There is so much wrong with the way the Chargers lost yesterday that the ANALYSIS considered simply sending out it’s WEEK 3 post with one word: “disgusting”. But, that is not what this column is about and we must soldier on…through another erratic and infuriating September. What is it about this team? Playing at a very high level in some areas….unbelievably poorly in others. Why is it that it takes this team until late in every 4th quarter to warm up? Why is it that this team cannot start putting plays together until it is behind? And, once we have finally turned the corner and are on the verge of putting it all together…our best players make the most boneheaded plays imaginable. There are no answers to these questions, folks, we just need to move on to the next one.
The scheduling gods were kind to the Chargers this year. Even though 4 of our first 6 games are on the road….the first 6 are all against teams we will be favored against. In the NFL, that is a big deal. We have played three inferior teams to date and we are now 1-2…a big time botch-job. This should be the time of the season we are ticking off wins. Losing to the Chiefs in game one was tough…this one was just nuts. The Seahawks are in serious rebuilding mode. They are starting the fearsome Justin Forsett….Golden Tate….and , yeah you get the picture. Nobody. Yet the first half of the game yesterday ended with a score of 10-0. Zero points, three turnovers. And, really, it should have been 28-0. The Seahawks had a guy fumble out of the back of the endzone and they screwed up on a first and goal at the ten and let time run out on them. We were lucky to be in the game. What is going on here? Three fumbles and no pass protection for starters.
And then the second half began with a bang. The kickoff..and suddenly it was 17-0. The Special Teams so non-existent on the runback you were left wondering if they were practicing during a TV timeout. CJ Spillman’s wide open whiff of Leon Washington so comical it looked like he was pretending to slide into home instead of make a tackle. That woke up Rivers…and the rest of the team. From that point, the second half was utter and complete domination by the Boyz. The Hawks had 26 yards in the second half on offense…and 200 yards in TD kickoff returns. Incredible. Rivers and company moved the ball at will the entire second half, we got a safety, we played lockdown defense. All the pieces were there for a great comeback. And we did come back…despite the omnipresent penalties and mistakes, Phillip threw 2 TD passes to get one to count and threw 2 conversions to get one to count. Total drama. Bottom line through is that we had 100% momentum and a 20-20 tie. The Hawks were gassed…our defense was dominant.
Until we kicked off again. The second kickoff return for a TD was beyond bad. Yet still…we had two amazing drives to tie the game again. Cruising to first and goal at the 10 TWICE…and ending up with two 4th and longs after bad mistakes. Remember the Chiefs game…four shots to tie from the 3 yard line and nothing. This was worse…seemed like we had 10 shots to tie in this one and could not do it. Even threw a touchdown that got called back because of a false start.
OK…OK. We must break the game down into components. Let’s start with the good.
Rivers threw for 455 yards. All the receivers got into it. Spreading the ball around. Rivers is killing me this year. So, so good at times and then so completely bad on a throw or two. After a slow start, Tolbert looked good. This team can move the ball. Dombrowski came back to earth…giving up 2 sacks and the O line had some struggles (new guy Green playing for the injured Vazquez was victimized) but we came back late…giving Phillip time. Just like at KC….look at the stats and this is a beatdown. 27 first downs to 13….36 minutes to 23 in time of possession. Blah blah blah. Also in the “good” category, the defense was great in the second half. Just total domination…and we did it without three of our starting linebackers! Cooper and English were out and Merriman (The Fraud) played only a few plays before hurting himself yet again. Gotta give props to Siler and Burnett (again); these guys are really playing great. Throw in another strong game by the D Line and Weddle and company and our defense played their third winning game in a row.
So, let’s see. Offense did its job? Check. Defense did its job? Check. That brings us to Special Teams. I won’t dwell much here because it is obvious. Our coaching staff and AJ have made a serious error in thinking that the players we have on Special Teams are adequate. This has been the worst series of games by a Special Teams unit I can remember since being a fan. Three kicks have been returned for TDs and, as you remember, our punter Scifres and a slipping Leon Washington are the only things that have saved 3 more touchdowns. Every kick is an adventure…from Kaedings weak leg, to missed tackles, to just completely blown coverages. Beyond the Touchdowns…each of the opponents’ drives starts in great position. The problem with Special Teams is that you can’t bench everyone. If a RB fumbles…you can replace him….if an OT misses some key blocks…you can replace him. You cannot sub out the entire Special Team unit….you have what you have. Suffice to say…it has cost us two games against bad teams. That should be enough to cost somebody their job.
One more thing….mistakes. This team is the bad news bears of the NFL right now. Five more turnovers and 11 PENALTIES. Including at least 5 that I counted in key situations in the red zone. Two false starts, too many men on the field, and at least 2 delay of game calls. This is unacceptable. It has to start with coaching. Norv and company are failing. Rivers is great…maybe really really great. But can he do math? When that big clock in front of his face says 10—9—8----7---6…., that means he needs to have the ball snapped. What is going on? Have you ever seen worse clock management at the pro level? Complete lack of awareness in how much time we have? This is bad enough in a loud stadium to occur early in a game at the team’s own 35 yard line…but for it to happen with the game on the line is just inexcusable. Is it coaching…is it Hardwick…is it Rivers? I don’t know but it cost us again.
So, what is next. A threesome of games (two on the road) against bad teams. Arizona…then Oakland…then St. Louis. We have struggled early before…we have botched September before. There is time to eliminate mistakes and get guys healthy. But, man, these losses are rough.
A few comments on the crazy news surrounding Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeil. No clue why McNeil signs now but I am glad that he did. I hope this means they are working on a long term deal. But, if they were, why did it come to this? Why not earlier? He now has a three game penalty to sit out and he is playing for $400 thousand instead of $3.2 million. Make sense to anyone? Not me. And Vincent. Despite an offer of a 2nd round pick and another pick….AJ Smith sticks to his request for a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick and does not deal VJ. Forcing a situation where the best case scenario seems that he will sit the season and we will get next to nothing for him. Make sense to anyone? Not me. Is this AJ flexing his muscles? Proving a point? Don’t tread on me? Seems like some very unnecessary posturing that only adds distraction to a struggling team.
Finally….next weekend may prove to be one of if not the biggest sports weekend of the year. The Padres are locked into a three way battle for the playoffs…every game a crazy test. The odds are against them…but they are scrappy and all signs point to next weekend’s three games against the Giants as the decider. Also, the Pac 10 has gained serious national respect so far this year with Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, and others posting big wins over the weekend. Now, Oregon and Stanford battle for it on national television on Saturday. And finally, Zenyatta runs at Hollywood Park in her final prep for the Breeders Cup Classic and here 19th straight win from 19 starts. Wow….lots to watch, including the Chargers in what has to be considered a must-win at home against Arizona. Oh, wait! It will be blacked out again…ah San Diego…it is hot down here….people should be going to the beach anyway.
The journey continues…..
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
BOLT ANALYSIS: WEEK TWO -- BLACKOUT OR NOT, COUNT IT
At some point during the turnovers and tipped passes yesterday, I noticed a strange feeling come over me in the midst of the blackout. It was a feeling that is, unfortunately, not so common around these parts and as a result, a little unfamiliar. It was a feeling of calmness. When the game got out of hand in the second half to a 31-6 Charger lead…a relaxing and contented feeling settled over the living room. Man, I wish that would happen more often. Yesterday’s blowout does not erase many of the question marks surrounding our Boyz this year, but it certainly helps frame them as a team. How would they respond from an opening week debacle in the rain against a bad team…well….the answer is calmly and (for the most part) effectively.
First thing’s first…the blackout was in effect for the first time in 48 home games. A sad commentary on the economy? The City of San Diego? Fan apathy? Or just too much to do in San Diego in general? I have to say that the new Polar Bear exhibit at the San Diego Zoo is pretty killer. Whatever the reason, props to Jeff and Rebeca for finding the following website: www.atdhe.net. Make a note. I have no idea what it is…but it allowed us to view uninterrupted streaming video of the Charger game. Thanks for the tip! Given the fact that the greedy bastards of the NFL set a “blackout zone” from the Mexican border to Santa Barbara, all us So Cal folks can (I hope) follow along on this website for additional blacked out games. And believe me followers, the next game will be blacked out too. Still 12,000 tix remaining for a bad Arizona team. Count on it.
Anyway, back to the game. The first half was just comedy. Seven turnovers! Four by them and two by us. Just nuts. Both of Philip’s interceptions were bad. High passes off the hands of jumping receivers. Both guys were open….both balls would have been great catches….but they were not thrown well. Philip continues to show the elite and the sad over the course of the game. Fortunately for us, he shook it off and had what can only be concluded to be a great game. Again, some laser throws and a good mixed bag of plays. How ‘bout the early Wildcat? Great drives…and only two punts all day. That is OK with me. Now, Jacksonville is not a good team….but, their defense is decent. And we beat the daylights out of them all game long. A great job by the O line. Philip had time for the most part and they picked up a lot of blitzes and stunts. I must say Dombrowski has filled in much better than any of us could have hoped. This guy is for real. But, the whole line played well. For me, the tone of the game was really set (finally!) when we got the ball back up 14-6 at our own 10 yard line with less than 2 minutes to go. I could have sworn Norv would play it safe to finish the half. Instead, great little play to Sproles for 30+ yards on first down and we were off to the races, scoring with 10 seconds to go for a 21-6 lead. Excellent stuff.
In the end I think we must have used 7 or 8 receivers. Gates shows you again why he is All World. He is playing inspired football right now. Nice catches by Floyd…and great to see Buster Davis grab 5 balls. We need this former #1 draft choice to continue to rise. We have weapons folks. Give Philip time and we will be fine.
The Big Scare came when Mathews got bent-up like a pretzel on a play and ended up getting carted off. As is my typical response….I figured the worst. Do you really cart a guy off if he has a sprain? I guess you do if that guy is your number 1 pick and you have bet the house on him. Well, early reports are positive and Mathews said he could have gone back in. Nice job Norv to leave the kid on the sideline with an ice pack and a lollipop. With Tolbert in there beating guys up…and Sproles creating a change of pace, we looked just fine in the running game. I said in my preseason that these running backs would be our not so secret weapon…and they will. Tolbert is fun to watch….and pumps everybody up. Whenever the guy who tackles you takes longer to get up than you as a running back…it is a good thing. Hopefully, Mathews’ ankle is OK and he can play next week. He has looked really good…but both games have been hijacked because of fumbles and/or injuries. I like what I see here though.. It was a reminder of just how fragile each game really is. One bad step or bad hit……you know the rest.
The Jags never let themselves in the game. A good opening drive in the second half ended abruptly with turnover number 5 and the rout was on. Garrard looked awful and the only plays he made were breakdowns in concentration on the defense’s part and/or missed tackles. For the second straight game, our D played well. True, they got 6 turnovers, but I thought they looked tough, stout, and tackled pretty well. A lot of the yards we gave up were in garbage time when we were closing things out. It sure was nice to see Merriman back on the field. Even though he was “eased back into it”, I thought he looked agile and strong. His presence…you have to admit….lifts the defense. Other guys play better…it is as simple as that. We need him out there. Game balls also must go to Antoine Cason, Jacques Cesaire, and Kevin Burnett. All looked physical, played tough, and made some nice plays all game long. Honorable mention must go to Brandon Siler. He filled in for starter Cooper, who sat out with an injury and he was all over the place, making plays too. I have been encouraged by our D. Granted, we have played two weak teams…but they are looking pretty solid.
Special teams again is a big question mark. The Jags never punted so who knows if we cleaned anything up there. But giving up a blocked punt? Really? When was the last time that happened? Cannot remember, but let’s hope we can fix that. Losing our long snapper David Binn cannot be an excuse. I still don’t trust our Special Teams, but at least there was nothing too dramatic that came out of this game.
So, what is next? Heading to Seattle to play the enigmatic Seahawks. Those in Southern California know their coach well. A cheater who got out of Dodge before anything hit the fan at SC. He is a motivator though…all he needs are pom poms….and guys respond to him. They crushed San Francisco at home in Game 1 and then got beat up by Denver in game two. Keep in mind Denver got beat by the Jags….so, conclude what you will. Bottom line is that we need to go to Seattle and play in the rain (most likely) against a team that will be the underdog. Always tricky and sounds kind of familiar, right? But, if we learned one thing from Blackout Game #1…it is that we must stay calm.
First thing’s first…the blackout was in effect for the first time in 48 home games. A sad commentary on the economy? The City of San Diego? Fan apathy? Or just too much to do in San Diego in general? I have to say that the new Polar Bear exhibit at the San Diego Zoo is pretty killer. Whatever the reason, props to Jeff and Rebeca for finding the following website: www.atdhe.net. Make a note. I have no idea what it is…but it allowed us to view uninterrupted streaming video of the Charger game. Thanks for the tip! Given the fact that the greedy bastards of the NFL set a “blackout zone” from the Mexican border to Santa Barbara, all us So Cal folks can (I hope) follow along on this website for additional blacked out games. And believe me followers, the next game will be blacked out too. Still 12,000 tix remaining for a bad Arizona team. Count on it.
Anyway, back to the game. The first half was just comedy. Seven turnovers! Four by them and two by us. Just nuts. Both of Philip’s interceptions were bad. High passes off the hands of jumping receivers. Both guys were open….both balls would have been great catches….but they were not thrown well. Philip continues to show the elite and the sad over the course of the game. Fortunately for us, he shook it off and had what can only be concluded to be a great game. Again, some laser throws and a good mixed bag of plays. How ‘bout the early Wildcat? Great drives…and only two punts all day. That is OK with me. Now, Jacksonville is not a good team….but, their defense is decent. And we beat the daylights out of them all game long. A great job by the O line. Philip had time for the most part and they picked up a lot of blitzes and stunts. I must say Dombrowski has filled in much better than any of us could have hoped. This guy is for real. But, the whole line played well. For me, the tone of the game was really set (finally!) when we got the ball back up 14-6 at our own 10 yard line with less than 2 minutes to go. I could have sworn Norv would play it safe to finish the half. Instead, great little play to Sproles for 30+ yards on first down and we were off to the races, scoring with 10 seconds to go for a 21-6 lead. Excellent stuff.
In the end I think we must have used 7 or 8 receivers. Gates shows you again why he is All World. He is playing inspired football right now. Nice catches by Floyd…and great to see Buster Davis grab 5 balls. We need this former #1 draft choice to continue to rise. We have weapons folks. Give Philip time and we will be fine.
The Big Scare came when Mathews got bent-up like a pretzel on a play and ended up getting carted off. As is my typical response….I figured the worst. Do you really cart a guy off if he has a sprain? I guess you do if that guy is your number 1 pick and you have bet the house on him. Well, early reports are positive and Mathews said he could have gone back in. Nice job Norv to leave the kid on the sideline with an ice pack and a lollipop. With Tolbert in there beating guys up…and Sproles creating a change of pace, we looked just fine in the running game. I said in my preseason that these running backs would be our not so secret weapon…and they will. Tolbert is fun to watch….and pumps everybody up. Whenever the guy who tackles you takes longer to get up than you as a running back…it is a good thing. Hopefully, Mathews’ ankle is OK and he can play next week. He has looked really good…but both games have been hijacked because of fumbles and/or injuries. I like what I see here though.. It was a reminder of just how fragile each game really is. One bad step or bad hit……you know the rest.
The Jags never let themselves in the game. A good opening drive in the second half ended abruptly with turnover number 5 and the rout was on. Garrard looked awful and the only plays he made were breakdowns in concentration on the defense’s part and/or missed tackles. For the second straight game, our D played well. True, they got 6 turnovers, but I thought they looked tough, stout, and tackled pretty well. A lot of the yards we gave up were in garbage time when we were closing things out. It sure was nice to see Merriman back on the field. Even though he was “eased back into it”, I thought he looked agile and strong. His presence…you have to admit….lifts the defense. Other guys play better…it is as simple as that. We need him out there. Game balls also must go to Antoine Cason, Jacques Cesaire, and Kevin Burnett. All looked physical, played tough, and made some nice plays all game long. Honorable mention must go to Brandon Siler. He filled in for starter Cooper, who sat out with an injury and he was all over the place, making plays too. I have been encouraged by our D. Granted, we have played two weak teams…but they are looking pretty solid.
Special teams again is a big question mark. The Jags never punted so who knows if we cleaned anything up there. But giving up a blocked punt? Really? When was the last time that happened? Cannot remember, but let’s hope we can fix that. Losing our long snapper David Binn cannot be an excuse. I still don’t trust our Special Teams, but at least there was nothing too dramatic that came out of this game.
So, what is next? Heading to Seattle to play the enigmatic Seahawks. Those in Southern California know their coach well. A cheater who got out of Dodge before anything hit the fan at SC. He is a motivator though…all he needs are pom poms….and guys respond to him. They crushed San Francisco at home in Game 1 and then got beat up by Denver in game two. Keep in mind Denver got beat by the Jags….so, conclude what you will. Bottom line is that we need to go to Seattle and play in the rain (most likely) against a team that will be the underdog. Always tricky and sounds kind of familiar, right? But, if we learned one thing from Blackout Game #1…it is that we must stay calm.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
BOLT ANALYSIS: WEEK 1 -- NOT SO SPECIAL
Had I woken up this morning blissfully ignorant of last night’s thud and looked at the box score, here is what I would have seen:
First Downs…Chargers 18, Kansas City 9
Total Yards….Chargers 389, Kansas City 197
Passing Yards..Chargers 280, Kansas City 62
Time of Possession…Chargers 37:30, Kansas City 22:30.
Yep…there it is in black and white…the continuation of Charger dominance over the AFC West and another pummeling of the Chiefs. Except, it wasn’t. That resounding thud we all heard last night? What was it…the ratcheting down of expectations? The bursting of the bubble? The swelling of that familiar pain in your gut? Well, the mantra of the BOLT ANALYSIS has always been to take the good with the bad and not overreact with either too much glee or too much glum. Yet, the final review shows that the Chargers have simply found another incredibly difficult way to lose.
Losing to the KC Chiefs on Monday night is bad. Really bad. On offense, the Chiefs made one play. Literally….one big play. A massive brain freeze of our defense that allowed a 56 yard touchdown run. Other than that, our defense dominated the game. So many three and outs for the Chiefs that they could have left Punter Dustin Colquitt’s name on the screen all night long. We covered well…..rushed the QB adequately….and stopped the running game with the exception of that one play. Matt Cassell is a bad quarterback. He was tentative…made bad throws even when he had time…and just looked uncomfortable all night. Add that to a morbidly conservative play calling night, and the Chiefs do not look like a team that will win many games. KC’s playbook makes Norv look like a gunslinger. Yet, when you are up 21-7…in the rain…in front of your home fans…”managing” the game makes a lot of sense. And, KC’s defense did just enough, stopped just enough 3rd downs….rushed Rivers just enough…and stopped the running game just enough. For the Chiefs to hail this as the beginning of some type of resurgence is laughable, but as the first paragraph of this ANALYSIS suggests…stats are meaningless and wins are all that matter.
Which brings me to the offense. You had to figure that the “new look” Chargers would have some jitters. Playing in the rain on the road did not help. Not having security blanket receiver V Jackson might also have been a factor as our receivers made some bad drops. But, the first couple of drives sure looked good. Long, sustained drives…with plenty of third down conversions and a nice mix of runs and passes. New kid Mathews started off good…looking strong and confident. TD to Gates and it seemed like we were on our way. Then, it all kind of fell apart. The big run tied the game…OK, one mistake. Then, the fumble by Mathews after his best run of the night was a killer. Giving a team a 12 yard drive is just something you cannot do. Despite all of LT’s struggles and pouting the last two years…the guy just never fumbled and we were spoiled by that. Did all of you see the change in Mathews running after that? Totally different…much more protective of the ball and conservative. Not necessary a good thing in that he seemed to lose his burst a bit. I think he is going to be a good one…not going to string the guy up for one fumble after a 15 yard run. But, it was a killer indeed. And then, of course the 94 yard punt return. Just like that….a Chiefs team that had done next to nothing had three touchdowns and a big lead.
In typical Charger fashion, they made it interesting. Lots of defensive stops gave Rivers and company the ball many times with chances. The field position battle was rough though….each drive needed to be long and it took a massive mistake by the Chiefs defense to get us back in the game on the Naanee touchdown. Getting the ball twice in the fourth quarter was right up Rivers’ alley. We had every chance. But Rivers showed us why he is such an infuriating quarterback. Some of his throws on these two drives were amazing. Finding time….finding the right guy…and perfectly placing the ball. Others were just head scratchers. The throws from the 6 yard line to end the game just left me open mouthed. The guy can look world class…and then just absolutely terrible from one play to the next. The 3rd down and goal play was the whole game in a nutshell. Rivers scrambled, stepped up in the pocket, found time. Then rather than walk it in (he was clear for 6 yards to the end zone), he shot puts it 10 yards over Floyd’s head. Did it slip? Did he panic? What happened? Even if he slides down at the 1 yard line…they are right there with a timeout. Looked to me like there was no way the Chiefs were stopping Tolbert from there. A bad decision by Phillip and a bad throw. The 4th down throw was equally bad and his receiver slipped in the mud. Now, the Chiefs made a decision to stop Gates, in the second half and they did….double and triple teaming him. But that means somebody should have been open. We had time. We could not execute.
But Rivers did his best…and frankly, he probably did enough to beat the sad sack Chiefs. I feel he was just pressing too much, getting happy feet and overthrowing a wet ball. Without Jackson and with Gates taken out….he just does not have confidence in these guys yet. I think it will come. The real culprit for this loss was the single-most pathetic Special Teams game I can remember. KC has two rookie punt returners….these two rookies made each punt and kickoff look like a track meet. The coverage was so bad on the Touchdown there was not a white jersey in the screen for the entire run. Each kickoff led to 30+ yard runbacks. Only Scifres saved a second punt return for a TD. This was beyond bad. Couple this with horrible coverage on two perfect punts from Scifres that should have been downed inside the 2 yard line. Nobody there to cover one of them (guys just trotting downfield) and on the next one our guy knocks it into his teammate. Both times they start on the 20 instead of the 1. With that Chiefs offense…that is a huge deal. If we cannot find a way to make a tackle on Special teams…forget about how good the offense or defense can be. Will not matter. Was Kassim Osgood really that good? Maybe so.
OK…so what is next? We are 0-1. A loss to one of the worst teams in the League. There are 15 more games…it is not tragic. And, yes, we have been here before, starting the last two seasons 2-3. But, we need to win against teams like this. I am scared to think about what a good passing team will do to us. We can only line up against one team at a time…but you need to collect your wins against inferior teams. There were some good points…our offensive line was decent. Fill in Dombrowski was more than decent…he looked good. I think the offense will figure it out…I really do. But, will that be enough? Not if we keep punting and kicking off and then stepping off the field.
First Downs…Chargers 18, Kansas City 9
Total Yards….Chargers 389, Kansas City 197
Passing Yards..Chargers 280, Kansas City 62
Time of Possession…Chargers 37:30, Kansas City 22:30.
Yep…there it is in black and white…the continuation of Charger dominance over the AFC West and another pummeling of the Chiefs. Except, it wasn’t. That resounding thud we all heard last night? What was it…the ratcheting down of expectations? The bursting of the bubble? The swelling of that familiar pain in your gut? Well, the mantra of the BOLT ANALYSIS has always been to take the good with the bad and not overreact with either too much glee or too much glum. Yet, the final review shows that the Chargers have simply found another incredibly difficult way to lose.
Losing to the KC Chiefs on Monday night is bad. Really bad. On offense, the Chiefs made one play. Literally….one big play. A massive brain freeze of our defense that allowed a 56 yard touchdown run. Other than that, our defense dominated the game. So many three and outs for the Chiefs that they could have left Punter Dustin Colquitt’s name on the screen all night long. We covered well…..rushed the QB adequately….and stopped the running game with the exception of that one play. Matt Cassell is a bad quarterback. He was tentative…made bad throws even when he had time…and just looked uncomfortable all night. Add that to a morbidly conservative play calling night, and the Chiefs do not look like a team that will win many games. KC’s playbook makes Norv look like a gunslinger. Yet, when you are up 21-7…in the rain…in front of your home fans…”managing” the game makes a lot of sense. And, KC’s defense did just enough, stopped just enough 3rd downs….rushed Rivers just enough…and stopped the running game just enough. For the Chiefs to hail this as the beginning of some type of resurgence is laughable, but as the first paragraph of this ANALYSIS suggests…stats are meaningless and wins are all that matter.
Which brings me to the offense. You had to figure that the “new look” Chargers would have some jitters. Playing in the rain on the road did not help. Not having security blanket receiver V Jackson might also have been a factor as our receivers made some bad drops. But, the first couple of drives sure looked good. Long, sustained drives…with plenty of third down conversions and a nice mix of runs and passes. New kid Mathews started off good…looking strong and confident. TD to Gates and it seemed like we were on our way. Then, it all kind of fell apart. The big run tied the game…OK, one mistake. Then, the fumble by Mathews after his best run of the night was a killer. Giving a team a 12 yard drive is just something you cannot do. Despite all of LT’s struggles and pouting the last two years…the guy just never fumbled and we were spoiled by that. Did all of you see the change in Mathews running after that? Totally different…much more protective of the ball and conservative. Not necessary a good thing in that he seemed to lose his burst a bit. I think he is going to be a good one…not going to string the guy up for one fumble after a 15 yard run. But, it was a killer indeed. And then, of course the 94 yard punt return. Just like that….a Chiefs team that had done next to nothing had three touchdowns and a big lead.
In typical Charger fashion, they made it interesting. Lots of defensive stops gave Rivers and company the ball many times with chances. The field position battle was rough though….each drive needed to be long and it took a massive mistake by the Chiefs defense to get us back in the game on the Naanee touchdown. Getting the ball twice in the fourth quarter was right up Rivers’ alley. We had every chance. But Rivers showed us why he is such an infuriating quarterback. Some of his throws on these two drives were amazing. Finding time….finding the right guy…and perfectly placing the ball. Others were just head scratchers. The throws from the 6 yard line to end the game just left me open mouthed. The guy can look world class…and then just absolutely terrible from one play to the next. The 3rd down and goal play was the whole game in a nutshell. Rivers scrambled, stepped up in the pocket, found time. Then rather than walk it in (he was clear for 6 yards to the end zone), he shot puts it 10 yards over Floyd’s head. Did it slip? Did he panic? What happened? Even if he slides down at the 1 yard line…they are right there with a timeout. Looked to me like there was no way the Chiefs were stopping Tolbert from there. A bad decision by Phillip and a bad throw. The 4th down throw was equally bad and his receiver slipped in the mud. Now, the Chiefs made a decision to stop Gates, in the second half and they did….double and triple teaming him. But that means somebody should have been open. We had time. We could not execute.
But Rivers did his best…and frankly, he probably did enough to beat the sad sack Chiefs. I feel he was just pressing too much, getting happy feet and overthrowing a wet ball. Without Jackson and with Gates taken out….he just does not have confidence in these guys yet. I think it will come. The real culprit for this loss was the single-most pathetic Special Teams game I can remember. KC has two rookie punt returners….these two rookies made each punt and kickoff look like a track meet. The coverage was so bad on the Touchdown there was not a white jersey in the screen for the entire run. Each kickoff led to 30+ yard runbacks. Only Scifres saved a second punt return for a TD. This was beyond bad. Couple this with horrible coverage on two perfect punts from Scifres that should have been downed inside the 2 yard line. Nobody there to cover one of them (guys just trotting downfield) and on the next one our guy knocks it into his teammate. Both times they start on the 20 instead of the 1. With that Chiefs offense…that is a huge deal. If we cannot find a way to make a tackle on Special teams…forget about how good the offense or defense can be. Will not matter. Was Kassim Osgood really that good? Maybe so.
OK…so what is next? We are 0-1. A loss to one of the worst teams in the League. There are 15 more games…it is not tragic. And, yes, we have been here before, starting the last two seasons 2-3. But, we need to win against teams like this. I am scared to think about what a good passing team will do to us. We can only line up against one team at a time…but you need to collect your wins against inferior teams. There were some good points…our offensive line was decent. Fill in Dombrowski was more than decent…he looked good. I think the offense will figure it out…I really do. But, will that be enough? Not if we keep punting and kicking off and then stepping off the field.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
BOLT ANALYSIS: LET'S ROLL!
Well, the summer is winding down, the beauty that is college football kicked off last week, and the NFL season is now upon us. The showdown between the Saints and the Favres was a great way to start the season. Our Boyz come into their Monday night tilt with the Chiefs with a lot of question marks, some real hope and promise, and lots of holding of breath at key positions. Tuesday morning could bring any kind of reaction; I must say the BOLT ANALYSIS is as confused as all of you. What are we going to get on Monday night? But, the show must go on….and we will tune in Monday night to get some clues as to who we are. But first, a brief review of the preseason, those key question marks and some of our key hopes.
The brutal and ridiculous loss to the Jets in last year’s playoffs set in motion a series of events that has really reformed the Chargers. In past episodes of the ANALYSIS (and please read the back issues followers), we have detailed some of this; from the departure of LT to the purging of Cromartie to the release of Jamal Williams to the holdouts and messiness of Jackson and McNeil. I will not restate those issues here to any great extent. Suffice to say, that loss was the end of a Charger management that was tolerant of poor team chemistry and some pillars of the team that were not performing. That loss, in my opinion, galvanized the Charger brass to make decisions on who was going to be a Charger and who deserved to be one. They had rolled to an 11 game winning streak, yet many players said after that loss was they were just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think the shoe did drop. The Management (for better or worse I must add) made a decision to get rid of the egos and some of those players who acted entitled and spoiled. By doing so…that team of the last several years with all the young talent…will be a very different team this year and even more different next year. Some of this reaction was caused by the uncertainty of the NFL collective bargaining agreement and next year’s potential strike. But much of it stems from a decision on who we want to be when we grow up. Not sure that many NFL players ever grow up…but some do more than others.
So, on to the show.
What are the Question Marks?
There are many. You have to start with the offensive line. The two players the Chargers rewarded in the offseason are those who they want to be the face of the team: Rivers and Gates. I love them both and so do you. But they are dependent on the line. Give Phillip time…like most QBs…and he is unstoppable. Rush him and knock him around…and he is average at best. We are going into the season with a starting left tackle who is one year removed from not being drafted out of San Diego State, a starting right tackle who has been the subject of a lot of scorn and who is coming off a pretty bad injury, and a starting right guard who is in his second year. We have little depth behind these guys. The holdout of Marcus McNeil and the team’s reluctance to sign him is a mystery. I sure would feel better if he was there. Nothing against Dombrowski, Clary, and Vasquez….but are these the guys I want facing down a pass rush? Hmmmm…
The second big question mark is the pass rush. Our outside linebackers have been nonexistent for two years. Phillips tries hard but is a strong #2 at best. Applewhite is a high energy guy but untested, Jyles Tucker is overrated. The key to this are Merriman and Larry English. Merriman missed 2008 and was basically a statue on the field last year. If this injury-induced (or lack of steroid-induced) irrelevance continues, he may never see the field. There is no question this is his last year with the Chargers, so he is auditioning. Let’s hope it is a good audition. But, given the fact he did not play a snap in the preseason…I am guessing we have the same, tired story of Merriman coming and going and playing through injuries. I really hope I am wrong because we need him badly. But, after such an amazing beginning to his career, he is really on the cusp of becoming an afterthought. Larry English is equally important. Drafted in the first round, he was also invisible for much of his rookie year. Although preseason is not a good indicator, I have not seen him do anything in games thus far. If these guys do not start hitting the quarterback, we are in for a long year on defense.
The third question mark is defensive toughness and tackling. This is something that has plagued the Chargers the last few years. They cannot get teams off the field…they cannot stop short yardage and they give up a lot of 3rd down conversions. From what I saw in the preseason, this may continue. I like Weddle and Gregory….but these guys are just small dudes in the end. They are smart players, but can they make a big hit or stop a 6 foot 5 230 pound receiver? Don’t know. The D line is full of depth…but can they punch guys in the mouth? Antoine Cason is replacing Cromartie. I think he tries harder, but he had a rough preseason and tough to have confidence there right now. We shall see.
OK…now onto the “hope and promise” part.
Gotta start with Ryan Mathews. The #1 draft choice and heir apparent has looked great. He has looked strong and confident out of the backfield, taking hits and dropping his shoulder into guys. He can catch the ball too. Let’s hope he stays fit and healthy and progresses as his rookie season goes along. Sproles, Tolbert, and Hester are a fine supporting cast. I think without the weight of LTs ego hanging over everyone….this running game should improve quite a bit. Don’t be surprised if they do a bunch of mix and matching and run all 4 of these guys during the course of a game. Norv can open the playbook now and let ‘er rip.
There is a great deal of hope and promise with the passing game too. Even without V Jackson…this receiving corps is good. And they may be a bit overlooked. Every chance that Malcom Floyd has had to make plays…he has. Same with Naanee. The pick up of Patrick Crayton out of Dallas is very good…the guy can play. The question mark is Buster Davis. Another former #1, who, like Larry English, has not made an impression yet. Unlike Larry…this is Buster’s last stand. Make us proud Buster. Add in Gates, Wilson, and McMichael at Tight End and some running backs that can catch and….well, same story. Let ‘er rip Norv. Don’t be surprised if our favorite new play is a short screen out of the backfield. Takes the pressure off the O line…they practiced it a ton in preseason. Dump offs to all three tight ends and all four RBs are in our future in a big way…you read it here first.
Finally, there is hope and promise because there is always hope and promise. That is what being a fan is all about. This time of year there is hope and promise if you are the St. Louis Rams or the Detroit Lions. Everyone is 0-0 and anything is possible. I am through making predictions….in 2008 I thought we looked crazy good and would go 13-3…we went 8-8. In 2009…I thought we would be decent and we went 13-3. So…no predictions. Let’s just strap it on for Monday Night followers…and start hope anew.
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