Sports

5 Things to Watch For in the San Diego Chargers Preseason Opener

Mike McCoy coaches in his first game at the helm for the Bolts against the Seattle Seahawks, tonight at 7 p.m.

After seven long months of playing the "wait till next year" game, the San Diego Chargers finally return to the field Thursday night as they host the Seattle Seahawks in their preseason opener. 

The game will be televised on KFMB (Channel 8) and begins at 7 p.m.

There's a new general manager and new head coach manning the sidelines for the Bolts, and it will be interesting to see how Mike McCoy's team can develop an identity in the preseason. But the cast of characters from last year's 7-9 team remains largely the same, minus a few key pieces on defense. 

Here's Five Things to keep an eye out for tonight: 

1. Offensive line play. The Chargers O-Line was less than stellar last year, and they sought to improve it by signing veterans Max Starks and King Dunlap, and
drafting hulking left tackle D.J. Fluker out of Alabama. While the veterans will be competing for the job of protecting quarterback Philip Rivers blind side, the success of the line could be determined by the rookie. How well or poorly he plays this season will say a lot about how far the Bolts can go. 

2. Ryan Mathews – Stud or Dud? The oft-injured running back has shown flashes of brilliance during his first three years in San Diego. But his inability to stay on the field, and his effectiveness when he does is like the San Diego tide itself: constantly changing. He has reported to camp about 10 pounds lighter than last season, and said he feels he has more "burst" than last year. But if he can't manage more than the 3.8 yards per carry, it may be another long year. Scoring more than one touchdown on the season would help too. 

3. Manti T'eo. The rookie linebacker out of Notre Dame plays his first game for the Chargers tonight. His, shall we say, tumultuous offseason aside, the team hopes they have found a steal in the draft, as a first-round talent in the middle of the second round. Look for Te'o to play a lot this game, and throughout the entire preseason as he continues to adjust to the speed of the NFL. 

4. The Y wideout. With starting wide receiver Danario Alexander tearing his ACL earlier this week in practice, a competition has opened up opposite Malcolm Floyd. Will it be Vincent Brown, the SDSU product who showed real promise before breaking his ankle in the preseason last year? Or could it be Keenan Allen, the ultra-talented rookie wideout from Cal. It will be interesting to see how this competition plays out. 

5. Mike McCoy. It's likely you won't see too much given away in the relatively meaningless first preseason game. But McCoy was the offensive coordinator for the high-powered Broncos offense last season. Will the Chargers be conservative? Will they air it out? Could be a bit of both. 

So while the preseason brings more questions than answers, one thing is for sure: Football is back. And it couldn't have come soon enough. 


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