Sunday, September 19, 1999CHARGERS TO WATCH
San Diego feels third-year tight end Freddie Jones is on the verge of going to the Pro Bowl. At 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, Jones is a nice target who led the Chargers with 57 catches last season, the most by a San Diego tight end since Hall-of-Famer Kellen Winslow had 64 in 1986.
Running back Natrone Means can pound you, but the Chargers have pedestrian receivers and need some big plays from Jones in the passing game. They may think they can get them with inexperienced Bengals like left outside linebacker Steve Foley and rookie nickel corner Cory Hall possibly covering Jones on some plays.
But Jones could also draw Bengals inside backer Brian Simmons, a 6-foot -3, 250-pound speedster in what looks to be a future Pro Bowl matchup. The second-year Simmons is coming off a solid five-tackle, one-sack game.
Linebacker Junior Seau expects to make an appearance at tight end for the Chargers, putting a Pro Bowler of the present into the mix. He caught a 37-yard touchdown pass in the exhibition season out of a fairly substantial playbook known as the “Junior Package.'
In his 10th season out of USC, linebacker Junior Seau is still the straw that stirs the Chargers with a Pro Bowl brew of intensity and instinct. He's moved from middle backer to inside backer, so he's lined up behind one of his lineman, but that doesn't change anything. He pursues to anything that moves.
“He's a guy where they may not call blitz, but if he sees something, he's going on his own,” said Bengals center Rich Braham.
“He'll blitz if he thinks he can make a play. That's why you always have to know where he is. You have to account for him. You have to know who is responsible for him because he can create havoc. You have to use your hands and don't lean on him because he's known for coming up and jumping around you.”
It's an easy scouting report. Seau will make the tackle. He's made 97 or more in the last seven seasons on the way to eight Pro Bowls.
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