BOLT ANALYSIS: WEEK 13 - THE BATTLE OR THE WAR?

A window into what should have been? Was that what last night was? Was it a teasing reminder of what most of us expected from our Boyz this season? Or was last night’s game merely the obvious result of a beaten up and beaten down team taking out their frustration on a team that is even lower on the food chain? Like most things, followers, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But, I can tell you that at least it sure felt good when it was over.




When ESPN saw this game coming, they probably cringed and wondered why they would ever put Jacksonville on their schedule. The team came in 3-8, having just fired their coach, and were unable to sell out even a Monday Night game. Well, that sounds pretty darn familiar, with the Chargers only one better in the standings with a lame-duck coach on the sidelines and their own grievous sell-out problems. But, as the NFL often provides, the game was surprisingly entertaining. A first half featuring a bunch of good drives, nice plays, few mistakes, and exciting football. The Chargers opened up by stopping the Jags on a 3 and out…and then going on one of their most impressive drives of the year. A nicely balanced, 8 minute, 70 yard beauty that ended in a nice Tolbert TD. Another stop and another drive by the Bolts netted a field goal and a 10-0 lead at the end of the quarter. The team looked sharp, Mathews running well, Rivers getting time and hitting guys downfield.



Then the Jags got bold. Maurice Jones Drew started ripping off runs and rookie QB Gabbert seemed to find his footing. The Charger D reverted to what we have come to see most of the year: Getting pushed off the ball on the line, with the linebackers and safeties just unable to cleanly bring down ball carriers. Guys like LaBoy, Gregory, Hughes, and Cason are just not good enough to be expected to make downfield tackles consistently. Two great drives by the Jags put them up 14-10 and there it was…that feeling again. Can we really lose another one? Well, a funny thing happened. The line, after a few demoralizing series’, tightened up. Rivers kept hitting guys downfield. A great throw and catch by Vincent Brown made it 17-14…then Gabbert made a horrible throw that was intercepted by Weddle. I mumbled audibly, “Which Norv shows up now…the one content to manage the game to halftime with a three point lead, or the one who goes for the jugular against a 3-8 team”. Well, I am happy to report the latter. What does he have to lose? A great couple of throws..an awesome catch by Jackson..and a 24-14 halftime lead. That TD seemed to energize the boys on both sides of the ball. Confidence seemed to soar…and the second half was an easy slow ride to victory with two more great TDs (Floyd and Mathews). The Jags did not scare the end zone and were easily put to sleep.



So, what did we learn? Well…just keeping it real…not a hell of a lot. The Jags are really bad. Really bad. They are even more banged up than we are. They have no pass rushers (all hurt) and they were starting three scrub corners. Their rookie quarterback looks like he wants no part of the NFL to me. We should have killed them. To be fair, our offensive line is just a bunch of meatheads too right now. But, they improved and played together and gave Philip time. I think we learned that it sure is nice to have VJ, Gates, and Floyd on the field at the same time. I think we learned that Philip has some confidence back after a nearly perfect game. I think we saw how fun it can be when you don’t turn the ball over. But that is about it. We are still 5-7, looking up at the Raiders and Broncos at 7-5. Let’s not lose sight of reality after a fun win here against a morbid team. You heard it here first but I believe the Broncos will win this division. I think Tebow’s magic and a very stout defense, along with a favorable schedule, will put them on top. Even if we win out…which I highly doubt…we likely won’t make it. And folks, I need you to WANT us to NOT make it. We need to miss the playoffs and get rid of Norv. I, for one, am on the fence on AJ. I am not yet sure what I think about getting rid of him too. Your thoughts on this topic are appreciated.



For one week, though, let us enjoy it. We won a fun game on Monday night. Nothing wrong with that. The guys have some confidence. We seem to be getting healthier. We have our next two games at home. Let’s see what happens. Football should be fun and it has not been this year. Still hard to believe that we had lost 6 in a row. A little factoid: Philip Rivers holds onto a snap on Halloween and Novak makes a field goal against Denver and we are in first place right now. But I don’t think that is what we want. We don’t want to limp into the playoffs…we want to ride into them strong. Stay the course, followers, four more to go. Gotta lose the battle to win the war. Just keeping it real.