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December 31, 2006

Post-Game Notes

Marty Schottenheimer won the 200th regular-season game of his coaching career today…he’s the fifth coach in NFL history to reach 200 wins, joining Don Shula, George Halas, Tom Landry and Curly Lambeau…his 14 wins this season are a career high…today’s win was also the 47th of his career with the Chargers, tying Bobby Ross for the third-most wins in team history.

LaDainian Tomlinson finishes the season with 1,815 rushing yards to claim the NFL rushing title…he is the first Charger in NFL history to win the league’s rushing crown.

LaDainian Tomlinson’s 2,323 total yards this season are the sixth-most in a season in NFL history…the only players with more were Marshall Faulk (2,429 in 1999), Tiki Barber (2,390 in 2005), Tomlinson (2,370 in 2003), Barry Sanders (2,358 in 1997) and Stephen Jackson (2,334 in 2006).

Tomlinson had 16 rush attempts today to finish the season with 348, second-most in a season in team history.

Philip Rivers’ completion percentage today (.792) was a career-high…he finished the game 19-of-24 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for a 117.2 passer rating…it was his fourth-highest rated game of the season and his second-highest at home.

Rivers touchdown passes covered 33 yards to Vincent Jackson and 14 yards to Antonio Gates…Jackson’s touchdown catch was his third in the last two games…Gates’ was his first in the last three games.

Shawne Merriman had one sack today to finish the season with 17.0, tied with Leslie O’Neal (1992) and Steve DeLong (1969) for the second-most in a season in team history.

Tim Dobbins’ fumble recovery in the end zone for a touchdown was the Bolts’ second of the season…Marques Harris recovered a fumble in the end zone against Cleveland on Nov. 5.

Nate Kaeding scored nine points today to raise his season total to 136 and set a new team kick-scoring record…the previous mark of 135 was set by John Carney in 1994.

Kaeding hit both of his field goals today to finish the season 26 of 29…his .897 conversion percentage for the season is the second-highest in team history (based on a minimum of 14 att.)…John Carney set the team record (.905) in 1990.

Kaeding set a new single-season record this season with 58 PATs…he has hit a team-record 129 in a row.

Mike Scifres landed all three of his punts today inside the 20-yard line and did not have any touchbacks…he finishes the season with 35 punts inside the 20 and only two touchbacks…it’s the most punts landed inside the 20 since the stat has been kept (1976) and it’s tied for the fewest touchbacks in a season with John Kidd, who had two in 1990.

The Chargers scored 27 points today to finish the season with 492, a new team record…the previous record was 478 points in 1981 – please note the total of 468 in the team’s media guide is incorrect.

The Chargers clinched home-field advantage in the AFC Playoffs for the third time in team history (1979 & 1980)…the Chargers will host a divisional playoff game at Qualcomm Stadium on either Jan. 13 or 14.

The Chargers finished 8-0 at home for the first time in team history…it is a team record for home wins…the team’s only other undefeated season was a 7-0 mark in 1963.

The Chargers had one sack today to finish the season with 61…it’s the second-most in a season in team history (62 in 1986).

Injury report

Philip Rivers (foot sprain)
Jacques Cesaire (knee)

Posted by Joel Price at 09:15 PM | | Comments (4)

Photo: Marty Splashed


San Diego's head coach Marty Schottenheimer won his 200th regular-season game, joining Don Shula, George Halas, Tom Landry and Curly Lambeau in that exclusive club.

Posted by Joel Price at 09:00 PM | | Comments (1)

Today’s Inactive Players

San Diego Chargers vs. Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, December 31, 2006 at Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego, California)

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS INACTIVES

6 QB Charlie Whitehurst (third quarterback)
11 WR Az-Zahir Hakim
34 FB Andrew Pinnock
58 LB Randall Godfrey
63 G Scott Mruczkowski
89 TE Ryan Krause
93 DE Luis Castillo
98 DT Derreck Robinson

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS LINEUP CHANGES FROM THE FLIP CARD

#74 Jacques Cesaire will start at LE for #93 Luis Castillo
#54 Stephen Cooper will start at ILB for #58 Randall Godfrey

ARIZONA CARDINALS INACTIVES

9 QB Shane Boyd (third quarterback)
7 QB Matt Leinart
14 WR Todd Watkins
44 FB A.J. Schable
54 LB Gerald Hayes
61 G Elton Brown
72 T Brandon Gorin
95 DT Jonathan Lewis

ARIZONA CARDINALS LINEUP CHANGES

#13 Kurt Warner will start at QB for #7 Matt Leinart
#52 Monty Beisel will start at MLB for #54 Gerald Hayes
#25 Eric Green will start at RCB for #27 David Macklin

ARIZONA CARDINALS ROSTER CHANGES FROM THE FLIP CARD

Add QB #9 Shane Boyd to the flip card – he is inactive today as the Cardinals’ third quarterback
Add WR #14 Todd Watkins to the flip card – he is inactive today
Add WR #15 Michael Spurlock to the flip card – he is a 6-0, 200-pound rookie from Mississippi – he is active today
Remove WR #86 Troy Walters from the flip card – he is on Injured-Reserve
Remove CB #27 David Macklin from the flip card – he is on Injured-Reserve
Remove RB #36 Diamond Ferri from the flip card – he was released

Posted by Joel Price at 12:10 PM | | Comments (0)

December 30, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Sunday

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December 29, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Friday

Posted by Joel Price at 10:24 AM | | Comments (0)

December 28, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Thursday

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December 27, 2006

Two-Year Term

Already the NFL’s single-season rushing TD record-holder with 28, running back LaDainian Tomlinson now eyes the rush-TD high-water mark for a two-year span. Tomlinson has rushed for 46 scores since the start of 2005. He trails only Kansas City’s Priest Holmes -- 48 rushing TDs in 2002-03 – in the two-year category.

Posted by Joel Price at 03:50 PM | | Comments (0)

Merriman leads the NFL with 16 sacks

Earlier today Elias Sports Bureau, the NFL’s Official stats keeper, credited Shawne Merriman with an extra half-sack in Sunday’s win over the Seattle Seahawks.

The sack in question was on a third-and-10 with 9:02 left in the second quarter. The game day stats crew gave Jacques Cesaire a full sack, when both Cesair and Merriman took down quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Elias reviewed the play and credited Merriman with the half-sack.

Merriman now leads the NFL with 16 sacks and needs two more on Sunday to break Gary Johnson’s team record of 17.5 in 1980.

Posted by Joel Price at 01:23 PM | | Comments (0)

Audio: Rivers 37-yard TD pass to Jackson

With the game on the line, Philip Rivers hits Vincent Jackson for the winning touchdown in the final minute.


Posted by Joel Price at 10:44 AM | | Comments (0)

Merriman AFC Defensive of the Week

Linebacker Shawne Merriman, rookie quarterback Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans and kicker Kris Brown of the Houston Texans are the AFC Defensive, Offensive, and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played the 16th week of the 2006 season (December 21, 23-25), the NFL announced today.

Defense: LB Shawne Merriman, San Diego Chargers

Helping keep the Seattle offense off-balance last Sunday was San Diego All-Star linebacker Merriman, who posted five tackles, including 3.0 sacks, two other quarterback pressures and a pair of passes defensed in a 20-17 road win to maintain possession of the inside track for the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. With a win at home against Arizona Sunday, the Chargers (13-2) will earn homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. The victory was the Chargers’ 13th of the season, establishing a franchise record. Merriman sacked the Seattle quarterback on the first play from scrimmage which led to an eventual punt. His second sack later in the first quarter put the Seahawks in a 2nd-and-15 situation where the Chargers capitalized on an interception two plays later. His final sack of the day came on the Seahawks’ final drive to stymie a Seattle comeback attempt. Merriman’s disruptions in the backfield helped limit the Seattle quarterback to the second-lowest passer rating in his career as he completed on 17 of 37 (45.9 percent) on the day. The Chargers lead the NFL with 60 sacks.

In his second season from Maryland, this is the second Player of the Week Award of Merriman’s career.


Posted by Joel Price at 10:33 AM | | Comments (0)

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Wednesday

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December 26, 2006

Boltcast #32

Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, LB Shawne Merriman, and QB Philip Rivers, on Boltcast.


42 minutes, 7 seconds

Click here to launch iTunes: Boltcast
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Posted by Joel Price at 09:09 PM | | Comments (0)

Home sweet home

The Bolts can earn homefield advantage, their first since 1980, with a win or tie against Arizona. They already have their first first-round bye since 1994 and have set a team record for wins in a season. Homefield beckons.

“You have to be able to win at home on a consistent basis,” says running back LaDainian Tomlinson. “That’s where you make your mark.”

Posted by Joel Price at 08:32 PM | | Comments (0)

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Tuesday

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December 25, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Monday

Posted by Joel Price at 10:21 AM | | Comments (0)

Chargers rally for win

Philip Rivers has been struggling lately, but he knows how to come through in the clutch. He found Vincent Jackson behind the Seattle secondary for a 37-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left to give San Diego a stunning 20-17 victory. "Quarterbacks are judged on one thing -- finding a way to win, and he's done that," Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said of Rivers, who completed only 10 of 30 passes for 181 yards, and who has achieved a passer rating of at least 85 only once in his past five games. LaDainian Tomlinson did not score for the first time in 11 games, but he rushed for 123 yards, including a 62-yard sprint down the right sideline that set up the game's first score -- a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jackson. Nate Kaeding kicked two field goals in the second half, but Shaun Alexander scored two touchdowns to help build a 17-13 lead for Seattle. After Vincent's second touchdown, Shawne Merriman's third sack of the game helped seal the victory. San Diego's defense had six sacks and forced the game's only two turnovers. San Diego clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs, and will clinch the top seed in the AFC playoffs if it gets a home victory against Arizona on New Year's Eve.

Posted by Joel Price at 12:06 AM | | Comments (1)

December 24, 2006

Chargers get bye

With the loss by Indianapolis today, the Chargers are guaranteed one of the top two seeds and a bye through the first weekend of the AFC playoffs.


Posted by Joel Price at 01:22 PM | | Comments (3)

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Sunday

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December 23, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Saturday

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Video: Tomlinson on NBC Sports

Posted by Joel Price at 01:00 AM | | Comments (0)

December 22, 2006

Pitch your idea for a Super Bowl commercial

The NFL needs your help in selecting the winning pitch for its "Pitch us your idea for the best NFL Super Bowl commercial ever. Seriously" contest. The winning pitch may be made into a Super Bowl commercial seen by millions during Super Bowl XLI. Vote now at www.nfl.com/superad

Posted by Joel Price at 03:10 PM | | Comments (1)

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Friday

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December 21, 2006

King signed to practice squad

Practice squad defensive end Chase Page signed with the Dolphins’ active roster, and the Chargers signed defensive end Tyler King to replace him on the squad. King was a free agent signing in 2005 for the Cardinals. He spent time on their practice squad last season and he went to camp with them this summer. He was released at the end of camp and he spent about 2 weeks on the Rams practice squad in November.

Posted by Joel Price at 04:40 PM | | Comments (0)

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Thursday

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December 20, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Wednesday

Posted by Joel Price at 10:23 AM | | Comments (0)

Winning ways

It's no surprise Bolts are winning.

The Chargers are tied with Pittsburgh for the third best overall record since 2004. So people who might be surprised of the team’s recent surge really shouldn’t. Winning has been a common theme in San Diego the last few years.

since2004.jpg


Posted by Joel Price at 09:31 AM | | Comments (1)

LT named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

Running back LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for games played the 15th week of the 2006 season (December 14, 16-18), the NFL announced today.

In a year of superlatives for Tomlinson, the six-year veteran rushed for a personal season-high 199 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries before a national television audience Sunday night in a 20-9 win against AFC West rival Kansas City. The win was San Diego’s 12th of the year, tying the franchise’s record for most in a season. The team owns the league’s longest current winning streak at eight games and possesses the inside track for homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Tomlinson’s TD runs were 15- and 85-yards, respectively. His first score accounted for his 180th point of the season, vaulting him ahead of Pro Football Hall of Famer PAUL HORNUNG, whose former NFL single-season record total of 176 points stood since 1960. Tomlinson’s second scoring run the was the team’s longest since 1962 and extended his consecutive games streak with multiple TDs to an NFL-record eight games, surpassing Hall of Famer John Riggins’ mark of seven games in 1983. Tomlinson, the NFL’s leading rusher (1,626), has a record 31 TDs on the year.

In his sixth season from TCU, this is Tomlinson’s 10th career Player of the Week Award, his fourth of the season, and his second in as many weeks.

Posted by Joel Price at 09:23 AM | | Comments (0)

Chargers going to Hawaii

A team-record and NFL-leading nine players from the San Diego Chargers were voted by NFL players, coaches and fans to participate in this season’s Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

From the offense, running back LaDainian Tomlinson, quarterback Philip Rivers, fullback Lorenzo Neal and center Nick Hardwick were voted to the squad along with tight end Antonio Gates. Defensive tackle Jamal Williams and linebacker Shawne Merriman will represent the defense, and they’ll be joined by kicker Nate Kaeding and special teams standout Kassim Osgood.

An interesting side note: Rivers, Merriman and Kaeding were all acquired in the same trade that sent the first choice in the 2004 NFL Draft, quarterback Eli Manning, to the New York Giants, in exchange for Rivers, chosen by the Giants with the fourth-overall selection that year; the Giants’ third-round choice in ’04 (Kaeding), the Giants’ first-round choice in ’05 (Merriman) and the Giants’ fifth-round choice in ’05 (tackle Roman Oben).

Posted by Joel Price at 07:59 AM | | Comments (0)

December 19, 2006

Bolts not letting up

Ride LT to homefield advantage! That’s the plan this week for the division-champion San Diego Chagers (12-2).

The Chargers have already matched their most season victories ever with two games to go. A large part of that success is thanks to All-Star running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who every week seems to set more offensive records.

“The whole focus is to remain the first seed in the AFC and to get that first-round bye,” says Tomlinson. “Hopefully, we have five more games left.” He means through Super Bowl XLI.

Posted by Joel Price at 05:59 PM | | Comments (0)

Chargers "Hot List"

· Wade Phillips’ defense takes top billing on this week’s “Hot List” after holding the Kansas City Chiefs to nine points (three field goals) in Sunday’s win…it’s the first time that the Chargers kept the Chiefs out of the end zone since 1994 when they held them to two field goals in a 20-6 win…Kansas City was the third opponent that the Chargers have held to fewer than 10 points this season (Oakland and Tennessee), marking the first time since 1992 (Seattle 6, Indianapolis 0 and L.A. Raiders 3) that the Chargers have held three different opponents to less than 10 points.

· The defense racked up six sacks against the Chiefs, their second-highest (Oakland) total of the season…Randall Godfrey led the way with a career-high two, while Donnie Edwards, Luis Castillo, Shaun Phillips and Carlos Polk each added one…the Bolts have 54 sacks this season and need nine more to set a new team record.

· The Bolts pass defense makes The Hot List after holding Trent Green to a 57.5 passer rating…it’s the fourth time in the last five games that the opposing quarterback’s passer rating has been below 66.0…the Chargers had a season-high 10 passes defensed, led by Quentin Jammer’s season-high five…the other QBs to fall victim recently to the Bolts’ pass defense have been Denver’s Jake Plummer (53.1), Oakland’s Aaron Brooks (58.6) and Buffalo’s JP Losman (65.6)…in the last five games, San Diego’s defense has six interceptions and has broken up 40 passes…Jammer leads the team with four interceptions and ranks second with 14 passes defensed.

· The Chargers run defense also cracks The Hot List for holding the Chiefs to 90 yards and no touchdowns on the ground…it was a significant improvement from the Oct. 22 game at Kansas City when Larry Johnson rushed for 132 yards and two scores in the Chiefs’ 30-27 victory…the Bolts have held three of their last four opponents to 90 or fewer yards rushing.

· Donnie Edwards, the Chargers’ jack-of-all-trades linebacker, earned his spot on The Hot List after racking up an interception, sack and tackle for loss in Sunday’s win against his former team…Edwards’ interception in the first quarter was the 27th of his career, more than any other active linebacker in the NFL and they are the most by a LB since he was drafted into the NFL by the Chiefs in 1996...after the INT, Edwards ended K.C.’s next drive with a nine-yard sack on a third-and-12 play and he helped stall their last drive of the first half with a two-yard tackle for loss against Larry Johnson.

· Lorenzo Neal makes The Hot List because he helps make a great player even greater…Neal, the Chargers starting fullback, threw the key block on Kendrell Bell that sprung LaDainian Tomlinson loose on his career-long 85-yard touchdown run (also the third-longest in team history) in the second quarter against the Chiefs…Neal helped contribute to the Bolts racking up their fifth-highest rushing game in team history (265 yards).

· Tomlinson retains his spot on The Hot List after his season-high 199-yard performance against K.C….it was his eighth consecutive 100-yard game and his ninth of the season…it is the fifth-highest single-game rushing total in the NFL this season and the sixth-highest team history…during this eight-game stretch, Tomlinson has four of the top 10 rushing performances in the league this season, including 183 yards vs. St. Louis (seventh), 178 yards at Buffalo (eighth) and 172 yards against Cleveland (10th)…the Chargers are 9-0 this season and have won 21 straight games when #21 rushes for more than 100 yards…prior to this season, Tomlinson had never rushed for more than 100 yards in more than three consecutive games or more than seven times in a season.

· Tomlinson scored two rushing touchdowns in the Chiefs game, the 99th and 100th rushing TDs of his career…he became the fastest player in NFL history to reach the 100 rushing touchdowns mark (93 games)…Emmitt Smith (99 games) had been the fastest before Tomlinson…Tomlinson is the seventh player in NFL history to record 100 rushing touchdowns, joining Smith (164), Marcus Allen (123), Walter Payton (110), Jim Brown (106), John Riggins (104) and Marshall Faulk (100).

· On his first TD of the game, a 15-yard run in the first quarter, Tomlinson broke Paul Hornung’s NFL single-season scoring record (176 points), set in 1960…he finished the game with two TDs, increasing his season scoring total to 186 points.

· LT scored his second TD of the game on the above-mentioned 85-yard run…on that play, he set a new NFL single-season record for rushing touchdowns (28), breaking the previous mark (27) shared by Shaun Alexander (2005) and Priest Holmes (2003)…the 85-yard run was the third-longest in team history and the Bolts’ longest since 1962…Paul Lowe had an 87-yard TD run at Dallas on 9/10/61 and Keith Lincoln had an 86-yard run at Oakland 9/30/62.

· Kansas City was LT’s eighth-consecutive multi-touchdown game, a new NFL record…the previous mark (seven) had been shared by Tomlinson and former Washington Redskin John Riggins (1983).

· On the 85-yard TD run, Tomlinson went over 2,000 scrimmage yards for the season, marking the third time during his career and the first time since 2003 that he’s gone over 2,000 yards in a season…he finished the Chiefs game with 204 total yards from scrimmage (199 rushing and 5 receiving) for his second 200-yard game of the season…the Chargers improved to 10-1 in games when he goes over 200 yards.

· Michael Turner burst back onto The Hot List after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury…Turner helped set up the Chargers’ first touchdown of the game with a 25-yard run on a perfectly executed fake punt in the first quarter…it led to a 15-yard TD run by Tomlinson three plays later…then in the third quarter after the Chiefs had kicked a field goal to get within 14-6, Turner broke off a season-long 58-yard kickoff return that would set up a field goal to push the lead back to 11 points at 17-6.

Posted by Joel Price at 03:40 PM | | Comments (0)

Postseason schedule

The NFL will announce the Wild Card weekend match-ups as soon as practical on Sunday, December 31, with the Divisional weekend schedule probably to follow a day or two thereafter. Here is the schedule of kickoffs for the postseason.

2007 NFL POSTSEASON (all times PT)

Saturday, January 6 (Wild Card)

1:30pm on NBC (AFC or NFC)
5:00pm on NBC (AFC or NFC)

Sunday, January 7 (Wild Card)

10:00 on CBS or FOX (AFC or NFC)
1:30 on CBS or FOX (AFC or NFC)

Saturday, January 13 (Divisional)

1:30 on CBS or FOX (AFC or NFC)
5:00 on FOX (NFC)

Sunday, January 14 (Divisional)

10:00 on CBS or FOX (AFC or NFC)
1:30 on CBS or FOX (AFC or NFC)

Sunday, January 21 (Championship Games)

12:00 on FOX (NFC)
3:30 on CBS (AFC)

Posted by Joel Price at 11:17 AM | | Comments (0)

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Tuesday

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LaDainian Tomlinson on SI

LaDainian Tomlinson on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s “The Best of 2006” issue. This is SI’s top-selling issue next to the swimsuit edition.

Tomlinson is also named the Sportsman of the Year by Sporting News and will also appear on the cover this publication.

Posted by Joel Price at 09:58 AM | | Comments (3)

December 18, 2006

Chargers playoff scenarios (Updated)

The following are San Diego’s playoff scenarios for Week 16:

San Diego can clinch homefield advantage with:

1) SD win + BAL loss or tie, OR
2) SD tie + BAL loss + IND loss or tie.

San Diego can clinch first-round bye with:

1) SD win, OR
2) IND loss, OR
2) SD tie + IND tie, OR
3) SD tie + BAL loss.

Posted by Joel Price at 11:10 AM | | Comments (2)

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Monday

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December 17, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Sunday

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December 15, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Friday

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December 14, 2006

Bolts sign Hakim; place Floyd on IR

The Chargers have signed NFL veteran and former San Diego State wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim to a one-year contract. To make room on the roster for Hakim, the team placed fellow wide receiver Malcom Floyd on the “Reserve-Injured” list with an ankle injury.

Posted by Joel Price at 01:23 PM | | Comments (0)

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Thursday

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December 13, 2006

Chargers Blog: Daily links for Wednesday