San Diego Chargers Links 10/12

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 8:04 AM PDT in San Diego Chargers News

Bye comes at good time for Bolts - SignOnSanDiego.com
Chargers players gathered for about 10 minutes Thursday and talked some things out before they parted ways for a three-day break brought about by their bye weekend. Attendees described the meeting, held sans coaches, as casual but good for the collective psyche, a reminder that "we're all in this together" and "it's a whole team thing" and "it's up to each of us."

Attorney leads pursuit in Escondido - SignOnSanDiego.com
The San Diego Chargers held training camp in Escondido from 1964 to 1968 at a Travelodge east of what is now Interstate 15. So it's easy for local land-use attorney Dave Ferguson to imagine the team playing in a new stadium in the same general area. "What this would be is the Chargers coming home," Ferguson said.

Wrap-up: Giants 44, Raiders 7 - AFC West - ESPN
While Oakland’s defense was awful Sunday, the offensive woes continue to be the story. Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell lost three fumbles. He threw for just 100 yards Oakland had 124 yards of total offense. Oakland was held to under 200 yards of offense for the fourth straight game.

Wrap-up: Cowboys 26, Chiefs 20 (OT) - AFC West - ESPN
The Chiefs played well enough to win before falling apart late. That was the calling card of Edwards team last year. The Chiefs have lost 28 of the past 30 games.

AFC West notes from Week 5 - AFC West - ESPN
Denver is getting better defensively as the game goes on. Denver is allowing 29.1 yards less a quarter in the final three quarter of the game. Fifteen of Denver’s 16 games have come after the first quarter. Seventeen of the 43 points Denver has allowed have come in the final three quarters of games.

Tom Brady completed one of seven passes for six yards when Denver sent five or more pass rushers. When Denver didn’t blitz, Brady was 18 of 26 for 209 yards.

Denver quarterback Kyle Orton was strong against the blitz. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 122 yards and had a 134.9 passers’ rating, according to ESPN’s Stats and Information.

Shocking but true: Broncos are the AFC's best - Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
Now, after their 20-17 overtime win over the Patriots, in which Josh McDaniels beat mentor Bill Belichick, it's past time to disregard Cutlergate, and the lost first-round draft pick, and all the other ancillary drama, and recognize that the Broncos are indeed the AFC's best team -- in record and on the field. (Ed. Note: Has he not watched the Colts?)

YouTube - DENVER BRONCOS WIN IN OT 10/11/09
Check out Josh McDaniels celebrating with the Denver crowd after the Broncos win the game

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Comments

Still not convinced

That the Broncos are a great team (which is the label that will get thrown around when you are 5-0), but it really doesn’t matter. At 5-0 they can basically play a little better than .500 ball the rest of the way and go 11-5 and that very well could win the division. They are definitely a good team though, the defense plays tough (and maybe a little dirty), the running game is still one of the NFL’s best and the passing game seems to work as long as Orton is protected and his receivers are wide open all the time. Oh, and they’re really really healthy. That’s the scariest thing for me. A typically .500 team who stays really healthy usually ends winning a lot of games.

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 9:40 AM PDT reply actions 3 recs

Dawkins made some plays yesterday.

And I think there’s merit to the suggestion that he’s helping them play over their heads.

Greg Maddux for manager.

by Zach (maestro876) on Oct 12, 2009 10:30 AM PDT up reply actions

I buy it

That guy is a fantastic leader.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions

As Wonko pointed out

the Broncos are really, really healthy. That’s not going to last the whole season. And Dawkins is probably candidate number one for getting hurt, given his age and history. That is why the Eagles let him go, after all.

Greg Maddux for manager.

by Zach (maestro876) on Oct 12, 2009 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions

It could last the whole season

It happens. Teams have won super bowls because they stayed very healthy.

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions

Actually

the Eagles let him go because he asked for a ton of money, which Denver gave to him.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions

After that cheap shot Dawkins put on Welker

I’m not going to sing his praises too much. He was also practically invisible the rest of the game. Oh, except he seemed to be the Denver D’s resident referee lobbyist.

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Do the Chargers have one of those?

They should.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions

Rivers is definitely the lobbyist for the offense.

Not sure the defense has one. I guess it should be Cooper, he’s the captain right?

As a side note, I started to think there, who is the dominant personality on defense who could have the authority to speak for the others. Couldn’t really think of one. Merriman was that guy, but with missing a year and some questionable character issues and the rumblings of the Front Office not being behind him, I bet he doesn’t command the respect he once did. Cooper is kind of soft spoken from what I’ve seen. Phillips has a big mouth, but I don’t get the impression that he plays like a leader (can’t put my finger on why though). If Rivera was on the field I could see him leading the troops, but he’s not. Why do I suddenly feel like Jeff Probst addressing a Survivor tribe that keeps losing.

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions

I feel the exact same way

First choice would be Jamal, but he’s out. Weddle, Jammer and Cooper should be the leaders but they’re all quiet. I agree with your assessments of Merriman and Phillips (for the same reasons).

I really have no clue. Is this a problem? It seems like it has to be. I remember last year reading an article that Cooper started getting more vocal in the second half of the season because nobody else was stepping up, but I don’t see any of that on the field so who knows if he’s kept that up.

My first thought is that the defensive lacks a fiery guy to lead the troops. My second thought is that teams like the Steelers and Jets don’t have that guy either (although I could certainly be wrong), so maybe it’s not entirely necessary.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Steelers

If I was on the Steelers and I saw Polamalu and Harrison running around like mad men making plays, I’d be inspired to do the same. I think if you play at a really high level, then leading by example is enough. Farrior may also have more influence there than we know.

Jets
Haven’t watched a lot of Jets, but I have to think that David Harris is their leader. Not sure how fiery he is. Bart Scott is the guy preaching the Ravens-style defense so there might be something there too.

Then again, since this is all mainly anecdotal I’m not going to say that it’s problem/solution the Chargers face. I still think they need to just in their jobs and cover their gaps/men/zone, whatever. I know the Jets/Ravens basically play good D because they are do their jobs and they spend the time to understand the opposing teams’ protection schemes. Of course, maybe that means the Chargers D leader needs to make sure that everyone understands their jobs. Maybe that’s a skill. Maybe Ray Lewis just looks in someone’s eyes and knows either this guy knows what he’s needs to do on this play and will do it or this guys is lost or distracted and needs a wake up call.

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions

lol EVERY PLAY i saw that

A kid who has a unicorn ranch in his room cannot call other people weird. Yes, we know about "Rancho Unicorno."

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Oct 12, 2009 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions

It's funny....

I saw a lot of Dawkins in Philly and he seems to work backwards from the way most people would with the refs. He complains on every single play for the flag, but when he actually gets the refs attention is when he says nothing at all.

I’ve seen at least a handful of players when he was a Eagle where the call could go either way, and instead of racing up to the ref Dawkins just stands where he is and stares at the ref. I guess the idea is the ref will think “The call is so obvious that he’s not even going to waste his time asking for the flag, I better call it.” Sounds silly, I know, but it worked.

Also, I think this philosophy makes all of the guys on the defense with Dawkins feel like he’s on their side. He has their back. While the Chargers players may say to each other that they have each others’ backs, do any of them actually believe it?

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 12:28 PM PDT up reply actions

plays*

not “players”

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 12:28 PM PDT up reply actions

I too wonder how much they believe in each other

It seems like they have lots of troubles when a LB or CB needs to hand off a guy to a safety. And rushing the passer it doesn’t seem like the DL guys do the things it takes to open a hole for an LB or a blitzing safely. I don’t think any defense in the NFL has enough talent that all 11 guys can just do their best to cover, rush and tackle and be a good defense. I see on NFL Matchup every year how the best defense use one guy helping out the others to help make big plays happen. If the Chargers played like that, I think you’d hear less about guys not performing up to their talent level.

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Agreed

I know he was slow and needed to be replaced, but the more I think about it the more I attribute some of the success in 2006-07 to Marlon McCree. If he did one thing right, it was keeping everybody in the right position and on the same page. Donnie Edwards helped with that as well.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions

Maybe

As time goes by it just seems that everything came together perfectly for that 2007 defense. Every other year the Chargers were middle of the pack (04, 05, 06) or worse (08, 09).

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions

The 2006 defense ranked better than the 2007 one

in every statistical category except turnovers and points/game.

Total yards/game:
2006: 301.6
2007: 320.2

Passing yards/game:
2006: 200.8
2007: 213.2

Rush yards/game:
2006: 100.8
2007: 107

Sacks:
2006: 61
2007: 42

Turnovers:
2006: 28
2007: 48

Points/game:
2006: 18.9
2007: 17.8

I think that the 2007 defense was an extremely lucky one. They gave up a lot of yards. If you watch the games, though, they avoided giving up points by getting turnovers. That’s how they managed to be in the middle of yards given up but near the top in points given up.

Unfortunately, turnovers are as much a product of luck as everything else. In 2008, we got HALF as many turnovers as in 2007—we went from 48 to 24, and our scoring defense dropped accordingly.

That’s why, in my opinion, our defense seemed to fall off a cliff from 2007-2008. We stopped getting that pick, that forced fumble when the opponent drove inside our 20, and as a result our opponents scored a LOT more points. You can point to Merriman being out and Cromartie playing like crap as an explanation for why our turnover numbers went down, but the fact remains that they still went WAY down.

This year, it’s continued. In 2007, we averaged 3 turnovers a game. That’s a lot. In 2008, we plummeted to 1.5/game. Here in 2009, we’re again sitting at 1.5.

In 2006, we were actually a pretty good defense and didn’t have to rely on turnovers to keep opponents off the scoreboard. In 2007, we weren’t nearly as good, but still did all right because those turnovers kept other teams from scoring. In 2008 and now 2009, we’ve got the same defense as 2007, but still don’t have the turnovers that were the bread and butter of the 2007 team.

Greg Maddux for manager.

by Zach (maestro876) on Oct 12, 2009 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

2007 was the 6th best defense in the NFL by DVOA

2006 was the 17th by DVOA and not even above average. Remember, we played the NFC West in 2006 so of course our yards/points/turnovers are going to look better.

I know DVOA is not perfect, but it’s always better than using the basic stats.

As for 2007 being lucky, didn’t I say that everything came together. They’d be middle of the pack just like the previous iterations if it didn’t.

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 2:12 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Fair enough.

And I think it buttresses the point that our defense really just isn’t that good.

Greg Maddux for manager.

by Zach (maestro876) on Oct 12, 2009 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions

But

It used to be better. I’d take 17th over what we have now. So far it’s been pathetic.

Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.

by Wonko on Oct 12, 2009 2:25 PM PDT up reply actions

so what's the difference?

is it the players or coaching that have done us in? i lean towards a combination of both.

The peanut gallery has spoken!!!

by gatesoftds on Oct 12, 2009 5:58 PM PDT up reply actions

I wanna see Norv celebrate like McD a week from tonight.

That would be a sight to see, I’ll tell you what.

A kid who has a unicorn ranch in his room cannot call other people weird. Yes, we know about "Rancho Unicorno."

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Oct 12, 2009 1:57 PM PDT reply actions

I thought the same thing

I saw him pumping his fist, jumping into his player’s arms, and I thought “that looks like fun for everyone involved.”

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Oct 12, 2009 4:02 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm surprised he didn't get flagged for emotionally roughing the passer on Tom Brady

(ok I stole that one from DJ Gallo)

A kid who has a unicorn ranch in his room cannot call other people weird. Yes, we know about "Rancho Unicorno."

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Oct 12, 2009 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Broncos Fan Here

Don’t worry, I’m not here to troll. I come in peace (this week anyway) but surely you Bolts fans think we’re pretty good. Hopefully, we wrest the division from you next week, but it should be a good game. I will give you guys this much: your retro AFL uniforms are much better than ours, but then again, so were the Patriots’ and we beat them.

Brad James

by the Bradfather on Oct 12, 2009 4:16 PM PDT reply actions