston stands at 6-4, 225 pounds while Jackson is 6-5 and 230 pounds, so the Chargers would not lose a significant amount of size by going from Jackson to Colston.
Colston appears to be a rea…
Chargers Hoping To Keep NT Antonio Garay
One under-the-radar free agent whom the Chargers are keeping an eye on is NT Antonio Garay. The veteran is a key part of the team’s defensive line and is somebody the organization would like to bring back — at a reasonable cost. Garay is 32 and has a history of injuries, and his production dropped a bit last season, from 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in 2010 to 2.5 sacks and just six stops behind the line in 2011. According to a team insider, the Chargers are optimistic they can retain Garay for the upcoming season without breaking the bank. However, Pro Football Weekly hears they’d also like to find a younger nose tackle to be part of a rotation with the veteran. Source: Pro Football Weekly Attached Thumbnails
Vincent Jackson might stay in San Diego
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune is getting the feeling that wide receiver Vincent Jackson might want to try and re-sign with the Chargers even though they’re not willing to pay him top-dollar.
Acee also said that it’ll still have to financially make sense for Jackson to re-sign with the Chargers. Seems like to me he might be willing to accept a minor discount.
With the way Chargers general manager A.J. Smith has treated Jackson over the years, I’m not sure why he’d want to stay in San Diego. If I was Jackson I’d go out and get big contract from a true contender.
Burning question: does A.J. Smith finally commit to Vincent Jackson?
LaDanian Tomlinson. Darren Sproles. Drew Brees. Michael Turner.
AJ Smith has let each one of them leave the San Diego Chargers with little more than a compensatory draft pick in return. Smith is frugal, and he believes that every player can be replaced. While San Diego have had a decent amount of success in recent years, they surely could have used some of the aforementioned players to help their cause.
The Chargers are now faced with the Vincent Jackson question. He has been given the run around by Smith for the past few years, with everything from trade demands and franchise tags coming his way. But this offseason Jackson is finally free. He is unrestricted and allowed to sign with whichever team he wants.
@sdutchargers: More people I talk to that are familiar w/ V. Jackson’s thinking, the more convinced I am he wants to stay in SD. Has to make $ense though.
The question must now be asked about which direction Smith will take this adventure. Will he even bother tendering …
A silver lining for the Chargers despite disappointing seasons in 2010 and 2011
The San Diego Chargers had a 17-15 record the last two seasons. In 2010, San Diego was one win away from making the playoffs as they finished the season with a 9-7 record. Kansas City won the division at 10-6, but the Chargers had a better record in the division at 3-3 while Kansas City was 2-4. Denver won the AFC West in 2011 with an 8-8 record, and San Diego also had an 8-8 record, but lost the division due to a tiebreaker scenario.
The Chargers are 15-2 since 2010 when they score at least 25 points in a game. San Diego was 9-1 during the 2010 season when they scored at least 25 points and were 6-1 during the 2011 season when they did this. The Chargers outscored their opponents 577-318 in these 17 games which means they averaged 34 points per game while their opponents averaged 19. San Diego scored 38 points against Jacksonville and 34 against Baltimore in 2011. Baltimore ranked third on defense during the 2011 season, while Jacksonville ranked sixth on defense.
It will be…
In depth: San Diego Chargers
For the last several years the San Diego Chargers have had tantalizingly good talent, but they just haven’t been able to get it done in the playoffs.
I was a believer in 2011. But a rough stretch by Philip Rivers and injuries to Antonio Gates, several offensive linemen and others led to a six-game slide that scuttled a promising 4-1 start.
The lack of a playoff berth raised questions about Head Coach Norv Turner’s job security and about the overall direction of the organization. But despite the disappointing season and the inevitable turnover, Turner will be back in 2012 and so will a talented core of players.
So do the Chargers have what it takes to make a run in 2012? We contacted John Gennaro, who manages the blog Bolts From the Blue, to fill us in. Here’s what he had to say:
Zoneblitz: On paper this team looked good heading into 2011 and it had the second-highest scoring offense in the AFC. What happened to prevent the Chargers from making the playoffs?
John Ge…
San Diego Chargers: Five players to consider in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft
Robert Benson-US PRESSWIRE
San Diego has the 19th pick in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Billy Volek will be 36 years old by the start of the 2012 season. Volek has not started a game since 2005, has not played significant minutes since 2009 and has a career record of 3-7. San Diego may not have the money to bring in a younger backup through free agency with other issues such as Vincent Jackson’s contract and offensive line problems. Here is a list of quarterbacks San Diego should consider in the seventh round
