According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, those close to Chargers left guard Kris Dielman and team sources indicate that he is leaning toward playing in 2012 after a scary concussion and seizure prompted him to consider retirement,

Dielman as you may recall, suffered a concussion when he collided with New York Jets linebacker Calvin Pace in October. Immediately following the play, Dielman wobbled and appeared disoriented but remained in the game. On the team’s cross-country flight home to San Diego, Dielman suffered a seizure near the end of the flight and was hospitalized.

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The Chargers have hired Joe Barry as linebackers coach.

Barry spent the last two seasons as linebackers coach at Southern California. Before that, he spent nine seasons as an NFL assistant coach, including seven as a linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and two as the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. Barry coached for the Buccaneers’ 2002 Super Bowl championship team that led the league in total defense and scoring defense.

He replaces John Pagano, who was promoted to defensive coordinator.

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Wide out Vincent Jackson remains in a waiting mode as far as getting some type of answer about his future with the Bolts.

“There hasn’t been any communication as far as contracts go,” Jackson said after Wednesday’s Pro Bowl practice. “If that’s their feeling, that’s great. I would like to stay in San Diego. Obviously, that’s my home, that’s where I was drafted. I’ve got some good guys around me -– Philip Rivers (Antonio) Gates, Ryan Mathews. It would be a great place for me to stay, so we’ll see if that works out.”

Jackson, who earned $11.4 million this past season as the team’s franchise player, said he’d prefer to avoid the tag again.

“That’s something that’s out of my control,” he said. “I can’t concern myself with how that goes. I’d love to have a long-term deal, just to have security of where you’re going to be for a while. That’s a decision that they have to make.”

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The Chargers are paying careful attention to pass rushers at the Senior Bowl.

The Chargers’ decision makers have not shied away from talking about the need to bring in more “impact players” on defense. And when they use that term, their mind’s eye sees a pass rusher to help out opposite Shaun Phillips.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports Chargers general manager A.J. Smith was excited to get a look at pass rushers like Melvin Ingram of South Carolina and Courtney Upshaw of Alabama.

“I’m focused on pass rush every year,” Smith said. “Are we looking for that now? Yeah.”

The elite pass rusher is not considered as abundant in this year’s draft as in 2011.

“That class was unbelievable,” a longtime NFC defensive coordinator said Tuesday. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

What the Chargers do in the draft could depend on what they do in free agency, which Smith appraised Tuesday as a “huge, talented crop.”

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The Chargers have hired Ron Meeks to coach the team’s secondary.

Meeks spent 2011 as the Panthers defensive backs coach after being that team’s defensive coordinator the previous two seasons. The Panthers replaced Meeks with Steve Wilks, who had been the Chargers defensive backs coach.

The 57-year-old Meeks spent seven seasons (2002-08) as the Indianapolis Colts after shorter stints with the St. Louis Rams, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys.

Meeks and head coach Norv Turner were on the same coaching staff with the Cowboys and Meeks coached under Turner with the Redskins in 2000

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A couple of Chargers are heading to Hawaii, as wide receiver Vincent Jackson and running back Ryan Mathews have been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster.

After missing most of 2010 due to a contract stalemate and nagging injuries, Jackson caught 60 passes for 1,106 yards and nine touchdowns in 2011. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Jackson now has 272 receptions for 4,754 yards and 37 touchdowns in his seven-year career and will be an unrestricted free agent in the off-season.

Mathews, the Chargers’ first-round pick in 2010, was fifth in the AFC with 1,091 rushing yards this season. Mathews added 50 receptions for 455 yards and had six rushing touchdowns.

This will be the second Pro Bowl appearance for Jackson and first for Mathews.

Jackson likely replaces Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who will not participate as he will be playing in Super Bowl XLVI. Mathews will be an injury replacement.

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QB Philip Rivers, Ravens center Matt Birk and Chicago cornerback Charles Tillman are finalists for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. The award will be presented February. 4th in Indianapolis, when The Associated Press announces the winners of its annual NFL honors, including Most Valuable Player.

The only league award that recognizes a player’s community service as well as his playing excellence, the Walter Payton winner will have a $20,000 donation made in his name to his favorite charity. Rivers, Birk and Tillman were chosen from among the 32 team nominees, all of whom receive a $1,000 donation to the charity of their choice. The three finalists will receive an additional $5,000 donation in their name.

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Family parties around the NFL have always been a staple in my family. My first memory from a family party was Super Bowl XVII on January 30th 1983.

While that was fun, finally in 2006 it was my turn to host my first Super Bowl party, a bash complete with food, games, and the two best teams that season in the league.

The menu was pretty basic, yet effective. Pizza, wings, pasta, red potatoes, a veggie and cheese tray, and even fruit salad. The party kicked off with some squares, a football tradition, and even some football bingo with some small prizes for those lucky enough to take home a game. Finally at 6:25pm, it was kickoff of Super Bowl XL.

While I have gone back and watched the game probably about 3-5 times, the real memories of that party is not the game, but the fact that it was all about the people that attended.

We had a number of people rooting for both teams, so the game vibe was pretty solid, which was a cool element to the party. Add to the fact the game was close, there was a lot of rooting during the contest.

There was a healthy mix of people that included relatives and friends. The conversation during the game centered not just on football, but on the holidays that had passed just a few weeks before, new jobs, new relationships, and even about other sports like baseball and basketball.

That’s the best part about football parties. It’s the games, the food, and most important, the people that make the game great, like the family and friends you spend it with.

Chargers fans had their chances for a party back in 1994 when the team made the Super Bowl against the 49ers. If you remember the parties in San Diego that week, they were some of the best I will ever remember! Let’s hope they can get back to the dance in the next few seasons!

February 6th is another chance to create memories at yet another Super Bowl party, and now there’s a perfect way to figure out just who to invite!

Visa has come out with the Visa’s YOU+TEN Draft app, and it’s a perfect way to have some fun figuring out who to invite over for the big game on the first Sunday in February, or if your actually lucky enough to win the sweepstakes – WHO to take to the game!

Super Bowl XLVI – another chance to create that connection with family and friends once again. Don’t miss out on it.

Disclosure: We received compensation from Visa for sharing our views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely ours, not Visa or the NFL’s. For more information about Visa’s YOU+TEN Draft App, please visit:
www.facebook.com/VisaNFL?sk=app_259824094080710

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