CARSON
Kyzir White Jerseys Stitched , Calif. (AP) — feeling bad for Indianapolis Colts counterpart Frank Reich, who has had to
deal with the sudden retirement of franchise quarterback Andrew Luck.You see,
Lynn has his own set of key players he is missing going into Sunday’s opener at
Dignity Health Sports Park. The AFC matchup between two of last year’s
postseason participants has revolved more over who isn’t on the field.“They go
into this game without Andrew Luck, but I go into this game without one of the
best left tackles in the game, Russel Okung (blood clots), one of the best
safeties in the game in Derwin James (broken foot) and one of the top running
backs in the league in Melvin Gordon (holdout),” Lynn said. “I see it every day.
You’ve got to step up and overcome it.”Article continues below ...The last time
Indianapolis opened a season without Luck in the starting lineup was two years
ago, also in Los Angeles.It wasn’t pretty.Scott Tolzien, Luck’s replacement, was
9 of 18 with 128 yards, no touchdowns and threw two interceptions — both of
which were returned for touchdowns — in a 46-9 loss to the Rams. Tolzien also
was sacked four times before being benched in favor of Jacoby Brissett, who had
been with the team for eight days.Tolzien never threw another pass in the NFL as
Brissett finished the season 4-11. Now, Brissett is set to make his first start
since the 2017 season and with a new $30 million deal.“He is our guy,” Reich
reiterated Wednesday after being asked about the contract. “We believe in
Jacoby. We trust Jacoby — everything we’ve seen from Day One about the way he
handles his business, about the way he performs. He is our guy and we wanted to
make that statement going forward.”Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers also
expressed confidence in offensive tackle Trent Scott, as well as running backs
Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson. All three were entrenched with the first team
during training camp.“I think we have a lot of confidence in the guys that are
filling in for them,” Rivers said. “It’s not catching them off guard.”Here’s
what else to watch as the Chargers and Colts open the season against each other
for the first time since 1970:RIVERS READY TO ROLL?Rivers was the only AFC
starting quarterback who did not take a snap during the preseason as Lynn rested
most of his veterans.The 16-year veteran, who will make his 209th straight start
and pass Peyton Manning for third-longest streak among QBs, said the work he got
in during joint workouts with the Saints and Rams was equivalent to what he
would get in preseason games.“Once you get out there in a series, get a first
down or two and the game gets going, I don’t think anybody is thinking, ‘Gosh,
if I had three more snaps in preseason
Youth Dan Fouts Jerseys , I would really be ready to handle this,’ you know?” Rivers said. “We may start off three-and-out, but it won’t be because I didn’t
play in the preseason.”NEED TO STEP UPWhile the Chargers and Gordon remain at an
impasse over a contract extension, Ekeler and Jackson will split carries at
running back, like they did the four games late last season when Gordon was
sidelined with a knee injury. Gordon has three straight seasons over 1,200
scrimmage yards, which might put pressure on the passing game if the run game
stumbles.A bigger concern is the offensive line as Scott and right tackle Sam
Tevi struggled during the preseason.Okung will miss at least the first six
games, while James — an All-Pro selection as a rookie last season — is likely
out until mid-November. Adrian Phillips gets the call at strong safety.FIELD
CONDITIONSAdam Vinatieri has played in all sorts of stadiums and excelled in all
sorts of conditions.He made two kicks to help New England win the “Snow Bowl”
and advance in the 2000 playoffs. He made two winning kicks in the Super Bowl.
He even made a kick two years ago in a Buffalo blizzard.But as he prepares to
play in yet another stadium, Dignity Health Sports Park, Vinatieri has some
concerns.“It’ll be interesting,” Vinatieri said. “Every time there’s a new
stadium, you have to go out there and see the conditions. I know the field was a
little rough out there during preseason, but hopefully they’ve got that taken
care of. But it’s just like anything else, you go in there and you figure it out
early. The earlier you can get out there and figure all the external stuff, the
winds and this and that, you’re in good shape.”NEW FACESThe Colts have two
starters on defense this season — defensive end Justin Houston, who spent his
first eight seasons with Kansas City and strong side linebacker Matthew Adams,
who will make his first NFL start.For Houston, the 2014 NFL sacks champ, and the
Chargers are familiar foes.But Adams is a relative unknown. After the 6-foot,
229-pound second-year player appeared in only two games and recorded just one
tackle last season, he beat out Zaire Franklin, another second-year
player
Dan Fouts Jerseys Stitched , and rookie E.J. Speed, a fifth-round pick, for the job.Rookie receiver Parris Campbell also is expected to play after missing the
first three games of the preseason with a hamstring injury.FASTER OUT OF THE
GATE?Los Angeles is 2-6 in September games under Lynn, which includes a 0-4
start in 2017. The Chargers lost two of their first three last season, before
winning six straight and 10 of 11.Indianapolis got off to a 1-5 start in Reich’s
first season last year before winning nine of its last 10 to make the playoffs.
Get to know the giant offensive tackle called Little."As we roll into February,
draft season is in full swing with the NFL Combine in Indianapolis just a few
weeks away. The Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama has come and gone, as well, with
new names rising up draft boards while others may be finding themselves falling
or staying a bit too stagnant for their liking.Here at Bolts From The Blue, we
are chomping at the bit to get the gears turning on our own draft coverage where
we hope to bring you the content you deserve and the content you yearn for while
maintaining the tightest coverage on what the Bolts are doing through the months
leading up to the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville, TN.To satifsy some of your
smaller cravings for draft content, I hope to put out a number of
short-and-sweet draft profiles to get you all up to date on draft prospects you
should be aware of that could potentially don the bolt this year and for years
to come.First up is Ole Miss’ Greg Little, a massive offensive tackle that could
be the answer to the team’s needs at the right tackle spot opposite Russell
Okung.At 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, no one needs to ask what position Little is
best suited for. It still amuses me that we get to right about such a large
player with the such an oxymoron for a last name. The former 5-star recruit and
top-ranked offensive line recruit in the country came to Oxford, Mississippi by
way of Allen High School, the perennial powerhouse down in the heart of Texas.
He was also the number two recruit in the entire country by Scout and ESPN.As a
true freshmen, Little played in every game during his first year on campus with
five starts. That year, the Rebels possessed the 13th-ranked passing offense in
the country (314.9 yds/game) and allowed the fewest tackles-for-loss per game
(4.67). For his efforts, he was named a Freshman All-American by Rivals.com and
a Freshman All-SEC first team selection.In his sophomore campaign, Little
started all 12 games at left tackles and was named a second-team All-SEC
selection by the AP and the Coaches. Prior to the season, NFL.com named him the
31st-best player in college football.In 2018, after being placed on numerous
preseason All-American teams, Little helped protect senior quarterback Jordan
Ta’amu as he got to chuck the ball around to the best wide receiver trio in the
country.Little lived up to almost all of his preseason hype as he was named a
first-team All-Sec selection and a second-team All-American pick by numerous
publications
Emeke Egbule Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys , including the FWAA, CBS Sports, and Phil Steele.The former top prospect was definitely a work-in-progress and it
showed during his first two years at Ole Miss. No matter his shortcomings,
Little’s God-given physical talents are the types of things you cannot coach.
When you throw on the tape, your first thought is, “a man that large shouldn’t
be able to move like that.” His fundamentals, footwork, hand-technique, it was
all sushi-raw in the beginning. But thankfully, he took the biggest, and most
necessary leap with his technique between the 2017 and 2018 seasons.In my
opinion, he has always known that his capabilities are above those around him,
but it looked like he finally realized how to utilize his elite tools in his
true junior season. His strong powerful hands are much more refined and are able
to find his mark on the defender’s breastplate at a much higher rate. The power
behind his palms is something to be seen, too. He looks like he salivates at the
chance to down block interior linemen with the way he shoots off that line and
into the ear hole of the pour soul.His combination of size and athleticism seems
like a natural fit in the Chargers offense. His movement skills make him an easy
fit in the multiple-run scheme that Lynn loves to use while giving the Chargers
a looming presence with enough agility to handle some of the elite edge rushers
that call the AFC West home.While looking around at a number of mock drafts,
there is a real chance that Little finds himself available at the end of the
first round. With Alabama’s Jonah Williams, Florida’s Jawaan Taylor, and
Oklahoma’s Cody Ford gaining some steam at this point of the off-season, and the
plethora of defensive linemen aiming to go early on day one, Little could easily
fall to the Chargers as an afterthought to the rest of the league.
