Fridge Combat's Dynasty Blog
Bolts Insider
Remember, full game highlights available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UShO...ature=youtu.be
August 7 - 10:00PM
San Diego Stadium
San Diego, CAL
With our first Preseason matchup of the 2014 season, the Bolts would stay at home to take on the Dallas Cowboys.
With an outstanding offensive line, and impressive run game, it would be no easy task for the Chargers' defense.
Chargers win the toss, and decide to give their starters as much time as they can.
A few hand-offs to first round pick RB Melvin Gordon resulted in minimal gain and a short pass to TE Antonio Gates would give the ball to the Cowboys.
Dallas also struggled on their first drive. After a nice pass to WR Cole Beasley, Romo was pressured consistently by OLB Melvin Ingram, forcing some poor decisions and finally a sack by DE Kendall Reyes on 3rd down.
With the ball back in hand, the Chargers came out looking promising. QB Phillip Rivers led the team up the field with a strong passing attack, (Rivers was 6/6 for 47yds on the drive), but a short pass again to Gates made it 4th and 1. K Nick Novak would put the 31yd FG through to make it 3-0 Bolts.
Into the 2nd quarter, the Cowboys looked to answer back with authority. Backup RB Joseph Randle gashed the Chargers D with ease, while former 1st round QB Brandon Weeden was able to complete intermediate passes down the field.
The seven play drive was capped off by a 1yd TD run by RB Darren McFadden.
With Rivers now rocking the baseball cap, nine year man Kellen Clemens came in at QB looking to respond.
A short gain by young RB Brandon Oliver, led to an unbelievable catch by WR Jacoby Jones for a 29yd gain. Despite a 6yd sack, Clemens still launched a deep ball to TE Ladarius Green, who made a great catch in front of his defender, putting the Bolts on the 1.
Oliver capped the drive off with 6.
Skimming the blades: Jones is able to clench this ball just before it touches the blades of grass!
The Chargers kept the pressure on Weeden, including a sack by OLB Tourek Williams, forcing the Cowboys to play short, eventually leading to a turnover.
However, the Bolts tried to make something happen with 48secs left, but handed it straight back.
So with 29secs left, the Cowboys had one more chance to put some points up in the half. Luckily, they looked out of sync, and some nice pressure, (including another sack from T. Williams), ended the drive and the half.
With the ball in hand, the Cowboys started the 2nd half strong. Despite a nice sack from DE Ricardo Mathews, it looked as though they would score. But continued good pressure, led Weeden to force a pass across the field, picked off by third year CB Steve Williams.
Williams' interception.
Some good plays though would soon turn to disaster for the Chargers. After taking a brutal sack, Clemens threw a desperation pass down the field to be picked off by former-Charger CJ Spillman.
The Cowboys capitalised on the mistake, and seven plays later TE Jason Witten wanders into the endzone.
A clearly shaken Clemens came back onto the field and struggled to find his rythym. That is, until he uncorked a long 31yarder to Danny Woodhead, putting them in striking distance. A nice improvised scramble and pass to Jones gave the Chargers a three point lead.
Things seemed to keep going the Chargers way, as Williams' 2nd pick of the day gave them yet another chance to strike. But this led to nothing, allowing Weeden and the backups to hit the field again.
Offensively they were methodical, driving down the field with play after play, capping it off with a 7 yard pass to ? Street. (Williams went down hard and struggled to stand on his own, but would be ok.)
So with just over 4 minutes to go the Chargers have one last chance to take the lead, trailing 21-17.
With the pressure on, Clemens still looked out of sink, throwing wildly inaccurate passes, but still managing to keep the offense on the go. John Phillips dropped a wide open pass on 3rd & 10, but made up for it with a beautiful catch on 4th down before the 2 minute warning, (their 2nd 4th down conversion of the drive.)
Phillips and Woodhead contributed well on the drive leading the team into the redzone. A beautiful pass between double coverage bounces off the hands of Melvin Gordon, missing out on a touchdown. So 4th and 4, 55 seconds left, 13 yards away, Clemens delivers a strike to Green running to the corner. He catches it in stride and appears to take a few steps. But there is no call from the sideline!
With no way to review and unable to challenge, the Chargers have to watch as the Cowboys kneel their way to victory.
Final Score: DAL - 21 SD - 17
After a controversial call at the end of the game, we managed to catch up with Coach McCoy and ask him his thoughts:
"We think it was a bad call, but overall the refs did an excellent job in policing the game...Obviously the score doesn't matter all that much, but the guys are very proud and their play reflected that. They would have much rather have walked out with a win tonight."
For the extent of the preseason, we will only be showing Chargers' team statistics. Regular season we will keep track of both teams in the game!
| Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers | |||||
| Aug 7, 2014 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Dallas Cowboys (0-0) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| San Diego Chargers (0-0) | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Team Stats Comparison | ||
| DAL | SDG | |
| Total Offense | 316 | 304 |
| Rushing Yards | 48 | 33 |
| Passing Yards | 268 | 271 |
| First Downs | 16 | 15 |
| Punt Return Yards | 16 | 16 |
| Kick Return Yards | 30 | 61 |
| Total Yards | 362 | 381 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| 3rd Down Converstion | 5 | 3 |
| 4th Down Conversion | 0 | 2 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0 | 0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 2/0 | 2/1 |
| Penalties | 1 | 0 |
| Posession Time | 18:47 | 21:13 |
|
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A close and exciting game throughout, but at the end of the day the score amounts to little. Most of the starters didn't get much of a showing, and their stats reflect that. First round pick Melvin Gordon had little to show in his first game, but there is plenty of time left to make an impact.
What we did get to see is plenty of the Chargers depth players, who performed well against this backup Dallas roster. Defense in particular had a good showing, racking up two turnovers and four sacks. With continued pressure, (and pretty much denying the running game), they forced Weeden into questionable throws most of the game.
Where we did see struggles was in the offense. Clemens, one of the older veteran players on the team, didn't flash that grit and flare we expected from a long-time player. That said, he drove the team well for the most part, nearly delivering the game-winning pass.
The Bolts really struggled to find anything on the ground behind this suspect backup line, so let's hope the starters do a better job in the days to come.
Offensive Gameball: WR J. Jones - For a guy who, by many, was considered to be only a returner, (and a questionable signing), Jones showed why he is still a threat in the passing game. Even at 31, he wreaked havoc from the wideout position, well on his way to double digit catches and 100 yards.
Defensive Gameball: CB Steve Williams - Easy choice here, after a slow start from his 3rd Round pick selection, Williams seems to be showing a great improvement. With a ridiculous eight tackles to boot, it shows he is also fearless when pursuing the ball carrier. He has had a history of injuries in each of his years thus far, and one particular hit left him shaken, so he will have to keep himself durable to have success.
Special mention goes to OLB Tourek Williams also, who managed to pick up four tackles and two sacks. With a loaded OLB corps, he is making his case to stick around.
Making a statement: Williams' place on the team could well be solidified after today's performance.
The Bolts Insider is an independent news-letter, created by a long-time, avid Charger fan, dedicated to bringing you all the top news and results as they happen!
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