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Chargers' Rivers full of praise for Raiders defense
By Bill Soliday, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
Article Last Updated:11/27/2006 06:44:23 AM PST
SAN DIEGO — Philip Rivers has been used to making 17-point comebacks and scoring more points in the fourth quarter than the opposing Oakland Raiders score in a game.
Sunday he got a rude shock courtesy of the Raiders' man-to-man defense, resulting in the NFL's highest-scoring team having to scratch to post a 21-14 victory at Qualcomm Stadium.
Afterward he had nothing more to throw but bouquets in the Raiders' direction.
"They have a nice defense, but we knew that coming in," he said. "We knew that and respected it. Those guys, if they were to be a team that would score a bunch of points, tough as our division is, would be even tougher.
"This game was already tough, but look back at some of the games they've lost. If they could have put up 21 or 28 points week to week they would be right there in the hunt for this division."
The Raiders held Rivers to 14 completions in 31 attempts for a meager 133 yards, no touchdowns and an embarrassing 44.2 passer rating.
His coach, Marty Schottenheimer, credited Oakland's man-to-man defense.
"What's happening is everybody is accustomed to us throwing the ball and going up and down the field," he said. "That isn't the NFL. This is the NFL. It's hard to make first downs, and it's hard to score points. We found out today that we may not be electric, but as long as we keep doing what we're supposed to do, we'll be fine
"Play man-to-man coverage and rush with four — in my opinion that's the way I'd play defense if I could. When I was in Kansas City and Cleveland that's what we did, we played man-to-man. You've got him, you've got him, you've got him, and let's go play ball. Its hard to defeat that."
Schottenheimer said it wasn't the first time the Chargers had seen man defense "but it's nothing like we saw here. Did I feel like we stole one today? No. We worked as hard at winning this one as any one we've worked all year because that defense is damn good.
"I think we had a total of 18 plays in the first half. We were one of five on third down. We ended up two of 11. You have to give credit to them."
In the end, though, the Raiders aggressiveness wound up killing them. The Chargers tied the game on a 19-yard halfback pass by LaDainian Tomlinson to tight end Antonio Gates and won it after Tomlinson's 44-yard gallop set up a 10-yard scoring run by — who else but L.T.?
Tomlinson's pass came five plays after the controversial penalty that allowed the Chargers to keep the ball when the Raiders believed they had recovered a fumble.
"It was good timing for it," Rivers said. "We were rolling. They were in kind of a panic mode. You could sense they were frustrated because of the circumstances.
"You see (free safety Stuart Schweigert and those guys coming downhill like crazy. We've run that play where we just kick it out there to L.T. (and he runs). It's fun when you have ... a little different play and it works just like you drew it up."
Tomlinson called it "one of those oh-no plays" for a defender.
"They're thinking kick, run," he said. "We've done that plenty of times where they just kick it to me, and I just run around the end. So they have seen that play, and they're thinking it's a run, and they come up to support the run, and Gates just slipped right through them."
On Tomlinson's 44-yard run, the Chargers blockers flowed left, and Tomlinson veered right, taking advantage of the Raiders pursuit in the direction of the blocking.
"Sometimes during the course of a game you are kind of setting up the defense," Tomlinson said. "You're keeping it play side, keeping it play side and making them think you are going to do that all day. Then one play you run it and go out the back door."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_4727674
By Bill Soliday, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
Article Last Updated:11/27/2006 06:44:23 AM PST
SAN DIEGO — Philip Rivers has been used to making 17-point comebacks and scoring more points in the fourth quarter than the opposing Oakland Raiders score in a game.
Sunday he got a rude shock courtesy of the Raiders' man-to-man defense, resulting in the NFL's highest-scoring team having to scratch to post a 21-14 victory at Qualcomm Stadium.
Afterward he had nothing more to throw but bouquets in the Raiders' direction.
"They have a nice defense, but we knew that coming in," he said. "We knew that and respected it. Those guys, if they were to be a team that would score a bunch of points, tough as our division is, would be even tougher.
"This game was already tough, but look back at some of the games they've lost. If they could have put up 21 or 28 points week to week they would be right there in the hunt for this division."
The Raiders held Rivers to 14 completions in 31 attempts for a meager 133 yards, no touchdowns and an embarrassing 44.2 passer rating.
His coach, Marty Schottenheimer, credited Oakland's man-to-man defense.
"What's happening is everybody is accustomed to us throwing the ball and going up and down the field," he said. "That isn't the NFL. This is the NFL. It's hard to make first downs, and it's hard to score points. We found out today that we may not be electric, but as long as we keep doing what we're supposed to do, we'll be fine
"Play man-to-man coverage and rush with four — in my opinion that's the way I'd play defense if I could. When I was in Kansas City and Cleveland that's what we did, we played man-to-man. You've got him, you've got him, you've got him, and let's go play ball. Its hard to defeat that."
Schottenheimer said it wasn't the first time the Chargers had seen man defense "but it's nothing like we saw here. Did I feel like we stole one today? No. We worked as hard at winning this one as any one we've worked all year because that defense is damn good.
"I think we had a total of 18 plays in the first half. We were one of five on third down. We ended up two of 11. You have to give credit to them."
In the end, though, the Raiders aggressiveness wound up killing them. The Chargers tied the game on a 19-yard halfback pass by LaDainian Tomlinson to tight end Antonio Gates and won it after Tomlinson's 44-yard gallop set up a 10-yard scoring run by — who else but L.T.?
Tomlinson's pass came five plays after the controversial penalty that allowed the Chargers to keep the ball when the Raiders believed they had recovered a fumble.
"It was good timing for it," Rivers said. "We were rolling. They were in kind of a panic mode. You could sense they were frustrated because of the circumstances.
"You see (free safety Stuart Schweigert and those guys coming downhill like crazy. We've run that play where we just kick it out there to L.T. (and he runs). It's fun when you have ... a little different play and it works just like you drew it up."
Tomlinson called it "one of those oh-no plays" for a defender.
"They're thinking kick, run," he said. "We've done that plenty of times where they just kick it to me, and I just run around the end. So they have seen that play, and they're thinking it's a run, and they come up to support the run, and Gates just slipped right through them."
On Tomlinson's 44-yard run, the Chargers blockers flowed left, and Tomlinson veered right, taking advantage of the Raiders pursuit in the direction of the blocking.
"Sometimes during the course of a game you are kind of setting up the defense," Tomlinson said. "You're keeping it play side, keeping it play side and making them think you are going to do that all day. Then one play you run it and go out the back door."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_4727674