Bolts From The Blue - Game Day Coverage: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego ChargersAn Unofficial Los Angeles Chargers Blog Created By The Fans, For The Fanshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47753/btfb-fv.png2012-11-01T20:32:11-07:00http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/rss/stream/33520452012-11-01T20:32:11-07:002012-11-01T20:32:11-07:00Chargers Beat Chiefs, Save Norv's Job
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<figcaption>Donald Miralle</figcaption>
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<p>The San Diego Chargers once again took advantage of the mistakes of the Kansas City Chiefs on their way to a blowout victory and a 4-4 record.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/san-diego-chargers" class="sbn-auto-link">San Diego Chargers</a> are back! Well, they might be. It's entirely possible....heck, it's downright probable, that the <a href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Kansas City Chiefs</a> are the worst team to play in the NFL in quite some time. They turned the ball over 4 times, not including a failed onside kick, and did next to nothing to stop the Chargers offense.</p>
<p>The reason that I sometimes worry about the Chiefs defense is simple. <span>Tamba Hali</span> and <span>Justin Houston</span> are very good pass rushers. Yet, for some reason, they disappear when they play the Chargers. There was no pass rush on <span>Philip Rivers</span> at all, leading him to complete 18 of 20 passes for 220 yards and 2 TDs (Don't worry, he still found time to throw a laughably bad interception in the end zone).</p>
<p>Here was his second TD pass to <span>Malcom Floyd</span>:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1278653/20121101213923.jpg"><img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1278653/20121101213923_medium.jpg" class="photo" alt="20121101213923_medium"></a></p>
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<p>There was nobody there to stop the Chargers running game either, leading to <span>Ryan Mathews</span>, <span>Jackie Battle</span> and <span>Ronnie Brown</span> each finishing with more than 5 yards per carry.</p>
<p><span>Matt Cassel</span> turned the ball over twice and mixed picture-perfect throws with wildly inaccurate throws that stalled nearly every Chiefs drive. He generally held on to the ball too long, but getting sacked in his own end zone was more the fault of his offensive coordinator (who called a play-action play in an area where you don't do that) than Cassel's.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1278659/20121101214747.jpg"><img src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1278659/20121101214747_medium.jpg" class="photo" alt="20121101214747_medium"></a></p>
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<p>Then there was the hit heard 'round the NFL. <span>Jamaal Charles</span> was trying to get a few extra yards when <span>Donald Butler</span> set his sights on him and left him limping into the locker room with a neck injury. Here's what the moment of impact looked like:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1278665/charleshit_1.jpg"><img src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1278665/charleshit_1_medium.jpg" class="photo" alt="Charleshit_1_medium"></a></p>
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<p>The rest, as they say, is history. <span>Demorrio Williams</span> picked off a pass that <span>Dexter McCluster</span> didn't want to catch (after being laid out by <span>Atari Bigby</span> earlier in the game on a similar pass) and outran a bunch of Chiefs players that didn't want to chase him for another touchdown. The blowout was official and Norv's wacky bunch gets to keep their coach for at least another week for a matchup against the <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a>.</p>
<p>Is this the turning point? Can the Chargers really salvage this season? Could they be in first place in two weeks? Or was this simply the case of the Chiefs being better at giving games away than the Chargers?</p>
https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2012/11/1/3588954/san-diego-chargers-defeat-kansas-city-chiefs-31-13John Gennaro2012-11-01T18:45:11-07:002012-11-01T18:45:11-07:00Open Thread: Chiefs at Chargers, Second Half
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<figcaption>Donald Miralle</figcaption>
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<p>The San Diego Chargers hold a 10-3 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs, who can't get any pressure on Rivers, but KC gets the ball to start the second half. </p> <p>Nothing makes a bad team look good quite like playing the worst team in the entire league. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/san-diego-chargers">San Diego Chargers</a>, who are probably still not very good on offense, looked unstoppable on offense in the first half until the very end of the first half when <span>Philip Rivers</span> threw a terrible interception in the end zone.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1278221/20121101204205.jpg"><img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1278221/20121101204205_medium.jpg" class="photo" alt="20121101204205_medium"></a></p>
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<p>The Chargers hold a 10-3 lead over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/">Kansas City Chiefs</a>, who can't get any pressure on Rivers, but KC gets the ball to start the second half. Unfortunately for Chargers fans, their pass defense has been so porous that <span>Matt Cassel</span> has actually looked good. That means that we could be mere minutes away from a tie game and talk of the Chargers' second half failures. Whoopie.</p>
https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2012/11/1/3588546/open-thread-kansas-city-chiefs-at-san-diego-chargers-second-halfJohn Gennaro2012-11-01T17:00:47-07:002012-11-01T17:00:47-07:00Open Thread: Chiefs at Chargers, First Half
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<figcaption>Stephen Dunn</figcaption>
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<p>The 1-6 Kansas City Chiefs travel west to take on a struggling San Diego Chargers team in a game that could determine the future for both coaching staffs.</p> <p>The San Diego Chargers sit at a crossroads. They're one game out of first place, but has lost four of their last five games in embarrassing fashion. Their superstars aren't playing well, their veterans aren't playing well and their rookies haven't seen much of the field. Three straight wins would put them right back in the driver's seat of the AFC West, but a loss tonight could spell the end of their season. This game could not be more important to the 2012 Chargers or their Head Coach, Norv Turner.</p>
<p>The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 2010 season 10-6, champions of the AFC West. After suffering some major injuries in 2011, they sunk down to 7-9. Now that the talent has returned, the team is off to a 1-6 start and seems lost. However, with most of the players from that 2010 season still around, they could get their feet under them and go on a run themselves.</p>
<p>The Chiefs are unquestionably the worst team in the league. However, the Cleveland Browns were considered one of the league's weakest teams before beating San Diego last Sunday. Another loss like that, this time to a division rival, would likely bring an immediate end to the Norv Turner era in San Diego.</p>
<p>Did I stress how important this game is for the Chargers? Really important.</p>
https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2012/11/1/3587678/open-thread-kansas-city-chiefs-at-san-diego-chargers-first-halfJohn Gennaro2012-11-01T16:16:08-07:002012-11-01T16:16:08-07:00Inactives: Chargers at Chiefs
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<figcaption>Guess who's back? | Stephen Dunn</figcaption>
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<p>Antonio Garay and Shareece Wright are absent from this list for the first time in a long time.</p> <p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/san-diego-chargers">San Diego Chargers</a> Inactives</b></p>
<p><span>Robert Meachem</span>, WR<br><span>Eddie Royal</span>, WR<br>Chris Carr, CB<br><span>Brandon Taylor</span>, SS<br><span>Larry English</span>, OLB<br><span>Jonas Mouton</span>, LB<br><span>Ladarius Green</span>, TE</p>
<p>Oh boy. <span>Philip Rivers</span>, in the midst of a slump, now gets to go on national television with just three Wide Receivers to throw to. Expect to see a heck of a lot of <span>Dante Rosario</span> and <span>Randy McMichael</span> tonight, which could actually help the Chargers to disguise their running attack.</p>
<p>Curious to see Larry English on this list, as it means that <span>Antonio Garay</span> and <span>Shareece Wright</span> will both be suited up and ready to go.</p>
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<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/">Kansas City Chiefs</a> Inactives</b></p>
<p><span>Stanford Routt</span>, CB<br><span>Brady Quinn</span>, QB<br><span>Devon Wylie</span>, WR<br><span>Nate Eachus</span>, RB<br><span>Bryan Kehl</span>, LB<br><span>Bryan Mattison</span>, C<br><span>Jerrell Powe</span>, DT</p>
<p>Despite the fact that the Chiefs starting QB is on this list, there's little evidence that Quinn was an improvement over <span>Matt Cassel</span>. The most important name on this list is starting Stanford Routt. Whether <span>Danario Alexander</span> or <span>Seyi Ajirotutu</span> is the starter opposite <span>Malcom Floyd</span>, they'll be matched up against a backup.</p>
https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2012/11/1/3587962/inactives-kansas-city-chiefs-at-san-diego-chargersJohn Gennaro