That Did Not Look Athletic: Week 2 (SD vs. PHI)

That Did Not Look Athletic is a weekly series that examines some of the least athletic plays from the previous week's Chargers game. This series is meant to give us a few laughs by showing that even the best athletes in the world have their moments of shame. It's also a reminder that you aren't a complete loser just because you punched at a tether-ball and fell down in front of a bunch of 3rd graders.

I like Ray Liotta. I think he's a good actor. He's funny but he also does sinister quite well. There's one thing Ray Liotta can't do though, and that's swing a bat.

In 1989's Field of Dreams, Liotta played the part of Shoeless Joe Jackson and completely undid the art of hitting. Jackson was a sweet swinging lefty but Liotta played him as a righty and man did he hack. Surprisingly there's no footage of the swing on YouTube so you'll just have to trust me when I say . . . wayyyy un-athletic.

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With the Chargers pulling off the win this week it seemed only fitting that TDNLA honors be bestowed upon an Eagle player. But could it be that easy?

Ryan Mathews and his 2nd quarter fumble were definitely strong candidates to wrap up the hardware had the Chargers lost on Sunday. I wonder what Mike McCoy thought about as Mathews put the ball on the deck inside the red zone . . .

"Flying Steak", huh?

Honorable Mentions

Let's start with the poor sob's that looked miserable but failed to cut into our short supply of allotted GIF time for week 2.

Less than one minute into the game Chargers linebacker Reggie Walker prepared to break down in front of Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy for the purposes of announcing his presence with authority.

Mr. Walker receives the first game ball for a valiant attempt at tackling, LeSean McCoy,  a truly elusive human.

Reggie Walker

Reggie Walker's brain: "Breakdown!"

Reggie Walker's legs to brain: "What was that? Brain?"

Reggie Walker's vocal cords: "I feel like I tore everything below the waist yet I look like I'm pooping. How long before this is over?"

Reggie Walker's bowels: "Oh no, man. You're definitely pooping right now."

Reggie Walker's thoughts of despair: "Ohhhhhhh gahhhhhhh-d. I am soooooo glad I switched to #52 and everyone thinks that Larry English just missed LeSean McCoy."

Nate Allen (courtesy of Ryan Mathews' palm)

Ryan Mathews ran like a beast on Sunday but he fumbled the ball inside the 20 yard line and now everyone wants him dead. Well not everyone. Let's ignore his fumble and admire one thing Ryan Mathews does really well: administer a stiff-arm.

The RM24 stiff-arm is a violent thing of beauty.

Obligatory Philip Rivers

It's nearly impossible to do a That Did Not Look Athletic article and not include Philip Rivers in some capacity so take a look at this. Philip begins trash talking 22 year-old, 300 lb Eagles defensive end, Fletcher Cox . . . and then goes all NBA on him.

Philip knew what he was doing. Judge's verdict: Athletic.

It is the subsequent action on the play that provides the TDNLA, though.

Philip deserves an entire post of GIFs dedicated to stuff that goes on away from the ball with players and referees. That was great.

Philip also knows how to taunt with the best of them.

And Without Further Ado . . .

TDNLA: Week 2

Antonio Gates is good for at least 4-6 successful spin moves each week that free him up to make a reception. But he's also good for at least 1 spin that makes the defender look absolutely terrible . . .

On this play the lucky recipient of a Gates Ankle Breaker is Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks. As bad as this play looks, Kendricks actually recovered and chased after Gates. And then missed the tackle. It would have been a 2 for 1 TDNLA if the NFL didn't have this crazy policy limiting our GIF footage. Ah, such is life.

Have an un-athletic story you want to share for next week’s TDNLA? E-mail me at avengingjackmurphy@hotmail.com

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AvengingJM contributes regularly during the season and relies heavily on humor as a coping mechanism. Bront Bird completes him.