San Diego Looks To Ground Cardinals In Season Opener
By Dave Thomas
By the time the San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals kick off in the desert Monday evening (7:20 p.m., ESPN), all other Week 1 games around the NFL will have been completed. So, what will the finale in the first week of action bring to Charger fans?
Following a 9-7 campaign in 2013, the Chargers and their fans are hoping this season brings even more success.
After making the playoffs last season for the first time in four years, the Bolts opened the AFC campaign with a win on the road versus Cincinnati. Although San Diego would come up short a week later in Denver by a touchdown, the seeds had been planted for even bigger expectations in 2014. The question now: Can the Chargers follow through and maybe even return to Glendale, Arizona in early February to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl?
In order to return to Glendale in approximately five months, San Diego will need to win the games it is supposed to win, then steal a few they won't be favored in, such as Monday night's contest.
While both the Chargers and Cardinals are relatively even on paper, the oddsmakers have the home team as a 3-point favorite going into this weekend. Much of that reasoning is likely just that, Arizona is the home team (not necessarily the better team).
How Can Chargers Escape With The Victory?
In order to leave the Valley of the Sun with a win Monday night, the Chargers will need to get early momentum and a lead, thereby keeping the home crowd out of the game. Given it is the season opener, you can expect Cardinal fans to be rocking their domed stadium.
Ball control will be an important issue when the two teams meet, with San Diego needing to establish its running game, i.e. Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead for starters. While Philip Rivers is going to need to hook up with Keenan Allen and the other receivers and tight ends, running the ball is essential for the Bolts.
On the defensive side of the ball, news Friday was that Arizona starting running back Andre Ellington (652 yards rushing a season ago) missed practice with a foot injury. The Cardinals' staff did not specifically disclose what the injury was, though reports are the second-year back from Clemson had a MRI done on his left foot as a precaution.
Meantime, the Chargers unveiled their injury report for the opener, with the following news as of Friday's workout:
Jahleel Addae (safety) - hamstring - did not practice
Keenan Allen (wide receiver) - ribs - full practice
Chris Davis (corner) - ankle - did not practice
Lawrence Guy (defensive end) - shoulder - limited practice
Nick Hardwick (center) - no injury - full practice
Sean Lissemore (defensive tackle) - ankle - limited practice
Manti Te'o (inside linebacker) - foot - limited practice
Jason Verrett (corner) - shoulder - full practice
For more Chargers news and updates, visit Chargers Central.
Dave Thomas has been covering the sports world since his first job as a sports editor for a weekly newspaper in Pennsylvania back in 1989. He has covered a Super Bowl, college bowl games, MLB, NBA and more. His work can be found on Examiner.com.