Bolts & Dolts: Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
by John Gennaro on Nov 2, 2009 10:15 AM PST
in Bolts & Dolts
Email
PrintI don't think you guys are going to be real happy with me after you read this post. After looking though the post-game comments, I found myself disagreeing with a lot of you. In actuality, I should write a post about why certain players are not on the lists below, but that could take forever.
Without further ado, the most controversial episode of Bolts & Dolts.....
Bolts
Offense
Vincent Jackson - 8 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD. I know a lot of people will not agree with this. However, after that ball bounced off his hand for the interception, he turned into a beast. Also, considering he got only one hand on that ball, I consider that interception an un-catchable pass that was simply made worse by VJ's effort. Although Oakland did everything they could to cover him deep (his longest catch went for 20 yards), he still was a major factor in the Chargers victory.
Defense
Shawne Merriman - 7 tackles, 2 sacks. It was against the Raiders, so it has to be looked at differently, but that was a really good game for Merriman. I was worried in the first quarter because I saw Mario Henderson cut-blocking into Shawne's injured knee repeatedly, but I guess he's just fine. I've talked all year about how he's looked too bulky and not flexible enough. This game, he looked plenty flexible and it helped not only with the sacks but he was also in on seemingly every tackle. Look for a big second-half of the season from Shawne.
Shaun Phillips - 3 tackles, 2 sacks. Surprise, surprise. Phillips has a big game against the Chiefs, and suddenly Merriman is seeing less blockers. Merriman starts getting pressure, and suddenly Phillips is practically running free. Good things are starting to happen. Shaun Phillips is the type of player that's good in an OK defense, and an incredible weapon in a great defense (similar to Adalius Thomas). Watch out for him against the Giants.
Chargers CBs. Not only are Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer playing really good defense right now, I think they're playing tougher and I think Steve Gregory has something to do with that. Gregory again led this group with 3 tackles and a sack against the Raiders. Cromartie laid somebody out. Jammer went knocked a big TE out of bounds easily (although that's not exactly new). Also, the Raiders receivers yesterday were thrown to 8 times and totaled 2 catches for 16 yards. The Chargers secondary continues to be strong.
Dolts
Offense
Malcom Floyd - 2 catches, 64 yards. Put away your pitchforks and hear me out. I know his catch at the beginning of the game was spectacular, but Malcom Floyd needs to become a better player outside of the first quarter. Let's look at his stats by quarter this season...
| Rec | Yds | TD | |
| 1st Quarter | 7 | 163 | 1 |
| 2nd Quarter | 2 | 24 | 0 |
| 3rd Quarter | 2 | 64 | 0 |
| 4th Quarter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Am I the only one disturbed by that? What the heck happens to him after the first quarter? When the Chargers needed a big catch from somebody not named Antonio Gates or Vincent Jackson yesterday, they had to take their chances with Chris Chambers. Look, I love Floyd's potential and catches just as much as any other Chargers fan. He was the most fun player to watch at training camp. I just can't overlook the fact that he appears to be a 1st quarter receiver this season.
Jeromey Clary. I don't why everybody is so eager to pile on Clary. He had a rough game. Players rarely have 16 straight good games. He struggles with speed rushers, which we already knew. He let Matt Shaughnessy through for the only Raiders sack of the game. It wasn't the worst game ever, but it was deserving of a Dolt.
Darren Sproles - 5 carries, 38 rush yards, 1 catch, 8 rec yards. Every few weeks Darren seems to have a game where the ball is extra buttery in his hands. It's a strange phenomenon. Despite the gaudy 7.6 YPC, Darren just wasn't a big weapon for the Chargers on Sunday.
Defense
Defensive Line. This one was actually close. A 3.7 YPC for the Raiders isn't that bad, and the Chargers didn't allow a run longer than 12 yards all game. The line's problem, and perhaps this is a silly criticism, was that there were only one or two plays where the Raiders were actually stopped for one or less yards. When it was 3rd and 3, Oakland could run it for a first down with ease. That's not good. This line seems to be good as individuals, but so far has shown no chemistry.
Stephen Cooper/Kevin Ellison - There's a reason these guys had 15 tackles between the two of them. They can't cover worth a damn. Did anyone ever bother to tell Cooper that he can actually stay close to the check-down receiver? Standing 5 yards behind him isn't helping anything. Ellison wasn't flat-out burned by anyone, but JaMarcus Russell had no fear throwing to Nick Miller when Miller drew Ellison.
36 comments
|
2 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
The criticism about Floyd
is most likely due to luck. Maybe he’s not thrown to as much late, I don’t know.
But that’s the kind of stat that almost always has something to do with luck and sample size.
We're boned.
by Zach (maestro876) on Nov 2, 2009 10:25 AM PST reply actions
Floyd is a good deep threat
and is a good role player in the offense. Even in the first quarter when he is “hot” he averages one catch a game. I think he has a role in this offense, but I also think people are expecting more from him than he will probably ever deliver on a consistant basis.
less is more. Vj, Floyd, Naanee.
the constant rotation of chambers and osgood in the mix, makes VJ, Rivers favorite target. which leaves him and gates becoming the only constant in the passing game.
it is possible to have to many weapons…
The peanut gallery has spoken!!!
They do have many weapons
and Floyd is one of them. I was not trying to put him down.
Osgood is not in the mix and probably never will be. He is a great special teams player and should stay in the NFL for quite a few years because of it.
by JeromeB on Nov 2, 2009 11:37 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
So you’re saying he’s not worthy of being the starter?
"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock
by John Gennaro on Nov 2, 2009 11:31 AM PST up reply actions
Based on the current roster
he is worthy or being the starter in my mind (partly due to Chambers playing much worse than I expected him to). I just don’t think he will live up to many peoples expectations. I could be wrong again.
I don't see how LT doesn't get a bolt for scoring 2 TDs out of the 3 we got
Yah, he didn’t run exceptionally well but
A. Our run blocking sucks.
B. The “wild frog” is a really cool name
C. He had a bunch of good runs as well as bad ones
D. HE SCORED TWO TOUCHDOWNS!
E. That whole passing 12,000 career yards the 4th fastest of all time
Mountain West Connection ::Above the Rest::
Bolts From The Blue ::This spot currently available for lease::
Representing the San Diego State University Aztecs, home of the 2009 College Cheerleading National Champions in the all women's division.
by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Nov 2, 2009 10:28 AM PST reply actions
What "Bolts" are not....
-"Bolts" are not given for career achievements. They are meant to point out somebody who had a particularly good game.
-"Bolts" are not given for one or two very good plays over the course of the game. If they were, Chris Chambers would’ve gotten one.
It’s difficult to say the run blocking sucks when LT was hardly touched on either TD run and Sproles ran for 7.6 YPC.
Out of LT’s 18 carries, only 8 went for 3 or more yards. That’s more bad plays than good.
"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock
by John Gennaro on Nov 2, 2009 10:40 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
They save all of the good blocking for Sproles those jerks
Mountain West Connection ::Above the Rest::
Bolts From The Blue ::This spot currently available for lease::
Representing the San Diego State University Aztecs, home of the 2009 College Cheerleading National Champions in the all women's division.
by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Nov 2, 2009 11:06 AM PST up reply actions
I am very encouraged by the good games from
Merriman and Philips. Although, truthfully, a couple of their sacks were coverage sacks, and Russel basically ran into them. Regardless, if these guys can get a pass rush, and Castillo and whoever is playing NT at the time can shore up the middle, I like the pass D that much better, especially considering the quality of the Chargers DBs. Now, if only they could get a little bit better at stopping the run. That is my biggest concern this weekend v. the G-men. If the Chargers can’t stop the run, there will be no reason for Eli to have to pass the ball. Eli has looked really shaky these past couple of weeks when he has dropped back to pass, and that plays right into the Charger’s strength.
Do or do not. There is no try.
Encouraged....Sort Of
Yes the defense finally got after the quarterback. But I am still worried about the run defense. This coming week could get really ugly. And where the heck did the offense go in the second half yesterday. Phillip had a Dolt of a second half IMO. Timing seemed to be way off for alot of the game. Three points in a half just isnt going to cut it. But if they can somehow contain the run against the Giants, I believe Emily will continue to make enouhg of his own mistakes to allow us to stay in the game. Because lets face it, the Giants defense has been getting gouged. Keep Phillip upright and I think he shreds that secondary. Good overall choices for Bolts and Dolts.
I think Rivers just had an inaccurate 2nd half. I’m not really reading into it any more than that. Also, Oakland’s defense isn’t that bad and Tyvon Branch took away Philip’s safety blanket (Gates).
"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock
by John Gennaro on Nov 2, 2009 11:32 AM PST up reply actions
The Chargers only had three non-kneeldown possessions in the second half
The first was blown up by a holding penalty on the first play. The second gained one first down and then stalled. And the third was an 83 yard drive for a field goal. Not a great offensive half, but not terrible.
Unless you count the Sproles punt return fumble as a possession.
That’s really what sunk any chance at additional production.
Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.
The Bolts given to the defense
were deserved because it is not their fault that they went up against the Raiders offense. But based on how crappy Russell and the raiders are, the D still has problems in my mind.
The Raiders highest point total in the 6 games that they did not play the Chargers this season was 13 and in 4 of the games they were held to 7 points or less. All six combined they scored a total of 42 points.
In the two games vs the Chargers D they scored 20 and 16, and were in both games.
I understand that “points scored” is an antiquated stat (so please don’t yell at me Wonko) but I thought that the numbers were interesting and worth posting.
I understand 8 points is in the game
But did you ever have a doubt that we would win that game, it seemed in hand the whole time, not the best performance but stats that matter are wins.
Chargers = Aztecs
We have proof.
I felt very confident
that the Chargers were going to win the game. I am glad that Chambers made that big third down catch late however as I did not want to give the Raiders the ball near midfield with a chance to tie it, even though the chance would have been slim with their ultra crappy O.
I am very happy with the win, as you point out wins are what matter, I am just not as happy with the Ds performance as some people seem to be.
I see so much room for improvement
I like to remain somewhat optimistic about this team but we still need to change things and i agree giving up the points to Oakland’s Offense is horrible, even though the TD came off a short field and Oakland could never really punch it in. I just would say its a so-so performance from the defense they could have been much worse but they weren’t exactly great.
Chargers = Aztecs
We have proof.
Every Raiders score this season
Has been with a short field (or maybe its all their TDs). So that was definitely key for the Raiders staying in the game.
Wisdom can not be cultivated through ignorance of information.
"Horned Frog formation," anyone?
If we’re going to hit up the TCU reference with frog, might as well go all the way.
“Horned Frog” formation sounds kinda cool.
Here is some of the cool online stuff I found from the bloggers over the last few hours:
http://justblogbaby.com/2009/11/02/raiders-come-up-short-in-loss-to-chargers/
http://mrsportsblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/beating-the-raiders-isnt-as-fun-as-it-used-to-be/
http://www.jeffalex.com/i-guess-youre-just-what-i-needed-floyds-emergence-will-pay-dividends/ (this blogger really high on Floyd)
http://bolt-analysis.blogspot.com/2009/11/bolt-analysis-week-8.html
It's being referred to as the Wild Frog in some circles
Already a TCU reference.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Nov 2, 2009 11:33 AM PST up reply actions
Wow John ...
Am I to believe my eyes? You actually called Cooper out? I’ve been saying that he’s a weak link for awhile, but hadn’t you been defending him when I said that we need more attitude in the middle, like what Dobbins & Siler bring? Cooper stood around watching Miller catch the ball more than once yesterday & gets drug by runners as much as Donnie, without the benefit of being as good in pass coverage.
We’re gonna need our thumpers in the middle against Jacobs & Bradshaw next week. And you’re right – Ellison isn’t very good in coverage, but his sure tackling will be needed next week as well. Otherwise, we’ll never get off the field to take advantage of the Giants’ suspect secondary.
The DL still needs work – a lot of work. LT gets an honorable mention because, w/o his 2 scores, we’re burning down Norv’s house right now. hahaha And I stick with the fact that Clary needs to be replaced. Sooner or later he’s gonna get PR hurt.
We need a fast start next week. Four wide & let ’er rip, PR. The 4 includes Malcolm.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
You misunderstood me
I am still 100% against a Dobbins/Siler mix in the middle. Neither guy can cover. They’re both as bad or worse than Cooper out there, but I do like Dobbins when he’s out there. Cooper is a leader and needs to get better, because he’s not going to get benched.
Clary had one or two bad plays. That’s allowed. He’s been better in 2009 than he was in 2008.
"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock
by John Gennaro on Nov 2, 2009 11:45 AM PST up reply actions
Thanks to him being a favorite of RR
That’s the main thing keeping him on the field – not his leadership or performance.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Nov 2, 2009 1:51 PM PST up reply actions
another bolt and dolt
Manumaluna- is a dolt even tho that second false start was on clary not him.
Brandon Siler is a bolt i saw some hard hits and he didnt miss a beat even though he barely plays.
i know its only one play but Kaeding is a bolt for making that tackle and stoping that touchdown.
special teams as a whole is a dolt excluding Mike and Nate.
Good work John, just thought id add a few.
by cameronm on Nov 2, 2009 12:20 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Agreed on Manumaleuna. He was definitely a dolt.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Nov 2, 2009 12:37 PM PST up reply actions
Damn
I had that written down somewhere too. Completely forgot about it. Definitely a Dolt.
"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock
by John Gennaro on Nov 2, 2009 12:41 PM PST up reply actions
Rec'd.
I agree with cameronm on all counts.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Nov 2, 2009 1:22 PM PST up reply actions
A case can be made for the red-zone offense to get a bolt
3 out of 4 aint bad, especially in the context of this season. Of course one of those was gifted and the O-line made the fourth quarter attempt pretty difficult with the penalty and sack. I don’t know the stats, but I suspect we’d take a 75% success rate from there at the moment.
The O-line seems to be moving in the right direction. Be interesting to see how they fare in NY.
Passion Play - follow the annual quest for the premiership in all its horror and glory, http://spunc.com.au/members/hunter/product/9780980517965/
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
BFTB Apparel Store
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
