More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

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About a week ago, somebody in the comments here (and forgive me for forgetting who it was) pointed me in the direction of a former HS football coach who was grading Chargers offensive linemen on every single play to give everyone a good idea of who was playing well and who wasn't.  He was posting his findings on Facebook and the Chargers.com forums, but not here.

I reached out to him, to see if I could convince him to post his stuff here as well.  Seeing as how most of us are stat-geeks, I assured him there'd be an audience for it.  I finally got my response yesterday, in the form of an awesome spreadsheet.  Go ahead and click on that link.  It should open up the spreadsheet, which shows Paul's grades on every play for the Chargers games played in Weeks 1, 2, 3 and 8.

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More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

6 days ago: New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning sits on the ground after being knocked down during the second quarter an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Luckily for us, this game is not in primetime and is very important for both teams.  Because of that, the Philip Rivers vs. Eli Manning storyline isn't getting as much attention as it normally would.  Chargers fans are more concerned with a victory, which is desperately needed, and Giants fans are more concerned with Eli's health.  Still, there's a way in which the QB conversation can be had in the context of this game and I'd like to do it.

It's not difficult to argue that Philip is having the better season.  He has about as many TDs (12 to Manning's 13) with half as many interceptions and a higher completion rating.  These stats were also mostly attained under duress, evidence by the 16 times Rivers has been sacked in comparison to Manning's 8.  That doesn't tell the whole story though.

Eli Manning injured his foot in a week 4 matchup against the Chiefs.  The following week, it seemed all was fine as he destroyed the Raiders (8-for-10, 173 yards, 2 TDs).  The three weeks since, however, have shown that Manning is struggling to be an effective QB because he's not comfortable planting on to that injured foot while throwing.

On the flip side, Philip Rivers has stayed healthy and consistent throughout the season.  The last three weeks have resulted in 2 wins and 3 of Rivers' 4 best games of the season.  So if we compare how the QBs have been doing over the last three weeks, it probably won't be pretty.......

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Holy crap.  I just found the most in-depth stats for offensive linemen and I couldn't be happier.  Not by the stats (haven't scoured them all yet), but just by having a legitimate way for statistical analysis on offensive linemen.  Let's look through the Chargers' offensive linemen through the first 6 games of 2009 and see how they've played.....

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Active Rushing Attempts Leaders (2009 Output)

1. Edgerrin James - 3,022 career carries

2. LaDainian Tomlinson - 2,718 career carries

3. Jamal Lewis - 2,481 career carries

4. Fred Taylor - 2,473 career carries

5. Clinton Portis - 2,172 career carries

Kindof weird how similar they all are, isn't it?  I have a friend who is a big Redskins fan, and a couple weeks ago I watched a Redskins game with him.  Clinton Portis ran for an 8 yard gain early in the game and my friend said "That's like the old Clinton Portis that we've been missing.  Some more of that and the team will be back on track!"  It sounded so much like some Chargers fans I know, when talking about LT, that it was eerie.

More photos » by Tony Avelar - AP

12 days ago: Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell sits on the bench in the closing minutes of Oakland's 38-0 loss to the New York Jets in an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

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I know every time I bring up QB rating people feel the need to mention that it's an antiquated statistic.  I get it.  There are probably better means of identifying who the best and worst QBs in the league are, but the QB rating still works quite well. 

If we're looking at all of the QBs in the league, who would be your top 10 in 2009?  Would it look like this?

1. Peyton Manning
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Drew Brees
4. Matt Schaub
5. Ben Roethlisberger
6. Brett Favre
7. Kyle Orton
8. Tom Brady
9. Philip Rivers
10. Tony Romo

That's your top 10 NFL QBs in 2009 ranked by their QB Rating.  It's not identical to my list of the best 2009 QBs (I'd probably have Rodgers down a couple of spots), but it's damn close.  That's why I continue to at least respect the QB Rating stat as a means to judge a QB's performance.

Here where it gets amazing.  There are 32 teams in the NFL and therefore 32 starting QBs.  Due to injuries and changes in the position for some teams, 35 QBs have averaged at least 14 passes per game.  Can you guess where JaMarcus Russell ranks amongst those 35 signal-callers?  34th. That means there are at least two QBs in the league who are or were considered backups that have played better.

Now here's the kicker.  The only QB that is still getting a chance to play the position with a lower QB Rating is Derek Anderson, who is probably only playing because the Browns don't want to give Brady Quinn a $11 million bonus.  He is considered a starter, and Quinn does not have enough snaps to be ranked.  That means there are three QBs that are or were considered backups with higher QB ratings than Russell.  Can you name them all? (Answer at the end of the post)

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by Chris Park - AP

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson has had plenty of reasons to celebrate in 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Park)

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League Leaders

Receiving Yards Per Game

1. Wes Welker (96.8)
2. Vincent Jackson (93.5)
3. Andre Johnson (90.6)
4. Reggie Wayne (90.3)
5. Hines Ward (86.0)

Yards Per Reception (15+ receptions)

1. Miles Austin (23.9)
2. Hakeen Nicks (19.7)
3. Vincent Jackson (19.3)
4. DeSean Jackson (18.6)

Percentage of Catches for First Down (15+ receptions)

1. Santonio Holmes (93.3%)
2. Vincent Jackson (89.7%)
3. Derrick Mason (84.6%)
4. Kenny Britt (84.2%)
5. Marques Colston (83.3%)

Receptions for 40+ Yards

1. Miles Austin (4)
2. DeSean Jackson (4)
3. Andre Johnson (4)
4. Vincent Jackson (3)
5. Six others tied with 3

Both the offense and defense were dominant in the first quarter of Monday night's game.  The defense even carried their dominance throughout the entire first half.  Unfortunately, the offense ceased to do anything effectively from the second quarter on and the defense which had been stifling in the first half had a let down in the third before breaking even again in the fourth.

Offense

After jumping out to a quick start for the first time in roughly forever, the offense played inconsistent, ineffectual football for the final three quarters.  They could neither run nor pass effectively despite having done both for the first 15 minutes.

First downs, especially when passing, were a bright spot and second downs were at least not terrible, but third down success was nowhere to be found.  The usual culprit on those third downs was a complete lack of pass protection.  Denver managed to get to Rivers in different ways, too.  They would bring delayed blitzes that nobody picked up, get Dumervil lined up against Manumaleuna or Clay or just run more guys up the middle than the could be accounted for.  It was impressive and San Diego had no answer other than the 20 yard pass to Floyd on the all out blitz in the first quarter.

Delayed blitzes, in particular, seemed to work without fail.  I've watched the game three times now and I can't recall seeing the Chargers pick up a delayed blitz.  Another failing that cropped up more than once was the failure to hold blocks long enough in the running game.  Holes would open and just as Tomlinson reached it Clary or Vasquez's guy would slip off their block and trip him up.  Perhaps this isn't their fault entirely, though.  I can't say for sure whether or not Tomlinson should be hitting the holes earlier or should be maintaining his balance as he seemed to in the past.

It wasn't all bad, though.  Rivers, in spite of the rush, made plays by buying time or simply not letting the proximity of defenders affect him.  Screens to Tolbert went for big gains and both Gates and Jackson had stellar games.  Also, Tomlinson, though still not the player he once was, looked rather solid and certainly better than he has in a while.

Defense

Defensively, the story is a little more pleasant.  Ron Rivera's defense looked very solid throughout the first half.  Denver could neither pass nor run effectively against the unit.  Two lapses on special teams made it look like a shootout at half time, but San Diego's defense was only responsible for 3 of Denver's 17 points.  Unfortunately, in the third quarter Denver's passing game started to find a rhythm.  They still couldn't run consistently, but they picked up big enough chunks in the air that it didn't matter.

San Diego's inability to generate pressure, especially when blitzing, was their downfall.  They were able to get penetration on running plays and occasionally forced to Orton to move his feet when the coverage held downfield, but they simply weren't able to even threaten a sack for most of the game.  Their ability to stifle a rather strong running game was promising, though.  Both Johnson and Scott showed up and when Denver wasn't able to commit two or more linemen to them in the running game they held their ground or created some degree of push.

The biggest bright spot was Kevin Ellison.  Ellison had a missed tackle on a long catch and run by Scheffler and was flagged for pass interference, but he was a force in the running game and more than held his own in coverage.  In fact, his finest play may have been the one he was flagged for as he made a great play on the ball and the call was a phantom one.  He led the defense in Stops with four and became only the fourth Charger this season to register as many as four in a single game.  Dobbins, Burnett and Cooper are the other three to have managed the feat this year.  Replacing Hart with Ellison appears to have paid off already.

English and Nwagbuo are the only remaining defenders with at least one Stop in each game and English's three were the first time he'd managed more than one.  The only other defender that really needs mentioning is Cromartie.  Cro was actually pretty impressive in coverage and made several good plays on the ball.  He also came up and made a good tackle for a stop on Moreno.  However, he also missed several big tackles that would have prevented first downs and apparently was enough of a problem on kick coverage that he was benched from it by half time.  The guy has talent, but there's something lacking there.

Wrap Up

Overall, I'm actually encouraged by most of what I saw on Monday.  Denver is a good team and San Diego looked every bit as good.  In my opinion, the only thing really separating the two is health.  Denver has been remarkably healthy this year and San Diego is missing key players on both lines.  We won't be getting Bingham or Williams back, but Johnson and Scott definitely helped.  And Nick Hardwick will be back and I'm convinced he's the solution to our pass protection woes.  The special teams coverage units probably won't have another game as bad as Monday's this year and if they hadn't managed to cough up 14 points in a half, the offense and defense looked good enough to have won this game.

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by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

Now there's a sight I'm looking forward to seeing this Sunday. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)

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It seems that just about every day I come across a stat regarding the San Diego Chargers or an upcoming opponent that blows my mind.  Either because it's absurd that I didn't know about it before, or because it goes against everything I had previously thought (or both).  Usually it's not enough (or I don't have enough time) to write an entire long post about.  Welcome to the new feature to go against that, the Chargers' stat of the day.

There may not be one every day (I'll try) and there may be ones that you already know about, but just deserved to be highlighted.  In a nutshell, I need to start posting these stats before I forget them all over again.  Most of the time, it will just be the stat and my two cents.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Then you guys can reflect and argue it in the comments.

Today's stat?  Holy crap, Antonio Gates is having a great year.  Let's look at how his 2009 campaign is matching up to his previous seasons:

Yards Per Game:

1. 83.8 (2009)
2. 73.4 (2005)
3. 64.3 (2004)

Did you know that Antonio made the Pro Bowl last year with roughly 44 yards per game?  He's almost doubling that this season!  Also, Antonio has made the Pro Bowl every season since his rookie year.  Has anybody else ever made the Pro Bowl in every season besides their rookie year?  That seems difficult.

Receptions Per Game:

1. 5.9 (2005)
2. 5.8 (2009)
3. 5.4 (2004)

Granted, this stat and the one above it are probably a factor of the Chargers throwing the ball more than ever.  Still, it's great to see him putting up great numbers.  This next stat is one that doesn't really get effected by whether or not the Chargers throw a bunch....

Yards Per Reception:

1. 16.2 (2003)
2. 14.4 (2009)
3. 13.1 (2007)

Antonio Gates, I know I don't talk about you very much, but you rock.

Side Note: Remember when I went to Chargers training camp and I told the story of getting the inside scoop on the players from a Channel 4 cameraman?  Here's what he said about Antonio: "You have to be patient with Gates.  He takes a while to respond.  I don't mean he's slow or anything, far from it.  You can just tell that when he gets a question he takes a minute to think about it and gives you a thoughtful answer rather than giving you something standard that he's memorized.  And there's no ego in his answers.  No bravado or false showmanship.  One of the nicest and realest guys on the entire team and he's always been that way."