Chargers-Broncos Breakdown

By Jason Owens, SDNN sports editor

Position San Diego: chargers_helmet_jan8Chargers Broncos Edge
Coach All season, Norv has told us his team was plagued by early injuries and just a step away from scoring in the red zone. We didn’t believe him. Chalked it up to coach speak. Now, in the midst of a four-game win streak and coming off the most complete performance of the season, maybe we should take his word for it. The last time we visited the Josh McDaniels situation, he was 5-0 and on his way to coach of the year honors. Now he’s lost three straight. We still like what he’s doing — but knock him down a few notches from the top of the pedestal. This is the rookie coach’s biggest test yet. Just a few short weeks ago, we gave the rookie the edge. How fickle the world of sports punditry is. Norv’s the man in this matchup. Chargers
QB Blah, blah — two-minute drill to win a game. Blah, blah — most accurate game of his career. Blah, blah, blah — one of the best in the game. You know the drill by now. Philip Rivers is pretty good. It’s not looking good for Kyle Orton and his sprained ankle. He missed practice again on Thursday — even if he can go, he won’t be 100 percent. Chris Simms and his missing spleen starting at QB strikes fear into the Mile-High faithful. With Orton — whom we like — the Broncos still come up short here. With Simms… well.

Chargers, easy
RB One strong performance does not make us believers. LaDainain Tomlinson’s 96-yard, two TD, 4.0-ypc effort against Philly was a sight for Bolts fans’ sore eyes. Let’s see how he does on the road in November — in Mile High — on a day that he doesn’t find out he’s gonna be a daddy. This is Knowshon Moreno’s team now. He leads all rookies in rushing with 520 yards, as well as gimpy teammate Correll Buckhalter, who is second on the team with 364 yards. Buckhalter missed practice on Thursday with a bum knee. Moreno can handle the load on his own, but if Buckhalter goes on Sunday, the Broncos have a potent one-two punch. The Chargers still sit dead last in the NFL in every major rushing category. The Broncos are strong, if not spectacular.
WR/TE Vincent Jackson had one catch for 10 yards against Philly last week. Rivers still managed the most accurate effort (20-for-25) of his career. Five receivers had multiple catches in the SD win. Everywhere he looks, Rivers finds a dangerous target. Gates, Naanee, Floyd and Sproles (an honorary member here) give this team tremendous talent and depth. Brandon Marshall (602 yards, 6 TDs) is back to Pro Bowl form after throwing an offseason hissy fit. He clearly doesn’t miss Jay Cutler. Eddie Royal (253 yards, 0 TDs) clearly does. TE Tony Scheffler torched the Chargers for 101 yards and a TD last month. He had a healthy Kyle Orton throwing to him though. Chargers
O-Line Norv keeps teasing that Nick Hardwick might be ready to play. Looks like the starting center will sit out again on Sunday, having missed practice through Thursday. These guys did just fine without him last week against one of the league’s most aggressive defenses. They gave up a pair of sacks and set up the run for 4.3 yards per carry. Not too shabby. RT Jeromey Clary has missed practice with an ankle injury. The Broncos really miss right tackle Ryan Harris, a stud who will sit out his third game Sunday with injuries to two toes on his right foot. Free agent replacement Tyler Polumbus leaves a big gap in a strong unit. They’ve held their own in Harris’ absence. Giving up seven combined sacks to the Ravens, Redskins and Steelers is nothing to be ashamed of. The Chargers are surging, but the Broncos have been consistently good. Both units are hobbled.
D-Line These guys slowed the Denver run game to 3.1 yards per carry last time. They’re still banged up with Ogemdi Nwagbuo and backup Travis Johnson limited in practice. After a tough start to the season adjusting to the loss of Jamal Williams, this unit is finding its rhythm.
 Here’s the culprit for the three-game skid. After starting the season with a premiere rush defense, the Broncos have given up 157.3 ypg on the ground in losing streak after a 79.7 average in the 6-0 start. A normally solid unit, the Broncos give up the edge to the improving Chargers until they prove otherwise.
Linebacker Kevin Burnett returned last week to lead the team in tackles — again. With Merriman and Phillips getting pressure and Stephen Cooper filling the gaps, these guys are living up to expectations. Look for Phillips to relish blind side duties if southpaw Chris Simms gets the start. With 12 sacks, Elvis Dumervil is the beast that anchors the league’s second-best sack unit (29). D.J. Williams cleans up what Dumervill misses with 73 tackles on the season. Andra Davis rounds out one of the best units in the league. The Chargers look a lot more like they’re supposed to. But they’re still not as good as the Broncos. Dumervil gives them the edge.
Secondary Donovan McNabb — 450 yards through the air. Ouch. Norv said they weren’t playing a bend-don’t-break strategy against the Eagles last week, but it sure looked like it. They dropped from fifth to 11th in the league in pass defense in one game. Jammer, Cromartie and company are talented but shaky. All-time great Champ Bailey and recent great Brian Dawkins make the Broncos the fifth-toughest team in the league against the pass. Nothing wrong here. Even when the Chargers are at their best, the Broncos are still better.
Spec. Teams The Broncos are the only team to give San Diego’s special teams trouble. Eddie Royal’s pair of touchdown returns were the difference in the game in the Monday Night tilt. Don’t expect a repeat from Scifres and company Sunday. He, Sproles and Kaeding take their normal spots near the top of the league. All apologies to Eddie Royal, whom we called merely “better-than-average” last time. We stand corrected. Yeah — the Broncos torched the Chargers last time. Sproles got his too, though. The Chargers are still better.
Overall Philip Rivers held his own last time (274 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs) against the premiere pass defense. No reason to think he won’t do it again. The Broncos run D has been abysmal lately. The Chargers should attack on the ground to keep up the running momentum. On D — well; if Chris Simms starts, that may be defense enough. A gimpy Kyle Orton is the best-case scenario for Denver on Sunday, with Chris Simms being the more likely start. Look for Denver to run the ball either way. They’ll bring a complicated blitz scheme against Philip Rivers with limited results. Ummm — did we mention Chris Simms? We’re going on the assumption that he gets the start. If so, the Chargers romp, 28-17.