BOLT ANALYSIS -WEEK 13

Down to the Final Four ya’ll. Four games left in this season of contradictions and craziness. I hope…I really hope…that this Charger team is good enough to actually win a game geared down like they were yesterday and come back strong against the good teams they will be facing. If this team is good enough to “just do enough to win”…then I am a very happy fan. It could not have gone better for Norv’s crew yesterday for three quarters. Playing without Merriman, Castillo, and Weddle on defense relegated our team to that ever-popular “bend but don’t break” style of play. The first three series’ by the Browns were ridiculous…that team moved the ball effortlessly. Touchdown on the first drive after 6 minute drive…Field Goal on drive two after a lucky stop and a dropped pass…and then AFTER A 9 MINUTE crusher of a drive…Brady Quinn holds the ball too long and fumbles to the Chargers. That sums up the season for those guys. A 66 yard TD pass from Phillip to bowling ball fullback Tolbert and we had the lead, despite being completely rolled by the Browns for three drives. A halftime score of 13-7 was lucky.

OK. OK. So the third quarter was complete domination. The Chargers took over and asserted their dominance on both sides of the ball. Ending the quarter 27-7 was nice. And Norv could not stop grinning on the sideline. His players were safe…the lead was safe…all was good in the world. Until the end of the game that is. Look, I know we had a huge lead but giving up 16 points in the last quarter, big conversions, and an onside kick to this team is troubling. For the Browns to be down by one score at the end of the game is awful…and if they had made that 2 point conversion (and got the ball back as they did). They would have had the ball with a chance to tie. This has happened to us before (read: both Raider games) and we won…but I don’t like the message it sends. Again…we got the “W” and we have an awesome 7 game winning streak going, but you just wish we had that dagger in the heart..that silver bullet to bury these teams. Am I asking for too much or being unrealistic?

Let’s talk about our offense. Rivers to Gates. What the hell? How good are these guys together? If Norv had not been so desperate to get LT over Jim Brown’s record in this game…and let Phillip keep throwing…who knows what the score would have been or how many catches Gates would have had. Let me say this…when Gates is healthy he just cannot be covered. Period. One guy…two guys…he just cannot be covered. An amazing game by him. The passing game was flawless…great protection, great schemes, varied play calls. We had short and long passes, screens, even a halfback throw from Naanee. A great game plan by Norv. Phillip has 373 yards, no interceptions. Like a well oiled machine right now. Despite LT passing Jim Brown (nice moment with his salute by the way) the running game was pretty poor all day long. Keep in mind…this is the worst team in the league. They have had so many injuries on defense they are playing a bunch or practice squad guys. LT seemed to be at half-speed all day, just going through the motions. Again, our line seems to have really gelled at pass protection, but run blocking does not seem to be improving. I am no expert…is it LT or the line? Or both? Who knows, but this running game needs to complement our incredible passing game if we are to succeed.

The defense…well, not so hot. Playing without the three starters and holding a big lead into the 4^th quarter makes it tough to criticize. So I won’t. Brady Quinn had no pressure all day…although that was really by design (remember to bend guys, but don’t break). We had two sacks but they were the result of guys being blocked way upfield and then coming back to Quinn who held the ball for too long.

Let me just say that I hope we can really turn it on and off because we have some big ones coming up. Dallas….Cincy….Tennessee…and Washington. That is our final 4. With massive losses by New England and Pittsburgh yesterday, we have a chance to lock in on a #2 seed and a first round by. We control that..although I hope our guys are not counting playoff seedings yet. Over-confidence is something that has grabbed this team before. If we cannot turn it back on after our geared-down win, we have some tough matchups coming and Denver lurks in the rearview mirror. What kind of team are we? A seven game winning streak is great in the NFL…even if it has included wins against Kansas City twice, the Raiders, and the Browns. You gotta beat who you line up against right? We are 9-3…none of us would have said that was possible after being 2-3 a few months ago. Keep it going boys. Gear it back up again.

BONUS COVERAGE: The OREGON DUCKS heading to the Rose Bowl with one of the most incredible turnarounds in recent memory. Losing their opening game on National TV to Boise State (plus the infamous punch by LaGarrette Blount). Losing their top three senior performers for most or all of the season…they still win the Pac 10, and will go to the Rose Bowl favored. Crazy.