After the toughest week of my life to date, I am at least slightly ready to talk about the Chargers. I watched Monday’s game and when it was clear that the Bolts didn’t deserve to win I went upstairs. I then followed along on Twitter and saw that they were coming back. But I also saw that a lot of fans shared my complete confidence that they wouldn’t finish the job. Will the game end with a Rivers pick or a strip sack, most asked. Maybe it would be a botched snap like the game at Oakland last year. None of the above, I guess. No team in NFL history is punished for their mistakes as much as the Chargers. They shit all over themselves for 3 quarters. Casey Heyward led the league in interceptions a year ago but blew an easy pick 6. We all knew what was coming next.
Bosa was juked out of his shoes by Trevor Siemian? I know, it’s just one play. Maurice Jones-Drew knocked Merriman on his ass in 2007 and that team recovered. But the Chargers looked flat and undisciplined on Monday. I thought we left that behind after Mike McCoy got fired. I mistakenly said that the Bolts had never lost a Monday Night opener. I must have blocked out the Texans collapse or loss at Arizona in ’13 and ’14. I don’t mind Anthony Lynn being committed to the run game but this team still cannot block. Would Forrest Lamp have really made a difference? I have no idea if he’s any good and neither do you. Sure, he was graded highly but so was Feeney and his missed block on the field goal decided the game. It was sadly reminiscent of Steve Foley in Philly in ’05. I actually had a dream where I told the members of the offensive line that it didn’t matter who lined up. If we switched all five guys with whomever we were playing each week then it would be the new guys that suck. The playcalling was tepid. Rex Ryan may have seen some imaginative runs that were left out of the preseason but this looked like run-run-pass to me. Wisenhunt may not be the answer. Let’s not forget that he was the guy who refused to run Mathews on the goal line in Washington in 2013. His offense only worked when he had Mathews running out of his mind. Then he went into Denver (after interviewing for the Tennessee job) and put out a game plan which couldn’t work without a healthy Mathews. He must have known he’d be of no use yet we ran Woodhead into the line for 3 quarters before letting Rivers loose.
The first play of the game was a Slausson false start. This was the same Slausson who was peeved after we refused to run on the goal line last time at Denver. How can our offense still be so affected by crowd noise? Is it Pulley? It seems like Rivers is always barely getting the snap off.
The defense didn’t look much better. That play where they let the receiver run right across the field was awful. It looked like 4th and 29 all over again. Ingram is still too much of the me guy. He was fined for a late hit and this wasn’t the first time. Remember the late hit on Brees? It’s great to wreak havoc, but use your fucking head. Keenan Allen also has that vibe but receivers seem to get a pass. Ingram can say that he sees nothing in Jay Cutler to fear but the Chargers haven’t backed up trash talk in quite a while.
Burt Grossman said he thought Lynn had control of the team. Joey Bosa says there is a different feel after a loss than last year. Thus far, I haven’t seen anything to back this up. If they play like they did on Monday, they will not only lose to Miami but get destroyed within the division. Lynn has talked the talk, but we need to see a team that shows guts and poise. It’s been a while.
We’ll see.
JIC,
RLW
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