Ron Rivera, Redemption Is Sweet

After the fateful loss to the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium on October 19th, Ron Rivera and the Chargers defense looked worse than they had in a long time. They were missing tackles and assignments left and right and couldn't seem to pick up on anything the offensive opposition tried. I blamed Ron Rivera for that loss and said he needed to retool the defensive strategy immediately or they wouldn't win another game this season.

Obviously Ron Rivera reads this blog.

Because now, six wins later, the San Diego Chargers defense is looking like a determined force that opposing offenses fear to match up with.

The key to the defensive reinvigoration is unity. They finally realized that playing together and working off of each other is they way to win on defense. Throughout their last three games the Chargers defense has held their opponents to a 30 percent third down conversion rate, a phenomenal feat for a defense that was once 26th in the NFL on third down conversion stops.

For the first time this season, people are starting to hear of those who aren't considered the star defensive players, the "unsung heroes" as Chargers.com writer Casey Pearce puts it. Steve Gregory and Paul Oliver, who previously would just go unnoticed on defense, are starting to prove their merit. Gregory looked unstoppable with his pass coverage against the Broncos two weeks ago and racked up six tackles against the Chiefs on sunday, and Oliver whose 40 yard fumble return for a touchdown showed how deep this defense can be.

Even with the bevy of injuries plaguing the defense including figurehead lineman Jamal Williams, linebacker Shawne Merriman, and defensive end Luis Castillo, among others, the Chargers defense is looking like a serious force to be reckoned with.

The Chargers look like a completely new team on both sides of the ball, since the loss to the Broncos, and this new reinvigorated will to win will hopefully push them to a post-season berth that they are deservedly earning.