San Diego Chargers @ San Francisco 49ers Thurs. Sept. 2nd 10pm EST
This NFL season will be an interesting and exciting one for the San Diego Chargers and the San Francisco 49ers as they are two teams that seem to be playoff bound heading into the regular season, but they have a few skill players that still need to prove themselves this year.
Over the last six years or so, the San Diego Chargers have been one of the most dominant teams in the league as they have just crushed the competition in the AFC West division and have been playoff bound on an annual basis.
This season Philip Rivers and company will come into the NFL regular season with one big difference in the backfield as rookie running back Ryan Matthews (Fresno State) will be replacing a legend in former NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson (New York Jets). Even though the Chargers head coach Norv Turner and his coaching staff are very impressed by the young running back so far, this kid has some huge shoes to fill and could be on a short leash if he struggles early in the season.
As for the San Francisco 49ers, they are coming off one of their most impressive seasons in quite some time as head coach Mike Singletary seems to be just what the doctor ordered for this struggling NFL franchise. Along with getting some much needed leadership on the sidelines with Singletary, the 49ers were finally able to get some stability under center as former number one overall pick Alex Smith showed signs of promise in his second stint as the starting quarterback.
One of the main reasons for Smith’s success under center last season was the much improved receiving corps with the addition of rookie wide receivers Michael Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis. With these targets in the passing game and perennial Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore coming out of the backfield, this team was destined to make something happen and this season they will have their sights on winning the NFC West division.
This last preseason game for these two clubs will be nothing more than a final feeling out process for their rookies and the players trying to make the team. I believe the 49ers should be the team to come out with a win.
