San Diego Head Coach Norv Turner cited turnovers and big plays as the fuel to Denver’s Week 6 comeback at Qualcomm Stadium. Those problems have continued to plague the Chargers since then. Accordingly, Turner’s team has fixed its gameplan to minimize turnovers and keep the Broncos from finding the open field.
“The big negative plays, the turnovers are killing us,” Turner said Tuesday in a conference call. “Our biggest thing is we need to go put four quarters together, play at a high level, take care of the ball and not give up. If a team’s going to make plays on you, make them earn it. Don’t give up easy plays. It’s a challenge for us coming into Denver.”
Turner said that even though the team often plays well throughout the majority of a game, a bad turnover at a bad time will ruin it. While quarterback Philip Rivers has been highly accurate in the last two weeks, completing 47-of-57 passes, a pair of late interceptions against Tampa Bay led to a loss.
As the Chargers look to keep Denver from hitting on a big play, wide receiver Trindon Holliday is a name that players in the San Diego locker room have become very familiar with.
Holliday enters Week 11 with special-teams touchdowns in consecutive games – one on a punt return, one on a kick return. The task of ending that streak isn’t one the Chargers are taking lightly, as they have a specific strategy in place for bottling up the speedy returner.
“He’s as fast as they come, and we have the utmost respect for him,” Weddle said in his conference call. “We’ve got to be on our game and make it tough for him, get guys around in his face, make him go lateral and have good angles. Leverage and angles will be the key to stopping him in the returning game, both when he gets it in the punt return game and kickoff return.”
To create some big plays of their own, expect Rivers to look for wide receiver Danario Alexander, who caught an 80-yard touchdown pass one minute into last week’s game. The 6-foot-5, third-year receiver has come back from a hamstring injury to provide a deep threat for Rivers, and it showed in Week 10 as Alexander racked up 134 yards on five catches – an average of 26.8 yards per catch.
“He’s just a great, talented receiver,” Weddle said. “He’s shown that the last couple of weeks. He breaks tackles, he’s extremely fast, he brings another dimension to our team that can make some plays when he has the ball in his hands.”
With the situation the Chargers are currently in — facing a two-game deficit in the AFC West — combined with the way the Broncos are currently playing, San Diego knows Sunday’s game in Denver is a challenge they must overcome.
“If we lose this game, we can throw out the division and we’ve just got to hope for a wild card,” Weddle said. “It’s a big game. Denver’s playing amazing right now. All three phases are playing well off of each other and it shows on the tape.”
Tags: Chargers Conference Call, San Diego Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers Safety Eric Weddle, Week 11
Thanks wolfe, got it.
Gray: How come no results are posted yet from last weeks game???????
Broncos on sound fx tonight at 8:30 mountain time. Just FYI
Should be a good one. I have to DVR the game
gotta watch FX for sure. Thanks for the heads up!
How unusual – going into Chargers week without any concern at all…or do I feel a WOS coming on???
***Official Prediction for the Turtle Contest***
Broncos 41
Chargers 10
I also think that Rivers goes out with injury before the half…
DB,I hope Rivers doesn’t leave until he’s developed a huckuva cough.Not that I wish illness on anyone just thinkin’ he might cough(interception),cough(fumble),cough(pick 6)and one more cough(fumble).Here a cough there a cough everywhere a cough cough.
I’m just thinking with Ayers coming into his own…Miller…Wolfe…Adams…Harris……we just have so many defensive weapons that are successfully getting in the backfield…
I think Rivers has good reason to be scared!
…all that coughing is the definitive precursor to the exit!
What is this???? Is DB finally drinking the orange coolaid?
I agree with the weapons. In fact, the versitiliy of these weapons gives JDR a lot of freedom to design some scary plays. Add the fact that Danny Trevathan is learning to man cover some good tight ends and our nickle is better than our base. That is good in a pass happy league. Lovin it.
I ALWAYS drink large quantities of orange kool-aid!!!
Scues me, I gotta go… LOL
(It’s that hint of baby blue on the field, that gets to me…)
Hey guys!
Love beating the chargers. Although Im sure there are more SD fans down south by you than up north by me.
Hey Cat – is ‘sound fx’ on NFL network?
Yep! everywhere!
I’m watching the Eagle / Cowboy game right now on NFL network. Is that what you have?
He is such a team guy. It was nice to see that on FX!!! Greeting the defense as they come off the field… Awesome.
Sorry DB, I got distracted. Did you see it!
Nope – I got called to dinner and apparently the Broncos were first.
I didn’t know when it was going to play. Let me see if I can find it…
Cat-
Thanks for the heads up on the FX thing. PFM is the man! He is the true leader of our Broncos and he makes everyone around him better in more ways than one!
Denver Bronco Football! Get some!!!!
ROCK ON BRONC ON!!!!!
Cam
Here ya go!!!
Peyton Manning Sound FX:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-sound-efx/0ap2000000095205/Sound-FX-Manning-making-it-count
Thanks Cat…that was great!
You bet!!!! Yeah, it was fun to watch for sure. I like how much they’ve gelled as a team.
Thanks Cat, good to see they are all about team.
@JeffDarlington: Damn, what a leader. This is just awesome. RT @nflnetwork: Sound FX. Peyton Manning. Enough said? –> http://t.co/NvvTQNe2 #SoundFX
This is funny… I love the Princess Bride. Mark Schlereth alert:
http://jukeleft.com/straight-faced-hosts-of-nfl-kickoff-sneak-as-many-princess-bride-references-into-half-hour-as-possible/
i hope the Steelers win and the Colts win. that way we can move up to the second seed in the AFC when we beat the Chargers
MAN THIS GAME GETTIN ME PUMPED UP AND I DONT EVEN PLAY FOOTBALL NO MORE..I CAN JUST SEE THE LOOK AND RIVERS FACE WHEN THEY GET SWEEPED FROM THE BRONCOS..AND WEDDLE IS RIGHT IF THEY LOSE THIS GAME THE DIVISION IS DENVERS AND WILD CARD IS WHAT THE CHARGERS ARE LOOKING AT..MAYBE WEDDLE SHOULD JOIN DENVER NEXT SEASON..LOL
*official score prediction*
Broncos 34-Chargers 21
Score Prediction
Broncos 37
Chargers 21
That sound fx was awesome!!! I love how he was mad that the d was playing so well and the o wasnt pulling their weight.. Things are only going to get better Broncos Country. Lets keep this rolling!!
Broncos 37
Chargers 14
http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1705685
Prediction.. BRONCOS WIN.. DEFENSE LOOKS AWESOME. ANOTHER DEFENSIVE SMASHING BY THE CRUSH. Peyton has a meh game and we score 33. Mcgahee fumbles to keep the streak alive. Thomas gets a bunch of yards, decker gets the td’s… stokely gets the 3rd downs… and dreesen pulls a crazy catch out of his butt. Oh wait, these things happen ever game lol.