Vincent Jackson: Can His Return Get the Chargers To Playoffs?
Vincent Jackson has decided to end his hold out and report to the San Diego Chargers by the end of the month.
He's not getting a new deal and he's not necessarily happy about it, but he'll be in uniform. Jackson is returning at a time when San Diego is 2-3 and coming off of a shocking loss to Oakland last week.
Can his return propel the Chargers to the playoffs? Inside you'll find eight reasons why the Chargers may fall short of the postseason and eight why San Diego can rally once again and make the playoffs.
No. 8 Playoff Killer: Jackson's Contract Situation
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The only reason Vincent Jackson is suiting up is because he wants to become a free agent at the end of the year.
He's clearly not happy in San Diego and there's no chance he's coming back. He's only going to be in the locker room because he has to and that makes for a bad situation among the team. It's supposed to be all for one and one for all and Jackson's out for himself.
If things don't go well, Jackson could cause more of a stir.
No. 8 Playoff Power: McNeill's Return
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With Marcus McNeill back in the fold in San Diego and happy with a contract extension, he's going to be huge in protecting Philip Rivers.
Any time you can add a big piece like that to an offensive line, it's going to drastically change things for the Chargers. San Diego should be even more effective on offense with McNeill back in the lineup. I'm sure Rivers was happy to see him walk through the door after he returned.
No. 7 Playoff Killer: Special Teams
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This season the Chargers have been done in by their special teams, which has just given points to the other team.
In Week 1 Kansas City returned a punt for a touchdown, then Seattle took two kickoffs back for touchdowns and finally Oakland blocked two punts, scoring nine points off of them. San Diego needs to fix its special teams in a hurry or it's going to continue to cost them games.
How the special teams coach isn't fired yet is beyond me.
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No. 7 Playoff Power: More Room for Gates
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Antonio Gates is second on the team in receiving yards and has seven touchdowns this year, and that's without Vincent Jackson stretching the field and making things tough for opposing defenses.
Imagine how scary he's going to be once Jackson's in the lineup. Gates will find more room across the middle and while his numbers are slightly are a product of him being the only real target for Rivers, he's still going to put up gaudy numbers.
No. 6 Playoff Killer: Turnovers
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San Diego has had some issues with turnovers this year as the Chargers have committed eight on the season, while San Diego has also forced eight, the Chargers need to do a better job of hanging on to the ball.
Winning the turnover battle is key to success in the NFL and once San Diego does that, they'll start winning more consistently. However they aren't right now and it's a major reason for concern. It shows a lack of discipline and focus when you turn the ball over.
No. 6 Playoff Power: Past History
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While San Diego's slow start is frustrating for fans of the team, it's something that Chargers' fans are used to.
The Chargers are notorious slow starters and have always rebounded to have a strong season and make the playoffs. It hasn't always been pretty, but San Diego has gotten it done and the end result is the only thing that matters.
Until they prove us wrong, we should believe in the Chargers until the bitter end.
No. 5 Playoff Killer: Late Game Situations
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In each of its three losses, the Chargers have been in the game but have failed to close the deal.
Philip Rivers has given it his best shot but to no avail. San Diego was right on the doorstep against Kansas City and just couldn't get in and last week the Chargers were driving when they fumbled the ball away for a touchdown.
San Diego needs to do a better job of executing in the fourth quarter if they want to be a playoff team.
No. 5 Playoff Power: Favorable Schedule
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Starting with St. Louis this week, the Chargers have a pretty favorable schedule that should set San Diego up for a couple of easy wins.
The Chargers face Houston, who has an awful pass defense and Tennessee who is in a similar situation, not to mention San Diego's past success against the Titans.
San Diego also faces San Francisco and Cincinnati late in the season, two games that should be wins for the Chargers.
No. 4 Playoff Killer: Struggles On the Road
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All three of San Diego's losses have come on the road. Good teams win on the road and right now, the Chargers are not a very good team.
However, San Diego has been in every single game. The Chargers have lost those three games by a combined 22 points with the highest margin of defeat being the eight point loss to Oakland last Sunday.
If the Chargers don't turn it around on the road quickly, they're going to find themselves watching the playoffs from their couches in late December and early January.
No. 4 Playoff Power: Deep Threat
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While Philip Rivers has been able to make plays down the field in his absence, Vincent Jackson is going to be a lethal deep threat once he gets back on the field for San Diego.
No offense to Malcom Floyd, but he's no Vincent Jackson and we'll see that when he returns. The entire offense is going to open up more than it already has and Rivers' numbers are going to continue to be robust.
There's probably no one happier that Jackson is back than Rivers.
No. 3 Playoff Killer: Losses to Mediocre Opponents
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No offense to Seattle and Oakland, but these two teams aren't going to be in the playoffs this year.
They aren't very good and yet San Diego has lost to both. Even Kansas City beat San Diego and while the Chiefs are better than we thought they were, they aren't a great team, something I believe we'll realize in the next few weeks.
These were games the Chargers should have taken and they didn't. It could come back and haunt San Diego.
No. 3 Playoff Power: Running Game
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After letting LaDainian Tomlinson leave to go play for the Jets, people worried that San Diego would have trouble in the running game in his absence.
So much for that.
The Chargers are 12th in the league in rushing and with Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert, San Diego has been effective in running the ball with Philip Rivers opening it up with his arm. San Diego needs to keep running to keep the other team off the field and take pressure off of Rivers to make plays.
No. 2 Playoff Killer: Division Losses
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San Diego is 2-3 and two of those losses are to division rivals Kansas City and Oakland. Those losses put the Chargers third in the division behind both of those teams and makes the climb back into contention just a little steeper.
San Diego now must win the games against both of those teams later in the season and make sure that it plays well against Denver. Losing division games is a good way to find yourself outside of the playoff picture.
It's stunning that the Chargers have lost both of their division games.
No. 2 Playoff Power: Defense
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San Diego right now is one of the best defensive teams in football, and no one is really talking about it.
The Chargers are third against the pass and seventh against the rush and just dominate teams with their defense. Now some of that has to do against the quality of opponents San Diego has seen early in the season but right now, the defense looks formidable.
With how explosive the offense can be with Vincent Jackson back in the fold, the defense can make the Chargers a very dangerous team.
No. 1 Playoff Killer: Norv Turner
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Norv Turner has had a lot of success in San Diego, but saying that he's a good head coach is a gross overestimation of his talents.
Turner is someone who's more suited to be a coordinator than a head coach and has really gotten lucky. Had the Chargers not rallied to make the playoffs a couple of years ago, Turner would have likely been fired by the team. If this team doesn't recover, I wouldn't be shocked to see him fired this time around.
There's a stunning lack of results to show for all of those playoff appearances.
No. 1 Playoff Power: Philip Rivers
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Philip Rivers has simply been dominant this year under center for San Diego.
Rivers is first in passing yards, third in quarterback rating and tied for first in touchdowns among quarterbacks. He's put the team on his shoulders and kept them in games with his arm. He's turned into a dominant quarterback and has made the decision to let Drew Brees leave a good one, even if Brees has a Super Bowl ring.
Look for Rivers' numbers to continue to skyrocket with his favorite target back on the field.
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