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Chargers' secondary shrugs off its miscues

By: MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 28, 2007 1:08 AM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- Norv Turner dissected the defense's performance against the Arizona Cardinals and admitted concern over some shoddy coverage breakdowns. But the Chargers' head coach isn't about to panic.

This is the exhibition season, after all, when NFL teams often employ the same basic defensive schemes on display at local parks and playgrounds.

Glamorous blitz packages and elaborate coverage disguises won't be employed until the games are regarded as more than 60 minutes of exercise.

"I'm not worried about it," Turner said Monday, reflecting on the Chargers' 33-31 victory. "I'm concerned about the big plays, and we need to keep addressing the big plays. You can't give up an 80-yard touchdown pass and say 'We played good defense.' "

Anquan Boldin's long receiving touchdown in the first quarter of Saturday's game was certainly a glaring example of what can occur when a coverage mistake is made. Turner said cornerback Quentin Jammer made a miscue after staring down Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart.

"On that play, it was purely Quentin Jammer," Turner said. "He looked right in at Leinart and thought he was going to throw the 15-yard comeback and he came out of his deep (zone). If he just stays back, they get a 15-yard completion and we get to snap the ball again.

"If we don't give up big plays, we have enough playmakers (on defense) that if we make teams keep lining up, keep lining up, keep lining up, we've got enough guys that will make a big play.

"We just have to be sound and not give up big plays."

Jammer took responsibility for the touchdown and said he broke on the outside receiver when he saw Leinart begin to scramble. That left Boldin open deep behind him.

"It was a bit of a mental thing," Jammer said. "It's something that you wouldn't do in the (regular) season. But in the preseason, you'll take more chances because it doesn't really count anyway."

The Boldin play was one of four times the Cardinals connected on a pass play of at least 26 yards. All four plays led to Arizona touchdowns. Two of the plays came against the first-team defense.

The other long catch against the first unit came when Leinart scrambled out of trouble and found Bryant Johnson for a 41-yard gain.

"The big plays we gave up in the passing game is something we just can't do," Turner said. "Leinart did a good job moving around and buying time, and it's something we may not have addressed as much as we need to.

"We'll start doing the scrambling drills and the movement drills, so we'll address that."

Turner declined to use preseason vanilla defensive packages as an excuse for what occurred. He does allow that what fans and opponents are seeing during preseason games isn't close to the complexity of a regular-season game plan.

Players such as Jammer and strong safety Clinton Hart say they are not concerned with what happened against the Cardinals. They both believe the breakdowns are fixable.

"Oh, nooo," Hart exclaimed when asked if he was concerned. "We're going to be great. It's good we saw it, because we learned from it. That's what the preseason is about. That won't happen again.

"It's good to get the bad apples out of the bucket now before we get the season going."

Jammer, who had a team-high four interceptions last season, noted that broken plays are more likely in the preseason.

"That's because everything we play in the preseason is vanilla defense, it's basic defense," Jammer said. "We haven't thrown anything in there that's real tricky. We're just in basic coverages.

"The quarterback started scrambling, and the receivers made some plays. It was like back-yard football ---- like flag football."

Overall, Turner was pleased with the defense.

"We were very, very physical," Turner said. "We played the run extremely well and we handled a lot of the things they did in the passing game pretty well."

-- Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

Roy wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:28 AM:Sorry James but as reality reveals itslf and the hype fades over the coming months people are going the "enable" my view. The secondary has been bragging to the media during camp about how much better they are and how deep they are and how much better they communicate etc etc. It is too much self promotion and hype. Look at the play over 3 games James. It is consistent. The reality of the poor secondary play overshadows the hype. The secondary shrugs this off? Well I am not looking forward to games where the last team that posseses the ball wins. (Which is a result of a bad defensive performance.)

Bobby wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:46 AM:If Jammer can't cover in "basic defense" how does he cover when they get "tricky" Mr. Turner? Facts are what they are, he does not have the ball skills or 4.3 speed to play corner at a high level in the NFL. Maybe saftey but he could not beat out Weddle or Hart. Save for Wade hiding him last year Jammer has never had more than one pick a year and 05 he lead the NFL in TD passes given up!

rocky01 wrote on Aug 28, 2007 10:57 AM:"It was like back-yard football ---- like flag football." quoth the Jam Man. and as a season ticket holder of 45 years, i am impressed with the business smarts of the Chargers. Where else can i pay $92 per seat and watch flag football?!

Larry wrote on Aug 28, 2007 11:29 AM:Sorry Bobby and Roy, but I think AJ Smith knows more about what it takes to be a good corner and how well or poorly Jammer's played the last couple of years. AJ signed him again, so I must assume that AJ thinks highly of Jammer. Most of the secondary's problem in tha past has been a 'Safety' issue. That is why AJ has been trying for 4 years to upgrade the Safety position through the draft and trades/FAs. This defense will be just fine. But remember, the NFL doesn't like defensive football. The NFL wants offense and points so they change the rule book to handcuff the secondary.

Glen ... wrote on Aug 28, 2007 12:11 PM:As true Charger fans know, our secondary has always been something to worry about. How many times have we seen the other team make that critical 3rd down conversion for a first down? Cortrell said the emphasis in camp was for the defense to work on 3rd down stops. I haven't really seen it yet in preseason, vanilla defense or not. Hopefully, when they ramp things up for the real games, we'll finally see a secondary making plays on a regular basis. Defense still wins championships!

Truthspitter wrote on Aug 28, 2007 12:36 PM:McCree is an obvious weak link at safety and Jammer is prone to giving up big plays at the worst possible times. Overall, Chargers have a great team but the secondary is a big weakness and could cost them when the games get important.

patriot fan wrote on Aug 28, 2007 2:51 PM:I never really thought chargers had fans. Well it does not really matter who you have back there when Brady comes to town.. Go Pats

Aaron wrote on Aug 28, 2007 2:53 PM:The chargers are in for a big letdown this season. They are not going to stay healthy two years in a row. Its very unlikley that tomlinson can repeat last years performance. Chargers fans are funny. They ridicule Norv in oakland, but embrace him as the superbowl saviour now thats he's in SD. Good luck charger fans. Your gonna need it.

Steve from Florida wrote on Aug 28, 2007 2:55 PM:I have followed the Chargers for over 10 years and it is great to see a winner on the field. The secondary does worry me though. Jammer seems to get beat alot and if he is worked, he seems to get alot of penalty flags. I hope the Charger season is successful and they can distance themselves pointwise from the competition so that the final possession does not determine the winner of the game. Best wishes to the Chargers for 2008.

mark wrote on Aug 28, 2007 3:20 PM:when Brady comes too town,lol!who is this idiot pats fan?Brady has a few championships but how long ago was it that he was destroyed by our D!bottom line last year was a fluke!need i say more?

Roy wrote on Aug 28, 2007 3:36 PM:Lets break the season down: Coaching changes -2 wins. Close games that went their way last year but will not go their way this year -2 wins. A little less luck having the same continuity on both sides of the ball because of a few more injuries -1 win. So you think 9-7 is not possible? Add in the harder schedule this year and it is obvious that there is a fine line between 14-2 and 9-7. It just takes a few things here and there to make it happen. I am a critical fan and hopefully I will be proven wrong. All of you hyped up fans need to reduce your intake of the homer opinions from 1090's BRS and Werndl.

Scott wrote on Aug 28, 2007 5:23 PM:its simple other teams know they can't run on our first team so they gameplan to pass a majority of the game, jammer is a premier corner in this league he got burned on one PRE-SEASON pass by one of the best recievers in the league get over it our defense is top 5 in the league no question this year will be a great one!

JAMES wrote on Aug 28, 2007 9:32 PM:ROY, SHUT UP ALREADY!!!...I BET YOU PREDICTED THE CHARGERS TO GO 9-7 LAST YEAR...YOU BREAK IT DOWN TO WHAT? LITTLE LUCK HERE...LITTLE LUCK THERE...FACT IS YOU HAVE A TEAM MADE UP OF CORE PLAYERS ROUGHLY IN THERE 3RD TO 5TH YEARS...THEY'VE HAD A COUPLE OF PLAYOFF LOSSES IN THERE EARLY YEARS...THEY ARE IN PEAK YEARS, TALENTED, AND COMING OFF A BITTER PLAYOFF LOSS...LUCKS GOING TO STOP THEM? WRITE IT DOWN...RIVERS IS THE NEXT "ONE" AND SPROLES IS THIS YEARS DEVIN HESTER...ROY WHY DON'T YOU JUMP ON THE LION BANDWAGON SINCE YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE SO LOW...IDIOT!

Charger fan in Alaska wrote on Aug 28, 2007 9:57 PM:Pardon me, Aaron, have you heard of depth? the Chargers have it. Charger haters are funny!. Go Bolts!

Roy wrote on Aug 28, 2007 11:28 PM:James can't handle the truth. You know what's cool James? I already have gotten free tickets to the game Thurs, the Chicago game, the Raider game, and the KC game. All seats at upper field and plaza near the middle of the field. It feels pretty good paying nothing for the up coming mediocre season. It sure beats the 1800 that I paid last year. Oh yeah I gave alot of those tickets to friends too. The fine line is there James and it is not just luck. It will be a leaking secondary that causes close games.

JAMES wrote on Aug 29, 2007 12:39 AM:Aaron...leave it to a Raider fan to overlook things, like you know, FACTS...Healthy? Are you kidding me?...there was a point last year when...literally.. Marty said he was basically preparing guys to play out of position on defense or taking guys from the defense to play them on offense...ala..Troy Brown...Castillo out, Olshansky out, McRee out, Phillips out, Cesaire out...etc...They won a lot of games because of their depth. Ridiculing Norv in Oakland...Are you kidding me?...the whole country has ridiculed the Raiders the past five years...No one can coach there until the Godfather pushes daisies...And another thing Aaron...if you are going to come on a Charger web-site...try bringing your grammar up to a GED level.

Michael wrote on Aug 29, 2007 7:33 AM:I don't know about everyone else, but the consistent lapses in Jammer's judgment has me concerned. His attitude is good--shrug it off and move on--as a CB's should be, but to keep having things to forget...

mark wrote on Aug 29, 2007 10:54 AM:The chargers secondary is I think their weakest point. They were the reason the 05 season didnt go very well, I remember their game against the Miami Dolphins!! The CB's gave up too much cushion on the receivers however last year was a little better. But remember who fumbled after catching an interception which gave New England a fresh set of downs! who allowed Drayton Florence to score a touchdown! I know its not easy being a safety or a CB but its not easy for the offense,D-line and linebackers to work so hard then boom! one mistake from the secondary and a big play for the other team then there goes the 14-2 2006 season! Isnt that frustrating This year if the secondary doesnt tune things up i dont think the chargers are getting 14-2 season! but if they do its probably gonna be 15-1 or most likely make history and go 16-0 who's gonna stop the chargers in 07? maybe if the Pats or the Colts if they get lucky but i dont think they can run on us! they could probably pass on us! but were just going to outscore them anyway! Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders are getting better but far from our level! the worst thing that can happen is 10-6 but still win AFC West & 2nd round exit..but with the depth that we have i dont think so!

Pancho wrote on Aug 29, 2007 2:44 PM:How long do you think AJ is going to allow Sean Burroughs...I mean Jammer to remain a part of this team?

sandiegan wrote on Aug 29, 2007 4:14 PM:Thanks Larry ... your insight was refresing... and i agree it is a safety issue... still don't understand why the Chargers let Rodney Harrison go... defensive backfield has not been the same without his leadership.

GO BOLTS GO JAMMER wrote on Aug 29, 2007 5:02 PM:...How many TDs did Jammer give up last year? I thnk it was twice. He actually had a pretty good year. Look around the league boys there aren`t many corners who do a better job than Jammer & he rarely misses a game & his team mates like him. When we actually start blitzing our DBs will look much better.

steve wrote on Aug 30, 2007 12:54 PM:nice one pancho, hopefully cromartie can improve and start some time this year

Pancho wrote on Aug 30, 2007 2:25 PM:GO BOLTS GO JAMMER, Jake, is that you? lol

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