Week 2 - Chargers Lose Another Heartbreaker/NFL Monday Quick Six
September 15, 2008 by Brandon Campbell
Filed under Chargers, NFL Football
No one ever said being an NFL fan was easy.
You have to sacrifice your time every Sunday, often at the expense of your bank account and real world relationships. You are willing to make these sacrifices without hesitation though, because you love the game and the glory of seeing your team succeed. However, there are the occasional moments in the life of every NFL fan where they wonder if the universe is conspiring against them in a twisted plot to maximize their suffering. I think every San Diego Chargers fan across the world experienced one of these moments in unison yesterday, when Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler converted on a two point conversion in the final seconds of the game to give the Broncos a 39-38 victory. After being hit by a rush of traumatizing emotions and comforting myself with a few beers, I’ve managed to compose myself enough to analyze yet another heartbreaking Chargers loss in the…..
NFL Monday Quick Six
1) HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!? - I’m pretty confident that I wasn’t the only one screaming this at the television yesterday, and I’m sure this question will be the basis of much discussion in San Diego throughout the next week. For starters, the Chargers offence once again struggled to establish any rhythm throughout the first half. When you combine these early struggles with the mental errors that San Diego was making, the Broncos were easily the better team. All of these mistakes resulted in a 14 point lead for Denver at half time, forcing the Chargers to once again try and mount a late rally. Although let’s be honest, the offence wasn’t really the problem for San Diego in this game…..
2) You Call That Defence? - I thought the San Diego defence played bad yesterday, but checking the stat line really puts this horrendous performance into perspective. For example, the San Diego defence allowed 486 total net yards, 6.0 yards per rush, four passing touchdowns, and 5 TD’s in 6 red zone opportunities. Also, how do you allow Brandon Marshall to make 18 receptions in this game? I recognize that I’m just a lowly sports writer, but even I understand the concept of double coverage and forcing someone else on the Broncos to beat you. I know that the Chargers defence is struggling with injuries to a couple of key players, but that doesn’t excuse the awful performance we witnessed yesterday. If San Diego has any hope of rebounding from another awful start to the season, their first priority should be overhauling their horrendous defence.
3) Sproles Proves He Can Handle The Job - With the departure of Michael Turner via free agency last summer, there were plenty of skeptics who questioned the depth of the Chargers running game behind LaDainian Tomlinson. Even though Darren Sproles had previously demonstrated the ability to create the big play in the NFL, questions persisted about his consistency and durability. Some of those questions were answered yesterday, as Sproles replaced an injured LT and finished with a 125 yards (53 rushing, 72 receiving) on just nine touches out of the Chargers backfield. Although it’s unlikely that Sproles will be challenging LT for the starting job any time in the near future, his performance yesterday should earn him a few more touches in the coming weeks.
4) Maybe It’s Time For A Change…. - If you follow my articles on a regular basis, you will know that I don’t have a lot of confidence in Norv Turner as a head coach. After witnessing his struggles in Washington and Oakland, I thought hiring Turner was the wrong choice for the Chargers organization. Although I still believe that hiring Turner was the wrong decision, I think San Diego can remain relatively competitive in the AFC with/without him. However, I can’t say the same for Chargers defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell who continues to struggle making the necessary defensive adjustments. I think the right decision would be to remove Ted Cottrell from this coaching staff immediately and see how the team performs with a new defensive coordinator. However, I don’t expect the Chargers to make a minor coaching change at this point in the season. It’s either all or nothing at this point, and I will go on record right now predicting that both Norv Turner and Cottrell will be fired next week if San Diego loses to the Jets.
5) Video Review - Although I’m confident everyone agrees that video review has been a positive for the NFL, a problem arose in yesterdays game that should be cause for concern across the league. The situation took place when Chris Chambers “fumbled” on the Chargers opening drive of the game and San Diego couldn’t challenge because the replay officials equipment malfunctioned. I can understand this happening in NCAA or Canadian football, but how can this happen in the NFL? I suspect that league officials will try and argue that the malfunction was a rare occurrence, but shouldn’t this raise concerns about the reliability of video replay in the league?
6) What Next? - The San Diego Chargers will host the New York Jets next Monday night, an intriguing match up that will mean a lot to both teams. The Chargers will then travel to Oakland in week four to play the Raiders, followed by a trip to Miami in week five to play the Dolphins. Although the Chargers have a lot of work to do before they can be considered serious contenders again in the AFC, the next three weeks will provide San Diego with an opportunity to turn their season around. Let’s not forget, this is essentially the same team that rebounded from a 1-3 start last season to make the AFC Championship game. What better place to turn your season around than on Monday Night Football?
Alright everyone, that’s all I have for now. I hope you enjoy the game tonight between the Cowboys and the Eagles, be sure to check out the preview from writers James Centifonti and Glenn Stants. As for me, I will be back later in the week with some detailed analysis about the upcoming Jets/Chargers game.
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September 15th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Your right about Turner. I think he is a bad coach and the team wins in spite of him. The defense is terrible and they probably didn’t deserve to win, but that being said they had one taken away by a couple of calls yesterday.
September 15th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Two BAD calls killed SD yesterday in my mind. Great piece Brandon!
September 15th, 2008 at 9:23 am
That fumble call was unbelievable at the end of that game. And the announcer was quite amusing in suggesting Coach Shannahan was somehow trying to be a good sport by going for the win. Gimme a break.
Nice dig at the CFL too, gotta agree the bumbling of a call like that was reminiscent of almost every game in that league. (And thats from a CFL supporter)
September 15th, 2008 at 11:41 am
I think the “malfunction” showed just how important replay is. If you don’t have the replay system Denver gets that fumble call and they keep the ball on the 4 yard line on 3rd down at the end of the game instead of going to the 10 yard line.
Totally agree with you on Turner.
Do you think maybe the reason they didn’t double Marshall had anything to do with Cromartie’s ego? Did they think eventually he would get an INT on Cutler? Not suggesting that he is arrogant as I think he is a fantastic ball player but this Chargers team seems like a bunch of jerks to me. Seeing Gates chirp about his catch near the end made me chuckle…does the guy not realize he is about to lose a football game??
September 15th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Move Ron Rivera over to DC he did a fine job before being booted out of Chicago.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I agree completely, tough break for San Diego but they have no one else to blame but themselves for being in that position.
eventually they will understand that they need to play the entire 60 minutes.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Thanks Kevin, it was definitely one of the more entertaining games I’ve watched in recent memory.
really will be interesting to see how the Chargers respond on Monday at home against the Jets.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I was just really surprised that Ed Hochuli blew that fumble call towards the end of the game, in my mind he’s easily one of the best officials in the league.
very unfortunate for San Diego, but I give Hochuli credit for immediately admitting his mistake and facing the questions like a man.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I really have no idea why they didn’t give Cromartie some help with Marshall.
I know Cromartie couldn’t practice all week because of a hip injury, and was only able to take the field for the first time on Friday, So I thought it was pretty stupid for them to leave him in man to man coverage against Marshall for most of the game, and they clearly paid for that mistake.
Thankfully I think Cromartie will get plenty of opportunities for revenge, you have to believe these two will be lining up across from each other for years to come.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I would agree completely, I think Rivera would be an excellent choice.
I know when he was originally hired there was some concern that he lacked experience in a 3-4 defence, but he’s been with the team for over 18 months now. I think it’s worth a shot, this defensive unit definitely has the talent. I think they just need the proper direction…
September 15th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Yes I would imagine both clubs will lock up most of the guys involved in that matchup.
I don’t see Cromartie leaving SD anytime soon nor do I see Marshall or Cutler leaving Denver (or at least I hope)…we have at least 1 more matchup this year!….mind you it could end up being a nothing game. Mind you it could end up being for the division title as well.
September 15th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
That was one of the best games I have ever seen.
I had mixed feelings on who I wanted to win, because I absolutely hate the Broncos, but I equally hate Phillip Rivers (he is just too damn cocky). What it came down to, was that I had Denver to win, so enough said.
I did however, dislike the way this game ended, because I hate to see a team robbed with not just one, but two bad instances. Rules, are rules, but that is a REALLY tough pill to swallow. I feel for the Chargers (except Rivers, it looks good on him)
As for Norv Turner, I’m sure you know how I would feel about him, and I wouldn’t hold back any punches on what I thought about him being hired in SD. I was, however suprised that he was able to get your team playing as well as they did last year. That said, heed my warning, because, he did bring the Raiders to the superbowl in his first year as head coach, only to fall to 4-12 in his second.
The guy is a loser, and the quicker that Smith figures that one out, the easier it will be for him to keep your great team intact. And actually play to their potential.
(If Oakland can’t win our division, SD is the only other team, that I don’t truly hate, so let them win it)
tough weekend in SD
September 15th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
If the Chargers could have stopped Denver at the begining of the game it wouldnt have mattered what happened at the end, and I blame the terrable coaching for that. They were unprepared fordenver at the begining and it showed. GET RID OF TURNER and this team will go far.