BOLT ANALYSIS - WEEK 17

So…37-0, 30-7, 33-7, 23-10. These are the scores of the games where playoff bound teams with nothing to really play for got beat by teams playing their starters. This time of year is a strange one for football…and a terrible time for Vegas oddsmakers…because you just have no idea who is going to lay down and who is going to play hard. Well, the ONLY team to rest all of its starters and still win was our BOYZ. Capping off this amazing season with their 11^th straight win to roll into the playoffs with about as much momentum as you can have. Yes, they have a bye…another week to rest and get guys ready….but I think the body language a win like this produces can only add to the momentum. Be proud BOLT FANS, this was a very nice way to end one of the more surprising seasons in memory.

What did Norv want out of this game? Let’s review:  1) He wanted a couple of decent series’ from his starters. Check. Phillip, Gates, and the offense put together two sustained drives that ended in scores for a 10-0 lead. 2) He wanted solid play from his starting defense. Check. The Redskins were held up the entire time the starters were in there. They left with a 13-0 lead. 3) He wanted no injuries. Check. Don’t think anyone got hurt. 4) He wanted to see tough and solid play from backups, to show the depth that is so important to win playoff games. Check. Although there were some hiccups (Cason looked ragged…rookie safety CJ Spillman missed some plays…Volek threw some rough passes) the bottom line is that the defense held the Redskins starters to 20 points and the offense produced 23 points. That is enough to win. The two bonus things Norv got (but really did not need) was a fantastic drive by the backups late for the winning TD and, simply, a win. I know the game did not matter, as evidenced by Norv mock yelling at Volek late in the game (funny moment), but don’t try and tell me that it does not mean something to the players to win a game like this. It does. And to have your backup quarterback lead a drive like that gives you high confidence.

To be fair, Washington is a bad team. They are in disarray. Their coach will be fired today. Their ridiculous owner Daniel Snyder will ruin this team again next year. They overpaid a bunch of older players and had a lot of injuries. They are bad. But, starters losing to 3^rd string players is a big deal. Look, Peyton Manning played the same amount as Rivers against Buffalo (not a good team) and they lost 30-7. The Saints looked terrible against Carolina. Cincy lost 37-0. AZ lost 33-7. We have depth guys, and that is important. We are going to get rest into some key guys like Merriman, V Jackson, and others. There are no excuses right now. We have a home game in two weeks and who cares who we play? We just need to worry about ourselves.

I must take a moment to talk about how strange this last weekend in the NFL was. SIX teams will play each other again in back to back weeks after lopsided losses. Has that ever happened? Cincy and the Jets, Green Bay and Arizona, and Dallas and Philly. The losers in each of those contests now need to turn it back on against the team that just crushed them. This will be very interesting indeed. In the AFC, the Jets and Bengals (who picked those two teams to make the playoffs?) will play in one wildcard game while the Patriots host the Ravens in the other. Obviously, the highest ranked winner will come to San Diego. No use in hoping for a certain team to play us. Must give a shout out to Paul here on the unfortunate injury to Wes Welker. A former Charger who we released for some unknown reason, Welker has really become the security blanket for the Pats. Leading the League in catches, his knee injury is a rough one for that team. Sorry about that Paul. But, look what his replacement did…Julian(?) Edelman had 10 catches for over 100 yards spelling for Welker. So, don’t feel too sorry for the Pats. I’m sure Evil Bill has something up his sleeve.

OK back to our guys. How about a game ball for Malcom Floyd..in the shadow of VJ all year..a breakout game for him. And a second game ball to Buster Davis…our former #1 draft choice who has just been outplayed by all of our other receivers. He has been on the inactive list all year. He looked good yesterday…nice catches and nice punt and kickoff returns…good for him. I could go on and on about the winning streak, the comebacks, the turnaround from a 2-3 start…but that would be repetitive. Let’s just say we have accomplished a lot thus far this year…it has been fun…but we are not done. It’s the playoffs baby, and we are in them. Lets knuckle down…have some good practices…get some guys healthy…and come out firing. Let the other teams beat each other up next week. Like we have said all year, just beat the team that lines up in front of you.

BONUS COVERAGE: In a perfect example of why you should never underestimate an opponent, the Oregon Ducks lose the Rose Bowl to Ohio State. Favored, picked by all the experts, and riding a wave of momentum, the Ducks came in hot. The Buckeyes did their homework however, playing a technically flawless game and exploiting the Ducks weaknesses (no passing game, undersized defense). It was a fun day at the BOWL, and the Ducks had lots of chances (down by 2 with 7 minutes left). But mistakes, penalties, and an inability to stop long 3^rd down conversions killed them. Let this be a lesson to the Chargers.