The head coach of the San Diego Chargers is Mike McCoy. The head coach of the Minnesota Vikings is Mike Zimmer. But make no mistake, neither of those men will have nearly as big an impact on Sunday’s game in Minneapolis as two of their coordinators will.
Chargers Defensive Coordinator John Pagano and Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner will finally get to match wits in a game that counts. Pagano was an assistant coach for all six years of Turner’s time as head coach in San Diego, the first five as linebackers coach and the last one as defensive coordinator. They know each other extremely well, but have never called plays against one another in a game that puts a tally in the Win-Loss column.
“I was kind of joking with Pags,” said quarterback Philip Rivers. “I said y’all have dress rehearsed this for no telling how many times. Hundreds of practices out here on the field when Pags was calling the defenses and Norv was calling the offenses all those times in practice and training camp, all those good battles.”
So the big question now is … who has the advantage?
“I don’t know that there’s a competitive advantage either way,” said Rivers, expertly toeing the line of diplomacy.
The personnel is different but the schemes are the same. The Bolts only have 11 guys on the team who played under Turner. The Chargers have not seen running back Adrian Peterson since 2011 and have never seen quarterback Teddy Bridgewater or tight end Kyle Rudolph.
So we have to rely on tendencies. That means the Vikings are going to take shots down the field with their speedy wide receivers while the Chargers use exotic sub packages and unique looks to cause confusion in the offense. That brings us to this week’s three players to watch out for.
Ryan Carrethers, DT
A healthy scratch the first two weeks of the year, Carrethers is almost guaranteed playing time behind Sean Lissemore in Minnesota. The Chargers released tackle Mitch Unrein during the week so Carrethers will see the field. When he’s there, he’s going to have to give San Diego something they have not enjoyed since Jamal Williams was wearing a lightning bolt on his helmet: an interior presence that can get to the passer. The Chargers have been abysmal in their ability to create pressure up the middle. They’re good enough on the edges with Melvin Ingram, Jeremiah Attaochu and the emergence of Kyle Emanuel but the thing quarterbacks hate the most is pressure in their faces. Bridgewater is in his second season. If Carrethers and Lissemore (and Darius Philon) can get a push on the interior it should make the young, talented QB make a mistake or two.
Keenan Allen, WR
After a monster opener Allen was largely quiet against the Bengals. He has the ability to blow a game wide open with his playmaking ability in the offense but I don’t have him on this list because of his pass catching. Keenan is here because Jacoby Jones is out with an ankle injury so Allen is likely returning punts again. It’s not a stretch to say the Cincinnati game turned in the first quarter when the San Diego defense forced a 3-and-out on the Bengals opening drive only to have Allen muff the punt, give the Bengals a short field to score a touchdown and take control of the afternoon. The Chargers don’t need Allen to make plays as a punt returner. Anything he does on a change of possession is a bonus. What they need is for him to just not turn the ball over. If he hangs on to the football and gets in the huddle where he becomes a real difference maker, the Bolts should be alright.
Corey Liuget, DE
This one ties in to getting a push in the middle and the familiarity between Pagano and Turner. After signing a big contract in the off-season Liuget has gotten a lot of attention from opposing offensive lines. He broke through for six tackles (one for a loss) against the Bengals and he’ll have a big hand in trying to contain Peterson. One of the men he’ll see a lot of is Mike Harris. You all remember Mike Harris, right? He’s the undrafted rookie out of UCLA who made the Chargers roster in 2012 and was forced in to being the starting left tackle because former Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith didn’t realize Jared Gaither was going to pull a Steve Miller Band (he took the money and ran), nearly getting Philip Rivers killed and eventually helping usher Turner out the door. Well Harris is now the starting right guard in Minnesota and through two games he’s been arguably the Vikings’ best lineman. Liuget knows Harris well from their time on the practice field in San Diego, which could help Corey shake loose for his first sack of 2015.
Derek’s Prediction
The Vikings looked awful in a Week 1 loss in San Francisco but much better in a Week 2 win against the Lions. They have some nice pieces on offense but Bridgewater only has one TD pass (to Rudolph) as he continues to learn Norv’s system.
Zimmer was the defensive coordinator in Cincinnati through 2013 and the Bengals still run the same system. Now Zimmer is calling those plays in those formations but with lesser talent than the Chargers saw last week. Getting that look in back-to-back weeks will help put the Bolts over the top in what’s probably not going to be a high-scoring afternoon.
Final score: Chargers 20, Vikings 16
