Rivera has since been promoted to defensive coordinator in San Diego with former Chicago assistants Don Johnson (defensive line) and Steve Wilks (secondary) working under him. In addition, former Bears Pro Bowl CB Nathan Vashar and DT Alfonso Boone are now Chargers and will have some insight on their old team. That might be the only advantage San Diego has in this game though because Chicago is healthier and may play their starters longer.
Chargers DE Shawne Merriman signed his one-year tender offer with the team on Friday, but he will be among at least six key players who will not play. The others include a pair of holdouts in WR Vincent Jackson and OT Marcus McNeill along with OT Tra Thomas (knee injury), RB Darren Sproles (shoulder) and LB Larry English (foot).
Meanwhile, Bears head coach Lovie Smith has hinted that his starters could play the entire first half. Chicago’s new offensive coordinator Mike Martz wants to make sure QB Jay Cutler & Co. get plenty of game experience in the preseason so that they are ready to roll for the regular-season opener against the Detroit Lions. The only key offensive players that probably will not play are WR Earl Bennett (hamstring) and TE Brandon Manumaleuna (knee) due to injury.
Bettors should keep in mind that San Diego is very familiar with Cutler from his days in Denver, as he and Chargers QB Philip Rivers developed a bit of a personal rivalry for a couple years. But the rest of the Bears offense is much different than the team that played against San Diego in the last meeting after their Super Bowl appearance.
While Chicago running backs Matt Forte and Chester Taylor are firmly entrenched on the first two units, reserves Garrett Wolfe and Kahlil Bell are battling it out for the third-string spot now that rookie Harvey Unga has been placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Bell is also nursing a hamstring injury, so Wolfe will have an excellent opportunity to show how he can excel by running and catching the ball in Martz’s offense.
However, the biggest spotlight in this game will be on a player in the Chargers offensive backfield. Rookie RB Ryan Mathews will be lining up behind Rivers and looks to justify his selection as the #12 overall selection in the NFL draft – and replacement for LaDainian Tomlinson. With Sproles not expected to play, San Diego head coach Norv Turner plans on giving Mathews a heavy workload in his debut.
For today’s free pick we are going to go with the Chicago Bears +3 in tonights contest. For the rest of today’s football card check out our NFL spread picks page for more information.
