BOLT ANALYSIS: WEEK 2 -- WE'RE STILL NOT THERE

We shall begin today’s ANALYSIS with some statistics.




First Downs: SD 29, NE 28

Total Yards: SD 470, NE 504

Rushing Yards: 98-94

Time of Possession: SD 31:00, NE 29:00

Third down conversions: SD 10-12, NE 7-11



Now, let’s look at key personnel:



Philip Rivers – Tom Brady

Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd – Deion Branch and Wes Welker

Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert – Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green Ellis

Antonio Gates – Rob Gronkowski



For years, the Chargers have been trying to figure out how to beat the New England Patriots. Without looking at the game itself, if you look at the statistics listed above and the people making plays listed above, you could not say that the Patriots are a better team or played a better game. So, what separates us? Why is it that we always need to find solace in moral victories or “if we had just been able to do this or that”? The ANALYSIS is tired, followers, tired of looking for reasons and finding excuses Clearly, the statistic I left out above is the big one..SD 4 turnovers, NE none. That is it.. that is the difference. By why do these turnovers take place? Why are we consistently on that side of the equation? The game yesterday can be read two different ways, and this morning’s missive will give you two options on how to find the answers. But first, let’s go through it.



Every Charger drive yesterday got to Patriot territory, including the first one. Derailed by two poorly run routes, the Chargers were forced to punt however. A good one…all the way to the 6 yard line. The ensuing Patriot drive is why Brady and Belichick are the best in the business. Every play worked, the defense was chasing ghosts, confused and gassed after a few plays. Patriots up early. But the Chargers came back, scoring a nice TD on a Mathews run after a good drive. And by the way, Mathews had his best game as a pro yesterday. Looking fast and strong in both the running and passing game. After Tolbert’s performance…we may see a lot more of him. The second Pats drive was stalled, ending in a field goal and setting up the next Charger drive. All the way to the 1 yard line. If Rivers could move faster than an Oak tree (or maybe a Redwood) he would have walked it in. But, as it stood we had a 4th and 1 at the 1. Do we kick a FG and tie the game or do we go for it? I don’t think there is a Charger fan out there who thinks we should have kicked. Give it to the big man and hit ‘em in the mouth. Take momentum back..send a message. Except……Mike Tolbert forgot the reason he is on the team is because he is strong and low to the ground. He elected to try and go outside and stutter step…bad move. Stopped at the goal line. Once again, the curse appears….From a possible 14-10 lead and momentum to, what else? a 99 yard TD drive led by Brady. The game slips from grasp a little bit more. The Ghost of Games Past rears its ugly head. Another long drive stopped by a surreal interception by “Biggest Loser” finalist Vince Wilfork. Now, Philip says he would make that throw every time he had it. After seeing it again, I tend to agree. A freaky play. The curse continues..Belichick’s face rising above Gillette stadium like a fog. Then, another Charger-thing happens. Antoine Cason and the defense figure the game must be at half-time already, playing 10 yards behind the unstoppable (really?) Deion Branch. Two easy catches….field goal..20-7 at the half. I am sorry folks. Good teams do not let that happen. 17-7 was bad enough…but that was because of good Patriot plays and bad luck. That last field goal was 100% on Antoine and a coaching staff that simply got outcoached. Inexcusable.



Second half starts well however, with our defense finally able to stop the Pats twice in a row. This, sandwiched around long, time-killing drives by the Bolts. However, another great drive ends in another interception on a forced throw to Gates where he was nowhere near open. They get it together on the next one, a long drive ending in V Jackson’s first Touchdown. Then, the Patriots opt to go for it on 4th and 4 at midfield. In my opinion, an arrogant and ill-conceived move that backfires…giving the Boyz the ball…only down 20-14 and with the momentum. Can it be that the curse will be lifted? Will we actually take a lead in this game? A promising drive leads to yet another miscue….this time Tolbert again thinks he must be Barry Sanders…dancing around when he could have barreled forward for a couple of yards at least. Fumble…momentum gone. Mike….I know you are tough, I know you have heart, but please don’t be stupid. Twice…his inability to simply drive his bowling ball body forward cost us huge momentum swings and, ultimately, the game.



Well, you all saw what happened from there. Brady cutting through us like butter for two more scores. Us cutting through them for another score. But, in the end, Pats win by daylight. So, let’s go back to the original question. Why is this still happening?



Option 1: WE WERE UNLUCKY, WE ARE JUST AS GOOD AS THEY ARE, WE’LL GET ‘EM NEXT TIME

This is the optimist’s view. We matched them, offensively, play for play. Vincent Jackson was a beast out there. Even after Floyd went down..he was unstoppable. Starting the think we need to sign this guy at whatever cost. Our running game was solid. Our offensive line was very good all day long. Our defense, despite get beat up on most drives, stopped them a few times in the second half. We had every chance in this game. It just came down to turnovers and mistakes. I mean, heck, we had the ball 4 times inside their 35 yard line and we scored 0 points. Three turnovers and one on downs. Just give us one of those back and we are right there. This game will just set us up for big games to come…it will keep us hungry and grounded…it will improve us.



Option 2: THEY ARE BETTER PREPARED, BETTER COACHED, HAVE MORE HEART, AND THEY BELIEVE. WE WILL NEVER BE BETTER THAN THEM

Evil Bill got us again. His team is calm, relaxed and changes their game plan effortlessly. I have never seen a team shut down Gates like they did. Talk about COMPLETELY out of the game. The one pass to him was an interception. This is a game where Antonio has to start thinking about doing something different. They did not make a turnover. They had the confidence to run all sorts of passing plays with no fear of a sack. What other team could make Antoine Cason look like a fool out there for the entire game? He was the worst player on the field…so out of position on most of Branch’s catches you had to wonder what they were telling him. It was almost sad. And what other team can take two young Tight Ends and just blow up our safeties like they were school kids? Eric Weddle ($40 million worth) was so outplayed and beat up in this game…is management having buyer’s remorse? They should be. The scary thing about Weddle is that he is smart and in the right position most of the time. He just consistently gets out-muscled and cannot make tackles when he needs to. Gronkowski is good…and he is going to be a star…but he bitch slapped Weddle and Cason so completely…they need to look in the mirror too.



So, followers, which is it? Is it Option 1…where we once again can say we can play with these guys? Those of you who choose Option 1 will look ahead to our next two home games, against 0-2 KC and 0-2 Miami and think….let’s get well against these reeling squads.



Or, are you more of an Option 2 person? Turning off the TV at the end of the game saying….yes, we will win our share of games this year…but what does it matter….when the chips are down and we really need to make a step forward….we never can. Whether it is the Patriots, the Jets, the Steelers….whoever. We just don’t have “IT”.



Choose your option, folks, and perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It usually does. All the guys can do…and to their credit they are doing it….is apologize for the miscues, lace up the boots…and go to it this Sunday. There are 16 games…you don’t need to win ‘em all..but wouldn’t it be nice if we were THAT team. The one that came through in a big game. Just once?