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Chargers and Cards cap off Week 1

Sep 5, 2014 - 6:02 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - For the second time in 11 days the San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals will square off.

This time it will count, however.

The two teams will put a cap on Week 1 of the 2014 NFL season as the back end of a Monday night doubleheader less than two weeks after closing the preseason in San Diego, a 12-9 Chargers victory.

Perhaps the biggest question in San Diego this season could be the effect of losing offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who moved on to become the head coach of Tennessee.

Quarterback Philip Rivers had quite the resurgence under Whisenhunt's tutelage and it will be interesting to see how things unfold now that Jim Kelly's former backup in Buffalo -- Frank Reich -- was promoted from QB coach to offensive coordinator.

San Diego opened at 5-7 under first-year coach Mike McCoy a season ago before rebounding to win four straight in the regular season, followed by a stunning 27-10 wild-card win at Cincinnati before bowing out against eventual AFC champion Denver in the divisional round of the postseason.

Much of the success was due to Rivers, who completed a mind-numbing 69.5 percent of his passes for 4,478 yards and 32 touchdowns.

One development that will certainly help Rivers this time around is the fact that lengthy, proven receiver Malcom Floyd has been cleared to return from a career-threatening neck injury suffered in Philadelphia early last season.

"We've got a lot of weapons, we've got a lot of depth and I'm really just happy to be a part of this group," Floyd said.

Over in Arizona the Cardinals know that the champion of the 2014 NFL season will be crowned in University of Phoenix Stadium, and Bruce Arians' club has high hopes of becoming the first team to play in the Super Bowl on its home field.

Those hopes, however, have already taken some significant hits.

The Cardinals, who finished 10-6 a year ago and were the best team in the NFL which didn't reach the postseason, have seen their well-regarded defense be decimated by a number of issues, both on- and off-the-field.

The strength of last year's Arizona club was unquestionably the front seven and that unit has already lost star inside linebacker Daryl Washington to a year-long drug suspension. His absence was only magnified by the fact his running mate, veteran Karlos Dansby, jetted to Cleveland in free agency.

Another headache popped up in early August when it was revealed star pass rusher John Abraham, the NFL's active career leader in sacks, had been charged with a DUI in suburban Atlanta in late June. The veteran missed a large part of camp while attending rehab and a suspension could be looming.

Meanwhile, star defensive lineman Darnell Dockett tore his ACL at practice in mid-August.

The latest blow, meanwhile, came on the other side of the ball when explosive second-year running back Andre Ellington suffered a foot injury in practice on Thursday with reports saying it could be serious.

The Chargers are 9-3 all-time against the Cards and have won three straight in the series, including a 41-10 triumph in the last matchup in 2010.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Chargers finished fifth in the NFL in offense last season and Rivers thinks there is plenty of room for improvement now that everyone is familiar with what McCoy wants accomplished.

"I just think we know what to expect now," said Rivers. "There is a level of comfort and I think that allows you to play fast and play confident."

The Bolts didn't add all that much to that productive unit although they get even deeper in the backfield, adding free-agent acquisition Donald Brown to a talented group which already included Ryan Mathews and third-down specialist Danny Woodhead.

Meanwhile, Kellen Clemens arrived from St. Louis to backup Rivers after Charlie Whitehurst followed Whisenhunt to the Titans. Rivers has proven to be quite durable over the years but getting an established veteran presence at backup QB is always prudent in today's NFL.

The big targets remain future Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates and second- year receiver Keenan Allen, who had 71 receptions for 1,046 yards and eight TDs as a rookie.

"It's such a unique team because of offensively, how unselfish (we) are," Rivers said. "The tight end group, the running back group, the receivers group; it's unselfish."

The San Diego defense isn't nearly as accomplished but should be bolstered a bit by the return on pass rusher Dwight Freeney, along with the addition of Pro Bowl cornerback Brandon Flowers.

Freeney's first season in Southern California was cut short by a torn quadriceps in Week 4, while Flowers arrives from Kansas City as a real good fit on paper. The cornerback often struggled in man coverage, something the Chiefs started leaning to more and more under defensive chief Bob Sutton. The Chargers, however, play more of a zone concept and that suits Flowers' talents very well.

"We're a stronger team than last year," said Freeney. "I think we have a pretty good feel of each other. We have all the pieces."

Arizona is explosive in its own right with veteran signal caller Carson Palmer, who threw for a career-high 4,274 yards in 2013, tossing to All-Pro wideout Larry Fitzgerald as well as Michael Floyd.

"We're head and shoulders above where we were last year," said Palmer, "The next step is just to keep improving."

The undersized Ellington was set to be the bell cow in the backfield after rushing for 652 yards and three TDs while adding 39 receptions for another 371 yards as a rookie in 2013.

That's all up in the air now, however, with former Steeler Jonathan Dwyer ex- Stanford star Stepfan Taylor as far less explosive backup options.

Over on the Cards defense, which finished sixth in the league, allowing only 317.4 yards per game last year, the secondary becomes the strength thanks in large part to cornerback Patrick Peterson, who could be the second best in all of football behind Seattle stalwart Richard Sherman.

Peterson is bookended by another solid cover corner in Antonio Cromartie while second-year safety Tyrann Mathieu is a rising star, although his status for the opener is up in the air as the LSU product continues to recover from a torn ACL and LCL suffered in December.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Cardinals are an injury-riddled as it gets for Week 1 but home field means a lot in the NFL and that advantage is only heightened during the season opener. Figure on Palmer and Arizona doing just enough

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Cardinals 21, Chargers 20.