I have another post which has been placed on the back burner to be completed when I have more time but this game is going to eat me up if I don't vent about it right now.
As most of you know the the final score was 21-14 to the chiefs. Last year the Chargers went 13-3 and the Chiefs finished 4-12. Do we see why this game was a frustrating one for Chargers fans? Historically the Chargers are slow starters and by historically I mean under Norv Turner, just look at the team's record month by month under his tutelage:
September 5-7
October 5-4
November 8-5
December 13-0
Obviously we always start slow. So I want to let chargers fans know that the sky isn't falling and the sun will come up again. A friend and I were worried to begin with about this game because so many people were claiming this is going to be a crushing win for the chargers, most people claiming that are blind fans who don't understand sports on the same level as we do and that is why I will probably will post at some point about me and the new breed of fans but that's for another time. What I am trying to say is that this game had all the familiar symptoms of a trap game and that's what it turned out to be.
Unfortunately I don't possess a recording of the game so I am going off of what I remember but there were some things I liked:
I don't get the hating on the defense? They allowed 1 big run and they didn't get consistent pressure on the quarterback (this might be a problem in future games against better qb's but why complain when their passing game didn't beat you?) If you heard these defensive stats would you be alarmed about your defense? 10 of 22 for 62yds passing, with 197 total yds, and converting 1 for 11 on 3rd downs. Are you kidding me, that is a great game by the defense, granted they were probably helped by the sloppy conditions of the field but I would take that any time out.
The offense wasn't impressive but they showed that they could move the ball (When it wasn't raining sideways) without Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill. Yeah, maybe we could have used V Jack on that final drive to take TRIPLE COVERAGE away from Gates but come on guys, if there is triple coverage on 1 guy I'm pretty sure that with a normal rush that means that everyone else is in man to man coverage, someone has to step up and get open. I think the slick field contributed to their inability to get open because they kept falling but thats why you should have the ability to change out their spikes for longer ones, I know it's possible it happens all the time and the Chiefs weren't sliding all over the field like we were.
Don't even get me started on special teams and if we miss Kassim Osgood. Mike Scifres had 2 touchbacks all of last season, He had 3 last night. Also can we hold our gaps on punt coverage please.
Individual performances that I liked:
Shaun Phillips: I thought he was the only linebacker making plays consistently, even though I don't like the guy as a person he was getting it done last night.
Ryan Mathews: First game not bad looked like he could actually stay up longer than 2 yards like the running back we had last year. The fumble was bad but the ball was slick so I will give him a pass. Also LT fumbled in his first and second game and I think he turned out pretty well.
Legadu Naanee: Only guy that was stepping up when they started rolling coverage towards Gates. Drop on 4th down wasn't pretty though.
Individual Performances I didn't like:
Philip Rivers: Stats look good, played well when it wasn't raining, and I don't have a problem with him yelling at his teammates and getting mad when they get delay of games like a lot of people do. At least he looks like he cares unlike some other qbs in the league. What I had a problem with was in the middle of the game he couldn't throw a wet ball. It seemed to always fall in front of the receiver, Philip has to make plays no matter what the condition on the field because it turned out we could have used a score in the middle of the game.
Darren Sproles: The dude did absolutely nothing. He danced around and went nowhere before being arm tackled every time he touched the ball. He is making 7 million dollars this year and he made 6 million last year, it seems he has lost some burst also which makes him useless. I hope he proves my comments wrong because I like the guy, but he just isn't earning his money right now.
So those are my thoughts on week 1's charger game, I may or may not post about the upcoming game beforehand to offer some keys to the game but I wouldn't bet on it. Until next time, be safe.
Mitch Brown
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