San Diego Chargers: Robert Meachem Is Not Vincent Jackson

Robert Meachem is not Vincent Jackson. Obvious, isn’t it?

I never said he was a bad receiver, but he is just not the same guy.

Sooner or later, Philip Rivers will figure this out and stop with the underthrown jump balls to Meachem. Vincent Jackson was a jump-ball guy. Robert Meachem is not that guy.

They even catch the ball differently. Jackson uses his hands to catch the ball, rather than his body, which works out better in the air if you’re in a jump-ball situation. When you watch Meachem catch the ball, he uses his body to help him corral it.

Bottom line, Meachem needs to be led with the ball. If he gets it with some space around him, he can make something big happen.

Even so, it’s not like Rivers has much of a choice right now as far as when and how to get rid of the ball.

The Chargers' offensive line has been decimated by injuries and the Chargers just don’t have the time for any deep routes right now.

As protection improves, Rivers can sling it again. As for now, some max protection would be nice to make sure we get to see Rivers on the field for a full season.

I’m not questioning his toughness in any sense. I'm merely pointing out that he and Charlie Whitehurst have been getting hit a lot.

Hopefully, all of our injured offensive linemen are back healthy and ready for the Raiders' disruptive defensive line when the Chargers visit Oakland in Week 1.

The black hole crowd will be loud and the Raiders' interior defensive line is playing well as of late.

Good thing Jeromey Clary has been better much with his false start issue. If only he could get better as a pass protector.

All in all, this should be a good year. Hopefully, all of the injuries mean that the injury bug is out of the way early and maybe it will be a healthy year for the Bolts.

Get ready for a late-season surge. The only thing that could make a late-season surge even better is a fast start. Though that hasn’t always been the case for the Chargers, the defense is playing well and that can help an offense win games—offensive injuries or not.