[gundos]

San Diego (4-4, 2-2 away) at New York Jets (2-5, 2-1 home)

Why To Watch
The Jets are coming off a much-needed bye week, but getting a visit from the Chargers has to be one of the worst-case scenarios for Herm Edwards' team. Not only will San Diego be looking to exact revenge for the 20-17 playoff ousting it received at home last season, but RB LaDainian Tomlinson presents a nightmarish matchup for a Jets run defense that has been trampled for an average of 140.6 yards per game this season.

Without at least a legitimate threat of the pass to concern itself with, the stout Chargers run defense will have little trouble bottling up RB Curtis Martin and the Jets' surprisingly anemic rushing attack. That's why, if the Jets are to save their sinking ship, QB Vinny Testaverde must limit his mistakes and exploit the man-to-man coverage speedy perimeter weapons WRs Laveranues Coles and Justin McCareins will face.


When the Chargers have the ball
Rushing: Tomlinson's carries have varied this season. When the Chargers have faced a defense that is struggling to stop the run (see 31 carries for 140 yards vs. the Raiders), Tomlinson and the ground game become a much bigger factor in the offense. Overall, he has averaged 20.9 carries per game, but he should expect far more opportunities against a Jets run defense that ranks 30th in the NFL.

The biggest advantage the Chargers have in this game comes along the interior of their offensive line. OC Nick Hardwick and OGs Kris Dielman and Mike Goff make up a big, physical, road-grading trio that should be able to exploit the Jets' lack of size on the defensive line. LDT Dewayne Robertson has great quickness and power, which he uses to overcome his lack of ideal bulk and base. However, NT James Reed is undersized and gets pushed around too much when teams run at him. Assuming Hardwick can handle Reed on his own, it will free up LOG Dielman and FB Lorenzo Neal to consistently attack the second level in search of MLB Jonathan Vilma and WLB Mark Brown.

Vilma has been an absolute force for the Jets' defense this season, but there is only so much the second-year pro can do. If the Jets' offense continues to turn the ball over and put their already worn down defensive unit in bad field position and on the field too long in this game, Tomlinson should be a huge difference-maker in a 25-plus carry, 100-plus yard rushing performance.

Passing: The Chargers do not match up as well in this facet of the game. For starters, the Jets' secondary has been one of only a few glaring strengths for an otherwise disappointing team. LDC Ty Law has had a few too many pass interference calls on him because of his overly physical play, but overall he has been a huge upgrade in terms of coverage skills, tackling and big-play production.

With Law more often than not able to handle himself without deep safety help, Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson has the luxury of rolling coverages over to RDC David Barrett's side. As a result, Barrett has been doing a good job of playing press-coverage and handling the underneath zone, knowing he has vertical help should he choose to gamble. With Law matching up one-on-one versus WR Keenan McCardell, QB Drew Brees' favorite perimeter target, the Jets should be in good shape to double-team TE Antonio Gates.

Vilma has the athletic ability to keep up with Tomlinson underneath, which will free up OLB Victor Hobson and SS Kerry Rhodes to play an aggressive form of high-low bracket coverage. FS Erik Coleman can patrol the deep-middle as a centerfielder, and Barrett matches up well versus WR Eric Parker on the opposite side.

Protecting Brees could also be a bigger problem for the Chargers than usual. San Diego's offensive line has done an outstanding job of keeping Brees on his feet, allowing just 12 sacks in eight games. However, the unit does not match up well versus a much more athletic Jets' defensive front. No matter if the Jets are in a 3-4 or 4-3 alignment, protecting the perimeter versus DE Shaun Ellis and DE/OLB John Abraham will be a problem. Furthermore, Robertson's initial burst and athletic ability should cause all sorts of problems for veteran ROG Goff. In short, if the Jets can keep pressure on Brees with only a four-man rush, the back seven should continue to do its part versus a dynamic Chargers' passing attack.

When the Jets have the ball
Rushing: This is not a good matchup for a Jets' rushing attack that is already struggling. For starters, the Jets offensive line was unable to consistently generate running room for Martin early in the season, and things have only gotten worse with OC Kevin Mawae out for the season.

As a result of the injury, Pete Kendall has been forced to move from LOG to OC, and backup Jonathan Goodwin has been elevated to starter at the vacant LOG position. Kendall and Goodwin have adequate size and strength, but Kendall does not do nearly the effective job that Mawae has done in the past of making line calls and getting everyone in position. Furthermore, Kendall does not have the mobility to consistently reach the second level as a run blocker.

Kendall will need consistent help from his guards versus San Diego NT Jamal Williams, who has been an absolute force in the middle for the Chargers this season. DEs Igor Olshansky and Luis Castillo do a terrific job of playing with leverage and occupying blockers in order to free up ILBs Donnie Edwards and Randall Godfrey to pursue the run. With so much congestion up front, it will be difficult for the Jets to get linemen or FB Jerald Sowell out on the second level in order to seal off Edwards and/or Godfrey.

In the past, Martin has been able to churn out yards on the ground despite just decent blocking in front of him, but Martin has been bothered by a knee injury and is finally showing his age this season with a noticeable decrease in burst and power after initial contact. Furthermore, with very little fear of the Jets' passing attack, the Chargers will have the freedom to load up the box and focus on bottling up Martin on the ground.

Passing: Until the Jets prove capable of beating the Chargers via the air, Martin will have very little room to operate against eight-man fronts, and Testaverde will have very little time to throw in the face of five- and six-man pass rushes. Testaverde suffered an Achilles heel injury two weeks ago versus the Falcons, but he is expected to return as the starter thanks to an extra week of rest during the open date.

While Testaverde is certainly an upgrade over Brooks Bollinger, he still has far too many limitations for the Jets' offense to move the ball with any sort of consistency via the air. Testaverde has a good feel for the offense, and he still has the arm strength to drive the ball downfield to Coles and McCareins. However, the soon-to-be 42-year old lacks the mobility to buy second-chance opportunities, and he still takes far too many chances throwing into coverage.

The way to beat Testaverde is to consistently pressure him. Occasionally he will find the hot receiver and capitalize on man-coverage with an accurate vertical throw, but the trend is that Testaverde will make far more mistakes than big plays. As a result, look for the Chargers to play a lot of "man-free" coverage in this game, with FS Bhawoh Jue playing centerfield and DCs Quentin Jammer and Drayton Florence matching up one-on-one versus Coles and McCareins. That will free up SS Terrence Kiel to cheat up within 5-7 yards of the line of scrimmage and become far more active in run support and occasionally on the blitz.

Keil has the coverage skills to keep TEs Chris Baker or Doug Jolley in check one-on-one, and Edwards still has the elite instincts and fluidity to take Martin out of the game as a receiver. As such, the Chargers can afford to turn OLBs Steve Foley and Shawne Merriman loose more often as perimeter pass rushers, which should present huge matchup problems for OTs Adrian Jones and Jason Fabini.

[Thomas12400]

Tomlinson hits a new milestone.......first time for him have 4 TDs in one game.

Roll on Man Roll on

First time this year in November do you mean?

[gundos]

Tomlinson hits a new milestone.......first time for him have 4 TDs in one game.

Roll on Man Roll on