Five straight losses. The 2011 season (note that I don’t say the 2011-2012 season) is rapidly coming to an end. Yesterday’s somber affair was just kind of…well….expected. Last week we spoke of the seven stages of grief. Well, number 5 is called “The Upward Turn”. I’m not quite sure we are there yet, although “expected” losses sure are a lot easier than shocking losses. I’ll let you know when I get to “The Upward Turn”…maybe at the end of the season. The thing that was so expected about yesterday was that, in the end, they did everything we have come to know they will do. Interceptions at the worst possible time, bad special teams just when they have momentum, more fumbles by the infuriating Ryan Mathews, and secondary coverage that makes you just sit and stare. I could just end it there, because this stinker of a season is rapidly making the NBA lockout look exciting, but…I know my role.
The Chargers came into the game down seven starters, including three on their offensive line: Shawn Phillips, Malcom Floyd, Louis Vasquez, Marcus McNeil, Kris Dielman, Luis Castillo, and Marcus Gilchrist. They put a conservative game plan in place to protect Phillip and tried to rely on balance and ball control. For the first half, and really for three quarters, it worked to decent results. The patchwork O-line was holding up against a good Bears defense. Vincent Jackson looked sharp and powerful, Gates was making catches, and most importantly, Philip was playing well and throwing a nice deep ball. The Defense was stout and organized against the run, stopping Matt Forte cold all day long. Third down TD throws to Gates and Jackson had tied it at 17 and there was really no separating the teams except for the truly amazing idiocy displayed on Special Teams on punts and kickoffs. Every team in the League under the new rules is able to kick the ball into the endzone, except the Chargers. Even usually reliable Mike Scifres was horrible, kicking poorly placed punts to Devin Hester and giving the Bears short fields to work with. Another one of these gaffes led to a Bears TD (Antoine Cason’s lack of ball awareness is just incredible) and a 24-17 lead. Yet, the Chargers were hanging in there, moving the ball again until…the next fully expected thing happened. Ryan Mathews, on a nice little run, allows the ball to be punched out and loses it. Again. He just does not get it. He can look dangerous and sharp and then, after he screws up, he just becomes a waste of space. It has now been happening for two seasons. We keep hoping. He keeps failing. Keep in mind that he fumbled earlier in the game and bobbled at least two others when he was tackled. Really, really bad as the Bears scored seconds later and the rout was on.
Even with the 31-17 lead, the Chargers had several additional chances to make it a close game, all of them ending in pathetic interceptions by Rivers. Let’s face it folks, the Chargers have had the ball in the 4th quarter in nearly every loss this year with a chance to tie (and sometimes win). Rivers continues to make throws that he has not made since he has been a pro. So bad, you just….well….you just sit there and stare. He is playing bad…and that is unfortunate because for three quarters things were going……OK I guess. But the 4th quarter?? Four plays, folks. Four! And two of them were interceptions. The defense allowed 7 consecutive third down conversions. Seven! If that is not giving up, I don’t know what is. Well, maybe it isn’t? Maybe it is a team that did as well as it could and then just got beat down by a better team. The Bears ain’t much…and now they lost their QB…but they are better than us.
The saddest thing about this 5 game losing streak is that, once again, it is not our bit players or our depth that is killing us (even though the injuries are astronomical). It is our key players…Rivers, Cason, Spikes, Mathews. They are just not doing it.
Wish I could say there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We play the Denver Tebows this weekend. That could be a light…or it could be the final indignity. I have no idea what to expect, but I will say this.. Tebow is 4-1 as a starter. He ran over the Jets defense last week and he has had two of his best games as a pro against the Chargers. Assuming they can figure out Tebow…they then play the Joke Jaguars and the reeling Buffalo Bills. Can we go on a run? Sure, why not? They have done it before. But, we all must ask ourselves, do we want to? Do we really want to fight and struggle to a 8-8 finish and save Norv’s job? Do we want to win the battle to totally lose the war? I am standing on what I said last week…this thing needs to be blown up. A new regime is necessary, although I don’t know if we will get it. Even if we finish 6-10 or so, Norv might still keep his job. I am certain that AJ will. But, it is our best chance at change…and maybe…a future that will be enjoyable.
When things were going bad last year, I could turn to Zenyatta or the Oregon Ducks for commentary. This year, the Ducks, while good, are not as good as last year. Zenyatta is on the farm, ready to give birth. Despite this, there are two cool things going on in Sports right now: 1) The NBA is on strike….does anyone miss it? And 2) We went to the MLS Cup last night and watched the Galaxy win in the rain. A great time, and a reminder that Sports should be fun. There were a lot of families there, a lot of different cultures, a lot of Houston fans too, and a real feeling of the fun of sports. The winning goal was an assist from the world’s most recognized player, to the best Irish player in the world, to probably the best US player in the world. Good stuff. Maybe the Chargers can get back that feeling of fun one of these days.
Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night.
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