San Diego Chargers Defeat Oakland Raiders, 38-26
by John Gennaro on Jan 1, 2012 4:33 PM PST
in San Diego Chargers News
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PrintWell, that was annoying. I was rooting for a Chargers loss and a Chiefs win so that the Bolts would have the easiest schedule in the AFC West next season, not to mention the highest first-round draft pick. Also, had the Raiders won a playoff game, their stupid Carson Palmer trade would've been made even stupider as they would've owed the Bengals yet another first-round draft pick.
So what happens? The Chargers win and the Chiefs win, ensuring that the Chiefs get the easiest schedule and the highest pick amongst AFC West teams in the upcoming NFL draft, and the Raiders miss the playoffs altogether. What the hell was the point of anything?
All that game did was prove to me that the Chargers are a really good team sometimes, but it's almost guaranteed that those times are when the games are absolutely meaningless or at least when San Diego has the chance to ruin their chances still.
Just like the great game against the Ravens, the Chargers once again went the entire game without a single punt from Mike Scifres. Outside of Philip Rivers' early interception (which pinned the Raiders back on their own 5), the San Diego offense could not be stopped....and that was without the team-voted Offensive Player of the Year.
The defense played well because they didn't really need to stop the Raiders as much as they needed to hold them to FGs (trading FGs for TDs). Antoine Cason chipped in with an interception.
I'm disgusted by everything. The 2011 Chargers. The Chargers under Norv. The way the Chargers played in weeks immediately before and after the Lions game. It's making me question everything. Is firing Norv even the right move? Maybe firing Greg Manusky and the training staff would be a bigger step in the right direction.
This was the breakup sex with Norv that I warned everyone about. The Chargers just took a team that had more to play for and typically pushes San Diego around, and they pushed them around and embarrassed their defense. What are we supposed to make of that?!? The players played for Norv when there was no reason to! That's probably a good sign, right?
I think I need a break from football for a few days. I hope they don't fire Norv until Thursday.
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Its better to finish with a win despite the added frustration
Screw this losing for so called better picks business.
by The Land Of Real Beer on Jan 1, 2012 4:40 PM PST reply actions 4 recs
Firing Norv is still the right thing to do, today's game changes nothing
Don’t let today’s game fool you.
Just like the Raiders had everything to play for today, the Chargers had everything to play for last week and played terrible.
At least the Raiders played us close today, last week the Lions completely blew us out.
by SDBear on Jan 1, 2012 4:40 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I really hope we bring Crennel in for an interview
I’m not sure if I would want him as our next HC but I would love to see him as our next DC.
by SDBear on Jan 1, 2012 4:42 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Same.
He’s a good DC, but that’s probably his ceiling.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
I, at least, am happy with the win
We’ll see what happens now, but I don’t think a slightly lower pick is going to make or break the draft. The next week or so should be interesting. Glad I have a few expeditions lined up for the upcoming weekends; I love football, but playoffs sans Chargers is just depressing.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
Was actually a good day considering it was already over
Bolts win, Faders misery, Rexless playoffs, more Teblowing. Could have been worse.
by The Land Of Real Beer on Jan 1, 2012 4:48 PM PST reply actions
win
This is the NFL you cant take weeks off. After a disapointing season you can only wonder what needs to be changed they give you just enough hope to keep you interested…………Makes the loss to the chiefs yu know the bothced snap even bigger….. I did see somethig today that gives me hope Rivers block on VJ’s end around shocked me maybe Rivers can get the Bolts to the promiss land. Still have gotten steadily worse over 4 years it is time for changes…………….
I am 90% sure
We end up with Fisher or Zimmer.
A pirate I was meant to be!
"You say you're nasty pirates,
scheming, thieving, bad bushwackers?
From what I've seen I tell you
You're not pirates, you're just slackers!"
by Zach (maestro876) on Jan 1, 2012 4:53 PM PST reply actions
Per Acee
Sapnos was impressed at the effort for norv. Does that mean Norvall still has a shot?
Also….
FIRE SAPNOS!
Doubt it
Norv’s dug his grave, and the fans won’t put up with him if he’s back next year.
"follow @radio2012, trust me, you will find his optimism, innocence, and honesty quite refreshing. as a jaded bastard, i sure do." justdave2103
http://twitter.com/#!/radio2012
by Jonathan Holmes on Jan 1, 2012 4:58 PM PST up reply actions
Spanos is probably trying to be gracious about it
Hence the delay in firing anybody. If he was actually pissed about it he’d have fired Norv a week ago.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
IDK if you guys saw the acee analysis
But he said this win could tip things in Norvs favor…
I commented about that below
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
I'd take Zimmer
As long as we can get a solid OC.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
excited
to see what happens with our team from now on
by chargerclipperfan on Jan 1, 2012 5:04 PM PST reply actions
^This
also, congratulations Chargers. you showed us peek of the team you should be, for next year.
The peanut gallery has spoken!!!
Enjoyable game, good to go out with a win
Tebow was horrrrrible – wonder what this does for his ‘narrative’? Good for Orton to get a win, he didn’t play great but he also didn’t make huge mistakes. Glad we put the stupid Raiders in there place. I am excited for an offseason of transition, hopefully for the better.
Aside from the coaching situation,
I thought it was interesting that Rivers got a couple more seconds to throw today. Since the reconstituted OL has been formed, the offense has improved. How they did it, I don’t know. But this bunch that ended the season played a whole lot better than the OL that they replaced. I am not going to alibi Rivers disappointing season with poor OL play, but you have to admit there is something there.
There's absolutely something there.
No QB plays well without a good offensive line.
A pirate I was meant to be!
"You say you're nasty pirates,
scheming, thieving, bad bushwackers?
From what I've seen I tell you
You're not pirates, you're just slackers!"
by Zach (maestro876) on Jan 1, 2012 5:25 PM PST up reply actions
I am really astounded by the left tackle replacement
How do you plug in a new left tackle off the waiver wire and get solid play from him? It usually takes a couple or 3 years to put together a competent OL. There is some witchcraft going on here.
Gaither always had talent
He’s also always had injury and character issues (aka he’s lazy), which is why he was available on the waiver wire this year.
My guess is he finally realized this was his last shot at an NFL career and that by playing well these last few weeks he could earn a decent payday next year. Norv’s system seems to basically tell the left tackle to block the guy in front of him, which is something Gaither is quite capable of when motivated properly.
Gaither isn't lazy
He’s been unmotivated because he wants to play LOT & first B’more (in order to sustain the Blind side story) moved him to ROT & then KC put him behind Brandon Albert.
Maybe his attitude about being moved was bad, but he’s always had the potential to be a great LOT.
So long McNeill.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Jan 2, 2012 4:35 AM PST up reply actions
Unmotivated because he had to play right instead of left
Sounds pretty lazy to me. Whatever the adjective, it was a character flaw.
Maybe
Maybe being moved from your natural position in favor of a guy who isn’t as good might cause some resentment.
He’s a better LOT than McNeill right now. No reason not to let him further prove it in camp next year.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Jan 2, 2012 12:36 PM PST up reply actions
Not for him to determine
Obviously the coaching staff and GM in Baltimore thought Oher was better, otherwise why spend the draft pick and move Gaither.
Whatever, it’s history. I’d love to keep both Gaither and McNeill, but that’s probably not realistic. Hopefully we can keep Gaither for cheap, though I bet he’ll be getting plenty of decent offers.
Just wanna thank you guys for winning today. We needed a little help.
Bronco Champions are being forged as we speak.
Not exactly happy that we could not win one more game than Denver this year,
but believe me, NOBODY that is a Charger fan wants chokeland in the playoffs, ever. Let them have their last playoff memory be of the choke rule and enjoy the karma of the unholy roller for all eternity… Good luck against the Steelers next week. You are going need it.
North Texas REALLY needs a Rubio's franchise.
If the Chargers had won the division,
could we beat the Steelers next week in the wildcard playoffs at home? The Steelers always have our number.
This makes me wanna puke
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Jan 2, 2012 4:36 AM PST up reply actions
Just do us a favor and keep Tebow as your QB moving forward. We'll call it even.
Bolts from the Blue // "At least when Wade is spewing vitriol he does so with an intellectual flair." - insanebolt21
Bloody Elbow // "I think we're poking fun at Leland's 'boner.'" - Michael Fagan
Found myself rosterbating and suddenly next season looks rosy (of course it always does!)
IF we can get a v good OLB first pick, then I’d be happy to focus on the O-line with the following defensive moves – Jammer to safety (trusting Cason, Gilchrist and Wright at CB), and with Castillo back and Liuget in his 2nd year the D-line could move from no pass rush to being pretty dominant quite quickly. If we keep Jackson then on paper at least, we should (there’s that word again) be a contender with any luck!
So for mine, I’d be happy to keep Norv and AJ, and sack Manusky, as long as the review of our appalling injury record over the last few years indicated that this was not Norv’s fault, and we focussed on getting an elite defensive DC and training/fitness staff.
queen of the rec fairies
although it broke our hearts it did not break our will the herd
One thing that was made pretty evident this year to me
If M80 is healthy and playing, VJax is that much better a receiver. It’s just a shame that M80 is only marginally less fragile than Buster.
"The only thing I hate more than Raiders fans is Chargers fans." - A Chargers fan
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Bolts from the Blue
I went into today thinking I might want the chargers to lose because of John's reasoning above
Once the game started, I was all “Screw it. Let’s beat the Raiders.”
Bold Prediction: Pablo Sandoval finishes 1st or 2nd in 2012 NL MVP voting. I'm Twittering now (well maybe not literally now): @GoofusMcP
Nope
Norv’s got to go. I’d almost rather be bad than to be mediocre. seen enough of this re-run. Need a new H C, a new D C and to shore up the O line (dielman and hardwick possible retirements) maybe jammer can play safety, haven’t been impressed with his play at corner. he gets burned, called for P I and or holding too much. A lot of critical decisions need to be made as far as free agents go. Who to keep, who to let go. Dean needs to decide quickly weather or not to fire A J. Depending on new H C candidates, we may not hear untill someone is eliminated from the playoffs.
The issue about Norv has become less about Success or Failure
And more about Team Personality and Culture. The quality of play is too inconsistent. Sure, we get moments like today where the team looks great and seems to fight hard. And then… bleh.
The other thing that I take away from today’s game is that it would be far riskier to put this talent base in the hands of an inexperienced coach than a “retread.” Oh, and Quentin Jammer has very little left in the tank — even as a safety.
The Chargers win and the Chiefs win, ensuring that the Chiefs get the easiest schedule
As I’ve said at least twice before, the 4th place team gets Indy next year.
So the Chiefs will host Indy and go to Buffalo. We will host the Jags and go to Miami.
The Fins/Bills matchup is probably a wash. I’d much rather host a visit by Blaine Gabbert than a Peyton Manning bent on redemption and playing to ward off Andrew Luck from taking his job.
Just me though.
Chargers win tiebreaker over Raiders
due to better conference record. So, we finish 2nd and get the Jets and Titans next season.
by hablodepablo on Jan 1, 2012 8:30 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
Norv
I know this is a bit nuts, and that he may not accept the assignment, but how about making Norv the OC?
Won't happen
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
Not how the world works
No way a new HC would accept Norv as still here, it would undermine his authority.
No way Norv would accept a demotion, as it would do the same thing.
Either Norv stays are OC, or he has to go.
Meanwhile
Acee reported that the win may have (MAY have) changed Spanos’ mind about Norv. Manusky appears to be gone, anyway, and that’s probably enough for me.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
I keep pimping Pagano, the LB coach
Wilks at secondary might also be an option. Outside of the organization I really can’t say. Zimmer is very good, but I doubt he’d be willing to lateral when he can get an HC job elsewhere. I’m probably forgetting a really obvious name. Other people might have better knowledge of the situation than I do.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
Unfortunately Pagano is reported to have signed as DC for the Bruins.
queen of the rec fairies
although it broke our hearts it did not break our will the herd
Wow, really?
That sucks, but good for him.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
Ace just wrote
That they could yet hire Pagano away from UCLA.
A pirate I was meant to be!
"You say you're nasty pirates,
scheming, thieving, bad bushwackers?
From what I've seen I tell you
You're not pirates, you're just slackers!"
by Zach (maestro876) on Jan 1, 2012 9:27 PM PST up reply actions
Good, I think
Any chance we can lure Phillips?
queen of the rec fairies
although it broke our hearts it did not break our will the herd
Not for a lateral move.
And even then, Houston is his home. I think he’ll retire when he’s done there.
A pirate I was meant to be!
"You say you're nasty pirates,
scheming, thieving, bad bushwackers?
From what I've seen I tell you
You're not pirates, you're just slackers!"
by Zach (maestro876) on Jan 2, 2012 1:29 AM PST up reply actions
Good news.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
Bring in Romeo Crennel as our new DC
by SDBear on Jan 1, 2012 7:36 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Oh yeah.
That’s one of those obvious names I couldn’t think of. Of course, he may get a chance at HC in KC. Any word on that?
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
What about
Mike Nolan? Assuming he doesn’t stick in Miami after they bring in a new HC.
Spagnuolo
Is probably out as HC in ST Louis. He is a great DC whose strength is creating pass rush without HAVING to blitz. He was great with the Giants in their 2007 SB run.
Norv
Dump AJ Smith and see what happens next year first. Dump Manusky look for Spagnola to coach your defense he is going to be cut lose by the Rams. And yes keep Norv there I said it. Things you cant do anything about are injuries the Chargers always seem to be hit hard with it. I would be more concerned with making sure Nick Hardwick, Kris Deilman and Marcus McNeil dont go and retire
I would support the guys retiring
Hardwick would leave a hole, but AJ did a good job rebuilding the left side mid-season. I guess I understand the hate for him, but I can’t respect much of it. He’s made draft mistakes, but I can’t say he’s done worse than even half of the other GMs in the league. You can’t realistically ask for much more than that. Add in his street pickups and I would be uncomfortable with a change there.
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
True
But his unwavering philosophy of hardballing his own players on contracts does not make SD an attractive FA destination. And the last few years he has gotten to cute with trading picks and being forced to draft out of need rather than drafting the BPA and having a more well stocked roster. As you can see now the recent neglect to the OL & LB spots are crippling us now and will only get worse with the possible retirements of Dielman and Hardwick. It’s also an indictment of him by applauding his “street pickups”. An initially better conceived roster would not need “street pickups”
I think the hardball rep gets overblown
McNeill and VJ had rough treatment last year, but McNeill has serious injury concerns and any contract has to reflect that, who knows if the hold up to a real deal was due to McNeill wanting more guarantees than AJ wanted to give him… And anyone who is not worried about tying up a lot of money in VJ hasn’t been paying attention to VJ .
Otherwise, who hasn’t gotten paid who didn’t deserve it?? And don’t bring up Brees, our incentive laden contract offer was only beaten out by NO’s incentive laden contract offer and that was only because NO couldn’t get Culpepper (sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make)…
by Stephen (shaynes41) on Jan 2, 2012 12:28 PM PST up reply actions
It ain't the picks
Any GM can bust on a pick.
For me, along with his tough-guy stance, is the fact that he gets fixated on a player & gives up too much to get him.
I have a hunch we’ll be seeing AJ, Norv, & a new DC next year. And Charger fans worldwide will commit hari-kiri.
The bus could use a few empty seats.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Jan 2, 2012 4:41 AM PST up reply actions
Sapnos
loves Norv
and will use any excuse to keep him
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
I agree with Manusky
has got to go. I gotta wonder how great SF’s defense is this year WITHOUT Manusky as opposed to having him here in SD with all the talented defensive players that we have. That’s a head scratcher!
The problem I have with the "strong finish" argument
is that it doesn’t matter. A game lost is a game lost, it doesn’t matter when it happens. No playoffs is no playoffs. Turner should be judged based on his entire performance, not just the last few games.
A pirate I was meant to be!
"You say you're nasty pirates,
scheming, thieving, bad bushwackers?
From what I've seen I tell you
You're not pirates, you're just slackers!"
by Zach (maestro876) on Jan 1, 2012 8:14 PM PST reply actions
I can't argue with that
"Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?"
I Think
That he is being given a break cuz of the bad breaks they had during the six game streak. Lots of horrible play by PR due to line problems or whatever. IDK that we will be a ton better next year but I know the defense cant be much worse.
you are not thinking like Spanos
a weak owner who doesn’t have it in him to fire Norv or AJ
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
Any win vs. the Raiders
is alright by me.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
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