Update: Sunday, 6:00PM
If the Chargers want to visit Catalina Island they will not need a boat or an airplane, they can just walk there.
My goodness. The game was over at, what, 1:30, but it's taken me until now to collect myself. That was no fluke, the Chargers earned that on both sides of the ball. With four pro-bowlers injured on the sideline. I do believe A.J. Smith has found our head coach.
And there will be a Manning playing next weekend. It won't be Payton. Yesterday both of the favorites romped to easy wins. Today both of the underdogs prevailed in exciting games. Cool.
Update: Sunday, 9:20AM
After watching the games yesterday the Chargers are looking better to me. Lots better. Admittedly, New England is the best offense in the league, but the Jaguars are slow on defense. I've seen glaciers move faster than that. Before global warming. Brady got to have a lunch break before throwing the pass on every down. The secondary guys couldn't find their butts if you gave each of them a mirror on a stick. Only two incomplete passes in an entire game, and one of those was a drop. Sheesh.
The "snow bowl" wasn't much better. Couldn't see the yard markers? Seattle didn't know where the freaking stadium was, let alone any of the yard markers.
Only one national sportscaster that I have found is actually picking San Diego to beat the Colts today, but by golly there actually is one! Of our locals, one of four is predicting the Chargers on the winning end of today's score. Don't look at me, my record is close to zero.
Still, the Chargers defense is pretty much as good as it's cracked up to be and the secondary has gone from a major weakness in the recent past to what may be the best there is. The offense is "feast or famine," but if the offense doesn't do a pratfall today do not rule this team out.
Saturday
The Chargers not only beat Tennessee last week, they did so rather convincingly. Well, for one half at least, but it was enough. Reading the paper the next day I kept wanting to ask the sports writers "Um, did you watch the first half?"
So tomorrow we go to Indianapolis. No problem, we’ve already beaten them the last two times we played them. Right. All we have to do is intercept Manning six times, run back two kicks for touchdowns, have them miss two easy field goals and have it rain in the RCA Dome and we can win by a whopping two points.
Add up the errors listed above. Each interception prevents a score for them and makes possible one for us, so there’s a potential for a 90 point swing there. There was 42 points to be had off interceptions, and we won by 2 points. Of course that’s hyperbole, but…
There is an event scheduled at Qualcomm next weekend, a monster truck rally, that will have to be cancelled if a) the Chargers beat the Colts and b) the Jaguars beat the Patriots. If both of those eventualities come to pass then San Diego would host the championship game against Jacksonville next week.
I don’t think monster truck fans need to worry.
Showing posts with label Chargers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chargers. Show all posts
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Chargers Season
The pace of feminine eye-rolling increases in our house as the Chargers’ season approaches, and it’s nearing the point that I’m beginning to fear for my wife’s ocular survival. The Chargers open tomorrow against the Bears.
After the debacle against the Patriots last year at Qualcomm Stadium I blogged that Marty Schottenheimer should be fired because he had failed to provide the leadership that was needed and deserved by a highly talented group of football players. Specifically, while he was a genius at football strategy and in developing individual talent, he had no skill at melding those individuals into a cohesive whole. All of his teams displayed that same lack and, as groups of talented individuals rather than tightly knit teams, regularly failed in the big games.
Schottenheimer has been replaced by Norv Turner, who has a mixed record as a head coach, but I have been pleased and excited by the choice for a number of reasons. Most of those reasons revolve around the mechanics of football and I won’t go into them here, but one reason was simply that A.J. Smith picked him and that man has made very few mistakes. It was Smith that assembled the incredible array of on-field talent that fills the Chargers roster. What I’ve been waiting to see is indications that Turner can be the leader that these outstanding young men need to bring them together into a single team in the Lombardi model.
There was a small item in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune that suggest that he might. Not much was made of it, just a little tidbit tacked onto the end of a larger article. It may, however, be the best thing yet that I have read about Norv Turner. It’s in two parts.
For the first time in several years, the Chargers will stay in a local hotel the night before home games.
This is a step in the direction of teamwork. It focuses the players on the task at hand and brings them to game day free of distractions of family and household issues. It also brings them together as a team. I don’t know how many teams do this, but I think it is a terrific idea.
Asked if he heard any resistance from veteran players, Turner quipped,
“I didn't ask.”
And that is precisely the kind of leadership these fine young men need.
After the debacle against the Patriots last year at Qualcomm Stadium I blogged that Marty Schottenheimer should be fired because he had failed to provide the leadership that was needed and deserved by a highly talented group of football players. Specifically, while he was a genius at football strategy and in developing individual talent, he had no skill at melding those individuals into a cohesive whole. All of his teams displayed that same lack and, as groups of talented individuals rather than tightly knit teams, regularly failed in the big games.
Schottenheimer has been replaced by Norv Turner, who has a mixed record as a head coach, but I have been pleased and excited by the choice for a number of reasons. Most of those reasons revolve around the mechanics of football and I won’t go into them here, but one reason was simply that A.J. Smith picked him and that man has made very few mistakes. It was Smith that assembled the incredible array of on-field talent that fills the Chargers roster. What I’ve been waiting to see is indications that Turner can be the leader that these outstanding young men need to bring them together into a single team in the Lombardi model.
There was a small item in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune that suggest that he might. Not much was made of it, just a little tidbit tacked onto the end of a larger article. It may, however, be the best thing yet that I have read about Norv Turner. It’s in two parts.
For the first time in several years, the Chargers will stay in a local hotel the night before home games.
This is a step in the direction of teamwork. It focuses the players on the task at hand and brings them to game day free of distractions of family and household issues. It also brings them together as a team. I don’t know how many teams do this, but I think it is a terrific idea.
Asked if he heard any resistance from veteran players, Turner quipped,
“I didn't ask.”
And that is precisely the kind of leadership these fine young men need.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Oh boy, football season
Oh boy, oh boy… This is the time of year when my wife starts rolling her eyes a lot. The Chargers opened training camp today. All our draft picks are signed, all of last years starters are back… Well, the starters that really matter are back except one.
I hate to see Donny Edwards gone. He was a really good guy and our leading tackler, but most of his tackles were on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage. Wilhelm is, I think, going to do a fine job of filling his shoes so we still have (imho) the best corps of linebackers there is.
New head coach, and I’m a Norv Turner fan. There is no question he can run an offense, so we just have to see if he can run a team. With this pool of talent I think he can. I’m excited about our prospects this year.
Except, of course, that Quentin Jammer is still with us. If he could defend against opposing receivers with his mouth he would be as good as he thinks he is, but unfortunately he’ll still be out there committing penalties, blowing coverages, and tripping over his own feet.
Less than three weeks until the first preseason game. Pant, pant, pant.
I hate to see Donny Edwards gone. He was a really good guy and our leading tackler, but most of his tackles were on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage. Wilhelm is, I think, going to do a fine job of filling his shoes so we still have (imho) the best corps of linebackers there is.
New head coach, and I’m a Norv Turner fan. There is no question he can run an offense, so we just have to see if he can run a team. With this pool of talent I think he can. I’m excited about our prospects this year.
Except, of course, that Quentin Jammer is still with us. If he could defend against opposing receivers with his mouth he would be as good as he thinks he is, but unfortunately he’ll still be out there committing penalties, blowing coverages, and tripping over his own feet.
Less than three weeks until the first preseason game. Pant, pant, pant.
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