Same Charger Team Equals Same Results

My early season prediction of the Chargers not winning a game may not be 100% accurate, but I think I may only be 1 game off. The Chargers go into Denver and never really were in this game...and to the casual viewer of Charger games, one may have thought the Chargers had a chance, but just had a few bad plays...well, maybe not a few, but a lot... but theChargers are just not good and when the pressue is on this team, they fold.

The key play in this game happened in the third quarter. The Chargers had scored to pull within 3 points of the Broncos, 10-13. With 4:42 in the quarter, the Chargers forced the Broncos to punt and a 15 yard running into the kicker penalty kept the drive going for the Broncos...same drive, 4th and 9 on the Charger 33, the Broncos decide to go for it and a Plummer to Lelie td is the end result...game over for the Chargers, they lose 23-13.

Brees continues to struggle and it will only be a matter of time before Rivers will become the starting QB for the Chargers. I continued to support Brees as the starter for the Chargers, even into this game despite perfroming poorly last week, but I must withdraw my support for him as the Charger starter as of right now. Tomlinson had more passing yards than Brees did in the first half...yes, LT had 38 yards to Brees' 16 first half passing yards...on the upside, Brees, the recipient of the 38 yard Tomlinson pass lead the Chargers receivers at the half. On two seperate occasions Tim Dwight was WIDE open deep and poor passes from Brees gave Dwight absolutely no chance to make a play. Brees' passes all game were very irratic, receivers were almost always having to make adjustments to catch the ball. This is what has plagued Brees for the past season and half and is becoming more blatently apparent as the 2004-05 campaign continues. The Broncos took Tomlinson out of the game and forced the Chargers to win with their passing game and because Brees was ineffective for most of the game meant the Chargers would end up short.

Some of my thoughts...

- The Broncos can't possibly be a good team. I'm not sold on Plummer and my opinion hasn't changed. He didn't lose the game for the Broncos, but that's all any team/quarterback needs to do when playing this weak Charger team. The Chargers did stop the run, but as per usual, why run against the Chargers when you can pass. Teams are able to move the ball however they desire against the Chargers...the Charger defense has yet to prove they can stop any team at any time and that trend continues.

- How many times does John Elway get honored in Denver? The answer: every home game. This week it was the 'Presentation of his Hall Of Fame Ring'.... Next home game it will be the third anniversary of some win victory, to be followed with Elway buys a Coca-Cola celebration the following game... I haven't checked the schedule to see the other John Elway is god and we must never forget that celebration... Bronco fans, you may want to move on, but that's just my opinion.

- Could Dan Dierdorf be any more anti-Charger in his 'expert analysis'? I have been (un)fortunate to hear him do a few Charger games now and have yet to hear any comment from him that has been even remotely complimentary to the Charger team...sure the Chargers may not earn many compliments from anyone, but his nonsensical, over-stating the obvious and belittlement of the Chargers has just gotten so old with me, I mute the tv for any game he is involved in.

- Next week the Chargers play the Titans. With Tennessee coming off back-to-back home losses, you will no-doubtedly see a different team playing the Chargers...but every team looks good against the Chargers.

My New Favorites

So I've had some free time lately and have discovered some great tools for web surfing...

First, if you aren't using Firefox as your web browser, you are missing out. It is a lot faster than IE and allegedly more secure. It has 'tabbed' browsing which allows a person to view multiple web pages in one window...as just one of the many features. But what makes it really cool is the customization. What really has peaked my interest was the extensions (addons) I have installed, some of which are really cool...

For all you blog-heads out there is the Sage plugin. A great way to get blog and news feeds....a quick easy way to surf your favorite blogs and news sites.

Next is Stumble Upon...which is a great tool if you are killing time and/or just want to surf the net. It's free to use. Sign up, click your interests and then click the 'Stumble' button to view web sites that fit into your rankings. I've just used the 'Stumble Upon' feature for a little while and am loving it! It's a great way to see sites that you are interested in without having to do any 'searching' for them.

Then for all your 'power users' is the Mouse Gestures extension which allows you to quickly navigate forward, back, open or close web pages with a simple right-click hold and move (or whatever you configure). Makes moving in and around a site quick and efficient.

If you think you are internet savvy, you better at least be aware of these tools...but I am willing to bet that all those that truly are internet savvy are using them now!

Not As Close As It Looked....

The Chargers ended up losing by 6 to the Jets (34-28) this past Sunday, but the game wasn't that close. The Jets had a 14-0 lead after their first 2 possessions and the Chargers had 4 total turnovers. A 87 yard kickoff return by Tim Dwight was the big highlight for the Chargers that put the Chargers on the board, but still trailed at the half 17-7.

The Chargers, despite 4 turnovers, could have snuck out a victory with a defensive stop in the fourth quarter. The Chargers trailed 27-21, after scoring with 8:05 left in the game, but the Jets easily moved the ball on a 70 yard drive, highlighted by a 48 yard Pennington to Moss completion, to essentially deal the death-blow.

That Jet drive exposed what the Chargers team of past and still in the present exhibit...the inability to stop a team from moving the ball...especially late in the game. Curtis Martin was able to run early and for good yardage (32-137-3.7) as the Chargers had no containment. Pennington's uniform will not need to be sent to the cleaners for the Chargers were unable to even lay a hand on him. Penningon was able to sit back with no pressure and throw the ball to any of the open targets with little worry about any pass rush.

- Brees was benched after sustaining a concussion and Doug Flutie came in for the final Charger score. Brees did have 2 intercerptions, the first one was totally awful... no Charger player in the vicinity and looked to be thrown directly to the Jet defender. Brees also did fumble early in the fourth quarter, crediting him with 3 of the 4 turnovers. The offensive line did give up a sack but it is evident that with Tomlinson in the backfield teams are respecting the run which is helping the passing game.

- Tomlinson continues to show why he is the best running back in the league. 87 yards and a td on 19 carries and 76 yards receiving on 3 catches.

- Reche Caldwell caught a touchdown, as he continues to exhibit #1 WR skills.

- Eric Parker, although one of the fastest guys on the Chargers squad, fumbled a punt and dropped, what would have been, a touchdown pass late in the fourth...he's still young but these mistakes need to be minimized as much as possible if the Chargers are going to be competitive.

Next up for the Chargers is the Denver Broncos at Mile High. The Chargers have lost 11 of their last 13 meetings with Denver and with Quentin Griffin showing that he can run the ball as good as any veteran back, the Charger defense will need to find a way to limit his production to give the team a chance to win.

9/11 Pentagon Plane Conspiracy

I found this interesting...looking for information to the contrary...

http://www.freedomunderground.org/memoryhole/pentagon.php#Main

Chargers Week 1 Victory

The Chargers have already proven me wrong... prior to the season beginning I saw no improvement on either side of the ball and predicted a winless season. The Chargers then preceded to go out and win in Houston...obviously not an upper-echelon team, but a season-opening win on the road can only be a positive for the team's confidence and overall attitude.

A big reason for the victory was the Drew Brees came through. In his 3rd year as the starter for the Chargers, this was the most confident he has looked, made good reads and because Tomlinson was in the backfield, it made the Texans always honor the run and thus open the passing game up...which happened last season, but Brees and the receivers never were able to exploit the opportunities. Tight End Antonio Gates had a fantastic day, 8 catches and 120 plus yards. Young receivers Caldwell and Parker both had touchdown catches and respectable days.

The defense, which in the recent past, has been notorious for failing to stop teams from scoring, especially late in the game...or when protecting a lead, was able to keep the Texans from scoring in the 4th on 2 series' to preserve the lead...helped with Texan miscues and turnovers, but regardless a good way for the defense to begin the 2004-05 campaign.

This week the Jets roll into San Diego. Many of the major sport writers are writing off the Chargers' week 1 victory as nothing special and the 'real' Chargers will show up shortly, if not this week against the Jets. I know that the Chargers have already proven me wrong once and will be more than happy to have them continue to do so... I still have my reservations about Marty Schottenheimer, the entire defense, the offensive line and the wide receivers and the week one victory over the Texans...although gleefully accepted...did nothing to alter my concerns in those areas.