Rivers Sharp As Chargers Beat Cowboys

When this season started out for the San Diego Chargers one of the "unknowns" was whether or not Philip Rivers could return to his old form and be an effective starting quarterback.  The past previous 2 seasons Rivers has looked fairly bad to awful...turning the ball over during crucial times in games and failing to lead the Chargers, when behind, to game winning scores.  Rivers had a pass deflected and intercepted late in the first half and the Cowboys ran it in for a touchdown to go up 21-10...a feeling of another game down the toilet was beginning to creep into my thoughts...but, the Chargers were able quickly drive down the field and get a field goal just before halftime and went into the locker room down 21-13.

Dallas would not score again.  The Chargers defense seemed to let the Cowboys get a few first downs every series, but would do just enough to stop the Cowboys short of scoring in the second half.  In the first half, Dez Bryant was looking like a beast as he outjumped the shorter Charger db for a score and then on a catch and run, he seemed to easily glide away from Charger defenders.  But the Chargers defense made just enough adjustments to keep the cowboys contained.

Rivers was on target all day...throwing for over 400 yards and Antonio Gates had 140 of those yards and a long touchdown score in the fourth quarter that made the game a 2 score lead for the Chargers.  The Chargers defense then came up with a big turnover as the Cowboys fumbled the ball at the goal line with 2:42 left to play...sure the Cowboys wouldn't have taken the lead but it gave them a chance to win it...the turnover ended all that.

Even though the game was played in San Diego anyone watching it may have thought it was in Dallas as there were plenty of Cowboy jerseys in the stands and the cheers as Dallas did well seemed louder than for the Chargers...hopefully, if San Diego continues to do well the Charger fans will begin to show up again.

Dwight Freeney was injured during the game...that could be a big blow for the defensive line if he misses some time.  Even though his stats may not show it, he might be the Chargers best pass rusher....with other teams having to focus on him it has allowed others to get free and benefit from his attack.

Chargers are 2-2 right now, which is better than I thought they would be doing at this point...next up, they travel to Oakland.  I think the Raiders are improving and aren't of doormat status anymore...in fact, the way things are shaping up, the AFC West is actually turning out to be a pretty formidable division again...Broncos and Chiefs both have yet to lose and the Chargers and Raiders are playing decent enough to beat "bad" teams. 

If Rivers continues his solid play and the defense can start making more plays, the Chargers could certainly be a "surprise" team this year...of course they have yet to play the Broncos or the Chiefs to see how they stack up against those teams...but so far, the Chargers aren't a totally "bad" team...

Chargers Choke Again, Titans Win; Chargers Defense Non-Existent

The San Diego Chargers are back to their old self again...choking games away.  After a surprise road win in Philadelphia the Chargers had a chance to gain some respectability and win back-to-back road games...but instead, like in week 1 and many times last season, the Chargers had the lead and the ball in the fourth quarter and end up losing in spectacular fashion.

The Charger offense is playing alright but with the ball and time a ticking, head coach Mike McCoy chose predictable, no gain running plays to try and eat some clock late in the fourth quarter and rather than get a first down that would have ended the game, the Chargers end up kicking the ball to the Titans with 2:12 to play, no timeouts and 94 yards to score a touchdown...with :21 seconds left, the Titans - with the worst passing offense in the league - score on a 35 yard touchdown and go on to beat the Chargers.

The Chargers defense is horrible...how horrible?  Just read above...but to reiterate, the Titans are one of the most conservative offenses in the league and were able to drive at will to win the game against this Charger defense.  The Chargers defense is ranked 31st (out of 32) in defense and watching the game on Sunday a person would really begin to wonder how awful is the 32nd ranked team (which is Washington).

The Chargers offense isn't playing bad...but not enough to close out games...but that may have something to do with the coaching.  As for the defense, I think it problems are both...poor personnel and poor coaching. 

Next up for the Chargers is the Dallas Cowboys...the only team that looks respectable in the NFC East at this time.  I know they ran it up against the Rams last week and are playing well...if the Chargers defense continues to play like it has so far this season, Tony Romo could have a career day...

Chargers Shock Philly, Rivers Solid In Win

The San Diego Chargers traveled to Philadelphia, had a lead for most of the game, lost the lead with 7:06 to play in the game and the Charger team from the past couple seasons wasn't to be found - that Charger team blew leads and floundered in the fourth quarter... but instead of losing the game, the Chargers went on to defeat the Eagles.  What also is rare for the Chargers, it was a road game...they haven't performed well on the road in years and it was a non-conference game and I do believe the Chargers were 0-6 against their last 6 NFC opponents.  Plus, Phillip Rivers had to lead the Chargers on a game winning drive...something that also has been just as rare as all the other ominous stats for Charger futility.

So what happened?  Well, let's start with Phillip Rivers who looked sharp...and I will also give props to the coaching...the play calling seemed to keep the Eagles defense off guard for almost the entire game.  Rivers played a great game throwing for over 400 yards and had 3 touchdowns with no interceptions.  Eddie Royal... a player the Chargers picked up last season and most of us haven't thought much about him since because he really hasn't done much...but he had 3 touchdowns against the Eagles and has 5 total in the first two games...obviously performing at the level the Chargers had hoped for since his acquisition.  What also was fairly impressive was that Malcolm Floyd went down early in the second half and his replacement, Keenan Allen did a decent job filling in...in fact, Rivers was able to spread the ball around, hitting 8 different receivers in the game.

The Chargers could have had an even bigger lead if Antonio Gates and Ryan Mathews both wouldn't have fumbled on the goal line.  Gates, gets a pass from me because he has proven to be a good player and if you minus the fumble, he still had a pretty good game.  Now Mathews, on the other hand, has fumbled since he was drafted, never rips off a big run and has done little to prove his worth to this team.  Dan "the moron" Deirdorf commented on how the Chargers were going to "ride it out" with Mathews as the Chargers continued to use him on the offense after the fumble...well, hopefully that is short lived and even if the Chargers do continue to "ride it out" with Matthews, I think he should be used, if at all, outside the 20 yard lines and more sure-handed backs be used inside those critical areas to minimize the mistakes he seems to make every season that hurt the Chargers.

The Charger defense is still a cause for concern.  Even though the Charger offense was able to move the ball and score the defense had opportunities to put the game away by just stopping the Eagles offense...but the Eagles seemed to be able to move the ball very easily and in huge chunks for much of the game.  It was certainly the Eagles defense that lost this game for them.  And to not take credit away from the Chargers, but the Eagles defense was bad and penalized multiple times that often times helped the Chargers out of a jam throughout the game. 

I was somewhat surprised at the confidence the coaches have of Nick Novak.  The Chargers had a 1st and 10 at the Eagles 31 with 21 seconds left to play and two timeouts.  Instead of trying to move the ball closer or even score a touchdown, the Chargers simply ran the ball for a few yards to set up a Novak 46 yard game winning field goal.  If Novak missed that field goal and the Chargers go on to lose the game in overtime (it was tied at 30), people would have certainly scrutinized that decision to settle for a field goal rather than take a few shots downfield....especially with the way Rivers was throwing the ball.

This win gives Charger land some hope that things could be moving in the right direction...that the team may not be as bad as originally advertised, but the season is still very young.  The Chargers have to travel to Tennessee this week and the Titans aren't the slouches many thought they were either so the Chargers need to stay focused.

Chargers: New Head Coach, New Season, Phillip Rivers & Defense Still Chokes

Is this still the 2012 football season?  Is Norv Turner really gone from the Chargers?  Because the 2013 Chargers did their best impression of the Norv Turner 2012 San Diego Chargers where the team puts in a marvelous first half only to not come out of the locker room at half time and surrender a 20+ point lead to lose a football.

And Phillip Rivers continues to SUCK and in epic fashion.  Of course he was good for a 2nd half pick six and the offense, as a whole, failed to do much, if anything, for the majority of the second half... they were completely inept.

But let's not let the defense off the hook...they were equally hapless in their efforts to try and stop the Texans from simply marching down the field at will, with long sustained drives...a couple extended thanks to Charger penalties.

With 10:42 left in the third quarter the Chargers take a 28-7 lead and many people may have thought the Chargers were going to win this game going away...but no...Rivers and the rest of the Chargers simply folded up and let the Texans run all over them for the remaining 25:00 of the game and cranked out 24 unanswered points to crush the Chargers.

The Charger defense is as bad as it ever was.  Phillip Rivers is as bad as he ever was...sure he had 3 TD passes, but the pick six late in the game is the same old crappy Rivers we've seen for the past two years.

Chargers could have stunned a lot of people with a thrilling upset to start the season out...instead, they just live up their reputation of being colossal choke artists.  Don't count any team out of a game with the Chargers, regardless of the score...the Chargers don't have the fortitude to bring it home.

2013 Charger Prediction

It is about that time again...time for football fans to wake from their 8 month slumber and begin to follow their favorite team on their quest to win the Super Bowl.  For Charger fans it is no exception, me included.  I am a fan of the Chargers...always have been and always will be...yes, for some reason I can't be shaken from my loyalty to this team no matter how many disappointments they seem to deliver.  Yes, I am loyal to the Chargers and will likely watch every one of their games this season but I am also a realist.  I am not the "homer" fan that thinks the team is Super Bowl bound each and every year...I see their flaws...and their strengths and I try to gauge my expectations of the team based on my own observations and not let too much of the "mainstream" media dictate my own take on the team.  So with that...let's get into it and here is my initial thoughts of the San Diego Chargers and how well they will do in the 2013 NFL Season.

First off let's start out with the new GM and new coach...Tom Telesco and Mike McCoy.  I've already made some comments about both with a basically a wait and see attitude.  And I'll stick by that...the only negative I have really commented on was that I don't think McCoy may have been the best candidate for the coaching position because he was the offensive coordinator from Denver where Peyton Manning does most of the play calling...oh sure he may have helped with plays and whatever, but when it came to making the "call" at the line of scrimmage, Manning does that.  But offense is only one facet of the game and if he is able to at least manage the game, he will be better than Norv Turner ever was.  If I don't see a single delay of game penalty after taking a timeout this entire season, he already has one-upped Norv who seemed to get that type of penalty on a regular basis.  So if anything, the coaching for the Chargers is an intangible, at this point.

Now with the offense and the focal point of any team's offense is the quarterback.  Phillip Rivers...at one time I had him labeled as a winner and a guy that I loved on the Chargers.  For the past two seasons Rivers has completely erased that and is nothing but a liability now.  I think this story details it nicely... up until two years ago, Rivers was a very proficient QB in the fourth quarter, able to put together game winning drives...but in the last two years has been nothing but awful...turning the ball over 22 times in the fourth quarter and 2-19 in game winning drives.  Last season I noticed that Rivers doesn't seem to have the accuracy or the arm strength for the deep ball, allowing defenses to play closer to the line of scrimmage and even let receivers get downfield because they would be able to adjust and defend any deep pass because it would rarely be thrown and if so, likely off the mark of the intended Charger receiver.  Hope amongst fans of the Chargers is that Rivers play improves with a new coach...but as of right now, that is only hope.

One of the reasons, some Charger fans cite, for Rivers poor play the past two seasons has been the offensive line...and I agree that the offensive line was horrible.  The Chargers have made some moves this season to try and improve it, and it likely has improved, but it hasn't improved enough.  The other problem with the Chargers offensive line is not only is it probably sub-standard by NFL standards, the Chargers don't have any depth...so if/when any of the starting offensive linemen get hurt, their replacement is likely a big dropoff...and it isn't just the offensive line, the entire Charger team lacks depth at almost every position.

So let's move to the skills positions...the Chargers still have Antonio Gates who is still a gamer.  He looks like he is in great shape for this season and I hope he is because he is likely the Chargers best receiver.  As for the wide receivers on the Chargers...they are, for the most part, an unproven, injury prone group.  Sure Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Brown have had some memorable plays but as soon as you get excited about either they are on the sideline injured.  Speaking of injuries, let's move on to Ryan Mathews, the Chargers starting runningback...who, in the past, seems like if he isn't hurt is fumbling the ball.  Hope (again) is that he shakes both of those labels, stays healthy and doesn't fumble the ball.  But even when Mathews was given the ball, he has never been able to break off a big run...and I do believe he still carries the stat of not having a run of longer than 20 yards in his career.

Ok, now let's go to the defense...

I think the defense will be improved this year...the addition of Dwight Freeney could really make a difference.  The Chargers have had close to no pass rush with very few sacks over the past two seasons and I think Freeney will help improve in that area for starters.  But the problem with the Chargers defense is what it always has been...the secondary.  I do like Weddle and I think he is good...but the rest of the db's for the Chargers are suspect.  Gilchrist, who played a bit of CB replacing Cason for a while, was awful.  If the Chargers can get a pass rush with only 4 or 5 guys, the secondary will look better...but if the Chargers have to send more pass rushers and leave the corners and safeties to cover all the receivers...well, that's probably a big problem for this team.  And like last season, it seems like the Chargers have a lot of linebackers...but none of them seem to be that good.  Manti Te'o, who the Chargers drafted, has been injured for almost all of the preseason...and to me, looks undersized...I'll wait to see what he does on the field before I cast final judgement on him, but compared to what NFL linebackers typically look like, he does not seem to fit that mold.

So now it is time to make my predictions and like in the past, I like to list out the games on the schedule and base my prediction on that...

Couple of things though... first, I think the first 6 games of the NFL season are a crapshoot and essentially the new preseason.  A team that isn't doing well after the first six weeks isn't necessarily out of anything and a team that is tearing it up after 6 games doesn't mean they are the best in the league...sure you don't want to go 0 and 6 but even if you do, it isn't the end of the world and teams can come back and still make a run at the playoffs...ideally, if a team can be 3-3 after 6 games (even 2-4 ain't that bad) they still have time and opportunity to make the playoffs.  Next, the Chargers have been horrible on the road the past couple years...regardless of opponents (see Cleveland last year).  If the new coaching regime in San Diego can change that trend, that would be another bright spot for the Chargers...

Chargers first four games are a doozey...they start out at home against the Texans...(Sidenote: as the last game of week one and I am already cringing at the thought that Cris Berman is probably going to call that game and he is HORRIBLE!) then they go on the road to play the Eagles and Titans before coming back home to face the Cowboys.  I think they are 1-3...the Texans have two proven weapons, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster both should have little issues with the Chargers...The Eagles will be healthy for a few weeks and the Chargers stink on the road so they take the full brunt of the Eagles, the Chargers have a chance to eek out a win in Tennessee...I think and the Cowboys game could be a coin flip...the Chargers could be 2-2...but I'm thinking 1-3...Next four games...3 are on the road and only one at home..at Oakland, host Indy, at Jacksonville, bye and then at Washington...the Chargers could seriously be 2-2 out of that stretch with wins over Oakland and Jacksonville...but the Chargers stink on the road...I'm thinking they lose one of the games between Oakland and Jacksonville, lose to Indy and Washington and go 1-3 and are 2-6 overall at the midway point.  The schedule doesn't get much easier in the second half...starting out with a home game against the Broncos, they then travel to Miami and Kansas City before returning home to play the Bengals.  I hate the Broncos and I hate it when the Broncos beat the Chargers...but the Broncos will do just that, the Chargers can't win on the road, the Bengals are many people's Super Bowl pick (what?) ... Chargers hit a dry spell, go 0-4 and are 2-10 at this point.  Bright side...3 of the last four games are at home...Giants, at Denver, Oakland and KC round out the schedule...Chargers win their final two games ...4-12...is my initial pick, but I think the Chargers could win 1 of the games against the Cowboys, Jags and Dolphins and maybe, like Pittsburgh last season, they surprise some team that they shouldn't have beaten...so my final prediction for the Chargers is 5-11, possibly 6-10 if they get an upset win ... yes...it is that sad, no playoffs and no hope for the playoffs early in the season...I hope, like I say every year...that I am proven wrong...but if you look at my last two seasons predictions I have been off by only 1 game.

The Chargers just are too thin and lack talent in a lot of areas.  McCoy has his work cut out for him and so does this team.  The Chargers have already been riddled with injuries and if any of their "key" players suffer some injury, it will only compound the problems for this team.  I don't see much firepower on offense...if they can simply manage the game and not turn the ball over, the defense may have the opportunity to make some plays and keep the Chargers competitive...but that has yet to be seen.

In the end, I hope for the best as I prepare for the worst....I would love nothing more than post an entry in January as to how I was wrong in gauging this team from the start and how they surprised me at how well they are doing....

For those who are interested, I do tweet during most Charger games (@SayOw) so follow/comment/heckle me if you want.

GO CHARGERS!