BOLT ANALYSIS - WEEK 5 (SPECIAL BYE EDITION)

As you all know, the BOLT ANALYSIS never sleeps. Week 5 presented a much needed break for the Chargers, one that hopefully will result in a renewed sense of purpose. The ANALYSIS will take this opportunity to opine on the current state of the Chargers, the state of the AFC West, and some notes on the NFL in general.

State of the Team

The ANALYSIS has long prided itself on not leaning too far toward the positive or too close to the negative. Given this, a 2-2 record at the Bye is not a terrible thing. In fact, in making preseason predictions, all of us had to look at Baltimore and Pittsburgh as two of the most difficult games on our schedule. Let’s briefly review the following comment that came out of the BOLT ANALYSIS-SEASON PRIMER AND PREDICTIONS:

“I think our problem areas will, once again, be pass rush and our offensive line. We are starting a rookie at Right Guard in Vasquez, and Jeromy Clary remains a weak link at Right Tackle. These guys will be tested and we need to be able to both run and pass block to let our "skill" players do their thing. Toughness at the line of scrimmage is my #1 concern."

Well, we all know what has happened since then. This “#1 concern” blew up…losing Jamal Williams and Nick Hardwick for the season. Losing newly acquired Trevor Johnson and Louis Vasquez for several games. This, of course, after the news that Ryan Binghom (starter) was lost for the season in practice. An already weak link for us just made weaker. Recovering from these injuries is part of the game, but it does take a toll on a team. Guys are playing in unfamiliar roles, guys are being put in situations before they are “ready”, etc. It is not an excuse…you need to play the guys you have…but it is a reality that the game gets much more difficult. We have guys playing on our line who were signed originally for the practice squad (Dombrowski), guys cut by Kansas City (Broome), and a guy who was working for Enterprise rent a car (Ngwebuo). Despite this, we could have easily been 3-0 after our first three. Some mistakes, some bad play calls, and we missed an opportunity to beat the Ravens. The wins against the Raiders and Dolphins were not pretty…but they were wins. Our best game was our loss at that point…and we had a right to feel OK.

Then comes a game where we could have made a statement. Stepping up on National TV against a good team with its own injury issues. We made a statement all right. We showed that we are not ready to play good teams. Getting dominated at the line of scrimmage. Period. Both sides of the ball. D line getting pushed back 5 yards on each play…pass rushers feeble…coverages confused. A big blow to confidence and the psyche of the team. Leading AJ Smith to call his team “bewildered and soft” at times. I could not have come up with two more descriptive words. That is exactly how they looked. Merriman fights back in the press…saying that is uncalled for. Well, we can only hope that it fires them up and puts some spark in their step. Confidence is a huge issue with this team. A win next Monday night is the only way they get it. Will we show up and start looking like a cohesive unit, or will the bewilderment continue?

I was tempted to do a quarterly position analysis now that we are through 25% of the season, but I would really need to give nearly the whole team an incomplete so far. We have not really seen LT, we have not really seen Merriman, we have a cobbled together D line and a patchwork O line. I prefer to wait until the halfway point to try and grade this team. I just don’t think they have shown enough yet.

State of the AFC West

While the Raiders and Chiefs have played to expectations…it is official, the Broncos are good. I was not a believer until this weekend. They had gone 4-0 with wins against Oakland and KC, a last second tipped pass win over Cincy, and an ugly win against a underperforming Dallas team. I really thought New England would beat them. Well, talk about confidence. This Denver team is playing with it in a big way. Next Monday is, I hate to say it so early, a must win game. Falling behind Denver by 3 ½ games without a tiebreaker would just be brutal. They are a team playing under control, they are well coached, they are playing to their strengths. They have a ball possession offense and a physical, quick defense. They are going to come into SD with a head of steam and we are going to need to beat them. Hard to believe we are looking up at these guys already, but that is the case. Odds makers have made the Chargers 3 ½ point favorites. They are on National TV again…this is big. This is a who-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up kind of game.

The NFL

Besides the crazy story that is the Broncos, we need to look at Manning, Manning, and Favre as the leaders of undefeated teams? Ouch. Adding insult to injury, these three teams look just great. Throw in Drew Brees and the Saints and you have quite a quartet of undefeated teams. It is a long season…and some of these guys will falter…but right now there sure looks like a large gulf between the haves and the have nots in the NFL. Which pile do we fall into? Tune in on 11-19.