The first team offense only played one series, but they performed like a well oiled machine...too small a sample to come away with any, "wow they're going to be good," statements, but the coaching staff and players looked prepared. They weren't disorganized or rushing to get plays off. The one lone drive by the starters produced a 12 play, 72 yard drive that ended in a field goal. Chargers even went for it on a 4th down and they handled it like it was no big deal...no rushing or confusion. The play resulted in a 9 yard Ryan Mathews run. The team looked well organized and prepared, only getting a few of those silly penalties (delay of game, offside, illegal procedure). Only one time did they look confused...that was late in the 4th when they had 10 men on the field for a punt.
Only one drive to try and assess the offensive line so not much to say there. Ryan Mathews carried 3 times for 19 yards, so the run blocking looked pretty good. Rivers was 5-6 on the opening drive and wasn't sacked. Still, not much can be taken away from just one drive.
The first team defense stayed in for two series, so not much to take from that either. In the two possessions, the defensive line looked good putting pressure on Russell Wilson and stuffing runs. Dwight Freeney looked good, which was encouraging considering the questions on whether Freeney had anything left. He just overpowered the Seahawk RT on play, pushing him back into Wilson's lap.
On the bad side, backup Charlie Whitehurst looked terrible. Although the backup O-line didn't do him any favors, Whitehurst was inaccurate on the run and wasn't much better when he had time in the pocket. Whitehurst played the majority of the game, coming in after the first possession and playing until the 4th quarter and never put any points on the board...at least not for the Chargers. He threw two picks that setup two Seahawk TDs.
Rookie Brad Sorensen looked a lot better. Although the backup lineman didn't block any better for Sorenson, he looked much better throwing on the run. He looked more poised in the face of the pass rush than Whitehurst and led the Chargers to their only TD of the night (Sorensen to backup TE Ladarius Green).
The backup defense wasn't very pretty either. The secondary gave up two long TD passes and the front was manhandled by the backup Seahawks' O-line and gave up several long runs.
This was more trying to evaluate players than trying to win a ball game. 4th string RB Fozzy Whitaker got the majority of plays, carrying 14 times for 38 yards. It felt like Whitaker was auditioning, as they ran him in various sets and situations. WR Dan Depalma led the team with 5 catches for 43 yards. Deplama dropped a pass, but overall looked good. Despite getting a lot of time on the field, Robert Meachem didn't catch a ball. He was thrown to twice by Whitehurst, one was picked and the other was pass interference on the DB. Rookie WR Keenan Allan looked good. Although Allen caught just 2 passes, he put in big time effort plays on two badly thrown Whitehurst passes. The first was laying out for a pass that was badly overthrown. Allen was open, but Whitehurst led him too far. On one of Whitehurst interceptions, Allen was open also, but the pass was too far in front and Allen tried to make a diving catch, only to have the ball bounce off his finger tips.
Not too concerned about the final result (31-10 Seahawks)...just wanted to see if the team looked organized and that the new coaching staff wasn't overwhelmed. Personnel changes were smooth and I didn't see any confusion on the sideline. Plays were called with plenty of time.
Next stop Soldier field to face the Bears. We get to see if there is any difference in the prep from home game to road game.
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