Chargers Rout Cardinals, Send Derek Anderson to Bench

SAN DIEGO -- Unless Kurt Warner decided to quit "Dancing With the Stars," the Arizona Cardinals were headed to a world of trouble on Sunday.

The San Diego Chargers finally were playing with purpose and precision, and aren't the Norv Turner bashers feeling a little silly now?

With their annual September sluggishness behind them -- part of the gag that Turner pulls on gullible folks every year -- Southern California's only NFL team ripped apart the bumbling Cardinals, 41-10, to even its record at 2-2.

The NFL being a quarterbacks league, the Chargers strutted confidently onto the field, and then off it with a 28-7 lead at halftime.

San Diego's Philip Rivers-led offense piled up 258 yards in the half, whereas the Cardinals tried to live with Derek Anderson -- and died a quick and painful death that sent Anderson to the bench.

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Anderson is a Cleveland Browns castoff. Anything else need to be said? Sent packing by quarterback guru Mike Holmgren, Anderson got the Arizona job after Warner, the marksman who led Arizona to the NFC's divisional playoffs last January, decided dancing is more fun than concussionary hits.

The Cardinals began the game with a long opening drive, their blockers and running backs bullying the Bolts and Anderson feeding short passes to star receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Then Anderson inexplicably lobbed the ball to Chargers safety Steve Gregory, who caught the second-and-13 pass at San Diego's 11. It was all Chargers from there, San Diego going on to register nine sacks and an overall yardage victory of 419-124.

"It got to a point where they kind of had their way with us. We really had no answer. It's a bitter taste."
- Joey Porter,
Cardinals LB When asked by FanHouse about the pass to Gregory, Anderson used a naughty word to describe it. "It was a (bad) decision," he said. "I threw it in the seam late. There is no excuse for that. I've just got to go through it and when nobody's there, throw the ball away."

Later in the first half with Arizona down by two touchdowns, Anderson did not see that Chargers pass-rush ace Shaun Phillips had retreated into coverage.

Phillips stole the crossing pass, then ran it 26 yards for a touchdown. Next, Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt benched Anderson for someone named Max Hall, an undrafted BYU alum generously listed as 6-foot-1. If Matt Leinart wasn't good enough to stick with the Cardinals, one wonders how bad he had to be for Anderson to succeed Warner.

"There's nothing to second-guess," Anderson said of his benching. He said of his performance: "It's been awful, and it was awful."

Rivers, meanwhile, saw teammates running uncovered and put spirals in their hands. Keeping the ball out of harm's way better than he had in the other three games, Chatty Phil fashioned a passer rating of 157.1 through three quarters by going 13-for-17 for 227 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals unwisely tried to cover tight end Antonio Gates one-on-one and he schooled them for seven catches, 144 yards and two touchdowns.

Rivers, who ended up 15-for-20 with 241 yards, led the AFC in passer rating last year largely because of a downfield passing game.

Responding to changes in personnel and opposing tactics, Turner, a former offensive coordinator, has redesigned the attack this year to create steadier results. The running game is packing more wallop, the underneath pass attack now a constant.

Fullback Michael Tolbert is taking advantage of Turner's redesign. A bowling ball of a back, Tolbert ran both inside and outside the tackles, and slipped away for passes.

"He always tells me he's a better runner than the he is a blocker, and he showed it," said Chargers fullback Jacob Hester.

"It was easier than it looked," Tolbert said, and he wasn't kidding.

Tolbert, who was undrafted out of Division II Coastal Carolina University, notched his first 100-yard rushing game in three NFL seasons. Through three quarters, he had 100 yards rushing on 16 carries to go with two catches.


Turner also welcomed the return of Ryan Mathews, the running back who had missed the team's previous five quarters because of an ankle sprain. Unguarded on a swing pass and able to run by Arizona's flanks, Mathews totaled 48 yards on his first four touches. The rookie, following Hester's lead block, ran 15 yards for his first career TD.

Who says the Chargers can't run the football? One year after ranking at or near the bottom in the several rushing categories, they are mashing the edges of defensive fronts and hitting zone runs and pitches for hefty gains. Turner's offense gained 180 yards rushing on Sunday, getting 6.3 yards per carry from Tolbert and 6.1 from Matthews, who ran past Cardinals linebackers and safeties to turn the corner.

"I'm one year into this as a fullback," said Hester. "And the backs are hitting the hole every time."

At times, it looked like the Cardinals (2-2) were playing touch football.

"It got to a point where they kind of had their way with us," said Cardinals linebacker Joey Porter, whose failure to tackle Tolbert led to one key first-half first down. "We really had no answer. It's a bitter taste."

In both of San Diego's home games, the first a rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the running game led an early charge. Rivers then plucked low-hanging fruit.

"I've always said, if you can run the ball, it opens up everything," said Hester, who was a sledgehammer tailback for LSU's national championship team in 2007.

The Chargers have won the two home games by a combined 79-23. On the road, where they are 0-2, they were undone by three kickoff returns for 21 points, but the coverage unit stopped the bleeding Sunday via shorter, higher kicks and better work from tacklers that included several starters.

"I'll say this about our football team since I've been here: when we have an issue, we take care of it, and that's (a credit to) the players," Turner said.

Actually, there's a recurring problem of not making it to the Super Bowl. But save for Darren Sproles' second fumble in two weeks, which led to a touchdown, everything about Sunday's performance signaled that the Chargers are still the team to beat in the AFC West.