That was a heck of a game. There were 9 scores in the 2nd half alternating for both teams accounting for 7 lead changes...luckily the Chargers get the last score for the win. Phillip Rivers was sharp all game.
Lets get the Chiefs injuries out of the way...did it make a difference in the game? Losing your two outside linebackers and sack leaders have to effect your defense, but I can counter that with the fact that the Chargers are also without their starting two outside linebackers and also the two that replaced them ( starters Melvin Ingram, Dwight Freeney; subs Larry English, Jarret Johnson). Sure Justin Houston and Tamba Hali are better players, but the Chargers are down to their 3rd stringers. Chargers also lost Ryan Mathews who had 55 yards on 14 carries and 1TD before he left the game.
Also, the Chargers DBs are terrible. This week it was Donnie Avery who beat them for 4 catches, 91 yards, 1TD. Alex Smith, who isn't exactly know for throwing the ball, went 26-38, 294 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT. Corner Derek Cox was benched for the 3rd straight game. I know the Chargers paid $20 million in the free agent market to get Cox, but it's time to give up on him. He hasn't been able to cover anybody. The Chargers secondary was also hit for 4 pass interference calls and 1 holding...and I can't argue any of them.
Okay, enough of the negatives. Somehow the Chargers managed to pull off a big upset and a big reason why came from their draft.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Chargers Lose 3rd Straight, 20-16 to the Dolphins
I'm not sure what to make of this game. It was the lowest total points the Chargers put up all season and it was against a team that wasn't playing well and was surrounded in controversy. I really don't get how the offense didn't get it done when they needed a win to stay in playoff contention. Watching the game on NFL Rewind I really didn't see what the Dolphins did that should have gave the Chargers that big of a problem scoring. The Chargers got yards from Ryan Mathews (19 carries, 127 yards) and Phillip Rivers (22-34, 298 yards), but they only scored one TD. Rivers also threw an INT on the Chargers 1st possession on a pass to Vincent Brown. Rivers expected a route down the sideline and Brown turned the pattern inside. Don't know who's fault it was, but Rivers and Brown just haven't gotten on the same page this year.
Also being unable to put the ball in the end zone is getting to be a big problem with this team. Three times in the red zone last week and another three this week resulting in field goals. They had first and goal on the 6 with plenty of time left in the half and couldn't punch it in. Settled for a FG that tied the score 10-10, instead of going up 14-10 at the half.
I really like TE LaDarius Green. He had a team leading 81yards on 4 catches. I've said it since early in the season...with both starting wide receivers out, I would love to see the Chargers go to a double TE set with Antonio Gates and Green. Both TEs can play also be effected in the slot and that would give them a lot of flexibility on offense without having to substitute.
Missed tackles killed the Chargers in this game. Dolphin TE Charles Clay scored on a 39 play were he caught a short pass in the flat and ran thru/pass 5 Charger defenders. The defense definitely didn't play great either. When they needed a stop in the 4th quarter to give the Chargers' offense one last shot at the win, they got the job done, but not before the Dolphins were able to run 2 minutes off the clock and driving from their own 6 out to the 38. A great punt gave the Chargers the ball back with 1:25 left in the game on their own 17. The offense just couldn't get the winning TD, running out of time on the Dolphin 25.
Rookie WR Keenan Allen wasn't in the game on the last drive, hurting his knee and leaving early in the 4th quarter. Allen, the Chargers best receiver, could have made a difference. Luckily, it wasn't anything serious and reports are that Allen will play against the Chiefs Sunday.
So this leaves the Chargers 4-6 on the outside of the playoff picture looking in at the 5-5 Jets, who would be the last team in if the Playoffs started today. Losing to the Dolphins was big, since the Dolphins are also 5-5 and now own the head-to-head tie breaker. They are also stuck in a group of 5 other 4-6 teams, two of which are the Raiders and Titans, teams they've lost to earlier this year.
With two games against the Chiefs, one more against the Broncos (in Denver), and also the AFC North leading Bengals left on the schedule, the Chargers chances of making the playoffs doesn't look good.
Also being unable to put the ball in the end zone is getting to be a big problem with this team. Three times in the red zone last week and another three this week resulting in field goals. They had first and goal on the 6 with plenty of time left in the half and couldn't punch it in. Settled for a FG that tied the score 10-10, instead of going up 14-10 at the half.
I really like TE LaDarius Green. He had a team leading 81yards on 4 catches. I've said it since early in the season...with both starting wide receivers out, I would love to see the Chargers go to a double TE set with Antonio Gates and Green. Both TEs can play also be effected in the slot and that would give them a lot of flexibility on offense without having to substitute.
Missed tackles killed the Chargers in this game. Dolphin TE Charles Clay scored on a 39 play were he caught a short pass in the flat and ran thru/pass 5 Charger defenders. The defense definitely didn't play great either. When they needed a stop in the 4th quarter to give the Chargers' offense one last shot at the win, they got the job done, but not before the Dolphins were able to run 2 minutes off the clock and driving from their own 6 out to the 38. A great punt gave the Chargers the ball back with 1:25 left in the game on their own 17. The offense just couldn't get the winning TD, running out of time on the Dolphin 25.
Rookie WR Keenan Allen wasn't in the game on the last drive, hurting his knee and leaving early in the 4th quarter. Allen, the Chargers best receiver, could have made a difference. Luckily, it wasn't anything serious and reports are that Allen will play against the Chiefs Sunday.
So this leaves the Chargers 4-6 on the outside of the playoff picture looking in at the 5-5 Jets, who would be the last team in if the Playoffs started today. Losing to the Dolphins was big, since the Dolphins are also 5-5 and now own the head-to-head tie breaker. They are also stuck in a group of 5 other 4-6 teams, two of which are the Raiders and Titans, teams they've lost to earlier this year.
With two games against the Chiefs, one more against the Broncos (in Denver), and also the AFC North leading Bengals left on the schedule, the Chargers chances of making the playoffs doesn't look good.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Chargers Lose Faceoff With Broncos, 28-20
I didn't get a chance to re-watch the game on NFL rewind until this afternoon.
I was actually impressed with the defense and disappointed with the offense on this one...the opposite of almost every other game this season. I think the best thing they did on offense all game was the fake punt on the first possession. It was a gutsy call on their own 28, but it eventually led to a punt after a 39 yard run by Ryan Mathews got called back on a holding penalty. Mathews got hurt on the play and didn't play for the rest of the first quarter, but came back in the 2nd quarter ending with 14 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD.
The defense held the Broncos to their lowest point total of the year and kept the Chargers in the game by allowing only 1 TD by the Broncos in the 2nd half. That "Amoeba" front 7 the Chargers have been playing for the last 3 weeks got to Peyton Manning. It will be interesting to see what the Chiefs come up with this Sunday. The Chargers' defense made two big mistakes...the first on the Broncos first drive when Julius Thomas scored on a simple pass in the flat that he took 74 yards. No one covered the TE and Derek Cox should have easily forced him out of bounds (Cox ended up getting benched, but came back in in the 2nd half when his replacement got injured). The 2nd big mistake was on a bubble screen to Demaryius Thomas that scored a TD. Chargers got caught on a corner blitz so they were out manned on that side.
What really doomed the Chargers chances of winning was the offense getting into the red zone three times in the first half and came away with only 6 points (2 made FGs and 1 missed). Phillip Rivers was a pedestrian 19-29, 218 yards, 1 TD. Needed more from him if the Chargers had any chance of winning. Vincent Brown did drop a TD in the 2nd quarter.
Broncos did a good job of taking away Keenan Allen, who had been Rivers' favorite receiver the last few weeks. Allen ended up with only 4 catches for 41 yards.
The Chargers' again suffered injuries to two areas they couldn't afford to lose. LT King Dunlap left the game forcing rookie D.J. Fluker to move from RT to LT for the 2nd time this year. Dunlap is listed as out with a neck injury.
Allen (3rd round) and Fluker (1st round) have been two great pickups in the draft.
OLB Larry English also left the game in the 2nd half. The Chargers are already without their two starting OLBs and one of the backups. English was put on the IR earlier this week. Coincidentally, the Chargers picked up Andrian Robinson who had played 6 games for the Broncos this season.
Even though the final score looked close and the defense kept them in the game, the Chargers' offense never threatened the tying TD/2 point conversion. From a game plan perspective the Chargers did what they needed to, holding the ball and keeping the Broncos to only 11 possessions, but they didn't put the ball into the end zone enough times.
This game left me encouraged about the defense, but also left me wondering if the league has seen enough of their new offense and figured out how to defense it.
I was actually impressed with the defense and disappointed with the offense on this one...the opposite of almost every other game this season. I think the best thing they did on offense all game was the fake punt on the first possession. It was a gutsy call on their own 28, but it eventually led to a punt after a 39 yard run by Ryan Mathews got called back on a holding penalty. Mathews got hurt on the play and didn't play for the rest of the first quarter, but came back in the 2nd quarter ending with 14 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD.
The defense held the Broncos to their lowest point total of the year and kept the Chargers in the game by allowing only 1 TD by the Broncos in the 2nd half. That "Amoeba" front 7 the Chargers have been playing for the last 3 weeks got to Peyton Manning. It will be interesting to see what the Chiefs come up with this Sunday. The Chargers' defense made two big mistakes...the first on the Broncos first drive when Julius Thomas scored on a simple pass in the flat that he took 74 yards. No one covered the TE and Derek Cox should have easily forced him out of bounds (Cox ended up getting benched, but came back in in the 2nd half when his replacement got injured). The 2nd big mistake was on a bubble screen to Demaryius Thomas that scored a TD. Chargers got caught on a corner blitz so they were out manned on that side.
What really doomed the Chargers chances of winning was the offense getting into the red zone three times in the first half and came away with only 6 points (2 made FGs and 1 missed). Phillip Rivers was a pedestrian 19-29, 218 yards, 1 TD. Needed more from him if the Chargers had any chance of winning. Vincent Brown did drop a TD in the 2nd quarter.
Broncos did a good job of taking away Keenan Allen, who had been Rivers' favorite receiver the last few weeks. Allen ended up with only 4 catches for 41 yards.
The Chargers' again suffered injuries to two areas they couldn't afford to lose. LT King Dunlap left the game forcing rookie D.J. Fluker to move from RT to LT for the 2nd time this year. Dunlap is listed as out with a neck injury.
Allen (3rd round) and Fluker (1st round) have been two great pickups in the draft.
OLB Larry English also left the game in the 2nd half. The Chargers are already without their two starting OLBs and one of the backups. English was put on the IR earlier this week. Coincidentally, the Chargers picked up Andrian Robinson who had played 6 games for the Broncos this season.
Even though the final score looked close and the defense kept them in the game, the Chargers' offense never threatened the tying TD/2 point conversion. From a game plan perspective the Chargers did what they needed to, holding the ball and keeping the Broncos to only 11 possessions, but they didn't put the ball into the end zone enough times.
This game left me encouraged about the defense, but also left me wondering if the league has seen enough of their new offense and figured out how to defense it.
Chargers at Jaguars
Saw that I forgot to post this after the Jags game....
For the first time this year the Chargers win back-to-back games with a 24-6 win in Jacksonville. Chargers are also above .500 for the first time this season at 4-3.
Take these next stats with a grain of salt, because this was the Jaguars, but the Chargers defense has not allowed a TD in two straight games. The defense also had 6 sacks, the Chargers had just 13 total in the previous 6 games. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the Chargers are doing on defense...what Jon Gruden called the "Amoeba Defense" last Monday night.
I read one story that said they were using a 2 DL lineup, but I don't think that's 100% accurate. Yes the two starting DE's Cory Liuget and Kendall Reyes are staying in the game and they pull NT Cam Thomas out, but the Chargers replace him with DE Thomas Keiser who sometimes stays upright (as opposed to down in a 3-pt stance) and it looks like a 2 DL lineup. Other times Keiser goes down in a 3-point stance like a DE and the other DEs end up being DTs with the opposite LB playing like a DE...so it's kind of a 4-3. Keiser recorded 2 sacks.
For the first time this year the Chargers win back-to-back games with a 24-6 win in Jacksonville. Chargers are also above .500 for the first time this season at 4-3.
Take these next stats with a grain of salt, because this was the Jaguars, but the Chargers defense has not allowed a TD in two straight games. The defense also had 6 sacks, the Chargers had just 13 total in the previous 6 games. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the Chargers are doing on defense...what Jon Gruden called the "Amoeba Defense" last Monday night.
I read one story that said they were using a 2 DL lineup, but I don't think that's 100% accurate. Yes the two starting DE's Cory Liuget and Kendall Reyes are staying in the game and they pull NT Cam Thomas out, but the Chargers replace him with DE Thomas Keiser who sometimes stays upright (as opposed to down in a 3-pt stance) and it looks like a 2 DL lineup. Other times Keiser goes down in a 3-point stance like a DE and the other DEs end up being DTs with the opposite LB playing like a DE...so it's kind of a 4-3. Keiser recorded 2 sacks.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Chargers Lose to Redskins in OT, 30-24.
Danny Woodhead's game winning TD was overturned (correctly by the way) and the Chargers failed to score from the 1-foot line. Kicking a FG to send the game into overtime. Chargers never got the ball on offense as Washington drove down the field to score a TD and end it.
Lets get the last 3 plays of regulation out of the way, since that's what all the Sportscasters are talking about. Yes, they should have been able to score from less than a yard out and I will say that they deserved to loose when they couldn't get it done. But you can 2nd guess the play calling all you like, it comes down to execution. They score and nobody is saying anything about what was called.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)