Chargers vs. Raiders "Preview"

Welcome to the Saturday Preview, where I highlight the week's matchup, attempt to be funny, and provide no insight whatsoever into actual football related matters. This is what it's all about, baby.

Tomorrow's opponent is one with which everyone should be familiar. The Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders name doesn't exactly carry the mystique it once did (It's because they suck), so forgive me if I'm not exactly frighhtened. The franchise , as you may know, has become infamous in recent years for having an owner who is actually a vampire. One would think that this would mean a better - or at least more bad-ass - football team, but the team's record of botched draft picks and bad transactions begs to differ.

Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell - as mentioned on this very blog - is in the midst of becoming a Ryan Leaf-like draft bust. Just two years after being taken number 1 overall because he could throw the ball a long distance from his knees - which is totally a relevant skill - may or may not be the Silver and Black's starting QB tomorrow. This is saying a lot when the other options at QB are Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye.

Preview Time:

Offense: The Raiders have two quality defensive players: CB Nnamdi Asomugha and DE Richard Seymour. Asomugha will likely be working on Vincent Jackson all day, which really just opens up Gates, Chambers, and Floyd. On the other hand, Seymour is an excellent rusher who could do a lot to disrupt the Chargers' passing game. But seeing how Rivers threw the ball under pressure a couple weeks ago I wouldn't be too worried.

Defense: Like I said, their quarterback is JaMarcus Russell. Nothing to see here.

Week 8 Injury Report

The big news this week is going to be Shawne Merriman's foot, which is necessary for the pursuit and eventual destruction of opposing quarterbacks and may not be at full strength Sunday. However he was a full participant in practice, so that's nice.

Mike Scifres continues to be hampered by a groin injury (hehe) which is making him noticeably less effective as a punter. The San Diego defense is predicated on Scifres giving opposing teams bad field position after Ladanian Tomlinson runs into the line for no gain three times in a row, so obviously this is bad.

MLB Nick Burnett and "world's most successful grocery bagger" NT Ogemdi Nwagbuo will likely not play, but no biggie because they've both seemingly lost their jobs to Tim Dobbins and Ian Scott, respectively.

Also we should see the return of early season pickup DE Travis Johnson. Johnson was the Houston Texans' first round pick in 2005 and is most famous for taunting Trent Green's unconscious body during a 2007 game against the Dolphins. In fairness, Green hit him with a low blow and basically knocked himself out.

Chargers Injury Report [NFL.com]

Alright Broncos, Time to Give up the Charade

This weekend marks a significant point in the season for the AFC West. The Chargers have an easy win ahead of them when they play a much weaker Oakland Raiders team, whose offense has been compared to the likes of the Chargers, circa Ryan Leaf. That will put them at 4-3, a respectable record for a team that has been not playing like they deserve it.

Now the real factor this weekend is the Denver Broncos at the Baltimore Ravens. For the Chargers to even try to factor in a post-season birth they need a Ravens win, much like last year when the Chargers depended on the Bills to beat the Broncos, which lead to a 52-21 routing of the Broncos giving the Chargers the AFC West title, their fourth in five years.

The real question is this, can the Ravens stop Kyle Orton and the Broncos offense. The answer is uncertain. The Ravens have been giving up big plays week by week and Orton along with help from wideout Brandon Marshall can always throw up a big play. However, Orton's track record against the Ravens is less than stellar. In 2005, Orton's rookie season, he faced the Ravens defense and went 15-29 with 145 yards passing and no touchdowns, but he blames his poor performance on rookie mistakes. The Ravens defensive secondary needs to come ready to work on sunday or this game will be over quickly. One thing that the Ravens have against the Broncos, is that Kyle Orton has never faced Ray Lewis, who was on the sideline with an injury in their last meeting. Ray Lewis' commanding presence might take the focus of Orton who will then be drawn to make mistakes.

Most importantly, Kyle Orton is playing the best he ever has in his career, but this does not give him the clout of an elite quarterback. The Broncos are 6-0 because of the team performance as a whole and because Broncos rookie head coach, Josh McDaniels is either a terrific coach or having an extreme case of beginner's luck.

Orton will get cold, it is inevitable, and when he does it is up to the San Diego Chargers to capitalize on it and start winning, and winning like they want it all.

The season is not yet lost, the formula is simple, The Chargers need wins and the Broncos need losses, it can begin on Sunday if the Ravens can make a statement at home.

Great Work Everyone!

Enough tickets have been sold to show Sunday's game against the Raiders. So congratulations everyone, enough of you have risked life and limb - not to mention dramatically decreased the quality of your Sunday - to go see the Chargers take out the hated band of scrubs from Oakland. Good job, guys. Really great work.

Enough tickets have been sold... [Chargers Twitter]

Seriously Guys, Go to the Game

Forget about the fact that you can eat all day for the price of a beer at the Q. Forget about the fact that HDTV makes it seem like you have the best seats in the house for every single play. Forget that you might get stabbed by crazy Raider fans from LA. Oh and definitely forget about the fact your couch is infinitely more comfortable than a plastic folding chair which may or may not have a one-inch-thick seat cushion. Forget about all that, and just go to the game. Because if you and 999 of your friends don't go you're gonna be out of luck entirely. Then you'll be stuck watching blue and silver lines on a computer screen like me.

Chargers receive 24-hour extension [Chargers.com]

Hardwick Practices, Good News for Chargers Offense

On Wednesday, the Chargers Pro Bowl center, Nick Hardwick worked out with the team for the first time since going down with an ankle injury during the season opener at Oakland. After having surgery, doctors said that he should be back in form by week eight.

It is a small but hopeful step in brining unity to the struggling Chargers offensive line, a line that has only allowed Ladainian Tomlinson to record 211 rushing yards on the season. Today, Hardwick plans on stressing his ankle a little more in practice in hopes of furthering his rehabilitation. Head Coach Norv Turner has said that there is not yet a slated date for Hardwick's return, but they're just taking it one day at a time.

Hardwick's return is anticipated by the Chargers organization, who hopes that with him, the Chargers offense will be able to make a push toward the post-season.

Antonio Gates Pulls a Billy Madison

Antonio Gates was back in 7th grade on Tuesday this week, but I doubt he learned anything. Gates was participating in the NFL's Take a Player to School program, which seems to be geared toward creating awkwardness in classrooms across America. The lucky winner was 13-year-old Kristina Cogdill of Escondido, who seemed genuinely excited about Gates' visit, but more excited about riding in the limo with Gates to school.

She also fully understood Gates' canned, NFL scripted speech. Said Cogdill:

I think it's important to be fit and be active every day. You shouldn't just sit around. You need to get up and be active.

The best part of this? The school's mascot was the Raiders. Now that's rich.

Gates back in school [Chargers.com]

Yahoo Sports Team Report: Oct. 27

In an effort to be more about football and less about wisecracking and insult, we here at We'll Always Have Oakland will be posting the weekly Yahoo Sports team report, which comes out each Wednesday. These reports are extensive, well-written, and completely devoid of humor. So they should fit nicely here.


The Chargers know they shouldn’t wear out their hands back-slapping each other after slapping around the Chiefs on Sunday.

Still, for a struggling team that had players starting to question each other and the coaches, the win at Arrowhead Stadium was a breath of fresh air.

But that’s only if the Chargers can build on it by climbing above the .500 mark with a win over the Raiders this Sunday.

“We’ve done a lot of good things the first six weeks; unfortunately our record doesn’t show it,” quarterback Philip Rivers said.

The Chargers know they still have some mountains to climb. Despite Sunday’s win and Denver being off, the Chargers could pull to no closer than three games behind the AFC West-leading Broncos.

But just maybe the Chargers learned this on Sunday: It’s not about the Broncos, it’s not about being mentioned among the NFL’s elite teams. Instead it’s about the Chargers, and if they take care of themselves, the rest will fall into place.

The Chargers got a win and a dose of confidence. And really, this team has been lacking in confidence since the first quarter of the season opener, when the Raiders manhandled the Chargers with their physical play.

And now here come those same Raiders, who eventually lost to San Diego and have fallen on hard times.

But the Chargers can’t take any rival lightly. They don’t have the room for error anymore, not after starting 2-3 for the third consecutive year under coach Norv Turner.

The Chargers must hope the blowout at Kansas City can be the liftoff for a midseason run.

NOTES, QUOTES

—Shaun Phillips recorded the first sack from the team’s starting outside linebackers, collecting two of the team’s four sacks Sunday. “It was huge to break the ice,” Phillips said. “Now we’ve got to get the big fella, my partner on the other side, to break the ice, too. Once we break the ice, maybe we can start rolling.” Shawne Merriman, who missed all but one game last year with a knee injury, last had a sack in 2007.

• Wide receiver Vincent Jackson has long been admired by his teammates. Now that he is becoming a downfield threat, he is opening eyes around the league. Jackson set a franchise mark with 142 receiving yards in the first half against Kansas City. “He’s as good as there is, in my opinion,” QB Philip Rivers said. However, after Jackson’s big first half, he was quiet the final 30 minutes. “I’m a competitor like that,” Jackson said. “I wanted more.”

• Rivers averaged almost 15 yards on his 18 completions and said the Chargers easily could have sped past the 37 points they put on the scoreboard. “Ifs and buts, I know, but it was a game where we could have scored 50-something,” said Rivers, who threw for three touchdowns. “We left some scores out there.”

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Player Notes

• DE Travis Johnson is expected to test his ailing groin this week after missing another game Sunday.

• ILB Kevin Burnett (sprained ankle) will try to practice this week.

• ILB Tim Dobbins, who replaced Kevin Burnett, had a career day. Dobbins had 11 tackles and an interception.

• WR Chris Chambers continues to struggle, and he could lose more playing time to Malcom Floyd. Chambers had two more drops Sunday; he was targeted four times and didn’t land a reception.

• K Nate Keating’s kickoffs were noticeably short, and he misfired on a 43-yard field goal. Kaeding was battling flu-like symptoms and didn’t have his usual leg strength.

Report Card Vs . CHIEFS

Passing Offense: A—Not much to complain about here, as Philip Rivers continues to show his knack for the deep passes, clicking with Vincent Jackson for two 51-yard completions in the first half. Rivers finished with 268 passing yards—with a long of 58—and three touchdowns. There were two drops from Chris Chambers and one from Antonio Gates, but for the most part the Chargers’ hands were true. Kudos to the pass-blocking, as Rivers didn’t get sacked once after getting sacked five times in the previous game.

Rushing Offense: B-minus—Some signs of life here, even if the Chargers were turned away time and again inside the Kansas City 5 yard-line. But LaDainian Tomlinson was running as well as he has all year, showing a burst to the rare running lane when it presented itself. He finished with a season-best 71 rushing yards, and the Chargers collected 135 on the ground. But there are still issues with the run-blocking.

Pass Defense: A—The secondary continues to be a mixture of fresh faces and guys getting chances they weren’t having earlier in the year. Safety Eric Weddleand nickel back Steve Gregory were among the defensive backs sent on various blitzes, and each collected a sack. The pass rush was able to contribute four sacks, as Matt Cassel never looked comfortable behind the Chiefs’ makeshift line.Paul Oliver, Tim Dobbins and Gregory had interceptions.

Rush Defense: C—Another week, another opponent rushing for more than 100 yards. But many of these yards came after the game’s outcome was determined. Early on, the Chargers were able to bottle up Larry Johnson and stop Cassel on a critical fourth-and-1. Dobbins gives the Chargers a more physical presence inside; same goes for DT Ian Scott in the middle of the line.

Special Teams: A—Jacob Hester blocked a punt and pounced on for a touchdown. The coverage units were keen after two returns were brought back for scores the previous week. K Nate Kaeding was under the weather but still nailed three of four field goals. Darren Sproles averaged 18 yards on punt returns, 17 yards on kickoff returns. There was big improvement here from the debacle against Denver.

Coaching: A—It’s do-or-die—almost—and coach Norv Turner had the team showing some grit from the opening kick. Turner also tried to establish the running game with a little more purpose, and that resulted in opening up some big strikes in the passing game. Credit goes to defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, as he sent multiple blitzes, but most of them came from the secondary, which was a fresh twist.

Chargers Team Report [Yahoo! Sports]

Photo Credit: Mike Nowak

The Ongoing Chronicles of Simeon Castille

I didn't want to post about practice squad cornerbacks again, but I have a responsibility. A responsibility to the fans, dammit! So yeah, Simeon Castille of Bengals and Alabama "fame" is back on the practice squad. You may now resume your lives.

Simeon Castille back on practice squad [Chargers Twitter]

LaDaaaaaaanian!!!

Get it? That's Loreane Tomlinson's line from those awesome Chunky soup commercials where a bunch of NFL stars magically lived in Brooklyn and played football together in the rain. But not only is Ms. Tomlinson a wonderful actress, she has also apparently written a book. Now I won't speak to the quality, which I'm sure is full of insight and great stories, but I will speak to a certain error on the cover. The full title of the book is "LT & Me: What raising a champion taught me about life, faith, and listening to your dreams." Do you see it? Well I did. The book's publisher has presumed to call LT a "champion." LT is a brilliant, legendary football player, but he is not a champion (unless you count the Sun Bowl). So in the interest of blame-placing, I hereby point the finger at Tyndale House Publishing for jinxing the Chargers season, and possibly the career of one of the great running backs of all time. For shame, Tyndale. For. Shame.

LT and Me [Amazon]

Party with the Chargers! Nov. 27!

The Chargers, this year celebrating 50 illustrious years of not winning a championship, will host a block party in the Gaslamp District on November 27 of this year. For those of you who don't know, the Gaslamp is the place where sailors used to go for... entertainment, but is now full of themed bars, restaurants, and the place where the Padres play.

Now this all seems very harmless, and at a brief skim of the Chargers.com article you might think it really is. But as we get deeper, to quote the Bard, there's the rub. Specifically, there's the Chargers choices in entertainment. The first band to play will be Super Diamond, which seems awesome until we realize that it's a NEIL DIAMOND TRIBUTE BAND. Really, Chargers? You know the actual Neil Diamond is still performing, right? In fact he shouldn't even be that difficult to get. The dude is still releasing Christmas albums. The second band, possibly even more ludicrously, is Fountains of Wayne. They will "rock the Gaslamp" with hits like "Stacy's Mom" and (some other Fountains of Wayne song, if such a thing exists).

The event is sponsored by Coors Light and will probably feature some actual fun times, so if you're visiting from 1969 or 2003, be sure to check it out.

Chargers 50th Anniversary Block Party set for Nov. 27 [Chargers.com]

REALLY?!?

The Chargers have waived CB Simeon Castille, who was signed 4 days ago, and signed CB Dante Hughes, who was signed 6 days ago and dropped 4 days ago for Castille. You're messing with my head here, Smith!

They've also signed offensive tackle Joe Toledo (6'5", 330 lbs.) who has a kick-ass name and no actual chance at contributing to this football team. Toledo was the Dolphins 4th round pick in 2006 (which rhymes) out of University of Washington. He was with the 49ers this season, but has not played. He is pictured above during his days as a Tight End at UW since i refuse to lend any more attention to Simeon Castille or Dante Hughes.

Chargers re-sign Hughes; waive Castille [Chargers.com]
Chargers sign OT Joe Toledo to Practice Squad [Chargers Twitter]

The Los Angeles Chargers: An Opinion

So it seems as though our beloved Chargers may soon be moving to a beautiful new facility located about 20 miles East of Los Angeles. The facility, valued at $800 million was OK'd last week by the Governator and will likely steal our team from us for the 2011 or 2012 season.

And you know what? I'm fine with it. You heard me, Spanos. Do it. Go ahead and leave. You can't shake me that easy. I'll still go to class every Monday wearing my Rivers jersey and I'll still write this blog. Just pack your bags and leave. See if I don't stay faithful. Make. My. Day. Because the thing is, I'm a Charger fan. I don't care where they play, I still identify with that team, those players, that uniform (My one request? Keep the powder blues). No matter where they call home, I still root for Phillip Rivers, LaDanian Tomlinson, Shawne Merriman, etc. And by the time those guys are gone we'll already be entrenched with a new group of stars. It's a never-ending cycle of hero worship, and I love it.

On a related note, look at that picture! The place is insane! And it's 109 miles from downtown San Diego. I'd drive up there in a heartbeat. I mean it's got a freaking shopping mall attached. You can make a day of it. Don't tell me you wouldn't rather see a game there than the Q. Because that would be a lie. And you wouldn't lie to me would you, Reader? I didn't think so.

I for one look forward to cheering on the Los Angeles Chargers, and so should you.

Los Angeles Football Stadium Website

The NFL's Probable Return to the City of Angels

On Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill allowing the construction of a new football complex east of Los Angeles in hopes of reinvigorating California economy as well as bringing an NFL franchise to a city that hasn't seen one since 1994, when the Raiders returned to Oakland.

The proposed complex, which is said to be able to seat around $75,000, including a shopping district and a movie theatre, will cost around $800 million. Ed Roski, chief executive officer at Majestic Athletic has said that he has plans on privately funding the construction, strongly believing that he can easily get the necessary funds.

In February, Majestic has set its sights on seven NFL franchises: the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and the San Diego Chargers.

Now we all now that San Diego has been facing a stadium issue for a while and it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to make the move. It is disappointing however, that we might see a team that has been in San Diego since 1961 return to the city where they spent their first year as a AFL team.

Los Angeles Football Stadium Website

Chargers 37 - 7 Chiefs

Well I'll tell ya, those blue lines move a lot better than the red ones. As you may have determined from that statement, I did not watch this game. CBS instead subjected the city of Tucson to the Patriots vs. the 1976 Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium. So, without further ado, I present to you, a recap based entirely on highlights and NFL.com Game Center (which is way better than ESPN Gamecast).

So from what I've seen this was just a different team today. Rivers was never pressured, which is a great sign, and he played mistake free football. Tomlinson is still getting his burst back, and as I said last week those open field skills are gonna take a while to come back. My prediction: By week 10 that 37 yard run he had in the first is a touchdown.

On the other side of the ball I'm very encouraged. Holding any team to 7 points -especially when you go up big and they're airing it out to try and come back - is an achievement. The Kansas City Chiefs ARE professional athletes. Some of them just barely, but still.

Until next week, please let me watch my team CBS. I'm begging.

Chargers Sign CB Simeon Castille

Apparently the Chargers organization is just trying to waste my time now. They have waived Dante Hughes, who was signed like 5 days ago and signed Simeon Castille from the practice squad. Castille (6'0", 195) is a second year player out of Alabama who played in 8 games with the Bengals last season as an undrafted free agent. He's been on the practice squad since the start of the season.

From his NFL.com combine page, he seems to be a guy with good feel for the game, but not the physical tools to be top shelf. Sounds like a decent special teams pickup and another guy that will not help the pass rush at all. Solid work, San Diego Chargers front office.

Chargers sign Castille; waive Hughes [Chargers.com]
Simeon Castille Combine page [NFL.com]

Alex Spanos Has Dementia

Don't you hate it when people you don't like have something unjust happen to them? Completely takes all the fun out of hating them. That said, the Spanos family is a lot better than most owners and I have no complaints other then that whole "leaving you for LA" thing. The family says he feels fine physically, just clearly not there mentally. Thoughts and prayers go out to to the Spanoses.

Chargers owner Spanos has dementia [ESPN.com]

Chargers Vs. Chiefs "Preview"

Welcome to the Saturday Preview, where I highlight the week's matchup, attempt to be funny, and provide no insight whatsoever into actual football related matters. This is what it's all about, baby.

Tomorrow we face a team with - apparently - quite an identity crisis on their hands. In my extensive research for this preview (I Googled* "Kansas City Chiefs") I discovered a few things. One, the Kansas City Chiefs don't play in Kansas, they play in Missouri. Kansas City, Missouri to be exact. This is the dumbest geographical fact since I discovered that Minneapolis and St. Paul were the same thing, except not really. Here's an idea, state of Missouri: that area of Kansas City that's East of the border? Missouri City from now on. You're welcome, now you have two NFL teams and you didn't even know it.

Interesting fact number two, the Chiefs used to be a really successful franchise. They have 3 AFL championships (1962, 1966, 1969) and they won Super Bowl IV over the Vikings in 1970. Their best player in franchise history is most likely quarterback Len Dawson (1963-1975) based on a survey I did by looking for recognizable names on their list of retired numbers. They also had Joe Montana and Marcus Allen for a couple years toward the end of their careers, but who cares about fading superstar quarterbacks going to new teams?

Oh and here's your actual totally incomplete preview.

Offense: Am I afraid of Mike Vrabel, Glenn Dorsey, and Brandon Flowers? I was, but then I remembered we have Rivers, Jackson, Gates and (maybe) Tomlinson. Antonio Gates is ESPN.com's number 1 fantasy Tight End this week, so expect 2-3 catches for 5-10 yards from him.

Defense: Am I afraid of Matt Cassel, Dwayne Bowe, and the Ghost of Larry Johnsons Past? No. Not at all (Although I do remember Cassel at USC, crazy bench-riding skillz). Possible problem: Cromartie is questionable due to a bruise UNDER his kneecap (I did not know this was possible), and could be replaced by Former Arizona Wildcat Antoine Cason. If he does well I'm stoked, if not he's disowned. Kinda off-topic: They have RG Mike Goff this year, I guess we shouldn't have let him go.

* Blogger's post editor doesn't recognize Googled as a word. Blogger is owned by Google. Dumb.

Kansas City Chiefs [Wikipedia]
NFL Teams Map [CBS Sports]

Week 7 Injury Report

I don't even know what to say this week. Normally I'd offer some kind of summary or analysis but I have plans tonight and if I start analyzing now I might - MIGHT - be done by sunrise.

San Diego Chargers Week 7 Injury Report

ESPN Insults Our Pain

ESPN.com's front page article today is about one of my personal favorite subjects. The absolute ineptness of Raiders Quarterback and 2007 number 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell. The article, written by ESPN senior writer Greg Garber, details Russell outstanding senior year at LSU, followed by an exceptional pro day, and then the Raiders - in typical Al Davis fashion - reaching about 100 picks too far for him in the draft. Garber goes on to describe how Russell played behind never-was Luke McCown and has-been Daunte Culpepper in his rookie year, had a respectable sophomore effort (read: he wasn't awful) and is now in the process of a crash-and-burn of epic proportions this season.

Now this is all well and good. I enjoy reading about the failings of that high school program they have up in Oakland as much as the next guy, but there is a fatal flaw in Garber's analysis. HE'S COMPARING JAMARCUS RUSSELL TO RYAN LEAF. I'm flabbergasted here. How can a respectable ESPN writer - one who has been with the company since 1991 - even attempt to make this comparison? We get it, both guys were raw talent coming out of college and didn't live up to expectations. But Leaf is so much more! Ryan Leaf gave the Chargers hope, then ripped out our hearts and showed them to us! Russell is in a slump. Leaf destroyed the Chargers franchise for the next four years. Russell's biggest crimes are being a little chubby and not wanting to practice. You know what Garber, how 'bout you call me when Russell at least curses out a reporter or two?

So please Greg Garber, next time you want to criticize a young quarterback, don't do it at the expense of the city that lost Peyton Manning to a coin toss. We've been through too much.

JaMarcus Russell: A work in regress [ESPN.com]

More Empty Talk, This Time it's Shawne Merriman

In a preseason article from the New York Times, pro-bowl linebacker Shawne Merriman discussed his focus on revitalizing the Chargers defense. After missing the majority of the Chargers 2008 season because of torn ligaments in his knee, Merriman said that his intent was re-tooling the pass rush that was 22nd in the league last year.

It seems to me so far that his intent hasn't quite been reached for a team that is 23rd in rushing defense and 28th in sacks so far this season. Merriman obviously was all talk, because now in the seventh week of the 2009 season, he has only made seven tackles and has yet to record a sack.

Some say that the defense is suffering because of the loss of Jamal Williams for the season, but I am sick and tired of this excuse. One player doesn't make a defense. Ron Rivera needs to get his act together. The Chargers defense seems like a much more timid defense then we have seen in the past, and when Papa Bear Williams is unavailable to play, the defense still has to. The Charger defense is also 26th in the NFL on opponent third down conversions because with the loss of a pass rush, even JaMarcus Russell can convert on third down.

Merriman Motivated to Regain Old Form [NY Times]

Chargers Sign CB Dante Hughes

The Chargers have placed linebacker Antwan Applewhite on injured reserve and signed former Colts corner Dante Hughes. Hughes had 15 interceptions at Cal and was a third round pick in 2007 but never panned out for the Colts and was released after training camp this season.

I don't know how this helps our abysmal pass rush, and the secondary doesn't seem to be the problem (even Kyle Orton will complete passes when you give him that much time), but maybe Hughes can at least help out on special teams, as they clearly need it. He runs a "slower than expected" 40, that's him getting beat by noted speedster Roddy White, but at 5'10" and 190 pounds he makes an ideal gunner. Applewhite was basically useless except for having a very smooth name, so it's not like this hurts us or anything.

Chargers place Applewhite on “Reserve - Injured,” sign CB Hughes [Chargers.com]
Dante Hughes [Wikipedia]

Very Special Teams

Every week after a Chargers loss, I feel like, in order to come to grips with it, I need to put a blame on someone. This week my blame goes to the defensive special teams, whose lethargic play allowed the Broncos' Eddie Royal to become only the 11th man in NFL history to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown. Mike Scifres, who throughout his tenure with the Chargers, has been a consistent and powerful kicker, punted three times last night, two of which were less than fifty yards, and one of those being that which was returned for a 71 yard touchdown return.

For once this season however, the Chargers first half defense actually held their own, allowing only 3 points. Granted, they didn't have too much time on the field because of the special teams, but they still looked pretty solid. However, the Chargers defense fell apart, in typical fashion, and allowed Kyle Orton and the Broncos to out score them in the second half 17 to 3.

The team that was a pre-season super bowl favorite is slowly fading, and now as the Chargers are faced with a lowly 2-3 record, 3.5 games behind the Broncos in the AFC West, they have some serious soul searching and re-tooling to do if they want to even consider a post season birth.

An Accurate Depiction

Chargers 23 - 34 Broncos

Well that went well, wouldn't you say? I mean sure, our heroes lost to the hated Denver Broncos and most likely threw the division out the window, but look on the bright side! We played one of the better teams in the league real tough! Hung right in there! Made a gosh darn game of it! The reality is this, folk(s): this year's incarnation of the Bolts isn't an elite team. Injuries and the coaching of one Mr. Wet Blanket have turned us into a middle-of-the-pack-maybe-going-to-pull-a-few-upsets-and-make-the-playoffs team. That's right, we're the Texans. And I, for one, am glad. All that pressure of being the perennial "most talented team?" It's gone! Finally, I can sit back and enjoy the 6-7 wins we have left and maybe not take the 4-5 losses so hard. Very liberating.

On a more analytical note, it appears LT is "back." I think we saw the best of his physical abilities last night. Those couple tackles he took from behind represent the step of speed he appears to have lost, which is to be expected, but he's clearly still elite. He still has to get his confidence back in the open field; he looked lost on the couple occasions that he broke into the secondary, and that's all instinct that will come back in time. Oh and before we delve into the darkness that is line play, Rivers and Gates were awesome as well.

Now the elephant in the blog. The lines. Awful. Disgusting. More pointed one word descriptions of how bad they were. The worst part is theres not even anything we can do. The fact is Hardwick and Williams were the anchors of both lines and with them out we just don't get protection or pressure. The offensive line isn't as big an issue as Rivers is exceptional under pressure and we appear to have our elite ground game back, but the D-line is going to prove to be our downfall. We just don't have the personnel for a 3-4 without Jamal Williams, and a mid-season switch to 4-3 would cause more problems than it solves. Maybe a trade is in order, but personally I don't see the point of giving up future draft picks to try and save a season that might already be over.

One final note: Until further notice, this is the Fire Norv season, just so it serves a purpose.

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