The first preseason game is all about making a positive first impression. But the Bears Saturday night game versus the Chargers offers some intriguing storylines too. Consider the game will be the first time…

• Lovie Smith gets to see his shiny new defensive monster, Julius Peppers, harass an opposing QB. This one just so happens to be Jay Cutler’s old AFC West archrival, Phillip Rivers. Peppers has looked dominate at times in camp against the Bears tackles. But now it’s time to see how he fares (in limited action) against another team.
• Bears fans get to marvel in the formation shifts, 7-step drops and 3- and 4-wide receiver sets of offensive guru, Mike Martz. It will be interesting to see how in-sync Cutler and his talented young receiving corps are after offseason OTAs and two weeks of training camp.
• We see the reportedly rejuvenated Matt Forte run in an offense that could allow him to put up All-Pro numbers. He won’t get more than 8 carries on Saturday, but Bears fans should see a swifter, smoother #22.
• Defensive rookies Major Wright and Corey Wootten get the chance to stand out on tape…and potentially move up the depth chart. Don’t be surprised if these guys play a half or more.

And of course, we have to add in some drama in the form of…

Cuter vs. Rivers revisited. After battling head-to-head for three years and cussing each other out from across the sidelines during games, it’s obvious these guys can’t stand each other. I’ll be almost as interested in seeing whether they exchange pleasantries before or after the game as the game itself.

Lovie vs. Rivera. Ron Rivera, the popular defensive coordinator Lovie canned after the Bears went to the Super Bowl, will get to show off his 3-4 defense while the three guys who tried to replace him as Bears d-coordinator (Babich, Marinelli and Lovie) watch from the opposing sideline.

Players to watch:

Jaron Gilbert and Henry Melton. For the last year, we’ve heard coaches rave about their physical talent. But now it’s time to see if the young d-linemen can use those skills to disrupt an offense.

The revolving door that is the Bears starting safety combo. How long will 1^st team tandem Chris Harris-Danieal Manning play? Will Major Wright or the steady Craig Steltz start pushing Manning back to nickelback?

Greg Olsen. He’s been a favorite target of Cutler during camp, but when the lights go on and 70,000 fans pack the stadium, will Cutler still find comfort in his BFF?

Offensive line. This is a group that will be under the microscope all preseason. Their ability to protect Cutler and open up running lanes have been the biggest camp question mark so far. With Lovie facing a make-or-break year, it’ll be interesting to watch how patient he is with his new guy (RG Lance Louis) and old guys at new positions – Roberto Garza at LG and Frank Omiyale at right tackle.

Who’s injured?

According to the Chicago Tribune, Earl Bennett (hamstring), Kellen Davis (back), Kahlil Bell (hamstring), Hunter Hillenmeyer (ankle) and WR Greg Mathews (shoulder) nursed injuries late this week and may not play.

According to a recent post on Pro Football Talk, restricted free agent wide receiver Vincent Jackson has no reason to sit the entire 2010 NFL season. After playing hardball with the Chargers and general manager A.J. Smith for months, it seems irrational on Jackson’s part to not come back at least by Week 10 of the regular season in order to gain his year of credit towards free agency.

With Jackson suspended for the first three games of the season and unlikely to show up and sign his dramatically reduced restricted free agency tender before that, the question becomes whether he’ll sign at some point after the suspension ends and before Week 10, after which time he won’t be able to play at all in 2010.

If he doesn’t show up by Week 10, the Chargers will hold the same rights to him in 2011 that they held in 2010.  Jackson’s only path out of San Diego, short of a trade, lies in showing up by Week 10, earning a year of credit toward free agency, and then hoping to get out of town next year.  (Since he’s not under contract, Jackson can show up after August 10 and still earn a year of credit toward free agency.)

If he doesn’t come back by then, he will be in the exact same position that he was in at the start of this off-season, which doesn’t like the most logical move on his part. But then again, this entire situation doesn’t seem all that logical to begin with.

In an article by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Acee says that “Vincent Jackson is not part of the plan” and that he doesn’t see the Chargers “using the franchise [tag] on Jackson either”. He finishes off the rest of that with this simple line which we all have been thinking for months since this fiasco started. “This has gotten ugly.”

As this situation continues to look dimmer and dimmer for the Chargers and their hopes of bringing back Jackson, only time will tell if A.J. Smith really is bent on keeping Jackson away or if his thick skull will finally crack and he brings back a vital part of the Chargers offense.

As of right now, Jackson stands alone. The next move or lack their of is his to decide.

According to NFL Insider Adam Caplan’s twitter page, the Chargers received a roster exemption for Brandon Lang, an undrafted free agent linebacker, who decided to leave the team today.

Reasons as to why Lang left the team are unclear, but I’m sure there was some good reason as to why he decided to give up his short at making an NFL roster. He appeared to be on the path to making the roster, and lots of Chargers faithful were excited about what he had shown so far. An update will come when more information is available.

This past Monday, the Chargers’ front office was again busy at work, letting go of another four players.

It was officially announced that Ian Scott, Cory Jackson and Jordyn Jackson have all been released from the team.

Ian Scott, who was expected to battle for a starting position on the defensive line, started seven games and played in twelve, ending the season with sixteen tackles and a sack.

Cory Jackson, a fullback out of Maryland, was unable to secure a spot as a backup to a talented fullback group including Jacob Hester and Mike Tolbert.

Jordyn Jackson, a wide receiver out of Eastern Oregon, was in a battle for the backup receiver spots in response to Vincent Jackson’s holdout. However, he was unable to prove his worth to the Chargers’ coaches.

The biggest surprise was the release of Kevin Ellison, the Chargers’ starting safety at the end of the 2009 season. This release comes in light of Ellison’s recent arrest after a police officer discovered 100 pills of Vicodin in his car.

After he was asked to stay away from minicamp, he wasn’t surprised that the team decided to let him go.

“It’s been an interesting couple of weeks… The Chargers felt they needed to move in a different direction, and now I have to move in a different direction. I’ll just let things take their course,” said Ellison after his release.

A day after his release, Ellison’s former college coach Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks claimed him off of waivers. The Seahawks are hoping that this former USC Trojan and sixth-round pick can help out Carroll and his rebuilding process.

Yesterday, one of the Charger’s top draft picks finally showed up to the ninth day of the team’s OTAs… However, it wasn’t because of contract issues or anything involving money, but instead because of graduation.

Third-round draft pick, linebacker Donald Butler, finally was able to practice on Monday after officially graduating from University of Washington, which held its spring graduation on Saturday. Rookies are not allowed to practice in OTAs before they graduate from their respective colleges.

“My guys have been down here working hard and it’s been killing me that I haven’t been able to work with them,” said Butler after his first practice since rookie orientation. “Really, it just feels good to finally be out here.”

Despite being unable to participate in practices and OTAs, Butler has been studying film as well as playbooks with the help of linebackers coach John Pagano in an attempt to keep pace with his teammates.

“I think it went well. The biggest thing is, you’ve got  to open your eyes and ears more at this level, because if you don’t hear something, you’re going to be a step behind and then you’re out of the play,” said Butler.

Even with his late arrival to OTAs, Head Coach Norv Turner expects great things this year from his third-round draft pick, including a strong contribution on special teams as well as a push for playing time at one of the inside linebacker spots.

As the deadline for wide receiver Vincent Jackson to sign his restricted free agent tender creeps closer, the Chargers are preparing for a future without his services.

This past Friday they made their latest move during this preparation process when they signed ex-Bill Josh Reed to a one-year contract. Already having eight years of NFL experience under his belt, Reed has been able to prove himself to be a seasoned veteran, with over 300 receptions as well as ten touchdowns throughout his career thus far.

Despite the amount of productivity that they would lose in Jackson, there are plenty of worthy replacements that bolster this Charger receiver corps. Number two receiver, Malcom Floyd, who recently signed his restricted free agent tender, has done an outstanding job for the Chargers in his six years with the team. Throughout his Charger career, he has nabbed 97 catches for 1,597 yards and nine touchdowns.

In his three years with the team, Legedu Naanee has proven that he can be a valuable backup and has shown glimpses of excellence when given the chance. Having only started one game last season, he was still able to haul in 24 balls for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

To go along with this veteran presence, the Chargers have a stable of young receiver talent that has yet to be unleashed on the playing field.

Gary Banks, who spent last year on the practice squad, has gotten plenty of reps in light of Jackson’s absence and is hoping that his time in the coaches’ eyes has earned him a chance at seeing the field when September rolls around.

Craig and Buster Davis both have a couple years of NFL experience under their belts, and are hoping to capitalize on this opportunity to push for playing time.

Seyi Ajirotutu has proven himself a worthy candidate for playing time this offseason after being signed as an undrafted rookie free agent.

Among all of these players, there are still another five undrafted rookies who are looking to earn a spot on the roster and hopefully work their way into the game day rotation when the regular season gets under way. These five players include Richard Goodman, Earnest Smith, Jordyn Jackson, Bryan Walters, and Jeremy Williams, in no particular order.

Although Jackson’s play-making abilities appear to be irreplaceable, the Chargers have a plethora of talent from which they can delve into if need be. With a quarterback as talented as Philip Rivers, an excellent tight end in Antonio Gates, and two talented running backs in rookie Ryan Mathews and veteran Darren Sproles, the Chargers’ offense should have no problem finding ways to move the ball down the field, with or without Jackson.

Even in the case of a Jackson-less San Diego, the Chargers’ offense obviously still overflows with talent. This will allow veteran players to prove their worth and rookie players a chance to prove they can handle the pressure of the big stage.

In the past three days, the Chargers have waived three more undrafted rookies, according to a league source.

Linebacker Boris Lee’s, offensive tackle Justin Jeffries’ and wide receiver Marcel Thompson’s NFL dreams have all been temporarily dashed as they failed to make the cut for the Chargers.

Lee, who played at Troy University and teammate of Charger rookie linebacker Brandon Lang, finished his college career with 283 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and five interceptions.

Jeffries was a starter for three years as a Kentucky Wildcat. He seems to have been given the boot to make roster room for recently-signed veteran offensive tackle Tra Thomas.

Thompson, a small-college player out of Lindenwood University, finished his college career with the 83 receptions, 1,342 yards, and 12 touchdowns.

All of these players were unable to earn themselves a roster spot with the Chargers, but hopefully can continue to pursue their hopes of playing in the NFL with a different organization.