2008 first-round pick Antoine Cason has had an up and down career in San Diego.
The cornerback ended 2010 riding high after a particularly strong stretch of games that matched the Chargers’ defense overall solid performance. Cason has struggled so much this year that Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports there is a strong chance Cason will be benched for rookie Marcus Gilchrist.
The team removed Cason late in the loss to the Jets after he gave up three touchdowns to Plaxico Burress. At first, Cason reportedly refused to come out.
“I’m not going to address that,” coach Norv Turner said Monday. “We have an issue, obviously.”
Cason’s dip in play typifies the Chargers defense as a whole. Other than Shaun Phillips, what about this defense scares anyone?
The defensive line is particularly ordinary, with ends Corey Liuget and Vaughn Martin struggling. 2009 first round pick Larry English is not getting on the field because of a foot injury.
The team is 25th in yards-per-carry allowed and 18th in points allowed. This is despite playing a very underwhelming group of offenses.
We made the case two weeks ago that it was a good sign the Chargers were winning when they weren’t particularly playing well.
But they might want to start playing well eventually.