BOLT ANALYSIS - WEEK 3

"Managing the game". This is a phrase much beloved by the last two Charger coaches. Yesterday's often frustrating affair was a classic example of Norv managing the game. To a win…lets be fair….but a frustrating one at times. The Dolphins came in with a one-dimensional attack. Possession offense…little bit of Wildcat…short passing…efficient, ball moving stuff. They don't have a deep threat and they have problems scoring. Ronnie Brown and the Wildcat just broke us up last year so we figured to get a heavy dose of it this year. Sure enough, that first drive was nuts. 94 yards…17 plays or something…more than 9 minutes. Every play worked. Our defense, practicing all week against the Wildcat..acted like they had never seen anything like it before. What a crazy lucky break when Brown fumbled it and they could not recover it until it was out of the endzone. With that ugly start, the first half proceeded as an exercise in futility. Both teams squandering opportunities to score touchdowns. Nate missing a 41 yard FG at the half was an appropriate end to a rough half of football. 3-3. Norvspeak for "lets manage this game to death".

The second half started better…defensive stops…and a couple of gorgeous deep passes from Rivers to Jackson and Floyd. Those guys are just killer on the downfield toss. The pass to Jackson was about as perfect a pass as you could see. Dropped over his shoulder softly from 40+ yards…awesome. And Floyd is our not so secret weapon. Throw in some nice catches by Naanee..and a little razzle dazzle to Gates from Phillip and Sproles...and we have some serious pass catchers out there. Knock on wood…but these guys simply do not drop the ball. You better defend them..because if the ball is anywhere near them it is a catch. Despite these downfield heroics, Norv kept trying to establish the running game. Now, I get it…you need to use the clock…you need to keep the other team honest…you need to have balance. OK, fine. But sending a 5'6" guy up the middle on straightforward running plays over and over again just does not make sense. I love Sproles…he is all heart and grit. But put him in situations where he can excel…not running into a line over and over again. Very strange. Bennett ran well when he was in….maybe use him for that type of play calling? I don't know. But, with LT content to sit on the bench and say "we are fine without me…I am not coming back until I am 100%"…look forward to a lot more Sproles running next week. Maybe I should not be so critical of LT…but his complete lack of urgency to get back on the field really bothers me. I think there is very little chance he plays next week…content to wait until after the bye and not be there for his team playing the Steelers on the big stage next week. I know he (and the team) is saying that he played hurt all last year…but, really, who in the NFL is 100% after a few weeks. Nobody. Everyone is banged up a little bit.

OK…back to game management. Once Pennington went down with the injury…the Dolphins became even more one-dimensional and Norv was just licking his chops. Those great long downfield gains turning into vanilla running plays and missed opportunities in the red zone again. But, field goals were being scored…and the Dolphins could not move the ball. So it was all good. When Weddle picked off Henne for the TD…it was over… management at its finest.

Bottom line…we won the game. Our defense, despite the injuries (and add an absent Shawne Merriman to this list!) played great. Good tackling after that first drive and, without a downfield threat the DBs were never even tested. The offense showed big play appeal again…but the red zone troubles are just that…troubling. SIX trips inside the red zone…1 touchdown (on a run by our star Running Back Phillip Rivers no less), 3 field goals, one missed field goal, and a turnover on downs at the end of the game. Add this to the 5 trips with ZERO touchdowns in the last game and you have some pretty meager stats. But, after the game Rivers said all the right things about "needing to get better" and "needing to execute". Yep. Sure 'nuff. Despite these worrying trends, I really like the fact that we are playing tougher with all the injuries and that some of the young untested guys look strong. That will serve us well. If we can get LT and Merriman back…and the many others banged up healthy…this period will help us later. Each game takes on a life of its own, and they are not all going to be pretty.

Next up is a Sunday night Showdown against the 1-2 Super Bowl Champs. Much will be made of our 0-13 record in Pittsburgh in the regular season (or whatever it is). The fact of the matter is we have a chance to stick a knife in the Steelers. They are not playing well…are coming off a rough last second loss. We have a chance to turn the screws a bit. And you know that right now…somewhere in the film room….Norv is saying to his assistants…"we just need to Manage the Game".

BOLT ANALYSIS - WEEK 2

I have never been considered an optimist. At least not to my face. After week 1, when it was clear that the Chargers would be short four key starters on the offensive and defensive lines as well as LT, this game against the Ravens began to look like a bit of a write-off loss. When the news broke the day before the game that one of these injuries, Jamal Williams, was going to be for the season….it really looked bleak. Jamal has been our most consistent defensive performer for years….a constant presence up the middle and a controlling force for our line. Arguably our most important defensive player. With two thirds of our starters on the d-line gone for the season (Ryon Bingham the other) and our new replacement hurt (Travis Johnson) I had visions of the Ravens just crushing us up and down the field. Couple this with two guys named Murcowski and Dombrowski filling in on the line and I had visions of the Ravens defense just stifling us all game long.

Well, it took only a couple of minutes…as long as it took Sproles to go 81 yards on a pass play…to realize that the Chargers were not going to roll over. Drive after drive…all day long really…they could not stop our offense. So many big plays….Jackson, Gates, Sproles, and of course Rivers. When Phillip goes into gunslinger mode…I am just not sure there are too many better quarterbacks in the league. This is the vaunted Ravens defense….and we hung 474 yards on them? 430 in the air? So…that is why there is a bit of optimism to this ANALYSIS, if we can move the ball like that against a good team with all the injuries, I have to believe we will be able to move the ball and score points against anyone. We will be exciting on offense…no matter who we play.

And the defense…rolled, outfoxed, and outplayed early for three scores…regrouped. They made adjustments, the kids on the defensive line got better, they started tackling and, if it were not for the turnovers that led to 10 points, they would have shut them out in the second half.

Now, I said a "bit" of optimism. We left so many points on the field in this game we could have beat the Ravens twice if we had cashed in. To wit:

• FOUR field goals inside 30 yards (22, 23, 25, 29). Good for Nate…but I do not want to see that guy lining up for a field goal less than 30 yards, much less four of them.


• Two inexcusable delay of game penalties inside of the 10 yard line. One of them on the 1 FOOT line that took away an easy touchdown. That is on Rivers and the coaches. Period. Cannot do it.


• Two ill advised interceptions in our territory…one of them a Ryan Leaf moment by Rivers where you just sit there and say, "huh?" Led to 10 crucial second half points.


• A bonehead play by Naanee where, with less than a minute left he danced and pranced around with the ball instead of just diving forward for a sure 1st down and a fresh clock.


• 11 Penalties for 80 yards. Yikes. Just a killer

Which brings us to coaching. I stuck by Shottenheimer and, to date I have stuck by Norv. I always say (perhaps over simplified) that players make plays. Every coaching call is genius if it works. Well, this was a game that gives the Norv haters a ton of fuel. Wow. At the end of the first half, 10 seconds to go, ball on the 6 or 7 yard line. Third down. Norv calls for the field goal team? Lets review…THIRD DOWN…you are at home in front of a friendly crowd. You just had first and goal from the 1 foot line and screwed it up. You have a $92 million QB who is hot. Doesn't any coach in the world say "Try to hit your guy, if you don’t see an opening just throw it 30 yards into the stands?". Now, I know the fear was taking a sack and not scoring any points. But, even if someone comes flying in, Rivers should be able to huck it to El Cajon. Just terrible. You need to play to win. And, the call everyone will talk about…4th and 2 hand off with 30 seconds left. What the F? The worse call may have been on a rushed 3rd and 2 after the Naanee mistake where an uninspired and pathetic attempt at a screen pass was thrown to the dirt. I'm sorry…you have not run the ball all day…Rivers has thrown for 430 yards. They have not shown that they can cover Jackson or Gates or Sproles in the flat. And you run the ball? Right into criminal Ray Lewis' arms. Game over. Nice work Norv. Way to end the game with the ball.

So, 5 trips inside the 10….and 12 points. I am not saying they should have scored 35 points in those trips. But only ONE touchdown on ANY of those drives puts them in a spot where a chip shot field goal wins the game at the end.

So….in summary. Certainly cause for optimism. Backups played well. We outperformed a good team. We adjusted and got better. And we never gave up. All good traits.

But mistakes, penalties and bad coaching decisions killed us. Can we learn and move forward. I hope so. Lets say I'm optimistic.

BOLT ANALYSIS - WEEK 1

Uh…..that was not what I expected. At halftime, we called Direct TV to see if we could declare a mandatory nationwide blackout. Thankfully, only 6 people west of the Rocky Mountains actually saw the game as the final play occurred after 1:00 AM in the East.

What a dog of a game. I know this team has been plagued by slow starts..but this was beyond that. For three quarters, each one of our players lost every man to man battle on the field. Offensive Line…Defensive Line…receivers…blocking backs. Everyone. Not sure if we underestimated the Raiders…or just were not ready to play. Although both of these options are terrible….they are better than the one that keeps creeping into my mind…"we are just not that good". I hope that is not true…I hope our defense is not really that soft…but all I can say is that if we are playing a team with any semblance of a quarterback, that game is over by the 3rd quarter.

Lets talk about that. Jamarcus Russel is a bust. Despite the announcers trying to prop the 3rd year "kid" up all game, he is just not a good player. He reminds me so much of other number 1 picks like Ryan Leaf, Alex Smith, Akili Smith, or Tim Couch. The pro game just did not slow down enough for them. He has a cannon for an arm, but he just has no touch. Lets face it…we put no pressure on this guy all game long, he had two rookie receivers starting and a second year running back. He just could not complete passes. Missing on 4 or 5 wide open receivers, not helped by 2 or 3 easy drops, and blown out by a dropped TD pass and a bone crushing hit that jarred another ball loose. He is bad. Period. Yet somehow, on 4th and 15 the self proclaimed all world corner Cromartie and soon to be bench material Clinton Hart watch as a rookie receiver runs by both of them to catch a 57 yard TD. 4th and 15 and you think "the other guy will cover him". Who else is back there? Why is the title of your position "safety"? So nobody goes behind you. Beyond inexcusable. That is job-loss type of stuff. Or it should be.

Perhaps the biggest negative of all is that two offensive linemen go down in this game. Have not yet seen the reports, but I have to believe it is bad news. Any time you see the cart…you are probably done. Bet the Chargers are feeling great right now about releasing veteran guards Mike Goff and Kynan Forney and going with rookies. Now our starters are the central defenders of the Polish National Soccer team: Dombrowski and Murckowski. Uh oh. This is bad, guys and gals. Losing Nick Hardwick and our promising rookie Vasquez in game 1 could be a disaster. Hate to resort to drama so early…but this is not good.

OK…so what are the positives? First and foremost, we won the game. That is big. You only play 16 of them and this was a road game. Rivers looked every bit the leader with two great 4th quarter drives after a tough first 3 quarters. Sproles looked great as usual despite three fumbles on kick offs…he almost took 2 to the house. Legedu and Jackson and Gates looked good. LT had flashes but, I am afraid this is just not the same guy. He does not run with any sort of spark anymore. They are saying he "turned his ankle" but how telling is it that he did not set foot on the field on their winning drive? The patchwork line held up and the Raiders just kept giving us the underneath passes. Still, a 90 yard drive inside of 2 minutes is huge no matter who you are playing. The only positive I can say about the defense is that they figured out the running game in the second half. That is it. They looked bad all game. No pressure whatsoever…Merriman's return was a joke…Castillo was nowhere. Again, a halfway decent QB just kills them.

Well, where do we go from here? Our next three games are against playoff teams, including the Super Bowl winner. Baltimore, Miami, and Pitt. At least the first two are at home. We can cross our fingers and hope that this was just a slow start and that we did not expect the Raiders to be so tough. Again, inexcusable in the NFL if that is true but at least it means we have room to improve. Cross your fingers and hope that Hardwick and Vasquez are salvageable. And…lets delete this game from the memory bank and hope that we are better than that. 1-0 baby, that is all that matters in the end.

BOLT ANALYSIS - PRESEASON PRIMER

Hey all. The Bolt Analysis is back with its annual preseason primer. The giddy optimism that has surrounded the last couple of offseasons has been tempered somewhat by the bizzare 8-8 season we all lived through. However, perhaps this preseason primer finds the Bolts at their strongest position since the dark period ended around 2004. Let's review: the amazing 14-2 season of 2006 ended with a bonecrushing loss to the Patriots in a game filled with mistakes and missed opportunities. That offseason had a feeling like "Just wait 'till the season starts...we will pick up where we left off". Unfortunately, all of our coaches left...Marty got fired...and the Norv era began. The 2007 season ended with the Boyz toughing out some huge wins on the way to a cold weather loss at the Patriots with Phillip on one leg...no LT..and hardly any Gates. That offseason was a high point...the feeling was "If we can come that close to the BOWL with half our players...just wait till next year". Well, 2008 was brutal and taught all of us some lessons: 1)Overconfidence is lame, 2) Merriman is important 3) Luck is required (read: Hochuli). Even though the season hit a high point in December with some nice wins and a great playoff game, the loss to the Steelers exposed all of this team's shortcomings.

So, why is this offseason maybe our best chance? First, no coaching weirdness...we have continuity for the first time in 3 years with Norv and Ron Rivera. Second, health. Everyone is saying this is the most healthy the team has been in years. Merriman, LT, Gates, McNeil, Cromartie, Hart, all back and saying they are 100%. That is hugely important. But, maybe most important is the fact that this team should not be in any way overconfident. Last year's team seemed genuinely surprised that other teams played them hard and beat them up. This year's team should not be that stupid. They have a tough schedule and are seasoned now. No excuses.

So, we await the four mostly meaningless preseason games. The best thing that could happen is that nobody gets hurt and a couple of rookies and young players get some good experience. Who cares if we win or lose these games? Just stay healthy....let the media gush about Tom Brady and his bionic leg and how he is in "midseason" form and he is the second coming. Let them gush about the Steelers and how they are "even better than last year". Just go about your business boyz..and get ready for September 14.

The Analysis will see you all again on the eve of the the NFL kickoff...as the Sports world returns to relevance.