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Philip Rivers' first interception against the Green Bay Packers was maybe my most frustrating moment as a fan of the San Diego Chargers. I don't often get overly-emotional during games but, after Charlie Peprah picked off an inaccurate throw by Rivers, I was standing up and screaming at my TV for the Bolts to show a little heart or fire.
Charlie Peprah is not Ed Reed and he's not Charles Woodson. He's never returned a kick or punt in his six NFL seasons and probably never will. Before facing the Chargers, he had 2 interceptions in 2011 and had returned them for a total of 10 yards combined. Against San Diego, he added 2 more interceptions to his season record and returned them for a total of 116 yards and 1 TD (and very nearly a 2nd).
I was up and screaming because nobody seemed interested in stopping Mr. Peprah from running Rivers' first interception of the day all the way back for 7 points. I shouldn't say nobody, Nick Hardwick and Jeromey Clary seemed to make valiant efforts. Patrick Crayton let himself be easily blocked, Mike Tolbert whiffed on a big hit and Vincent Brown might've shaken Peprah's hand and pointed him in the direction of the end zone.
What I saw on each one of Rivers' interceptions was a team that's ready to quit. As soon as the ball was in the hands of a Packer, the Chargers team seemed more interested in hanging their head and walking off the field and fighting for what remains of this season. I'm not blaming them, it's tough to watch your QB throw away the game every week, but it showed me just how little optimism there is on the San Diego sidelines these days.