NFL Week 8 Thoughts, All On Chargers

OK, one non-Charger thought. Did you know that Tom Brady is the only QB in the history of the NFL to pass for 350+ yds, 5 or more TDs, 0 interceptions, and better than 85% completions in the same game? Will, last week against the Bears he did it for the 2nd time (1st was in 09 vs. the Titans).

I mentioned in my Week 4 Thoughts post that people were over-blowing the Chargers 5-1 record. Now after 2 straight loses some sportscasters are jumping off the bandwagon, like in this Around the NFL article. Just watched the Broncos game on rewind last night and I'm not that discouraged (that might change if they lose to the Dolphins this week).

Chargers defense played the Broncos tough in the first quarter. They made the Broncos punt in their first two drives...how many times has that happened to Broncos this year? The halftime score was 14-7 Broncos, but mostly because the Chargers were robbed of a turnover (even the instant replay official calling the game said it should have been a fumble) and partially because CB Jason Verrett went out with a shoulder injury. Branden Flowers was already out, so both starting CBs out versus Peyton Manning...not likely that's going to work out well. Manning immediately started picking on replacement Richard Marshall. Marshall was so bad that the Chargers cut him after the game. You have to play pretty lousy to get cut when a team has both starters at your position injured.

Phillip Rivers threw 2 interceptions, but neither one was terrible. On the first, Keenan Allen slipped on the cut. The bad part was that it happened in the opening drive of the 3rd quarter. On the previous drive the Chargers went 13 plays, 84 yards to tie the score at 7-7.The 2nd interception was towards the end of the game down 2 TDs. Rivers was trying to go deep to Malcolm Floyd, but a Bronco safety was over the top. Considering the game situation I can see why Rivers' gambled, but it still wasn't a good decision.

With the Broncos up 28-14 Eric Weddle made a great interception that could have changed the game. The interception was overturned by a tricky-tack holding call on Marcus Gilchrist. I can see why they called it because Gilchrist put a hand on the receivers hip, but he never turned him or impeded his progress.

Lastly, with time left to turn the game around, Broncos up 35-21, Weddle punched the ball out of Emmnauel Saunders hands. Unfortunately, despite several Chargers defenders around the ball, Wes Welker ended up recovering it.

The point is all the breaks went the Broncos way. Are Broncos a better team? Absolutely, so when you lose the turnover battle 2-0 you should get blown out. The Chargers lost handily by 2 TDs, but it wasn't a blowout. Add to that they could have easily had 3 Bronco turnovers and I don't feel like the Chargers were over matched (especially considering 2 starting CBs, and OLB Melvin Ingram were out). It was really encouraging how well the defense played before Verrett went out. Broncos only TD while Verrett was in the game was set up by a great catch by Saunders...and it was well covered.

Unfortunately, Verrett may be out for awhile and Ingram isn't due back anytime soon. Flowers should play against the Dolphins and the Chargers signed ex-Washington CB Richard Crawford. Who knows how soon Crawford can play. The Chargers defense has been a lot better when Flowers and Verrett have been on the field, but Shareece Wright has been serviceable when either of the two has been out. Rookie Chris Davis has been getting playing time and getting better.

The schedule does get tougher late November into December, but if they can beat the Dolphins the Chargers will be on a bye so they should be able to get a few players back from injury for Week 11 including a very realistic return by Ryan Mathews. Branden Oliver made a splash running for 100+ against the Jets and Raiders, but hasn't been able to duplicate that success against the Chiefs or Broncos. Love Oliver and he does have talent, but I'm guessing his success had something to do with the opponent.

If the Chargers are at full strength going into the last five game gauntlet of @Ravens, Patriots, Broncos, @49ers, @ Chiefs, I'll still give this team a decent shot at the playoffs.

NFL Week 7 Thoughts

Thought the Chargers moved away from their identity last week versus the Chiefs. The majority of Rivers passes were down the field instead of the short passing game that has made this offense a success. Maybe it was the way the Chiefs played defense (I haven't watched the game on Rewind yet), but if that's the case it's an issue also. That would mean that the Chargers' future opponents are going to play them the same way and dare the Chargers to beat them deep. 

With Jason Varett out and Branden Flowers playing hurt, the Chargers' defense isn't the same. Still, the Chargers were able to win last year without those guys. More than any other game this season the offense needed to protect the defense, but it was the Chiefs who dominated the time of possession. Also, the last two drives into Chiefs territory resulted in FGs. Rivers wasn't sharp, missing Floyd on a couple end zone throws. A TD in either of those drives and the Chargers had a decent chance of escaping with a win. 

How in the world did the Seahawks get fooled on that punt? If you haven't seen it the Rams duped the Seahawks punt coverage team by pretending to receive the punt on one side of the field, while the punt was actually fielded on the other side. Wouldn't it be called in the huddle which side of the field their punter is kicking the ball so they can set the coverage? They tried to explain it in this article on Business Insider, but that even makes it worse for the Seahawks. According to the article, Seahawk punter Jon Ryan almost always punts to his left when he's trying to pin teams deep. 

The Broncos victory over the 49ers was the best game I've seen a team play in quite a while. As a Charger fan I'm hoping that's an anomaly and not who the Broncos really are. If that's who the Broncos really are, give them the Super Bowl trophy now, because if they play like that every week no one is going to beat them. Oh and congratulations to Peyton Manning for the career TD record. It's crazy to know that he could realistically push the record close to 600 before he retires.

Speaking of records, DeMarco Murray broke Jim Brown's record for consecutive 100 yard games to start a season, going for 100+ in his 7th straight game. A lot of football people consider Brown a running back god, so breaking one of his records is a really big deal. Those same people may diminish the accomplishment by saying it's easier to run now with spread offenses, but there's always two sides to a coin. With spread offenses, less and less backs have the opportunity to carry the ball enough times to get to 100. Many teams are protecting the health of their RBs by platooning, also leading to less opportunities. In today's NFL a back has to pass protect and catch passes or he isn't going to stay in the game, again leading to less RBs with an opportunity to go for 100 yards a game.  Finally, if it was so easy, why hasn't anyone done it before Murray?

Are Green Bay Packers fans relaxing now?

What happened to the Legend of Doom? Russell Wilson becomes the first QB to throw for 300+ and rush for 100+ in the same game...and the Seahawks lose.

The Saints are in trouble. Maybe the anomaly wasn't when they missed the playoffs two years ago, but when they made the playoffs last year.

I still believe the Patriots are a declining club, but with a 5-2 record they keep finding ways to win. They still needed a blocked FG to get pass the lowly Jets.

Will the Jaguars winning (and convincingly over the Browns 24-6), the Raiders are the remaining winless club. Coincidently, they play the Browns next week. The Raiders remaining schedule includes only 2 teams with records currently below .500 (at St. Louis, home vs the Bills). Not saying they won't win a game, but the thought did cross my mind.

NFL Week 6 Thoughts

Phillip Rivers is playing some great QB right now, setting a record with 5 consecutive games with a QB Rating over 120, but lets not get carried away with the Super Bowl contender talk. Yes, the Chargers are 5-1 and would be the #1 seed if the playoffs started today, but 4 of the wins came over the Bills, Jaguars, Jets, and Raiders...and they had to come from behind to beat the Raiders.

The Dallas Cowboys are 5-1 after beating the Seahawks, who lost only their 2nd home game in 2 seasons. Cowboys are performing way above expectations this year, but you have to wonder if DeMarco Murray can hold up getting 30 touches a game (26.5 rushes, 3.5 catches).  Murray previous high in carries is 217 and he already has 159. He's also on pace to have 66 catches which would best his career high of 53.


Joe Flacco set a record by throwing for 5 TD passes in 16 minutes. That broke the previous record by 12 minutes!!!

Bengals' kicker Mike Nugent has to feel like crap after missing a gimme 36 yarder in OT that preserved a 37-37 tie with the Panthers. I saw a lot of articles written on how games shouldn't end in a tie, but if you miss a 36 yarder you shouldn't deserve a 2nd chance.

After getting fined $10,000 for wearing Beats headphones in a post game interview, Colin Kaepernick used the same headphones again during his post game interview after Monday nights game...but this time there was masking tape over the Beats logo. If you didn't know, the NFL has a sponsorship deal with Bose as the official headphone of the league. Beats is getting a lot of free publicity from this, much more than if the NFL never fined Kaepernick.

Panther's rookie wide out pulled a Donovan McNabb, saying "I didn't even know you tie in the NFL."

Kirk Cousins isn't the answer in Washington. In 13 games he has thrown 18 interceptions and fumbles 3 times. In 8 starts his record is 1-7. Maybe RGIII wasn't so bad after all.

Angels a Big Disapointment

I was away on vacation the last few weeks so I'm glad I didn't see a minute of the Angels getting swept out of the playoffs as the number 1 seed. I understand that the Royals are hot right now, but for the team with the best record in baseball not to win at least one game holding the home field advantage is a major let down. Angels were the highest scoring team in the league yet managed only 6 runs in 31 innings.

All the money and star power and they didn't get it done. Mike Trout, considered the best player in baseball, went 1 for 12. Albert Pujols and his $240 million salary went 2 for 12. Worse even was Josh Hamilton, who went 0 for 13. Hamilton was upset that Angels fans booed him, but they had a right too. He signed a $133 million contract with the Angels has done little to help the team win. Hamilton even said, "I don't think we played poorly." Really? The Angels win streak at the end of the season came without Hamilton in the lineup...coincidence? I don't know if anyone, but the players can answer that, but they were swept by the Royals with Hamilton back. To me, both Hamilton and Pujols have been epic failures that will cost the Angels for many years to come. The Angels parted with several top prospects and 1st round picks to sign those two.

It's not all on the offense though. C.J. Wilson lasted just 2/3s of an inning. The bullpen, which was great since acquiring Jason Grilli and Huston Street, took losses in games 1-2.Grilli and Street became non-factors when Fernando Salas took the lost in Game 1 and Kevin Jespen gave up the winning run in Game 2.

Still if the Angels could have put up a few more runs, Grilli and Street would have been a factor and I would be writing a different post. Both will be free agents next season. Street will likely be resigned, but after that the money gets thin. There is some hope for next season with rookie starters Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker, but what happens when their contracts are up?

The Angels mortgaged the future to win today...so far that's added up to 0 playoff wins.

Angels - Royals, Hoping Offense Keeps Rolling

On vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii, so I'm amazed that I'm even posting let alone reading anything on the internet. I was amazed that even in this house we're renting surrounded by lush green vegetation that they provided free wi-fi. I guess that's the time we live in now...may have to post about it sometime.

Anyway, my favorite MLB team is in the Playoffs again. The signings of  Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton haven't equaled playoff appearances until this season and will Hamilton out a lot this season he wasn't much contributor this year either. Pujols was better this season, so you have to give him some credit, but this team is led by Mike Trout, a rebuilt bull pen and a surprising rookie pitcher in Matt Shoemaker.

The Royals pitching is going to be key in this series. The Angels' pen may be deeper, but the Royals are slightly better with Gregg Holland (46 saves, 1.44 ERA) as their closer and Wade Davis (1.00 ERA) as their main setup guy. What there's no doubt in is that the Royal's rotation is better than the Angels' rotation. The Angels get a break with the Royals' having to pitch their Ace James Shields in the 1-game wildcard playoffs (that's the advantage of being the #1 seed). Angels' hitters will face Danny Duffy and counter with Jered Weaver in Game 1. Game 2 will be Jeremy Guthrie vs. Shoemaker. Weaver has all the experience, but doesn't have the velocity he once did. I wonder how Shoemaker, being a rookie, will handle it...especially if the Angels lose Game 1. Game 3 will be Shields vs. CJ Wilson who has been erratic. Shields will likely pitch on short rest if there's a game 5, were he'll face Shoemaker.

As Yogi Bera once said "Pitching will always beat batting...and vice-versa." For the Angels' sake, I hope it's vice-versa, because as clear cut as the Royals' pitching is better that the Angels...it's just as clear that the Angels' offense is superior to the Royals. Funny thing is the Royals are what the Angels used to be, an AL team that plays NL style...get on base, steal bases, move runners, timely hitting. I liked it when the Angels played that way. Now the Angels are the mashers with big hitters up and down the lineup and the potential to put up big numbers in any inning. The Angels are the highest scoring team in the Majors and that's what got them to the best record in baseball...they need to be the highest scoring team in the playoffs to get their 2nd World Series win.

You want a prediction...since I'm out here in the 50th state this is going to be straight from my gut as I haven't put much research in it. Angels in 4, winning Games 1, 2, and 4.