Secondary and O-line problems? Not in San Diego!

All off-season long, we heard about how the Chargers defensive backfield and offensive line were going to be huge question marks in 2006. Those question marks have since turned into exclamation points, and in a good way.

AJ Smith and the Chargers front office went out this off-season and acquired a quietly stellar player in Marlon McCree, a veteran safety who is known for contributing everywhere he has played. He is a smart guy who has an excellent understanding of the game, and has really assumed a leadership role on the team.

Come draft time the Chargers leaped on the chance to get Antonio Cromartie 19th overall, a player who many feel was the most athletically gifted cornerback since Deion Sanders.

The team also resigned Quentin Jammer long-term, and hope that he and Drayton Florence can continue to progress into physical cover corners. Terrence Kiel, the safety opposite McCree, has become fully healthy and brings a great physical play to the strong safety position in Wade Philips 3-4 defense.

All of the sudden, the secondary is much improved with a few key acquisitions and progressive improvement among the veterans.

Two games into the season and the Chargers possess one of the stingiest defensive backfields in the league. Jammer has an interception (his big knock against him, low INT totals) and the unit as a whole has many broken up passes, due mainly to some heavy hitting. If anything, they could continue to work on improving their hands, because some potential INTs have been dropped. Overall, the unit that used to play timidly and afraid to make a mistake is now flying around aggressively and eager to make a play.

As for the offensive line in San Diego, they have kept Rivers from being sacked and paved the way for an offense that has averaged 217.5 yards a game rushing and has totaled 5 rushing touchdowns.

Marcus McNeil, the Chargers rookie starting Left Tackle, has been tremendous. He was an absolute steal in the second round...Marcus had a first round grade during college but teams were scared away by a permanent back condition that he has. Regardless, it has not slowed him down and McNeil may very well have the best year of any rookie lineman. He plays with great confidence and the NFL does not seem to be overwhelming him in the least bit. He absolutely negates pass rushers and has great speed getting downfield in run blocks. The Chargers exploit his abilities well...LT may have found a new best friend.

Center Nick Hardwick took it upon himself to gain weight during the off-season and comes into this year 25lbs heaver. He was resigned long-term along with Right Tackle Shane Olivea. Both players were starters as rookies in 2004 and will continue to improve. Thus far, the unit as a whole has been impressive and has dominated the line of scrimmage - allowing Philip Rivers time to find receivers and the running game to consistently function at a high level.

Looking for problems in the offensive line or defensive backfield? You won't find them in San Diego.