Seattle Seahawks vs. San Diego Chargers: Breaking Down San Diego's Game Plan

The San Diego Chargers better have a short memory.

After blowing an 11-point lead to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night, they go back home to face an entirely different beast.

The Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions, look just as imposing as they did last season. From top to bottom they are superior to Arizona's roster, with the exception of the wide receivers.

If Carson Palmer—Carson Palmer—can rush for 29 yards on the Chargers defense despite being the quintessential statue in the pocket, imagine what Russell Wilson can conjure.

If the 34-year-old Larry Foote can shoot gaps like Daryl Washington and seal the game by deflecting a pass, imagine what rising star Bobby Wagner can do.

If rookie John Brown can juke and speed his way through San Diego's defense for the go-ahead touchdown, imagine how fast Percy Harvin will look.

The Chargers' 2014 season isn't dead in the water by any means—last year's Week 1 collapse to the Houston Texans didn't have any lasting scars—but when looking specifically at Sunday's tilt versus the Seahawks, San Diego needs to create the perfect storm to snatch away a victory.

Let's figure out what the Chargers game plan is on offense and defense, and what they need to do to even their record.

The Eddie Royal show must become the Ladarius Green show

Has Frank Reich mistaken Eddie Royal, the Chargers' No. 3 wide receiver, for Percy Harvin?

The Chargers attempted to make Royal a versatile offensive weapon, targeting him six times and giving him two carries on Monday night. His stats: One catch for 20 yards, two carries for minus-two yards, three dropped passes and one sudden stop on a passing route that gave the Cardinals the ball back.

Whatever Reich wanted to do with Royal, it didn't work. Meanwhile, the Chargers' extremely talented tight end Ladarius Green soaked up plenty of time on the sideline. When on the field, he caught both of his targets for a total of 24 yards.

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The difference in usage between Royal and Green is inexcusable. Royal (5'11", 4.39 second 40-yard dash) is a passable depth receiver, while Green (6'6", 4.45 second 40-yard dash) is a Pro Bowl tight end waiting to happen. Only one of the two can challenge formidable combination of size and speed that characterizes Seattle's defense, and it's not the smallish Virginia Tech product.

The Chargers have to get Green on the field, especially when Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas are ready to make their wide receivers miserable.

This is not a matter of Green surpassing Antonio Gates on the depth chart. Every NFL team is fully aware of the power of two-tight end sets, including San Diego—Green started the game with Gates in that very set, but the offense virtually abandoned it afterwards.

Green could be a rising star. Gates is a declining star. Royal is not a star. What other options does San Diego have versus the Legion of Boom?

Philip Rivers must handle the blitz better

Once Arizona dialed up blitz after blitz in the fourth quarter, Rivers deteriorated quickly. His technique became sloppy and his internal clock sped up to David Carr-like levels.

The Cardinals' late-game pressure, and Rivers' reaction to that pressure, led to several missed opportunities in a one-point loss. He had an uncharacteristically low completion percentage (58.3 percent) when compared to his average last year (69.5 percent).

Yes, the interior of the offensive line did little to help Rivers out, especially guards Chad Rinehart and Johnnie Troutman. Center Nick Hardwick leaving with an ankle injury didn't help, either. Regardless, the offensive line isn't going to substantially improve within the next week, and Rivers needs to fix what the Seahawks now know is a very exploitable weakness.

Although Seattle rarely blitzes due to its defensive line rotation and formidable secondary, the Seahawks could see the tactic as a way to crush Rivers' confidence and rhythm early.

Rivers' planning and decision-making will play a large part into how effective any potential blitz is, but also look out for the Chargers to use running backs Donald Brown and Danny Woodhead more frequently in pass protection to help handle the pressure.

About that three-headed monster…

Take away Ryan Mathews' 20-yard touchdown run on fourth down, and San Diego averaged less than 1.4 yards per carry versus Arizona. In Week 1, the three-headed monster of Mathews, Woodhead and Brown didn't look like the unit that is supposed to wear down defenses all season long.

Player	Attempts	Yards	YPC	Long
Ryan Mathews	12	40	3.3	20
Danny Woodhead	6	5	0.8	5
Donald Brown	2	-2	-1.0	2

Part of their struggles was due to misuse. Woodhead, an excellent receiving back, was targeted just once in the passing game. Brown, a supposed reliever for Mathews, carried the ball only twice.

The Chargers looked confused as to how they were supposed to utilize all three. That needs to change versus the Seahawks.

Reich did reveal one interesting wrinkle in the Chargers running game that showed promise—the brief use of Mathews as a fullback. It won't take the NFL by storm, but it did lead to a 20-yard touchdown, which put San Diego up 17-6.

If putting Mathews closer to the line of scrimmage gets him into the open field more often, San Diego will begin to have some semblance of a running game. He doesn't need to be John Riggins—he just needs to prevent the Chargers from becoming one-dimensional.

Handing the ball off to Woodhead clearly didn't work at Arizona, and that won't change when Seattle comes to town. He is best used as a safety blanket in the flat, where Rivers can throw him the ball if the pass rush becomes too hot to handle.

Brown is an excellent blocking back, and the Chargers need him to fill whatever role Mathews or Woodhead can't during the play. However, he's not Cordarrelle Patterson—he needs more than two carries to get going, and the only way the Chargers can justify his contract is by giving him the ball more often.

All three need to play better than they did versus Arizona, but they have to be put in the proper roles before that can happen. A strong running game makes for a comfortable quarterback.

Chargers defense must take advantage of mistakes

Palmer was ready and willing to gift some interceptions to the Chargers' defense, but San Diego refused to accept them. Safeties Eric Weddle and Marcus Gilchrist both dropped ill-advised balls thrown by Palmer, preventing the Chargers from closing out the game.

"

Eric Weddle has a creature coming out underneath his facemask. That's why he dropped the interception. #SDvsAZ

— Dakota Hirst (@DakDak20) September 9, 2014"

Besides the drop, however, Weddle played just fine. The easiest way to take advantage of mistakes is to generate mistakes, and he can certainly do that. Don't be surprised if the Chargers play him closer to the line of scrimmage to blitz or hunt for passes over the middle. He is a defensive centerpiece, but John Pagano has to use him creatively first.

Seattle is the heavy favorite, even on the road, to pummel San Diego, which makes each opportunity to generate a turnover significantly more important than against Arizona. Wilson will throw fewer errant passes than Palmer did, making the need to be opportunistic where takeaways are concerned even more critical.

Drop interceptions versus the Cardinals, and they will hang around. Drop interceptions versus the Seahawks, and they will end the game by the third quarter.

Wrap Up Russell Wilson

This is easier said than done, and the expectation should not be for the Chargers to shut down Wilson's legs entirely. Still, limiting the backbreaking plays Wilson makes when he breaks containment will boost the confidence of the Arizona defense.

Keeping Wilson from scrambling into big plays is necessary for a San Diego win. The Chargers are coming off a loss where they made Carson Palmer look like Carson Football, most notably in this touchdown play. Wilson is a whole different ball game.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Palmer's eye-opening scrambles were due to the Chargers pass-rushers failing to wrap him up after getting to him. The primary culprit was outside linebacker Dwight Freeney, who could have been the game's MVP had he followed through on one of his many pressures.

It will be much harder to contain Wilson, and Freeney chasing after him the entire game would not be good on the 34-year-old's legs. Broken plays often lead to big gains for Seattle, and against a Chargers defense that loves to miss tackles, the game could get out of hand quickly if it struggles again to wrap up the opposing quarterback.

Against Arizona, we saw several Chargers generate effective pressure, but only two followed through with sacks. One is star defensive lineman Corey Liuget. The other is rookie Jerry Attaochu.

Keep using the Class of 2014

So much for Attaochu being a developmental prospect.

This strip-sack, along with a blocked punt that led to a field goal, made the rookie outside linebacker the Chargers' best offensive player of the night.

With 2012 first-round pick Melvin Ingram remaining quiet, Attaochu needs to see an increased role as the season goes along. He could make a big impact versus Seattle with his athleticism and motor, as he's the type of player who can keep up with Wilson and, more importantly, take him down.

Attaochu isn't a star yet, but his stock is pointing way up. The more the Chargers use him, the more he will grow.

The Chargers didn't whiff on their first-round selection, either. Cornerback Jason Verrett looked like a stud in Week 1, allowing just three catches for 25 yards on seven targets, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Verrett fits like a glove in Pagano's scheme, and his quick feet will serve him well in the NFL.

In the short term, San Diego needs to get the rookie corner on the field more, especially in place of the struggling Shareece Wright. Verrett doesn't have the edge in seniority, but he has a good chance of becoming the better player. The Chargers looked more formidable at Arizona when he was on the field. The same will apply versus Seattle.

The San Diego Chargers are the definite underdog in Week 2, but they could eke out a win, especially since they don’t have to travel to CenturyLink field. To even their record, the Chargers must take advantage mistakes and utilize their offensive players properly—what they didn't do against the Cardinals.

Otherwise, the Chargers are staring at an 0-2 hole and a long season ahead.