Vin+ 3,121 Posted September 20, 2013 http://hosted.stats.com/fb/preview.asp?g=20130922010&home=10&vis=24 (AP) -- San Diego Chargers coach Mike McCoy has wasted little time in helping Philip Rivers return to an elite level, while also turning Eddie Royal into the top scoring receiver in the NFL. The high-scoring attack will try to carry San Diego to its 10th straight win over the Tennessee franchise, with the Titans playing their home opener Sunday. After serving as coordinator for Denver teams that went to the playoffs with Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning running his offense the past two years, McCoy has brought out the best in Rivers through two games as San Diego's head coach. The four-time Pro Bowler went 36 of 47 for 419 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in a 33-30 win at Philadelphia on Sunday, earning AFC player of the week honors. He's tied for second in the league with seven touchdown passes, is fourth with a 115.8 passer rating and eighth with a 65.8 completion percentage. Rivers posted ratings of 88.6 and 88.7 the previous two seasons, throwing 35 interceptions. He has one this year. "He's a great player and one of the smarter guys I've been around," wideout Keenan Allen said. "He can read coverages and change calls at the line of scrimmage. He's really great to play with." Rivers has also played a key role in his team's success against the Titans (1-1). He's completed 68.5 percent for 268.0 yards per game with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions while winning all six meetings, including playoffs. Rivers went 24 for 32 for 284 yards with three scores and one pick in a 38-10 home win over Tennessee last Sept. 16. Malcom Floyd led the Chargers (1-1) with six catches for 109 yards in that meeting, but he isn't expected to be available after suffering what appeared to be a serious neck injury in the second half Sunday. "They are continuing to do some tests on him throughout the week just to make sure we are doing things the right way," said McCoy of Floyd, who had five catches for 102 yards. Royal has emerged as the top playmaker in McCoy's fast-paced offense with an NFL-best five touchdown receptions. He had seven catches for 90 yards - 43 after the catch - and three scores against the Eagles. The Chargers, who rank among the league leaders with 30.5 points and 401.0 yards per game, will try to keep rolling against the Titans. After failing to hold an eight-point lead with less than five minutes left in a 30-24 overtime loss at Houston on Sunday, Tennessee hopes to bounce back as its begins a three-game stretch at home. "To be able to come home to familiar territory where we don't have to travel the day before the game, we can be in a routine for these next three weeks without having ... to travel or go anywhere," safety George Wilson said. "I think that'll give us a lot more confidence going into this stretch." Chris Johnson, held to 17 yards on eight carries by the Chargers last season, has rushed for 166 on 50 attempts this season. Tennessee coach Mike Munchak said Jackie Battle will get more chances to carry the ball after Shonn Greene underwent knee surgery earlier this week. "It's not going to be something that's long term and the good thing is we got it behind us so we should have him refreshed and strong for the rest of the year," Munchak said of Greene. Jake Locker went 15 of 30 for 174 yards with one touchdown and one interception against the Chargers last year. His numbers haven't been much more impressive this season, as he's 28 of 50 for 273 yards with two scores and an 84.8 rating. Locker and the Titans, though, may be able to strike for some big plays against the Chargers, who have allowed an NFL-high 375.5 passing yards per game. San Diego might get some help on defense with rookie linebacker Manti Te'o a possibility to return this week. Te'o, a second-round pick, has been sidelined with a sprained right foot since being hurt in a preseason game Aug. 8. San Diego hasn't lost to the Titans franchise, including postseason, since Sept. 27, 1992. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KempBolt 498 Posted September 20, 2013 I have a lot of respect for the improvements Tennessee has made this offseason, but I believe we match up well with them. They want to run the ball first and foremost and that's where we thrive on defense. They still have issues covering the middle of the field, and that's where we like to attack. For the first time this season, I'm calling for a Chargers victory. 28 20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.AirMcNair. 1,232 Posted September 20, 2013 (edited) Titans haven't had any issue covering the middle of the field. The end of the Texans game looks bad stats wise, but for one it was really more Schaub making incredible throws/his receivers making incredible catches and the defense being gassed(7 of Tennessee's 8 offensive drives in the 2nd half went 3 and out). Titans are apparently going to run a little more no huddle(which is what led to a score on that 1 drive in the second half, Jake was 6/7 on that drive) to improve the offense as well. So long as the Titans offense doesn't stall like it did last week vs Houston(and while the offense didn't play particularly well vs Pittsburgh, they did sustain drives long enough for the defense to get rest), there's no way San Diego is scoring 28, unless this defense makes a complete 180 as to how it's played the first two weeks. Through the two weeks thus far, I would argue the Titans defense has been the best in the NFL, and has certainly played like a top 5 one. San Diego can win this game, but if they do, I find it highly unlikely it will be with them scoring 28, unless, again, the offense struggles like it did last week/defense has a 180. Another part of the offenses problem was Lechler kept pinning the Titans inside the 10 yard line, and whenever we would make a good play to get ourselves going, some stupid penalty would bring it back. Scifres is a really good punter, but I dunno if I've ever seen a performance like what I saw from Lechler Sunday. I'm going to cautiously predict a 20-10 win for the Titans, but it can go either way. Defense wins it for us again, with Jake and co doing enough on offense to get the defense some rest. 10 sounds like a bit more than a "cautious" prediction, but I'm thinking it'll be a late Bironas field goal to seal it. It'll be a one score game for the vast majority of it. Edited September 20, 2013 by .AirMcNair. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KempBolt 498 Posted September 20, 2013 Titans haven't had any issue covering the middle of the field. The end of the Texans game looks bad stats wise, but for one it was really more Schaub making incredible throws/his receivers making incredible catches and the defense being gassed(7 of Tennessee's 8 offensive drives in the 2nd half went 3 and out). Titans are apparently going to run a little more no huddle(which is what led to a score on that 1 drive in the second half, Jake was 6/7 on that drive) to improve the offense as well. So long as the Titans offense doesn't stall like it did last week vs Houston(and while the offense didn't play particularly well vs Pittsburgh, they did sustain drives long enough for the defense to get rest), there's no way San Diego is scoring 28, unless this defense makes a complete 180 as to how it's played the first two weeks. Through the two weeks thus far, I would argue the Titans defense has been the best in the NFL, and has certainly played like a top 5 one. San Diego can win this game, but if they do, I find it highly unlikely it will be with them scoring 28, unless, again, the offense struggles like it did last week/defense has a 180. Another part of the offenses problem was Lechler kept pinning the Titans inside the 10 yard line, and whenever we would make a good play to get ourselves going, some stupid penalty would bring it back. Scifres is a really good punter, but I dunno if I've ever seen a performance like what I saw from Lechler Sunday. I'm going to cautiously predict a 20-10 win for the Titans, but it can go either way. Defense wins it for us again, with Jake and co doing enough on offense to get the defense some rest. 10 sounds like a bit more than a "cautious" prediction, but I'm thinking it'll be a late Bironas field goal to seal it. It'll be a one score game for the vast majority of it. Tennessee has played two games, with Owen Daniels being the only big inside receiving threat so there isn't really a vertiable sample size to go off of for this year. I'm more thinking about what their defense has been like in recent years with similar personnel. I don't think any of the Titan's starters at safety or linebacker are very good in coverage (except perhaps Brown), so that's my logic with that comment. We scored 28 points against the Texans so I don't think that many against the Titans is totally unrealistic given the way Rivers has been playing. Tennessee may be the best defense we've seen this year, but San Diego may also be the best offense that the Titans have faced so far. Hard to predict these games early in the year while you're still trying to figure out who is who. I just see us matching up favorably on paper. We shall see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56AceInDaPlace 110 Posted September 21, 2013 So we should be 0-3 by peoples predictions. Sucks because we unluckily are 1-1 instead of 2-0. Im hoping for a 2-1 start after this game. I would take Houstons offense over the Chargers Off. Rivers may be good but Houstons dual RB threat plus a solid passing attack together is better then just a passing attack SD has. SDs running game doesnt scare me one bit. Rivers will have to beat us because I dont see SD running on us at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradyFan81 404 Posted September 21, 2013 Titans has some huge clock killing/momentum killing/soul crushing drives vs the Steelers week 1. Every short yardage situation they seemed to pick up, and Locker just doing enough to keep the offense going. The offensive line looks great, Jackie Battle is money on 3rd and short/4th and short, and Locker is managing the game well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KempBolt 498 Posted September 21, 2013 So we should be 0-3 by peoples predictions. Sucks because we unluckily are 1-1 instead of 2-0. Im hoping for a 2-1 start after this game. I would take Houstons offense over the Chargers Off. Rivers may be good but Houstons dual RB threat plus a solid passing attack together is better then just a passing attack SD has. SDs running game doesnt scare me one bit. Rivers will have to beat us because I dont see SD running on us at all. We're in the same boat. We're a bad call away from being 2-0 after being picked to lose both weeks in blowouts. Hard to know how good anyone is at this point, but I do believe Rivers is a much better QB than Schaub. It's just a question of his supporting staff holding up. Like I said. I have respect for the Titans, I just think we happen to match up well with them. We're much better at stopping run first attacks than dynamic passing attacks and we're good at attacking the middle of the field in the passing game when we're on offense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted September 21, 2013 This'll be a tough game, but I like the Titans here to force some big turnovers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theMileHighGuy 656 Posted September 21, 2013 Phillip rivers is on fire to start the season like usual, and the Titans are looking better than last year. I like this to be a very good game. The Chargers' 31st ranked defense is going to get run all over by CJ2K, and it will come down to the wire. 28 24 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KempBolt 498 Posted September 21, 2013 Phillip rivers is on fire to start the season like usual, and the Titans are looking better than last year. I like this to be a very good game. The Chargers' 31st ranked defense is going to get run all over by CJ2K, and it will come down to the wire. 28 24 Rivers has traditionally done his best work late in the season. This hot start isn't his "usual." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NFL-Lady 1 Posted September 21, 2013 TITANS win this one... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241 Posted September 22, 2013 Rivers continues to play great. 31-24 Chargers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted September 22, 2013 Kendall Wright is active for Week 3 against the Chargers. This was expected because Wright was active following last week's concussion. The Titans' inactives are RB Shonn Greene, DT Sammie Hill, C Brian Schwenke, OT Byron Stingily, DE LaVar Edwards, CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson, and LB Zaviar Gooden. Chargers declared LB Manti Te'o, QB Brad Sorensen, S Brandon Taylor, CB Shareece Wright, LB Tourek Williams, OT D.J. Fluker, and WR Malcolm Floyd inactive for Week 3 against the Titans. Te'o (foot) has yet to confirm his regular season existence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BJORN 679 Posted September 22, 2013 Defense looks shocking, mainly due to injuries....backup LB are missing a lot of tackles/plays. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BJORN 679 Posted September 22, 2013 Lol McCoy is such a rookie coach. Give Rivers the ball on 3rd down, let him win the game. We play it conservative and the Titans RIGHTFULLY steal it from us. Our defense never steps up when it counts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.AirMcNair. 1,232 Posted September 22, 2013 Refs tried their best to give it to SD, but Locker's too clutch for that bullshit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KempBolt 498 Posted September 22, 2013 Refs gave us a lot of calls. Too many injuries to overcome. Hope our linemen aren't out too long. Final play was priceless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56AceInDaPlace 110 Posted September 22, 2013 Refs gave us a lot of calls. Too many injuries to overcome. Hope our linemen aren't out too long. Final play was priceless. Rivers kicking the ball like a lil kid smh. Rivers is the worst winner or loser ive ever seen. He throws fits. More then anyone else fuck him, glad he lost. As for the Chargers, glad we could beat them. Gates was bossing on some catches today, looked like old Gates at times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BJORN 679 Posted September 22, 2013 Rivers looked like Messi at the end there with that kick, not sure what you were watching Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KempBolt 498 Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) Refs gave us a lot of calls. Too many injuries to overcome. Hope our linemen aren't out too long. Final play was priceless. Rivers kicking the ball like a lil kid smh. Rivers is the worst winner or loser ive ever seen. He throws fits. More then anyone else fuck him, glad he lost. As for the Chargers, glad we could beat them. Gates was bossing on some catches today, looked like old Gates at times. He made a silly move on a whacky play. I hate when people talk about Rivers as if they know anything at all about him. He's nothing like this common misconception that was force fed back in 2007 and apparently stuck around with those too ignorant to know any better. People just love to hate him. If he was being such a sore loser, he wouldn't have come over to congratulate Locker and other Titans after the game. So maybe you should just shut up about it unless you actually have something substantial to back up what you seem to think of him. I highly doubt you'd find a single reputable source anywhere that had anything but good to say about him as a person. Congrats on beating us for the first time since Munchak was actually still a player. Edited September 23, 2013 by KempBolt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted September 23, 2013 He's like Jim Harbaugh but uncool. ... He's like Jim Harbaugh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
