It’s crazy to think tomorrow is Opening Day. When Justin Herbert says he’s been thinking about this game for six months I don’t blame him. Obviously, the narrative that people still remember from that game is that Herbert was let down by the rest of the team, It’s not inaccurate, that’s for sure. Just like a streaming show, you can skip the recap if you want to, but I think the summary goes like this:
Chargers have a chance to make the playoffs after two horrid December losses. Somehow, the Rams beat the Ravens in Baltimore and the Bolts beat Denver to set up the finale. Although what happens in the stands doesn’t mean shit, it seemed like there were more fans of theirs in Vegas than I expected. The Chargers come out flat and fall behind. They come back and when it seems like they can really take control they give the Raiders get the ball back, A horrid PI call on Harris sets up the score right before half. Was it catchable? No, but when you have the momentum and don;t look to be stumbling things seem to go your way. I mean you could have had an interference call in Week 3 in Arrowhead if you think about it.
Anyway, the Chargers don’t get enough pressure on Carr. The run defense is putrid and Kenneth Murray being on the field for the biggest play of the year is still baffling. The 4th down call on our own 19 isn’t so egregious as much as giving the ball to Ekeler up the middle was. Staley said all year the logic behind going for it was to put the ball in the hands of our “gangster quarterback.”
The Raiders lose on a last second interception to a team that we destroyed earlier in the month. The Bengals beat Tennessee and KC on the road in similar fashion and almost win the Super Bowl on their last drive. Jalen Ramsey was getting beat all game but Aaron Donald saved their season. We saw on Thursday what could happen if the pass rush doesn’t come to the rescue. The Rams, who lost to the Niners in their own stadium with an opposing fan “takeover” hold on to beat the Bucs in Tampa and win their revenge game against SF. Had they gotten better QB play, the Niners might have put that one away.
Why am I including other teams in the “previously on…” segment? To remind myself of what a small margin exists between winning and losing in the home stretch, That’s why I worry about Dustin Hopkins not being able to nail a kick over 50 yards. But on the flip side, we’ve got a better punter.
Everyone knows how the other three teams in the division upgraded themselves. We did as well, even if JC Jackson doesn’t play. It’s clear Staley is trying to hint we will but we have no idea how legitimate a chance there is. that is, of course, the point. Even without him, we need to make a statement. Wide receivers don’t automatically change their new teams. We will hopefully get some actual heat on Carr tomorrow. I don’t know if Mack can stay healthy. I don’t think comparing him to Von Miller makes any sense. Miller led two teams to Super Bowl titles. His performance on Thursday was a surprise, but only because it seemed like he picked up where he left off in January. Jackson was such a big pick up because Davis, Samuel and co weren’t reliable. Concussions notwithstanding, Samuel needed to turn his head around more.
The run defense will be even more of interest, even with Adams coming over from Green Bay. I don’t love that Jerry Tillery is listed as a starter but let’s see how much he actually plays. The biggest thing the Chargers have lacked over the years is toughness and smarts when it matters. Staley preached that all season long, especially on defense. It wasn’t there for 3 of the final 4 games. Even Bosa didn’t make enough of an impact in that last game. We’ll see if Mack being there opens things up for him.
Of course, a healthy Derwin James would help. If he doesn’t go out against KC who knows what happens. Kelce would almost definitely been less of a factor. Hill was injured in the 4th quarter and still picked us apart. Tranquill popped on the injury report yesterrday so we’ll see if he’s okay to go. I can’t fault him for always being injured. He helped put the Browns game away with a tackle when he was already hurt.
On offense, Pipkins will be tested time and time again. Crosby destroyed Norton and now he has his own bookend in Chandler Jones. Williams, like Waller, got a new deal but his game has flaws. He’s not fast as, that aforementioned play in the final game showed. But we have Herbert. This time last year, I saw him put the team on his back in the opener. Yes, got screwed with that fumble on our goal line and he threw a pick in Washington red zone. But there was enough time left, especially after their missed goal for him to rise above. And rise above he did.
It’s crazy to think tomorrow is Opening Day. When Justin Herbert says he’s been thinking about this game for six months I don’t blame him. Obviously, the narrative that people still remember from that game is that Herbert was let down by the rest of the team, It’s not inaccurate, that’s for sure. Just like a streaming show, you can skip the recap if you want to, but I think the summary goes like this:
Chargers have a chance to make the playoffs after two horrid December losses. Somehow, the Rams beat the Ravens in Baltimore and the Bolts beat Denver to set up the finale. Although what happens in the stands doesn’t mean shit, it seemed like there were more fans of theirs in Vegas than I expected. The Chargers come out flat and fall behind. They come back and when it seems like they can really take control they give the Raiders get the ball back, A horrid PI call on Harris sets up the score right before half. Was it catchable? No, but when you have the momentum and don;t look to be stumbling things seem to go your way. I mean you could have had an interference call in Week 3 in Arrowhead if you think about it
Anyway, the Chargers don’t get enough pressure on Carr. The run defense is putrid and Kenneth Murray being on the field for the biggest play of the year is still baffling. The 4th down call on our own 19 isn’t so egregious as much as giving the ball to Ekeler up the middle was. Staley said all year the logic behind going for it was to put the ball in the hands of our “gangster quarterback.”
Herebert almost pulls it out. For a second it looks like Mike WIlliams could race to the endzone on that catch that led him to the sidelines instead. He almost gets his hand on what would be the playoff-clinching catch later. I think that just about gets us all up to speed.
The Raiders lose on a last second interception to a team that we destroyed earlier in the month. The Bengals beat Tennessee and KC on the road in similar fashion and almost win the Super Bowl on their last drive. Jalen Ramsey was getting beat all game but Aaron Donald saved their season. We saw on Thursday what could happen if the pass rush doesn’t come to the rescue. The Rams, who lost to the Niners in their own stadium with an opposing fan “takeover” hold on to beat the Bucs in Tampa and win their revenge game against SF. Had they gotten better QB play, the Niners might have put that one away.
Why am I including other teams in the “previously on…” segment? To remind myself of what a small margin exists between winning and losing in the home stretch, That’s why I worry about Dustin Hopkins not being able to nail a kick over 50 yards. But on the flip side, we’ve got a better punter.
Everyone knows how the other three teams in the division upgraded themselves. We did as well, even if JC Jackson doesn’t play. It’s clear Staley is trying to hint we will but we have no idea how legitimate a chance there is. that is, of course, the point. Even without him, we need to make a statement. Wide receivers don’t automatically change their new teams. We will hopefully get some actual heat on Carr tomorrow. I don’t know if Mack can stay healthy. I don’t think comparing him to Von Miller makes any sense. Miller led two teams to Super Bowl titles. His performance on Thursday was a surprise, but only because it seemed like he picked up where he left off in January. Jackson was such a big pick up because Davis, Samuel and co weren’t reliable. Concussions notwithstanding, Samuel needed to turn his head around more.
The run defense will be even more of interest, even with Adams coming over from Green Bay. I don’t love that Jerry Tillery is listed as a starter but let’s see how much he actually plays. The biggest thing the Chargers have lacked over the years is toughness and smarts when it matters. Staley preached that all season long, especially on defense. It wasn’t there for 3 of the final 4 games. Even Bosa didn’t make enough of an impact in that last game. We’ll see if Mack being there opens things up for him.
Of course, a healthy Derwin James would help. If he doesn’t go out against KC who knows what happens. Kelce would almost definitely been less of a factor. Hill was injured in the 4th quarter and still picked us apart. Tranquill popped on the injury report yesterday so we’ll see if he’s okay to go. I can’t fault him for always being injured. He helped put the Browns game away with a tackle when he was already hurt.
On offense, Pipkins will be tested time and time again. Crosby destroyed Norton and now he has his own bookend in Chandler Jones. Williams, like Waller, got a new deal but his game has flaws. He’s not fast as, that aforementioned play in the final game showed. But we have Herbert. This time last year, I saw him put the team on his back in the opener. Yes, got screwed with that fumble on our goal line and he threw a pick in Washington red zone. But there was enough time left, especially after their missed goal for him to rise above. And rise above he did.
I know we can expect Herbert to win every game. History has shown that too often the Chargers can’t win if he’s not great. He’s been great a lot of the time, but the rest of the team needs to step up. Everett seems to be fitting in and Cook was more harm than good last season. We never found that second running back behind Ekeler so we’ll see if Michel can be that guy. If you’re a FAITHFUL READER of JIC, you know that a lot of thiis site is me obsessively going around and around. So let’s try to keep things simple. It will be loud tomorrow. It doesn’t matter how many Traitor fans are there. It didn’t matter last time they came to town, even after they made their stupid “home game” proclamation. It didn’t matter for the Rams in their last two games in the same stadium. They won the Super Bowl and look how many opposing fans “took over” SoFi. The Chargers couldn’t possibly win a ring in LA, they say. What would that even look like? It would look a lot like when the Rams won, except we have a young QB. The “negative mojo” surrounding the Chargers never coming through pre dates LA, Dean, Alex, John or A,G. No one talks about it because it’s a better story to keep pouring on the Bolts. Look what happened once the Eagles won. Imagine the talk of an exorcism that would have followed a Bengals Super Bowl. I would have been insanely jealous, but they’ve now lost three heartbreakers. People are already getting ready to say that for the Bills. Thursday NIght, they walked the walk. I would be worried about Allen getting hurt, but he certainly didn’t back down from the Rams. During his horrible rookie season, in which I saw his first start, the Bills still made the playoffs and blew their game against Houston. Some team do it in increments. The Rams and Chiefs got close, turned back and then won it all. But again, it’s such a small gap between winning and losing. If the Niners are a little more accurate on a wide open touchdown against KC (or if they stopped trying to force the ball to Crabtree in their previous Super Bowl…I don’t feel too bad for them, since I had to sit through their last championship win in person.
Getting there and losing is way worse than coming in last place. But once you get in the playoffs, there is that magical moment where even the most skeptical and jaded fan (hint, hint) wonders if maybe this is the year. No matter how much we all hate the Raiders and their delusional MAGA-like fan base, the Chargers aren’t taking them lightly. After they ended their season, how could they? They didn’t last year either, sadly. They just lost,. The sad thing about Raider fans is that for all of their talk that the NFL is out to get them, those costumed idiots still get more respect than Chargers fans. Guess what, it doesn’t matter. Even if Jackson, Parham, Tranquill are hurt, they can’t drop this game. That’s how I am sure they are treating it, As I always say, it
I know we can’t expect Herbert to win every game. History has shown that too often the Chargers can’t win if he’s not great. He’s been great a lot of the time, but the rest of the team needs to step up. Everett seems to be fitting in and Cook was more harm than good last season. We never found that second running back behind Ekeler so we’ll see if Michel can be that guy. If you’re a FAITHFUL READER of JIC, you know that a lot of this site is me obsessively going around and around. So let’s try to keep things simple. It will be loud tomorrow. It doesn’t matter how many Traitor fans are there. It didn’t matter last time they came to town, even after they made their stupid “home game” proclamation. It didn’t matter for the Rams in their last two games in the same stadium. They won the Super Bowl and look how many opposing fans “took over” SoFi. The Chargers couldn’t possibly win a ring in LA, they say. What would that even look like? It would look a lot like when the Rams won, except we have a young QB. The “negative mojo” surrounding the Chargers never coming through pre-dates LA, Dean, Alex, John or A,G. No one talks about it because it’s a better story to keep pouring on the Bolts. Look what happened once the Eagles won. Imagine the talk of an exorcism that would have followed a Bengals Super Bowl. I would have been insanely jealous, but they’ve now lost three heartbreakers. People are already getting ready to say that for the Bills. Thursday Night, they walked the walk. I would be worried about Allen getting hurt, but he certainly didn’t back down from the Rams. During his horrible rookie season, in which I saw his first start, the Bills still made the playoffs and blew their game against Houston. Some team do it in increments. The Rams and Chiefs got close, turned back and then won it all. But again, it’s such a small gap between winning and losing. If the Niners are a little more accurate on a wide open touchdown against KC (or if they stopped trying to force the ball to Crabtree in their previous Super Bowl…I don’t feel too bad for them, since I had to sit through their last championship win in person.
Getting there and losing is way worse than coming in last place. But once you get in the playoffs, there is that magical moment where even the most skeptical and jaded fan (hint, hint) wonders if maybe this is the year. No matter how much we all hate the Raiders and their delusional MAGA-like fan base, the Chargers aren’t taking them lightly. After they ended their season, how could they? They didn’t last year either, sadly. They just lost,. The sad thing about Raider fans is that for all of their talk that the NFL is out to get them, those costumed idiots still get more respect than Chargers fans. Guess what, it doesn’t matter. Even if Jackson, Parham, Tranquill are hurt, they can’t drop this game. That’s how I am sure they are treating it, As I always say, it doesn’t mean a thing what we think or do to affect the outcome of games. However, you know I need to remind myself of that constantly.
No matter what happens out there this year, it’s good to know there are still some original Justice Leaguers out there. So let’s part ways with a Fuck The Raiders, now and always.
Better than the waiting, better off is the search.
JIC,
RLW
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