5 Bad Things: SD Chargers at NE Patriots
by John Gennaro on Sep 19, 2011 10:21 AM PDT
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Oh boy. Where to begin? I'm very tempted to make "Greg Manusky" bad thing number 1 on this list, but he needs to be more spread out than that. Let's start at the beginning.
First Half Offense
I put a question out on Twitter in the middle of the game yesterday, which said "When was the last time the Chargers had more than 7 points at half time against a good team?" Nobody responded. The answer, as it usually is with questions like that, is "The last time the Chargers played the Colts".
In all seriousness, the first-half Chargers could be mistaken for the Seattle Seahawks at times. The second-half Chargers could be mistaken for the Patriots, or the Colts with Peyton Manning, or the New Orleans Saints. It's been this way for years. This problem is on both sides of the ball, but it's much more concerning that the offense (with the brilliant mind of Norv Turner and the unmatched talent Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and more) can not seem to score any points or do anything effectively until the second half of games when they're already down by 10.
I actually liked the call by Norv to go for it on 4th & goal from the Patriots 1 yard line. It showed his team that he believed in them (both offensively and defensively) and let them know that this wasn't your normal Week 2 game. It was important. What I hated, and it took away any of the previous good vibes, was lining 8 guys up on the line and 3 guys in the backfield. I don't often go into caps on this blog, so excuse me for a second...
YOU HAVE PHILIP RIVERS AS YOUR QUARTERBACK. ANTONIO GATES IS THE BEST RED ZONE WEAPON OF ALL TIME. VINCENT JACKSON IS UNSTOPPABLE. ALL OF YOUR RUNNING BACKS CAN CATCH THE BALL. Wouldn't it have made sense to at least pretend that pass was an option there? Just so that the Patriots didn't take all 11 guys and send them right at Mike Tolbert? Heck, if I'm Belichick in that situation, I'd be celebrating before the ball was snapped.
Mike Tolbert
The Human Dancing Machine. Here's my current stance on Mike Tolbert: Whenever he has a game that makes me say "Wow, he could be a starting RB on any team in this league!", it's almost immediately followed by a poor game. It's great that the Chargers have him, but I think he works better as a changeup to Ryan Mathews than the other way around.
Ollie WIlson and Norv Turner have been saying that this is a situation where each back will see his touches, but the RB that's hot will get fed more. I thought they meant whichever back was having the better game, not whichever back had a better game last week.
If you want to see the type of game a RB actually had, take away his longest run. Without Mathews' longest run, he finishes with 11 carries for 50 yards and a TD. Without Tolbert's longest run, he finishes with 8 carries for 3 yards and a fumble. A really poor, no-excuses, badly-timed fumble. Maybe get better at riding the hot hand, coaches.
Bob Sanders and Eric Weddle
What was I worried about? The Chargers' small Safeties trying to cover the Patriots' big TEs. What happened? The Chargers' small Safeties tried to cover the Patriots' big TEs. Here's how that went:
Aaron Hernandez: 7 rec, 62 yards, 1 TD
Rob Gronkowski: 4 rec, 86 yards, 2 TD
After the first TD, I said out-loud "Probably time to bench Bob." NOPE. Greg Manusky had a better plan. Let's start playing zone coverage instead, and that way the LBs and CBs can help the Safeties in covering these TEs. Then, because we all know Tom Brady is super inaccurate when you give him time to throw against a zone, we'll rush just three guys. It's brilliant!
Deion Branch: 8 rec, 129 yards
Wes Welker: 7 rec, 81 yards
Chad Ochocinco: 2 rec, 45 yards
If someone could add Manusky's glasses and visor to this, I'd appreciate it.
Linebackers
I can't wait for the game-charting stats to come out for this game. I think Takeo Spikes broke a record for missed tackles. I'm almost positive that I saw Tom Brady smiling every time he saw Donald Butler drop back in coverage. Shaun Phillips, to his credit, was running around the field on one-bad leg and being asked to do things like cover WRs...and still had a pretty good game.
I want to do something, but I don't want it to get lost in the shuffle and then nobody understands later like the CBD thing, so....
LOOK RIGHT HERE. IT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION. RIGHT BELOW HERE. LOOK!
From now on, I will only refer to Travis LaBoy as Derek Smith. I don't care that one is supposedly an OLB and the other was supposedly an ILB. Travis LaBoy is Derek Smith. Got it? Good.
Also, Greg Manusky should be fired for having Larry English cover a WR in man coverage. I don't care if it was one play, and I don't care that the WR wasn't thrown to on that play. That's grounds for firing.*
*Not really. Please don't fire Greg Manusky.
Health
Suddenly, the 2011 Chargers look an awful lot like the 2010 Chargers with new kickoff rules. After making two brilliant catches, Malcom Floyd predictably ended up injured. Patrick Crayton's ankle doesn't seem to be getting any better (he was inactive). Seyi Ajirotutu is in Carolina. This means that, for a second consecutive year, Richard Goodman had to play a major role in the passing game against the Patriots. Look, I like Goodman and think he could really be something one day. Today is not that day, not as a WR anyway.
Luis Castillo is already missed, despite the d-line playing pretty well. Shaun Phillips missed him the most. Antonio Garay missed a few snaps, but luckily isn't injured long-term. Derek Smith was injured, which seemed like the only way Antwan Barnes was going to get on the field, but unfortunately came back in the game. Antonio Gates was either drugged during warmups or his foot is seriously screwed up.
Bob Sanders and Ryan Mathews are somehow completely healthy. Football is funny that way. You know what's not funny? The Bolts being this unhealthy in Week 2. There comes a time in every successful team's schedule where they lose key players and need their backups to step up. The Packers won the Super Bowl last year without their starting TE or RB because other guys stepped up. The Chargers will need that kind of......I suppose 'luck' is the word I'm looking for.
Punt Returns
I realize this is a sixth bad thing. I'll make it short. Cut Bryan Walters. Break his kneecap. Do something so that he can't go near a field when a Chargers opponent is punting ever again. Please. I take back almost all the bad things I said about Darren Sproles' ability to return punts. At least he kinda knew how and when to fair catch. Bryan Walters is breaking the mold, showing himself to be an Ivy League-educated player that makes really dumb decision during the game.
I know he hasn't fumbled yet. The Chargers have been really, really lucky that he hasn't fumbled yet. He will. Let's stop playing with fire, please.
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Comments
The zone they were playing in the first half was just idiotic
They should’ve immediately ditched the zone and put in Gregory.
Agreed
Gregory is much better than sanders in coverage (as far as my untrained eye can tell).
by Lmbs2slaghtr on Sep 19, 2011 10:39 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Is it just me
Or did someone/ the entire defense not look at the Lions preseason game against the Patriots.. rule 1 with Patriots pressure and no zone.
John.
You’re shouting again.
LOOK RIGHT HERE. IT’S IMPORTANT INFORMATION. RIGHT BELOW HERE. LOOK!
Relax. Deep breath. Exhale.
It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.
by The Land Of Real Beer on Sep 19, 2011 10:38 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I always thought the plan was for Crayton to return punts
Sadly, he can’t get on the field. Stupid ankle.
by Lmbs2slaghtr on Sep 19, 2011 10:38 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
I thought Gilchrist was gonna get a chance too
by Kevron on Sep 19, 2011 1:00 PM PDT via iPhone app up reply actions
Per your request
"Los Angeles is like San Diego’s older, uglier sister that has herpes." - Justin Halpern
Gaslamp Ball Wiki - All you need to know about Gaslamp Ball, its members, and all the inside jokes
Bolts from the Blue
by creanium on Sep 19, 2011 10:41 AM PDT reply actions 4 recs
glasses
need to be down further on the nose, so he can look over them like a librarian.
by Stephen (shaynes41) on Sep 19, 2011 11:27 AM PDT up reply actions 4 recs
okay
"Los Angeles is like San Diego’s older, uglier sister that has herpes." - Justin Halpern
Gaslamp Ball Wiki - All you need to know about Gaslamp Ball, its members, and all the inside jokes
Bolts from the Blue
by creanium on Sep 19, 2011 11:47 AM PDT up reply actions 11 recs
I'm glad there's no limit on the amount of rec's I can give.
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Sep 19, 2011 11:49 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
MORE!
"Los Angeles is like San Diego’s older, uglier sister that has herpes." - Justin Halpern
Gaslamp Ball Wiki - All you need to know about Gaslamp Ball, its members, and all the inside jokes
Bolts from the Blue
by creanium on Sep 19, 2011 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
I'm just reminding myself that it's really early in the season
Plenty of time to correct all of these mistakes.
We said that last year
by Lmbs2slaghtr on Sep 19, 2011 10:46 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
It was right then too.
We just didn’t correct enough.
It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.
by The Land Of Real Beer on Sep 19, 2011 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I am confident that the players will get better and make less mistakes
but I just hope the coaches can figure things out. They need to make their in-game adjustments quicker.
Hah!
Don’t hold your breath. I am pretty sure Norv has the entire first half scripted and is unwilling to deviate from said script.
by BORTZ on Sep 19, 2011 11:11 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Actually, I don't think that was the case this week
He actually seemed to have a good plan that was working in the first possession until things fizzled out after a Mathews-Rivers miscommunication on what would have been an easy first down.
Norv still failed to do something that the Patriots do very well: find something that the defense can’t stop and keep doing it until they stop it. The Pats could not stop the Chargers in 11 personnel (3 WR)…yet Norv didn’t take advantage of that nearly as much as he should have.
overall stats
PASSING YDS 351.0 4th
Overall RUSHING YDS 87.5 21st
Overall OPP PASSING YDS219.0 15th
Overal lOPP RUSHING YDS126.5 26th
Overall not very good right now.
Really hope to see Mathews getting more touches going forward
Its been a few years now, but it looks like we could have a legit ground attack if he got the ball more rather than just using the run to set up the pass.
Or give him the ball in the passing game
Mathews abused that Patriots defense yesterday…he single-handedly injured at least 2 or 3 of them when he finished runs hard.
Couldn't agree more.
I also wish Tolbert would stop trying to be the second coming of Barry Sanders and be more like Natrone Means. Just run north and south and run over people already! That’s who you are!
when cameras were on manusky
He looked confused and exhausted….overwhelmed by not having an answer (apparently) to the pats offense….it was kinda sad.
Where was Crayton??????
Going into the season I thought the WR corps was going to be really strong and deep. Crayton demonstrated last year in tough times he could be almost a #1 WR. I remember thinking Jackson, Floyd, Crayton might be one of the best starting 3 WRs in the league. All the reports indicated Crayton was a full participant in practice. Does anyone know if this was a decision that had to do with Crayton recently having his ankle scoped? Or was this unrelated to health and just strategic?
If Crayton was healthy I have to wonder what he was doing on the inactive list. Once Floyd went down it was very clear, very quickly we were not going to get remotely the same kind of production from Goodman or Walters and then Jackson and the halfbacks were the only viable receivers.
Floyd was knicked up a good portion of last year. I felt pretty good with Crayton as a #3 who could slide in and even be a #2 if Floyd got hurt. Now Floyd is hurt (again) and the guy who seems like a suitable back up is inactive.
This offense really just doesn’t look the same when we don’t have multiple, legitimate, WR targets who can win one on one match ups. And when Floyd went down we lost a lot of that.
I thought Crayton was really good last year and would have loved to seen him out there Sunday.
HE'S HURT DUDE....ANKLE MAN....INACTIVE SIR...
IT WAS COMMON KNOWLEDGE DUE TO ALL THE INJURY REPORTS DURING THE WEEK MAN….PAY ATTENTION!!!!!!! CRAYTON WAS ON THE BENCH NO COULDA WOULDA SHOULDA MAN…YOU ANSWERED YOUR OWN QUESTION IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH.
Didn't he practice all week?
I thought he gave way to Diggs for an extra LB. Should have sat Walters and activated Crayton.
I think you are correct
Look……………..I don’t read every report on every website. I follow this blog and Yahoo sports.
Everything I saw including a report by Jon Genarro indicated Crayton practiced all week.
Generally, if a guy can go full speed all week he’s healthy enough to play. If a dude is hurt and has to be inactive there will generally be a day of practice followed by a day where the player has to rest due to swelling/irritation etc.
It seems like he could have gone but Walters was active instead.
Posted by Jon Genarro on 16 Sep 11
Probable
Vincent Brown, WR (hamstring)
Patrick Crayton, WR (ankle)
Not too bad. Brown and Crayton practiced every day this week, so they’ll play.
I saw him on Sunday
He had on a very stylish powder blue hoodie.
"Beating the Red Sox feels SO GOOD.! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
by Wonko on Sep 19, 2011 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Tolbert goal line was horrible in so many ways
They could have spread the field and Rivers would either find somebody or run it in. As mentioned – Gates is open unless double covered which leaves somebody else open. Plus you don’t telegraph your play.
Tolbert is a piece of garbage. Why is he not running over somebody? Instead he gets ONE arm tackled by a guy falling and barely grabbing ONE leg. He fell like he was hit by a truck. And if he’s going lateral (not sure why), he still had room wider with only a CB to stop him. And that CB was being blocked. Hindsight is 20/20 but it was a weak run at best.
This play was the turning point of the game despite how early it was. It turned out to be a 14 point turnaround. Then of course he fumbles later only to have the Pats score a quick 7 to eliminate another promising drive.
Actually
I thought him tripping over Hardwick’s legs was the biggest reason he was stopped on that play, and then the biggest reason for the fumble. Patriot’s DTs are good.
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Sep 19, 2011 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions
Tolbert is good at catching the ball out of the backfield
and he will get whatever is there when you hand it to him, but he is just not as talented as Mathews. I actual would prefer to see Mathews at the goal line, he hits the hole faster, he has more speed in case the play ends up a race to the pylon and in my opinion he is running just as hard if not harder than Tolbert right now.
Mathews needs to be the main back because he is better.
Mathews should get most of the carries
Tolbert should be a change of pace and a pass blocking/checkdown guy.
Hester should get the short yardage carries; he’s better at it than either of them.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
Hester has had more success
so you may be right. However I am not sure that he is better at it. I think most teams are not expecting Hester to get the fullback dive and that leads to much of his success. If it became the chargers regular goal line (short yardage) play I am not sure the success rate would remain the same, but I would be willing so see.
I don't disagree
But honestly I’d like to see fewer runs in that situation anyway. The strength of this offense is, without any question, the passing game. That’s as true in short yardage as in long, I think.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
im surprised norv isnt mentioned
idk if anyone else notices, BUT HE ALWAYS CHOOSES TO RECEIVE FIRST IF HE CAN!!! its so much better to recieve second half, because if your losing like the chargers always are too good teams in the first half, the second half good team has a chance to catch up and if they wouldve miraculously been ahead they could have added to that lead!!!!!!!!!!!!! And wtf was with that run on the goal line, rivers coulve easily snuck that in, or at lesat mathews couold have used his speed t run it in!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
canadas marriage is like their money, or military, no one takes it seriously
He probably didn't want to play from behind
The Patriots are a different team when they don’t have a lead so I think it was worth a shot. Didn’t work out though.
Tolbert: 1 turnover
Rivers: 3 turnovers… (one of them to a man big enough to have given birth to a full grown Tolbert yesterday)
by Stephen (shaynes41) on Sep 19, 2011 11:25 AM PDT reply actions
yeah
Rivers should’ve gotten his own.
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Sep 19, 2011 11:47 AM PDT up reply actions
We need a "WHAT'S WRONG WITH OUR QB?" post, stat.
And end it with, “Should we just suck for Luck?”
"Beating the Red Sox feels SO GOOD.! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
by Wonko on Sep 19, 2011 12:55 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I already have the t-shirt
but seriously, we lost this game because of turnovers, right?
Tolbert’s was at a critical time in the game, but points not scored earlier in the game hurt just as bad. Honestly, if we don’t turn the ball over, we win. That’s a big if, but no stat more consistently correlates to victories than winning the turnover battle.
Luckily, Rivers has historically been excellent at taking care of the ball, so I don’t think it is something to worry about, but beating up Tolbert about his 1 turnover while ignoring Rivers’ three as one of the main causes of the loss doesn’t sit well.
by Stephen (shaynes41) on Sep 19, 2011 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions
did the turnovers happen because of Charger mistakes
or good NE defense?
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
I think it's both
Chargers fell into some traps by a good defense. But, a great offense should avoid those.
Sometimes it happens though. Look at what would happen when Peyton Manning would play us.
"Beating the Red Sox feels SO GOOD.! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
both interceptions
happened when the pocket was collapsing on Rivers
and the Tolbert fumble was knocked out out of his hand.
I don’t remember the Rivers fumble – but it looks like all the turnovers were forced – not bad throws or balls laid on the ground.
That is what an aggressive offense does. They might let you drive down the field, but you won’t score. SD just doesn’t have that anymore. There is still time to pull it together, but I’m not sure if they have the aggro players they need.
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
Tell that to the Pats
Talk about an aggressive offense. They have that no huddle perfected to a “T”. The Bolts couldn’t stop it. I still can’t believe how weak the defense was up the middle (ILB, S). I had such hopes for the D in this game.
The Rivers fumble was him getting hit from behind, didn't see the guy coming.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 19, 2011 6:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Norv sucks
Norv is obviously NOT H C material. Manusky is a BIG dissapointment. Rivers has looked like dog doo in the first two games in the first half. 4 td’s AND int’s. in 2 games. Same old garbage every week for last 2 or 3 yeasrs. When, when, will they correct this stupid mistakes? Answer, when they get new coaches. Unless there is MAJOR improvement, this team will finish around 8-8 AND miss the playoffs again. They will lose a game late in the season like last year and miss the playoffs. We’ll probably end up 3-3 in the division again. Raiders win the division imo.
Luckily, the Bills pulled off a victory
Otherwise, Raiders are number 1.
Everyone watch out
The sky is falling
by Lmbs2slaghtr on Sep 19, 2011 11:46 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Truly
It’s even been raining here in Melbourne, which is a sure sign that the heavens are crashing down.
I know the repetition of horrible things is particularly traumatic, but it’s still amazing how quickly the expectations get built up and then come crashing down, stirring the need for someone to take the blame…
queen of the rec fairies
although it broke our hearts it did not break our will the herd
Norv is obviously NOT H C material.
OBVIOUSLY. No good HC would ever lose to the Patriots.
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Sep 19, 2011 11:48 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
LOL, but still frustrated
I figured this was a loss when I saw it on the schedule, but as it played out, it was winnable. The game is sort of a microcosm of the last 7 years. Close, so close to doing special things, but beating yourself and falling short.
North Texas REALLY needs a Rubio's franchise.
by SDNativeinTX on Sep 19, 2011 11:53 AM PDT up reply actions
I don't think people understand
the Patriots win all their games like this. Their 12-16 wins per season are at least 80% due to forcing the other team to beat themselves. It makes it more painful to lose to them, but it doesn’t make your chances of beating them any better.
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Sep 19, 2011 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions
PEOPLE DO UNDERSTAND
You are a walking ego. You are conversating with other people that understand Pro Football, good lord man you’re not a genius
"Used to sit 36P until the Chargers started winning. Ill take V seating anyday"
by traceSD on Sep 19, 2011 2:49 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
You are a walking ego.
Uncalled for. I’ll chalk this up to being frustrated by the loss.
by 'Eaters on Sep 19, 2011 3:23 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I don't think you appreciate how ignorant most fans are of these matters.
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 Sep 19, 2011 4:16 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
To be fair
We’re all a ‘walking ego’ from a certain psychological perspective. In any case, John’s right. The Pats play disciplined, efficient football, wait for their opponent to make a mistake, and pounce. It usually works.
"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 Sep 19, 2011 5:25 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
This made me chuckle
And John’s post did help me get something that I hadn’t quite understood before.
Thinking about it now, the Chargers played like they felt like they had to be perfect – oscillating between trying to do too much and then being scared of making mistakes and doing to little. And thus helped beat themselves.
It certainly wasn’t the performance of a team at ease with their own expectations or calmly confident in their ability. But I’m going against the prevailing mood and am quietly confident that they will jell fine as the season rolls along. That said, I’m always nervous of games we should win easily, like those coming up…
queen of the rec fairies
although it broke our hearts it did not break our will the herd
We still win this division easily
KC, Oak and Denver range from extraordinarily bad to just bad, and we have the occasional foot shoot. We knew we were going to be 1 and 1 right now, but I missed the memo to panic. Next Sunday is a new day.
It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.
by The Land Of Real Beer on Sep 19, 2011 11:55 AM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
Between your username
And this comment:
We knew we were going to be 1 and 1 right now, but I missed the memo to panic. Next Sunday is a new day.
I like you.
"Los Angeles is like San Diego’s older, uglier sister that has herpes." - Justin Halpern
Gaslamp Ball Wiki - All you need to know about Gaslamp Ball, its members, and all the inside jokes
Bolts from the Blue
by creanium on Sep 19, 2011 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
What can I say, I'm a likeable guy.
In all seriousness, good teams don’t break the glass after one, albeit frustrating loss. It just sends the wrong message. I’ve never played gridiron, but I’ve played and coached enough footy to know this is a universal rule. The legs can be treading water at a million miles an hour, but you don’t show weakness to the next opponent..
Tape will be viewed, adjustments will be made. These guys see everything we do and more. No one went out there to make mistakes and bonehead plays. They happen. Yeah we might have more than our share, but we are a talented, brilliant, flawed team. We keep working on the flaws. We move forward,
And if we lose next week, I was never here, ok?
It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.
by The Land Of Real Beer on Sep 19, 2011 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
damn you and cream should make out already!!!
GEEZUS
by Gorditoe1 on Sep 19, 2011 9:20 PM PDT via iPhone app up reply actions
For starters, get my name right
Secondly, I don’t put out that easily.
"Los Angeles is like San Diego’s older, uglier sister that has herpes." - Justin Halpern
Gaslamp Ball Wiki - All you need to know about Gaslamp Ball, its members, and all the inside jokes
Bolts from the Blue
Thirdly
We’ve agreed that we can still see other people.
It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.
by The Land Of Real Beer on Sep 20, 2011 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions
It'd just be awkward when he called you Tebow anyway.
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 Sep 21, 2011 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions
If they loose next Sunday ....
That would be very, very bad. Lose to a good team like the Pats? Ya kind of have to expect that. Lose next week to KC with their #1 defensive player AND #1 offensive player both out for the season. NO excuses next week.
by Trendsearcher on Sep 19, 2011 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions
You knew we were going to be 1 and 1 right now?
Did you bet the house and retire early? jk
For the most part I agree with you except for the part about expecting to lose to the Pats (I’m paraphrasing). I actually though we matched up well as evidenced by the fact the only time the Bolts lose to that team (or any good team) is when they play undisceplined football and shoot themselves in the foot with both barrels. Eventually, if they really are all that talented, brilliant and a sure bet to win the division, they need to start playing like it and actually win a game that they should have against a very good team.
Yeah I pretty much did
Along with about 80% of everyone else. I’m not saying there should be an expectation to lose. Every professional sportsman and woman should go into every contest believing they can win. I actually think we are a good match up against them as well. But that’s on a good day. I personally wanted a shoot out approach with our D turned loose to get in Brady’s face and make some big plays. But with the day Rivers had, that might have been even worse.
A realistic fan of this team right now needs to expect a foot shooting somewhere between 10 and 20% of the time, and those odds lift against the Pats. Most people with a gun to their head and asked where we would be now would say 1 and 1. So that’s what we have. Yes the loss was guaranteed with some undisciplined play, critical mistakes at the wrong time and even a couple of unlucky breaks and questionable calls. Some of it was bad instinct, a pretty much uncoachable intangible aspect of the game. So, we work on what we can and move forward. This just might be the really bad foot shooting we get out the way early. Time will tell.
And yeah, I think if these two games are repeated 10 times, then its 1 and 1 about 8 times, including at least once where we beat NE but contrive a loss to the Vikings. The other two we win both and lose both. But its all speculation. If every fan’s expectations were met, there wouldn’t be enough losses to go around.
Oh, and by brilliant, I mean we shine, fade, shine. While we shine more than fade, there is hope. I still want this horse in my stable over just about any other team out there.
It's NEVER a shrimp on the barbie. It's not even a shrimp.
by The Land Of Real Beer on Sep 19, 2011 10:33 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Well said!
And somehow I’ve been dimwitted enough not to realise that you’re an Aussie as well! (With a much better nome-de-web than me as well, grin).
queen of the rec fairies
although it broke our hearts it did not break our will the herd
Look, I expected the Chargers to lose
What bothers me is the lack of growth. Domination on offense with the same dumbass mistakes we’ve made for the last 6 years. This isn’t a young team anymore. When will they learn?
"The biggest thing..." - Norv Turner
I'm not even worried yet.
the season is young. Norv and Greg will come out and talk about fixing mistakes and stuff, and we’ll all feel better until the Packers or Ravens or Lions put the smack down and this team limps into the playoffs where it catches fire until the championship game in Foxboro again, only to play just as bad as sunday.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 19, 2011 12:05 PM PDT reply actions
Depressing
I can get that by just watching the game again :(
Manusky gave the Pats an easy 3 point score
at the end of the half. What kind of coaching is that? I’m not saying dump him, but I can’t say I’m impressed or reassured that he’s good.
Ya, what was up with that?
Somebody tell me there was some reason for that other than Manusky being so scared they’d score a TD that he was willing to concede a field goal? That just showed everybody how Belichek was just toying with Norv and co.
You forgot the biggest reason why we lost
Turnovers in the RZ. That killed us. I also hate not seeing Mathews trying to pound it in at the goal line. Tolbert is that bowling ball, but Mathews has speed and can also knock some dudes out, as we saw yesterday when he went up and up with a Patriots defender. That dude was dazed, thankfully he wasn’t seriously hurt.
I really thought Manusky would of make adjustments, but he was stubborn, he looked awfuly just like his defense. So far, its only week 2 and we did face the Patriots, but Manusky has been all hype. I hope he can rebound. What better team to go up against this week other than the Chiefs. 42-0 Charges. I hope Norv feeds Mathews the ball this week as he should be able to rack up the yards.
One more thing. Tolbert needs to be the back up
not the starter..We gave up a lot to grab Mathews and now he plays second fiddle. This frustrates me.
he was the backup
but Norv failed to do what he said he would do: ride the hot hand. Mathews was clearly the better of the two backs yesterday, and should have gotten more touches than he did.
Nwagbuo, Thomas, and Cesaire
proved to be backups. I didn’t even get the sense they were trying to put on a pass rush.
The Chargers are soft on both sides of the ball. We are not a championship caliber team.
When the Chargers only rushed three
it was painful to watch, and it happened far too often.
I liked norv going for it on 4th and goal but when you are inside the one I am still a fan of the QB sneak, even if your QB isn’t that nimble. I feel like bunching up the offense then turning and handing it off gives the D too much time to get some penetration.
Every time the Chargers lose it seems like Redzone fail is a big part of it. Even if the could just not turn the ball over and at least come away with field goals.
When was the last time we ran a sneak?
I bet it would have taken them by surprise.
"The biggest thing..." - Norv Turner
by Cake or Death on Sep 19, 2011 1:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Surprising Wilfork and Haynesworth wouldn't result in them going backwards
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Sep 19, 2011 1:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Allowing them more time to penetrate
resulted in Tolbert not scoring. I think from 6 inches out a QB sneak has a fair shot of scoring. If we are going to hand it off I want Mathews in, I like his odds better than Tolbert.
I believe it was Green getting knocked backwards that blew up the play.
I still need to re-watch.
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 Sep 19, 2011 4:18 PM PDT up reply actions
That's Green's specialty
Fall backwards and hope to tangle the rusher up in flailing limbs.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
I still haven't seen what it is that the Chargers see in Green.
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 Sep 21, 2011 7:26 PM PDT up reply actions
it worked with the Pats and Tolbert
:(
"I suggest more bike" ~KSK
"The Red Sox and Yankees are playing as I type but I don't know who's winning because I don't watch Arena League baseball." - the genius TTG
Destroying your facts with opinions
The bad?
The bad for the Chargers is you let our 325 lb nose tackle straight up pick a pass and then return it 28 yards. And then let the Pats follow it up with a 9 second drive to score 3 pts going into the half.
YOU ARE A OFFICIALLY A HATER
Seriously. Man of all the bad performances you have found a way to bash a guy who has had two solid performances in a row. That’s two more than your man crush Goodman.
"Used to sit 36P until the Chargers started winning. Ill take V seating anyday"
by traceSD on Sep 19, 2011 2:44 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
i agree
from now on I only want to see good things in your “5 Bad Things” post.
by Stephen (shaynes41) on Sep 19, 2011 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions 6 recs
Who's the guy you're talking about?
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
on a hunch im gonna say Walters...
"I suggest more bike" ~KSK
"The Red Sox and Yankees are playing as I type but I don't know who's winning because I don't watch Arena League baseball." - the genius TTG
Destroying your facts with opinions
Ah
He didn’t do much. Sucks so far on punt returns, but he’s young.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
Goal line
I’ve got a question: Why isn’t Matthews the running back and Tolbert the fullback in goal line, isn’t that the position Tolbert was originally signed to play? Then you could go with A) a traditional up the gut run with the bowling ball leading the way, or B) that little fullback sneak that Norv likes to call for Hester.
I guess I understand Niners fans complaining about 'prevent' defense
When we got Manusky I took a look at Niners Nation to see how they felt about him, and almost to a man they were happy about not seeing the ‘prevent’ defense anymore. I figured they were talking about a cover 3 or something, and that Manusky was calling it because he couldn’t afford to get too far behind with the SF ‘offense’.
I really hope the game yesterday was just some kind of carryover from that, and he’s not used to having an offense that can score. Because it looked an awful lot like he was afraid of giving Brady easy targets downfield. That didn’t work so well because the Chargers are awful in zone coverage, and worse when they get zero pass rush. I can’t figure out how Manusky thought that was going to work. Maybe hoping to hold them to FGs while the SD offense scored TDs? That won’t work against the Pats, and it forces the strength of the defense in the CBs and DL to play to their weaknesses, while placing way too much responsibility on the LBs.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
This team
can do so many good things, but they somehow end up doing horrible and some freaking how, they would be still in the game and some how they still make sure they do as bad as they can. Manusky could’ve done so much with the personal he got, but just came out and played prevent, do the Chargers have Robert Mathis and or Dwight freeney? I don’t think so, no creativity on D what’s so ever. BIG SIGH optimistic like always, hopefully things get better, we’ll find out.
Alright so what's with Norv
and trying to force the run to set up the pass? I don’t get it… This isn’t the early ’90’s with Emmit Smith anymore the strength of this team is throwing the ball downfield. They need to put points on the board that’s how you win games not by running the ball. If he really wants to run that bad he can run a couple screens or draws AFTER 5-10 passes. And also what’s with running up the middle four freaking times from the one yard line after you just got there by getting stuffed on first and second down runing then getting a big play through the air passing. That’s also why they get so many three and outs to start games because he forces the run on first and second down and ends up with third and 7 or 8 and Phillip can’t always convert. And now this problem leads to River’s slow starts to games because he is always throwing the ball on third and long until Norv figures out that their behind and need to start throwing the ball on early downs.
ugh… Of course we will win the division and maybe get a bye just because of the shitty division we’re in, but if we’re gonna win the SB this year we’re gonna need some serious luck in the post season on those ineviteable early third and longs.
"I promise you, we’re going to build a dictating, dominating, attacking defense. I’ve said it a million times. It’s not a slight on our offense, but we’re not going to win any world championship until we have that." - A.J. Smith
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