Hopping on a jet and flying to Phoenix wasn’t exactly in the plans of the San Diego Chargers coming off their bye week. But the wild- fires that have raged through Southern California left them with no other choice.
The team planned to practice this week at the Arizona Cardinals’ practice facility on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Cardinals have a bye week.
San Diego has a home game scheduled against Houston this Sunday, but Qualcomm Stadium was being used as an evacuation center this week. Four years ago, the Chargers were forced to move a home game to Tempe, Ariz. because of wildfires. San Diego lost that game 26-10 to Miami.
Players, coaches and staff were dismissed on Monday to take care of their evacuated families.
“What’s most important is making sure our families are taken care of and that everyone has what they need out of their houses,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. “(Then) we can start putting the focus on the game.”
The Seahawks’ running game still needs work: Following disappointing losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints in the previous two weeks, the Seahawks entered their game against the St. Louis Rams looking to get back on the winning track prior to their bye week. Although their running game continued to be largely ineffective, the Seahawks were able to move the ball through the air and came away with a 33-6 victory.
Shaun Alexander carried the ball 19 times for 47 yards, and the Seahawks managed 100 yards total on the ground.
“We moved the ball really well,” said Alexander, “We just have to figure out what we need to do in the red zone.”
The Seahawks’ inability to succeed in the red zone led to four Josh Brown field goals. A turning point in the game occurred when Nate Burleson returned the second-half kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, putting Seattle up 17-3.
But the Seahawks (4-3) are going to have to improve on the ground to make strides the rest of the season. They currently rank 22nd in rushing, averaging 92.6 yards per game. Last season, Seattle ranked 14th at 120.2. In their Super Bowl year, the Seahawks were third in ground yardage with 153.6 yards per game, and in 2004 they ranked eighth at 130.9.
Alexander’s production has been slipping ever since he averaged 4.8 yards per carry against Cincinnati in Week 3. He has only two 100-yard rushing games this season, and is averaging only 2.5 yards per carry in each of the last two games.
After his 1,880-yard rushing season in 2005 gave him his fifth straight 1,000-yard year, Alexander gained 896 yards in 10 games last season, unable to play in six games due to injury. He has 460 rushing yards this year.
Meanwhile, Seattle’s passing game ranks 10th in the NFL, and overall, the Seahawks are 18th in league offense. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who went 18 of 35 for 195 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the win over the Rams, suffered an injury to an oblique muscle in the first half after taking a hit to the ribs.
“I think it happened on the last play of a drive,” he said, “I felt it, but I didn’t realize how bad it was until the next drive, when I tried to throw, and obviously my throws were all over the place and not very accurate.”
Hasselbeck gets a full week of rest before resuming play, and the Seahawks get an extra week to fine-tune their offense.
“Offensively, we’re still trying to find our way a bit,” Seahawks’ coach Mike Holmgren said. “We’re kind of hit and miss. We are working real hard to fix some of the things that aren’t going right. Our best football is still ahead of us.”
Week 7 Leaders:
Passing: Tom Brady, Patriots, 21-25, 354 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs.
Rushing: Kenny Watson, Bengals, 31 carries, 130 yards. 3 TDs.
Receiving: Wes Welker, Patriots, 9 catches, 138 yards, 2 TDs.
Solo Tackles: Will Witherspoon, Rams, 12.
Sacks: Darryl Tapp, Seahawks, 4.
Interceptions: Nick Harper, Titans, 2.
Quotable: “I kind of looked into his eyes, and he looked like he was ready to take the hit more than I was.”
” Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo on trying to run down the Vikings’ Cedric Griffin on a 50-yard fumble return for a TD.
Sidelines: After a record first round draft in 2007 of 6 hours, 8 minutes, the NFL this week announced a reduction in time between each pick for next year’s draft. The league will cut the time from 15 minutes to 10 minutes that teams have between first-round picks and limit the first day to two rounds instead of three. The second round will be reduced from 10 minutes to seven minutes between picks while the remaining five rounds will stay at five minutes.
Ted Olafson contributed to this report from Seattle.