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.