BOLT ANALYSIS - WEEK 8

It was a game only a Norv could love. Despite winning their second in a row…and 13^th in a row against the hapless Raiders…the ANALYSIS is puzzled by this latest game. If someone handed me the box score after the game, here is what I would see:

• Only 180 yards given up by our defense? Awesome!
• 5 sacks, including two by Merriman. Wow!
• V Jackson…over 100 yards receiving. Great!
• 100 yards rushing and LT with 2 rushing touchdowns. Finally!

So, why I am left feeling a little less than impressed? The ANALYSIS must remind itself of recent postings (FOOTNOTE: See “ANALYSIS WEEK 3 “Managing the Game”, and see WEEK 7 “Take one game at a time”).

OK, now that we have reviewed the issues, let’s focus on the positives. A win equals positive feelings in the locker room, a winning record and a Denver loss means the AFC is not completely lost, a second straight solid defensive performance has to lead to enhanced confidence. The Chargers appear right now to be a bit like Viagra. Kind of embarrassing to take..but, you have to admit it works (at least that is what I’ve heard).

Starting the game with an interception by a vastly improved Cromartie, a bomb to Floyd, and a Wildcat TD with LT was just awesome. I thought..maybe Norv is taking off the gloves. Two additional wonderful TD drives (with Red Zone touchdowns) made it seem that this would be a laugher. But, as per usual, the Chargers played down to the competition. An interception by Rivers, a fumble by Sproles on a punt, an allowed punt return of 60 yards. The Bolts allowed the Raiders 4 scores on a total of 106 yards of drives. Can’t do that guys. There is no way the Raiders should have had the ball at the end of the game down only one score. Unacceptable. Norv kept calling those running plays…eating the clock….and grinding it down. I must say that the 15 play, 8 minute 4^th quarter drive was an absolute work of art. Perfect. First and goal at the 3 though…and only a field goal? We just cannot do that. A false start, a missed pass, etc. etc. That game should have been iced.

The same two bugaboos surfaced again. First bugaboo, a patchwork Offensive line that is getting manhandled. We still keep going up the middle despite the fact that our O line starts every play getting pushed back 3 yards into the backfield. Once you take away the middle of the field from us (and the unbelievably good Vincent Jackson), the plays shorten, the options narrow, and our O line weakness is exposed. The second bugaboo, is that despite 5 sacks, Jamarcus Russell was standing around on most of passing plays waiting for someone to come open. Three or 4 of those sacks were coverage sacks when he started to move out of the pocket and got caught. It is just the fact that the Raiders are so darn bad that they did not cash in on some of those plays.

Bottom line..a win. And some good things. We know what we need to work on. We now head into a crucial stretch, ya’ll. Away to the NY Giants and Jughead Manning, Home to Philly, and Away to Denver. A season defining stretch perhaps. We have 4 wins and three of are against suspect folks: Raiders(2), Chiefs. The one that was decent was against Miami, who still has a losing record. The Giants have 5 wins and 4 of those don’t really count: Raiders, Chiefs, Tampa, Washington. Their only decent win was against Dallas. So, who is the real team? The Giants have lost 3 in a row. Can we make it 4? Let’s start defining this team. The window of opportunity is there.

BONUS COVERAGE: How ‘bout my OREGON DUCKS putting the beatdown on USC. Just awesome. 35 first downs! What? A 5’9”, 160 pound freshman running for almost 200 yards on SC? Cool. Go Ducks!