McCoy: “We're Never Going to Play That Way Again”

Chargers coach not happy with last game, looks ahead to unique practice this week

In their preseason opener against the Titans in Tennessee, a 27-10 loss, the Chargers gave up 288 yards rushing. The biggest issue was one that we've seen plenty of times from the Bolts in recent years.

"Way too many missed tackles," said head coach Mike McCoy, who seemed upset but not overly concerned with his defense's performance. "It's all correctable. It's a preseason game. We're never going to play that way ever again."

Their first chance to make good on coach's bold proclamation and fix the tackling problems is Friday night against the Cardinals at Qualcomm stadium. By the time kickoff rolls around the Bolts and Birds should be quite familiar with one another. They have a pair of practices against one another in San Diego on Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to the game.

"Over time you get to know people in the business," said McCoy, who spoke with Cardinals coach Bruce Arians about the dual practice. "We've talked about it for a couple of years now and we thought this is a good time to do it. A lot of players are going to get a lot of work. It's like playing three games this week."

Of course familiarity can breed contempt. Most teams that do this kind of dual practice end up having a few fights break out. The Chargers say they're not concerned about that.

"The number one focus is to improve," said McCoy. "I don't worry about the fighting. Bruce (Arians) and I have talked about it. We're in this together. We're both trying to improve, their organization and our organization. We'll approach it like it's a normal practice."

"You want to go out there and compete," said quarterback Philip Rivers. "I'm sure there will be a little back and forth. We can get a lot of good work done. Going against a different defense is very helpful. It's good for all of us. We're not game planning them but I'm going to be watching them."

The one main difference will be a limitation on the amount of special teams work. Tuesday night's practice at Qualcomm Stadium runs from 6-8 p.m. and is open to the public.

The Chargers made a few roster moves on Monday. They placed defensive tackle Sean Lissemore on season-ending Injured Reserve, waived cornerback Carrington Byndom, and signed defensive tackle Kamal Johnson, linebacker Zack Hodges and linebacker James Vaughters.

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