Continental DSWs - All-Season Tire Update

This past week we've gotten the most snow of the winter. I was raised in a warm weather climate, so I hate the snow, but it finally gave me a chance to evaluate my latest tire purchase for my Focus ST that I posted about last August (Focus ST Gets New Shoes).

To highlight the article, after researching all-season tires I settled on a set of Continental Extreme DWSs.  The DWS stands for Dry, Wet, Snow.  Continental also makes an Extreme DW...which aren't designed for the snow, so be aware that the tires are similarly named. 

I am really amazed at how well these tires grip in the snow. It's hard to really compare them to the other all-season tires I've owned because those were on different cars and some of the difference maybe due to the car itself, but I can honestly say that I've never driven a car this stable in the snow that didn't have dedicated snow tires.  In my opinion, these Conti DSWs would equal, or even exceed the snow traction of some of the cheaper snow tires out there.

Super Blow Out. How do you see Manning now?

Of all the scenarios I thought would play out in this game, I felt the least likely would have been a Seahawks blowout of the Broncos. Did I underestimate the Seahawk defense? Maybe. I did believe they were good, best in football this year, but we were talking about the most prolific offense in NFL history playing in an era where all the rules favor the offense.

I really didn't care who won this game...as the saying goes, "I had no dog in this fight."  As a Charger fan my beef is with Eli not Peyton...even though Peyton is a Bronco now...and even though I would choose Brady over Manning in the great, who's better debate, it's not like I'm saying Peyton sucks. On the contrary, the fact that you mention Peyton in an argument with Brady is because he is that good considering those are more or less considered the best QBs in the league right now. In any event, Peyton will be a first ballet HoFer and go down as one of the best of all time despite this 43-8Superbowl loss.

That being said, I think his legacy is tarnished a bit...again not saying he's not great, he is, but when you start to look at performances in signature games, Peyton doesn't live up to his own high standards. Even the year he took the Colts to a Superbowl victory he threw 7 interceptions and 3 TDs in the post season.  The Colts' defense really saved them that season, wining the Wildcard game 23-8 against the Chiefs despite Manning throwing 1TD and 3 INTs. He won the MVP for the Superbowl, but his stat line wasn't very MVP-like...25-38, 247 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.  Good, but not great. In the Saints Superbowl, the Saints came back to win after trailing 6-10 at the half. That year, Manning had Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark, and Reggie Wayne...and don't say they didn't have a good defense, because neither did the Saints. Everyone expected a shootout, but the Saints won going away 31-17 aided by a Manning 4th quarter interception that was returned for a TD.

Back to the this years Superbowl...the Seahawks did match up with the Broncos the way no other team can. They played man on both receivers (with a safety over the top) and played zone underneath. The speed of their safeties and linebackers were key to stopping the Broncos short passing game.  Broncos lived all year on short passes on crossing routes and off picks.  Picks didn't work against the under zone, because the defender didn't have to stay with one WR. Plays where Bronco receivers took those short passes and turned them into decent gains, if not big plays, those same routes against the Seahawks resulted in <5 yards. Also the size of the Seahawks' DBs played a big part. The other Bronco staple was the WR screen out of a bunch formation.  Seahawk DBs constantly ran through those WR blocks to make stops. 

With the short passing game ineffective, Peyton had to hold the ball a little longer to go down field...and the Seahawk CBs played the outside WRs tight. That gave the pass rush time to get to Peyton.  Normally, Peyton would start checking down to running plays, but against the Seahawks front seven that wasn't effective either.  That was another key, allowing the Seahawks to keep one safety deep. 

Bottomline, the Seahawks were just a more physical team and the Broncos didn't have an answer for that.  Manning couldn't make enough plays under duress and nobody else could will the team to step up to match the Seahawks physically (not even Demaryius Thomas' 13 catches, 118 yds, 1TD). 

Sure, you can't give Manning all the blame, but that street goes both ways. Manning was being hailed as the greatest during the season, but he did have a lot of weapons and a good running game.  The defense wasn't great, but they stepped up when they had too.  I didn't hear too many people talking about their injuries on defense when they shut down the Patriots in the AFC Championship game and the defense played great in the first half keeping the Seahawks out of the end zone twice after the safety and Manning threw his first pick (score was just 8-0 at that point).  Also, I don't know how many times I heard "I want Peyton to win a ring" this past two weeks, like their wasn't 52 other guys on the team.  So although it isn't fair to put all the blame on Manning, he does get most of the accolades when things are going well. 

Maybe not fair, but I think this ends the debate on Peyton Manning being the best of all-time. He'll be like Brett Favre, have all the passing records, but unless you're a Favre/Packer fan, than he doesn't enter in the discussion of NFL's best ever. 

Random Charger Thougts This Past Week

The Chargers came up short against the Broncos 24-17 this past Sunday.  It wasn't much of a game for Chargers fans until the 4th quarter, when the Chargers scored all 17 of their points.  Chargers bid for a comeback ended when the Broncos ran out the last 3:53 of the game converting on a 3rd and 17, a 3rd and 6th, and finally a 3rd and 1. Backup LB Bront Bird was in the game due to injuries and he was absolutely lost in pass coverage.  Both the 3rd and longs were completed in Bird's area of coverage.  I'm not blaming Bird though. Bird had played earlier in the season due to injuries so the coaches new he wasn't the best in coverage. The smarter move would have been to blitz Bird.  Would it have made a difference?  Who knows, but I believe Bird would have been better utilized as a blitzer than in coverage.

 Although the failure of the defense to get the ball back sealed the Chargers faith, overall it was a good defensive effort. Three of the four lowest scoring games the record setting offense of the Broncos put up were against the Chargers.  28, 20, and 24 points for a team that was averaging about 39 a game. The other team that held the Broncos under 30 were the Chiefs on Week 11 (27 points).  I also have to wonder if the game would have turned out differently if Shareece Wright hadn't dropped a sure interception on the Broncos 1st drive.

I've been hyping rookie WR Keenan Allen all year and he was really the only one that showed up on offense on Sunday against the Broncos.  6 catches, 142 yards, 2 TDs.  The coaches were way too conservative against the Broncos. Rivers only threw 8 passes in the 1st half and ended the game 18-27, 217 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs.  It wasn't garbage stats. The game was still in doubt when the Chargers started to throw the ball. There was still 3:56 on the clock when they closed the score to 24-17.  I had all the confidence in the world that if they had gotten the ball back that Rivers would have led them to a tying TD.

I was pretty prophetic in my preseason post on the Chargers (Last Look Before the Season).  In that post I said the Chargers look to be a .500 team and could possibly make the playoffs with a 9-7 record if they caught a few breaks.  I also gave tight end Ladarius Green some props and thought he would eventually be Antonio Gate's heir apparent. I also thought that the coaching staff had a plan for Danny Woodhead even though he didn't play much during the preseason.

Chargers vs. Broncos, the Rubber Match

Random thoughts about the AFC playoffs...

OLB Melvin Ingram wasn't expected to play this season after suffering a knee injury in preseason, but came back to practice in just over 6 months. Ingram played a week later against the Giants and I don't believe that it's a coincidence that the defense has improved since Ingram came back.  With Ingram in the lineup the Chargers beat the Giants 37-17, then the Broncos 27-20, and then the Raiders 26-13 despite the offense turning the ball over 3 times. Next was the Chiefs game that the Chargers should have lost. For some reason the Chargers couldn't get their collective act together for that game.  Inexcusable for what it meant...a spot in the playoff.  Regardless, the Chargers didn't squander the gift and upset the Bengals 27-10. 

The other reason for the resurgent defense is that DC John Pagano inserted a new scheme for the Giants game. Jon Gruden called it the "Amoeba Defense" during the Thursday Night Broncos win after studying the Giants game the week before.  I won't pretend to understand the ins and outs of how it works, but if you watch the Chargers defense they only put one or two of the front seven in a 3-point stance.  They shift in and out of a 3-4/4-3 defense by using the weak side linebacker as either the OLB in the 3-4 or DE in the 4-3...in effect changing the roles of the players up front. Ingram's interception in the 4th quarter against the Bengals was a result of a shift from the 3-4 to 4-3. Ingram is the strong side OLB and the primary pass rusher in the 3-4, but when the Chargers shifted to the 4-3, the defensive end becomes the primary outside pass rusher. Ingram stayed in coverage and jumped the short route by the TE.

Before I give you the idea that "the Amoeba Defense" is something new, it isn't. Teams like the Browns, Steelers, Falcons, Patriots, and Saints (and most likely many others) have ran similar schemes from time-to-time (I notice that it's a base 3-4 defense sort of thing...I've never seen a base 4-3 team run it). 

Interesting to note that, along with the Broncos, the three teams left in the AFC playoffs are the teams that gave the Broncos their three loses during the season.  Colts 39-33 in Week7, Patriots 34-31 in Week 12, and the Chargers 27-20 in Week 15.  The Chargers were the only one to do it in Denver.

Interesting note #2, the Broncos and Chargers have never met in the Playoffs.

Interesting note #3, Phillip Rivers is a perfect 6-0 when he wears gloves. 

Whatever the reasons, the Chargers have historically given Peyton Manning a hard time. The Chargers are 7-6 all time against Manning.  He is 4-4 vs. the Chargers at home. Manning is 3-1 vs. the Chargers since becoming a Bronco, including the 35-24 win in Denver in 2012 when the Chargers were up 24-0 at halftime aided by a fumble and interception return for TDs in the 2nd half.  The other games were close...30-23 in San Diego last season, 28-20 in San Diego earlier this year, and the Charger 27-20 upset in Denver last month.  While playing for the Colts, the Chargers knocked him out of the playoffs in back to back years (28-24 in 2007 and 23-17 in overtime in 2008) in the only times Manning has faced the Chargers in the playoffs.

I'm hoping the Chargers can even up the record against Manning on Sunday and keep the perfect record during the playoffs.  It's going to take a great game on both sides of the ball against a record setting QB that is having the best statistical year in NFL history.

Chargers Given A Gift

The Chargers were handed a playoff spot...no other way to put it.  Not only did they have to have the Ravens and Dolphins both of their last two games, but they needed a blown 41 yard field goal and at least one (and in my opinion, two) blown calls by the refs.  By now everyone knows the Chargers were lined up in an illegal formation on the field goal attempt at the end of regulation, but I also think it was a quick whistle on the fake punt in overtime.

Don't know what to think about this Charger team.   They've beaten the Colts at home and the Eagles, Chiefs, and Broncos all on the road, yet have losses to the Texans, Raiders, and Redskins. And now they almost lose a game against the Chiefs' backups with a playoff spot on the line.  If you understand this team please let me in on it.

Three weeks ago when the Dolphins upset the Patriots I figured the playoff chance had realistically ended for the Chargers.  Dolphins needed just one win against the Bills or Jets in the last two weeks to clinch a spot.  Talking to a co-worker (who is a Bronco fan) we were already discussing the possibility of a Colts-Broncos rematch after the Bengals eliminated the Dolphins and the Colts end the Chiefs season.  Go figure that the Dolphins only score 7 points in those final two games.  At the time the Ravens had the last playoff spot in the AFC, but I predicted to my co-worker that they would lose to the Pats and Bengals, so thought they would hand the last spot to the Dolphins. 

No way the Chargers deserved to win yesterdays game.  No way did they should have even had the chance.  So what now for the Chargers?  If I'm in the Charger organization I would have walked into the locker room this morning and said to the team, "We were given a gift...now lets go do something with it!"

They're a TD underdogs to the Bengals, and rightfully so.  With the exception of the QB spot, the Bengals are a superior team and the Chargers lost to the Bengals 17-10 at home in Week 13. Look closer at that game though, and you would see that the Chargers turned the ball over twice deep in Bengals territory (fumble by Antonio Gates and an INT by Rivers on a pass that was caught by Gates, but ripped out of Gates hands). The score was also tied 7-7 at the half.

In all honesty, it's going to take a lot better game offensively then they played the last time (or this past Sunday against the Chiefs) and they need a better effort by the defense...but they've shown they have that ability at times this season. The defense, terrible for most of the season, held the Broncos to their lowest point total of the season (20) and also the Broncos 3rd lowest (28).  The offense has also been able to protect that defense at times by leading the league in 10 play drives, time of possession, and #1 in 3rd down conversion percentage. 

So the Chargers have it in them to pull off the upset...we'll see Sunday if they can.