BOLT ANALYSIS: WEEK 14 - NO APPENDIX NO PROBLEM

Mid-week…the news broke that hot KC quarterback Matt Cassell had undergone surgery to remove his appendix. Nothing could have been better news for Defensive Coach Ron Rivera. Even though oddsmakers had made the Bolts 7 point favorites with Cassell, he had 19 TDs to 4 interceptions and had been managing an efficient KC team to several big wins in a row. Having Brodie Croyle as the target (0-9 as a starter) simplified Rivera’s job big time. The Bolts defense came out firing and played their best game..in….well….ever. Now, I don’t attribute all of that to Croyle. I think it is quite possible that Tom Brady could have been back there and not much would have gone right for the Chiefs.


Yesterday’s beatdown and shutout was just as maddening as it was enjoyable. How a team gets manhandled one week and then demolishes a better team the following week makes us fans pull our hair out. Every phase of the Charger game plan worked perfectly yesterday. We covered on Special Teams, We held the ball for 40 minutes! We gave up 5 first downs….we allowed ZERO third down conversions….we got 4 sacks…..we defended a ton of passes….it was a pretty thing to watch. And the Chiefs, backup QB or not,  this is not a complete team yet. They are winning games because they try hard, have some good role players, and are very efficient with the football. When you take away their efficiency, it gets ugly. And that is why it is maddening….because we can be this good. Hell, even if we were half this good we would have beat up the Raiders last week. We are back to psychology….why does this team hit the kill switch in some games? We only play like this when our backs are truly up against the wall. And, with 3 games left…they will be for the rest of the season.

Injury news yesterday was a mixed bag…sit Antonio Gates and Legedu….start VJ and Ryan Mathews and Floyd. Gates has been our catalyst….but how nice was it to see #83 out there. Petulant bastard or not…the guy can play. Even though he only had a couple of catches…they were all for first downs and they came on big plays. He even had a bomb taken away from him on a bogus chop block penalty. It sure is good to see him out there with all the injuries. And Floyd played big too….a couple of great TD grabs and some big plays. He is not 100% but he tries hard. The star of the show however was the running game….it did not seem to matter who carried the ball. Floyd, Mathews, and Sproles were all solid and excellent after contact. Pushing the pile forward and getting extra yards. Man, if we can run the ball like that consistently…we will be tough. The running game just sets up Philip so well…he is deadly when the defense cannot tee-off on the pass. And, despite two terrible turnovers by Philip…the fumble was inexcusable…..he had another great game.

Special teams was rock solid. One runback went to the 40 maybe but, if you remember, this team torched us in the season opener on Special Teams. Siler is a monster out there, Gregory just about killed some guy, and a couple others made great plays.

But, the story of the day was of course, the defense. We went through the stats above. I would say the most dominant Charger defense I have ever seen in a game. A total team effort….and the secondary and safeties were never out of position. Just one of those games that makes you realize what focus and intensity can mean. A dumbed-down game plan by the Chiefs helped hugely….but you cannot take away the team play.

All over the field, you could see the difference from last week’s horrible performance. Guys finishing blocks….pummeling guys…high fives….running downhill. Loved Tolbert beating guys up…and how about the nice TD run by Mathews after being hit twice? That run hopefully will get this kid’s confidence going. He sure looks good when he is running strong. All this good play must lead you back to the inevitable question….why the hell does it take a desperate situation for these guys to play like this? Why can they not get up for a game that is not mathematically a must win? We may never know. Coaching? Collective team apathy? I don’t know. Get one of those miserable mistake-filled games back early in the year and we control everything in the AFC West. But…reality is reality…we cannot blink again and we need help.

Looking ahead, we play on Thursday night. So, a short week against a team also desperate to win their below average division. The 49ers killed Seattle yesterday…riding 5 turnovers to victory. Sound familiar? We need to keep the intensity up. But look at our schedule….5-8 San Fran, then 2-11 Cincy, then 3-10 Denver. There are no excuses to not win out. Can you believe that we will be favored in 15 of 16 games this year…many of those by double digits? Yet we are 7-6. Talk about tearing your hair out. But, the ANALYSIS must keep it real. We need help. We need the St. Louis Rams to beat the Chiefs next Sunday…or for the Titans to do it the week after…or for the Raiders to do it in the finale. The Raiders already helped us…dropping their 7th game of the season to the Jags…one week after tearing our heart out. We have received help before…and we need it again. We cannot remove the appendix of every QB we face….but we should be able to be motivated to win. Simply win Boyz…your back is against the wall…that is what you do in this situation.