Chargers Beat Dolphins: Good, Bad, And Ugly

by Steve Adler on Oct 2, 2011 8:02 PM PDT

It was not always pretty, but the Chargers made progress this Sunday. In a game that could not be viewed (legally) on televisions across Southern California, the Bolts improved to 3-1. The Dolphins entered the game without their leading rusher in Daniel Thomas and lost starting quarterback Chad Henne during the first quarter. Enter Matt Moore and Reggie Bush to lead the Dolphins to a road defeat and send the spiraling fins to 0-4.

Good

Larry English - Three solo tackles and two sacks from English. Two sacks from English! Let's hope this is the start of something for the former first round pick.

Nick Novak - Novak put 14 points on the score board with a perfect 6/6 day. Hitting field goals from 23, 27, 38, and 48, Novak is easing the pain of losing Kaeding in the opener. Novak was also great on kickoffs, only three of his sevens kickoff were brought out of the end zone.

Philip Rivers - 110.6 QB Rating, 21/31 - 307 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers. What more can you ask for?

Ryan Mathews - RM24 continues to progress and seize opportunities. 149 total yards (81 rushing, 68 receiving) on 21 touches, while showing no signs of being slowed by injuries.

Eric Weddle and Marcus Gilchrist - Each with an interception today helped the Chargers turnover ratio end up on the plus side.

Bad

Penalties. Chargers dinged eight times for eighty yards.

The Chargers front seven. Giving up 50 yards rushing on 13 carries to Reggie Bush is unacceptable. I realize I'm being a bit critical here, but Bush is a sorry excuse for a running back and letting him get half way to the century mark is no bueno.

Ugly

Jeromey Clary - His personal foul in the second quarter halted a promising drive. Instead of 2^nd and goal and the Miami six, the Chargers faced 2^nd and goal at the Miami 21, and eventually the Chargers settled for a Nick Novak 27-yard field goal. Throw in his second false start in four games and that is why Clary ended up on the list this week.

That's the GBU from my end. Who made your list?

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Comments

Clary's Personal Foul

I have a hard time blaming him for that one. Appeared to me that the Dolphin player was really the one who instigated and Clary was simply intervening

by gman87 on Oct 2, 2011 8:17 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs

yeah Clary's personal foul was BS.

by koloco9 on Oct 2, 2011 9:04 PM PDT up reply actions

with bush

he had some nice runs but other than those 2 or 3 we bottled him up well I’ll take an under 4 ypc from any running back

by padres8 on Oct 2, 2011 8:17 PM PDT reply actions

That Personal Foul was just inexcusable.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 2, 2011 8:18 PM PDT reply actions

good and bad

V Jax.
Great first half. lookin like the best receiver in the league, but… injuries….

by claudiotheophilo on Oct 2, 2011 8:18 PM PDT reply actions

Killer huh

I don’t recall VJ having injury problem previous to 2010.

Steve Adler
www.Friarhood.com
www.FantasyDaddy.com
Co-Host of HBR on XTRA Sports 1360
www.xtrasports1360.com

by Steve Adler on Oct 2, 2011 8:21 PM PDT up reply actions

I think he got hurt diveing for the fumble that McMichale recovered.

by koloco9 on Oct 2, 2011 9:06 PM PDT up reply actions

I think the team did well overall

The only penalty that really bothered me was the personal foul against Clary, as you noted, but I can’t blame him for it. Those exchanges happen all the time and nothing comes of it. This time, the defensive player started it, took an obvious (on review, I’ll grant) dive and Clary was called. Coming in at the end of the argument was unnecessary, but it happens all the time. The defender just flopped down, and the ref threw a flag because there was an argument and somebody fell down. It was a stupid call that will give more ammunition to the anti-Clary crowd who don’t understand that RTs aren’t LTs, or they’d be LTs.

Ranting aside, The Offense struggled on the first series, but found a way to exploit the defensive weaknesses rather than stick to a gameplan that wasn’t working. I also didn’t see a ton of inappropriate zone coverage from the defense. These are both big improvements from the coaching side, but the level of competition has to be taken into account; maybe the Phins just don’t have the payers or coaching to take advantage of our weaknesses. In any case it’s a confidence boost for SD.

I loved the individual performances, for the most part. Holding Bush to 3.8 ypc doesn’t disappoint me too much. The DL is banged up and we lost Sanders, after all. Our OLBs aren’t great against the run, either. They did well today though: English with, I would say, his first GOOD game and Phillips getting pressure like he does. The ILBs played very well and Spikes in particular was awesome. Gilchrist held up well enough in coverage. I was not so impressed with Gregory, but I think he’ll learn as he gets more first team snaps.

"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"

by aesimpleton on Oct 2, 2011 8:20 PM PDT reply actions 4 recs

Dang...

Nice breakdown, I’ll make an effort to dig a little deeper next time. I’ll watching the game again tonight (in high-def). I’ll keep an eye out for the points you mentioned.

Steve Adler
www.Friarhood.com
www.FantasyDaddy.com
Co-Host of HBR on XTRA Sports 1360
www.xtrasports1360.com

by Steve Adler on Oct 2, 2011 8:23 PM PDT up reply actions

Watching again in HD? How's this?

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 2, 2011 8:32 PM PDT up reply actions

Tonight in HD

First time was is low-def. I have a NFL Rewind sub.

Steve Adler
www.Friarhood.com
www.FantasyDaddy.com
Co-Host of HBR on XTRA Sports 1360
www.xtrasports1360.com

by Steve Adler on Oct 2, 2011 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Ah, Rewind...

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 2, 2011 8:46 PM PDT up reply actions

And rec'd.

Nice breakdown.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 2, 2011 8:47 PM PDT up reply actions

The good for me was the sequence when we threw a pass on first down for 5 times in a row

Hopefully the coaching staff takes notice of PR 17’s perfection during that sequence and how it opened up so much more for the offense.

North Texas REALLY needs a Rubio's franchise.

by SDNativeinTX on Oct 3, 2011 5:38 AM PDT up reply actions

Also, go ahead and throw Tolbert in the ugly with his fumble.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 2, 2011 8:24 PM PDT reply actions

Why? fumbles are just dumb luck. right?

The peanut gallery has spoken!!!

by gatesoftds on Oct 2, 2011 8:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Fumble recovery is luck. Not fumbles. It's a pretty important distinction.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 2, 2011 8:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Fumble recovery is not purely luck.

If reaction time is measurable, and it is. Add in tenacity, vision, anticipation and luck is just part of it.

It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.

by The Land Of Real Beer on Oct 2, 2011 11:09 PM PDT up reply actions

It is in this game.

Fumbles are rare enough in gridiron that nearly every player is concentrating on other thibngs instead of being ready to fall on a loose ball. A loose ball only happens maybe twice a game, and even then you’re probably in no position do do anything about it.

In other games like basketball, soccer, and rugby, players are much more cognizant of the ball and what’s going on. In gridiron, nearly every player is playing the man, not the ball.

So, effectively, fumble recoveries are much, much more luck based than you’d think.

by I8EtoDunbar on Oct 3, 2011 11:25 AM PDT up reply actions

This is why no team ever shows the repeatable skill of fumble recovery.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 3, 2011 11:31 AM PDT up reply actions

That doesn't mean "recovery" isn't practiced.

i can agree their is fair amount of luck involved in the recovery, but you stated in another post you " believed recovery was purely luck". that’s fine, and you’re entitled to your opinion, but then why do they practice recovery, or tip drills? For the same reason the practice Dfense, running the ball throwing it, and even kicking it. They understand the odds can be manipulated with good dose of skill sets, because you can’t depend on Pure luck.

case in point, last year, when the Chargers but the ball on the ground there seemed to be more opposing players around the fumble than Chargers. In yesterdays game, when the ball went on the ground, i clearly saw more Charges swarming to the ball than Dolphins. that’s an improvement. and it shows not only are they more aware, but getting there more quickly.

I’ll Quote Norv. when he saw the game film, against the Patriots he was a actually pleased, why? " everything i saw was fixable". from pass protection, running the ball, to defensive mistakes, and yes, even turnovers.

The peanut gallery has spoken!!!

by gatesoftds on Oct 3, 2011 1:15 PM PDT up reply actions

Im not saying luck isnt involved.

Just that it’s a lot less than you think. Ask players if they recovered a ball by luck or if there was some skill involved, then prepare for your head to be taken off.

It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.

by The Land Of Real Beer on Oct 3, 2011 9:48 PM PDT up reply actions

If it's more skill than luck, why do we see no yty correlation on fumble recovery?

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 6, 2011 2:14 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm with Beer here

Given how much things change yty I’m not convinced that you need a correlation. I know this is against the prevailing wisdom but contested ball is a huge part of Aussie Rules and I suspect it gives us a different perspective on this all. Fumble recoveries might be on the edge of lots of things that can change – quite possibly subject to small changes in personnel, desperation technique, etc, and thus more variable than some other things. At least this is the argument I want to put forward at the moment.

queen of the rec fairies
although it broke our hearts it did not break our will the herd

by Aussie fan on Oct 7, 2011 3:23 AM PDT up reply actions

And frequency of occurrence does not determine outcome.

It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.

by The Land Of Real Beer on Oct 3, 2011 10:05 PM PDT up reply actions

Forgot about that

Flying leap? cool. Drop the ball mid-flight? Not so much.

"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"

by aesimpleton on Oct 2, 2011 8:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Talking about the actual fumble. I had forgotten about how he dropped the ball during his TD.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 2, 2011 10:33 PM PDT up reply actions

Progress, is to much to ask?

What aesimpleton said.

The peanut gallery has spoken!!!

by gatesoftds on Oct 2, 2011 8:38 PM PDT reply actions

Soo

My dad and I were able to watch it on TV via our nfl sunday ticket and nfl sunday ticket to go, respectively. Our billing address is in Oceanside. Was it this way with everyone else who has sunday ticket, or should I be thanking God for blessing our account with a (non)blackout error?

#feelinacertaintypeofway

by sd_Baby-B on Oct 2, 2011 8:51 PM PDT reply actions

your lucky

my brother actually had the game for the first 3 quarters (he lives in el cajon) and then boom it was off.

by cameronm on Oct 2, 2011 9:01 PM PDT up reply actions

My bartender friend said they had the game on downtown. Pretty weird/big mistake.

by BORTZ on Oct 3, 2011 7:16 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Spikes just called Gilchrist

Cookie on NBC. Said thats his name. hahahah. Man Spikes is absolutely hilarious, this guy must just be loved by the media. I start smiling even before he says anything in an interview

Winning

by Foilhat on Oct 2, 2011 9:26 PM PDT reply actions

So are you...

going to pick Denver to win THIS week?

Maybe you should continue your prognostications… they are 2-0 when you pick against them so far.

by JYBaritone on Oct 3, 2011 8:14 AM PDT reply actions

I think this question is for John.

My money is on yes, but I think you may be missing the point of those stories.

Steve Adler
www.Friarhood.com
www.FantasyDaddy.com
Co-Host of HBR on XTRA Sports 1360
www.xtrasports1360.com

by Steve Adler on Oct 3, 2011 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions

Sarcasm

is missed when you don’t use the sarcasm font.

6/10/2010 - Tra Thomas signs with the Chargers
8/21/2010 - Tra Thomas retires.

That was fast.

by SD FTW on Oct 3, 2011 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions

Psh.

Bolts from the Blue // "I eat cereal out of a giant novelty wine glass because it makes me feel fancy." - Britney Wade
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan

by Richard Wade on Oct 3, 2011 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions

Really, your going to trashing the front 7 over your dislike for Bush. He was shut down in the second half. As for Clary, he went in to break up a fight McNeal started. Stop nit pick and bring up something that is an actual problem. Try all of the injuries. You are reaching hard for any excuse to bash the chargers.

by JohnAL on Oct 3, 2011 11:04 AM PDT reply actions

Trashing?

I guess you missed the “I realize I’m being a bit critical here, but…” part.

You are reaching hard for any excuse to bash the chargers.

How am I trying to bash the Chargers? What on earth are you talking about? smh

Steve Adler
www.Friarhood.com
www.FantasyDaddy.com
Co-Host of HBR on XTRA Sports 1360
www.xtrasports1360.com

by Steve Adler on Oct 3, 2011 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions

A positive note on Clary's personal foul,

it was his first pancake of the season. (joking)

Regarding Bush, I think most of the Bush hatred is based on him not living up to the expectations of his draft position. In my opinion he has had a good career and is far from a sorry excuse for a back.

by JeromeB on Oct 3, 2011 12:46 PM PDT reply actions

No...

I had no expectations, I just don’t think the guy is worth a lick.

Steve Adler
www.Friarhood.com
www.FantasyDaddy.com
Co-Host of HBR on XTRA Sports 1360
www.xtrasports1360.com

by Steve Adler on Oct 3, 2011 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions

Since entering the NFL

Bush has been one of the better receiving backs, has done an adequate job running the ball on limited carries and made some game changing plays as a returner. He was a factor in the Saints winning the Super Bowl and did his part in making the Saints one of the better offenses in the NFL.

The Saints let him go for much the same reason that the Chargers let Sproles go, the salary that he was due to make was just too high.

On a side note, do you still think that Tolbert is better than Mathews and should be getting the bulk of the carries? I tried to warn you that you would look silly on your Mathews stance son.

by JeromeB on Oct 3, 2011 2:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Decent points, but Bush...

is simply a third down back and a decent kick returner. Meaning, he’s not worth much on the field and don’t even get me started about him off the field.

I think you may have misunderstood my stance on Tolbert and Mathews. My point was, RM should not be handed the starters role because of all his upside, he should earn it.

I tend to go into more detail during the radio show, but I can see how you may have glossed over things and come to that conclusion.

Steve Adler
www.Friarhood.com
www.FantasyDaddy.com
Co-Host of HBR on XTRA Sports 1360
www.xtrasports1360.com

by Steve Adler on Oct 3, 2011 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions

Maybe I misunderstood you

but I listened to the radio broadcast and read your posts, and it sure all came accross as very negative on Mathews.
The posts were not so long that they needed to be glossed over. I may not have understood your point, but if your stance was not “down on Mathews” then I don’t think you made your opinion very clear.

by JeromeB on Oct 3, 2011 3:14 PM PDT reply actions