BOLT ANALYSIS: WEEK 3 - ANOTHER WAY TO LOSE

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…..