Cottrell says Bolts are close

During a roughly 15-minute interview Thursday afternoon, Chargers defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell used the word “close” nearly a dozen times.

“That doesn’t change the fact that we haven’t won yet,” Cottrell acknowledged. “But we’re doing some good things and we’re close. We’re going to get there.”

Cottrell is well aware of the numbers. Through two games, the Chargers have given up 65 points and are ranked 30th in the NFL in total defense. Head Coach Norv Turner is disappointed in the number of big plays his club has allowed, but like Cottrell, he sees very minor, correctable mistakes making a big difference.

“We have a lot of plays in that game where we have one guy just out of position or we’re a step away from getting a pressure and those things we can improve on,” Turner said.

Cottrell finds some solace in the fact that his club is so close on so many plays partially because he didn’t feel that way a year ago when the Bolts went 1-3 in the first month of the season.

“Last year, we had guys running wide open,” Cottrell said. “We’re not having that problem. We’ve just got to be closer in our coverage. Last year we turned a couple guys loose. We haven’t done that.”

Cottrell finds encouragement over the way his defense has played in the second half, although he’s a little frustrated with their execution in the first two quarters of games.

Against Denver, they allowed just 157 yards and eight points in the second half after giving up 329 yards and 31 points in the first two quarters. In the opener against Carolina, the Panthers racked up 281 yards in the opening half and just 107 in the second.

Cottrell can’t point to huge changes in scheme. Opponents have thrown a few new wrinkles at the Chargers, and in the second half they’ve responded well.

“It’s nothing magical,” Cottrell said. “We’ve done a couple things but we haven’t revamped our game plan at halftime. Once they see it, they go, “Hey, here’s what we’re supposed to be doing. The other team tries to do the same thing and we shut it down.”

Cottrell also hangs his hat on the effort his players have shown and the way they’ve responded to a little adversity early in year.

“The guys are playing hard,” Cottrell said. “There’s nothing wrong with their hustle or intensity, things like that. We’ve settled in pretty good in the second half. It’s just the execution of the calls.”

During their 11-5 campaign a year ago, the Chargers hung their hat on pressuring the opposing quarterback and forcing turnovers. In the first two games this season, they have just two takeaways and two sacks. Cottrell thinks both of those areas can be improved.

“Sacks will start coming,” Cottrell said. “We’re working hard. There were some times (at Denver) where guys were beating their guy but (Cutler) wasn’t holding the ball. It was coming out fast. We’ve got to tighten the coverage up, make him pat (the ball) and then we have a chance.

“We’re going to get there. We’ve got a good group of guys and they don’t like that they’re 0-2. We’ve had a good couple days of practice. We’re close.”

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