Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda...

The Raiders did crush the horrible Chiefs again today, just as the Chargers did two weeks ago, and the AFC West is not sending its best team to the playoffs. The Chiefs did try their best and came up way short, even if the playoffs had been on the line, I don't think the outcome would have been different. So...the Chargers can go into this offseason with the knowledge that had they been able to eek out a win against the woeful Bengals, they would have been in.

On the Chargers' scrimmage today in Denver, I think we found out that while Tim Tebow is a dynamic player, he still isn't a true NFL quarterback. He is inaccurate and telegraphs many of his passes. He can run, but judging by the number of times he got his bell rung today, that style won't last too long in the NFL.

We also did get to see the skills of Ryan Mathews on full display. The guy can break tackles and run. He showed flashes of improvement in reading his blocks and finding holes. He is still a fumbler though. I hope he spends all offseason with a football in his hands. If he can correct that one glaring problem, he will be great.

We also witnessed special teams coach Steve Crosby's retirement party. With another kickoff return for a touchdown, if they don't fire this guy, fans will (and should) dump all their season tickets for next year. The thing has to be fixed. Bring in a young, talented and hungry coach who can get the special teams fired up and playing at a high level. This used to be a major strength of this team.

Keep checking in this offseason. I'll keep the posts coming. Happy New Year to all Bolts' fans!

More Pre-Season Instead of Post-Season

Because the Chargers' post season hopes have been dashed, the final regular season game of the 2010 Chargers resembles a pre-season game more than anything else. With Mike Tolbert out, the most interesting aspect of this game will be in seeing how Ryan Mathews looks as "the guy" over the course of a whole game.

I think he will develop, barring injury, into a great back and worthy replacement of LT. He needs to develop his pass catching skills, patience, pass blocking, and his NFL field awareness for finding holes. He also needs to learn when to go down instead of contorting his body, taking extra hits, and risking fumbles in getting just one more inch in the grasp of three defenders. Greats like LT and Marcus Allen chose their battles wisely and took what defenses gave them. A big opportunity and step in this process begins today. If Mathews can become that great back, this team's fortunes will be much improved next year.

On the other side of the ball, the Chargers will find out if they should be worried about Heisman great Tim Tebow being at the helm of a division rival for years to come. In a comeback victory last week, pundits and retired coaches trumpeted that "this guy is just a winner." I think Tebow simply doesn't have, and won't develop, the very specialized skill an NFL quarterback needs in reading complex defenses on fly and delivering the ball to the open receiver. Being a big strong runner will help for awhile, but the NFL will wear him down, hurt him, and force him to become an effective passer.

It will be interesting to see how the Chargers deal with him today. Some big hits and a crushing defeat of Tebow would send a big message to the Broncos that they need to return to the drawing board in finding a franchise quarterback as well as a new coaching staff.

The Chargers have been talking this week of "finishing strong" and "playing for pride." I'm a little skeptical and worried about this as they didn't show much pride or strength in finishing the game last week. Their number one defense seemed to fold after the Bengals went up by two scores in the second half. Whatever the outcome today, AJ Smith will have to address some serious character and toughness issues on this team for next season.

Season-Ending Pall

As Mike Tolbert lay face down on the field barely moving, a pall was cast over this Chargers' team and season. The best news after the game is that he seems to be alright after a scary fall that reminds everyone that even the toughest have their limits.

The Chargers reached their limit Sunday afternoon in a game that showed they had not conquered their early season problems. Playing in an unfocused and uninspired haze, this team does not have the fire, leadership and perspective to properly prepare for every game and play football with passion and a determination to win. The blame here lies with the coaches, players, and AJ Smith.

This team was not prepared to play at a high level early in the season nor were they consistent throughout the season. The blame here can fall most directly on Norv's shoulders. A coach needs to have a strong sense of how well his team will perform in real game conditions based on what goes on in practice. Norv has seemed a bit out of touch with reality this year in thinking this team was going to be one of the best ever in San Diego. The injury excuse has been trotted out time and again, but that seems invalid to me as these problems were evident in the very first game when injuries were not a factor.

In yesterday's game, Norv's call of a reverse on the first play from scrimmage with the Chargers on their own twenty yard-line showed a lack of trust in his team's ability start fast with its standard offense. Most coaches would save that type of play for mid-field situations so that a fumble or large loss wouldn't put the team back at it's own goal-line. The fumble in the exchange between Tolbert and Jackson set the tone for this game, but a team full of players with more heart and faith would have been able to come back from this mistake.

Randy McMichael was quoted in the U-T saying that from the beginning it like "it just wasn't our day." A team with great players and leaders would find a way to make their day. This game, as has already been said many times before, illustrated a microcosm of the season. Lack of preparation, leadership and experience led to terrible in game mistakes; the same qualities led to an inability to recover from these mistakes. This team too often wilted, instead of responded to, pressure.

AJ Smith is at fault here in that he needs to find players with more character. It's fine to draft nice "community" guys who aren't going to get DUI's or weapons possession charges, but a team also needs guys that refuse to lose. It seems right now, despite all its talent, the team hasn't acquired enough of the latter. AJ can rectify some of this, but Norv also has to inspire the players never to give up, prepare for every game properly, and to dominate teams they are superior to. He hasn't done that enough this year.

There are a lot of fans, as expected, calling for the firing of Norv and AJ, but I think things are still salvageable with this group and franchise. Norv will have to reconsider some his coaching practices. AJ will have to show a greater sense of urgency and less complacency in building a team that can challenge for the Super Bowl next year. As safe as their jobs are for 2011, another season out of the playoffs and all bets are off. Even in the midst of mourning this season, I'm hopeful for the next.

Chiefs Need a Loss; Chargers Need a Win

As I said in my last post, the more interesting game for Charger fans today should be Tennessee vs. Kansas City. The Chargers are playing well, have had some extra rest, and should get a win against an inferior Bengals team that may be playing for a first-round draft pick more than anything else.

Cincinnati did win last wee though, and looking at their stats, they fall in the middle of the pack in both offensive and defensive categories. They, like the Chargers have had a lot of adversity this season and have found ways to lose with ill timed turnovers and special teams issues. They had a strong performance in beating the Browns last week. If San Diego isn't on, or has a Christmas hangover (they were flying out yesterday afternoon instead of Friday as they usually do so players could have time with families), or don't handle the cold, or overlook these guys in any way, the Bengals could rise up and beat them, virtually ending the season for the Chargers.

With T.O. out and Ochocinco hurting, San Diego should be able to cover their receivers one-on -one and stack the box against bruising running back Cedric Benson, forcing Carson Palmer into third and long situations in which he's given up the ball almost more than any other starting quarterback this season (18 INT's). The Chargers should be able to pressure him enough to get him fantasizing about returning to his offseason home on the beaches of Del Mar and getting out of the frozen nightmare of Cincinnati.

It will be a testament to Norv and the maturity and leadership on this team if San Diego puts in another strong performance today. If they don't? We can speculate about the holes on this team, in personnel, leadership, and coaching that led to the downfall of this season.

In the game that seems even more up in the air in Kansas City, the Titans are holding out on slim playoff hopes in their division. At 6-8 they would need both the Colts and Jaguars to lose out and win out themselves to have a chance. Tennessee is near the bottom of the league in both offensive and defensive categories, suggesting they may be worse than their mediocre record implies.

However, they are coming off of a strong performance last week and one could argue (hope?) that quarterback Kerry Collins is shaking off the rust after Vince Young started most of the season. If nothing else, the Titans are a tough team that gets a lot of sacks and prides itself on stopping the run. This could be the perfect combination for stopping the Chiefs. Chris Johnson, though not having a superhuman season like he has the last couple years, is still a great back and also had a strong game last week. If the Titans come to play, they should be right in this down to the end. The Chiefs just aren't that good.

Chargers 27, Bengals 13

Titans 17, Chiefs 13

Holiday Uncertainty

With the Chiefs, Ravens and Jets all winning last weekend, Charger fans must confront the fateful possibility that that San Diego could win out after stomping on division leading Kansas City and still not make the playoffs. Matt Cassel's triumphant return, displaying no ill effects from his appendectomy in beating the Rams in St. Louis should make San Diego nervous. With the Chargers' final games coming against the Bengals and Broncos, games the Chargers should win if they continue to play anywhere near the level they have the last two weeks, in a sense all the drama of this season has shifted to the Chiefs.

Kansas City has two home games remaining against the Titans and the Raiders. Both opponents are coming off fairly strong wins last week and are nursing slim playoff hopes. The Chiefs will be favored in both games, but I think there is a strong possibility they will drop one, if not both. A statistical analysis put out through AP gave the Chiefs an 86% chance of winning the division and the Chargers an 11% chance. Perhaps I'm a bit of a homer, but I'd put the odds at closer to 50-50 with a slight edge going to San Diego.

While the Chiefs are no longer horrible, the Chargers exposed some serious flaws in this team (with or without Cassel). The Kansas City defense is not great and its offensive line isn't going to run over anyone. If an opponent can contain the speed of Jamaal Charles and not make any big mistakes, Kansas City will be incapable of running away with, or dominating any game. This is why both the Titans and Raiders figure to be in their respective games down to the wire in Kansas City the next two weeks. I will be surprised if this Chiefs team can hold it together against the pressure for two games. They definitely fell apart in San Diego. Coming back strongly last week against St. Louis showed some fight and confidence, but the Rams are also a young team struggling with confidence issues and a rookie quarterback in Sam Bradford who admittedly had a bad game.

So in the next to weeks, perhaps Charger fans should pay more attention to what's going on in Kansas City than in Cincinnati or Denver. Fingers remain crossed.

Doubts in Chiefsville

The Chargers not only beat the Chiefs, they destroyed them today in a game that should plant deep seeds of doubt in the minds of this young first-place team. The Chiefs, without Cassel, are worse than we thought they were. The Chargers, as I noted in my previous posts, ran into the perfect storm against Oakland last week and are better than we thought they were.

This game displayed energized offensive and defensive lines that dominated from start to finish. Garay owned the Chiefs interior early in the game, sapping their confidence and setting up the early lead that Kansas City would never recover from with Coryle at quarterback.

Croyle just doesn't have the accuracy, timing, or pocket presence to replace Cassel. If Cassel can't go again next week, I can't see how the Chiefs can win on the road in St. Louis. By winning in the way they did, the Chargers may have created fissures in the Chief's confidence that will cause them to crumble down the stretch.

The game ball for this one should go to both Jammer and Cason who completely shut down Bowe and the rest of the Cheifs' receivers. I don't think either guy could have played better.

On the offensive side, Sproles looked like a new man after his concussion last week, aggressively attacking holes and getting up field without too much dancing around. Tolbert showed his great footwork for a big man, cutting back and twisting through holes that looked too small for his large frame. Ryan Matthews again showed flashes of what he could become. Each game he gets more reps and works on his field vision, the more dangerous he becomes. If the Chargers do make the playoffs he could be real dangerous down the stretch.

Lastly, all the fans that thought VJ was "over" San Diego were proved wrong today. The guy played and made a difference. He's going to help Phillip Rivers run the table and give this season new life.

Looking ahead, Thursday's game against the 49ers is a scary one. The Niners are the type of physical and aggressive team that gives San Diego problems. The fact that the Chargers seemed to avoid major injuries today is a huge plus. The Niners just put a shellacking on the Seahawks though and might be playing for coach Mike Singletary's job. San Diego will have to strap in on and make sure they don't overlook these guys like they did that other team form across the bay.

Must Win...Really

Today's game against the Kansas City Chiefs is one of those franchise defining moments. Win, and the Chiefs' division lead suddenly isn't so solid with starting QB Matt Cassel likely hurting for the next couple weeks. Lose, and Chargers' season is over. Fans will start with the "AJ is a fraud" calls, "fire Norv", evolving into the "let them move to LA anyway" nuclear option.

This game means everything.

As I said in my last post, I think last week's game was a bit of a perfect storm for the Chargers unlikely to be repeated this week. The Raiders ran all over the Chargers and the Chiefs are coming to town with the NFL's number one rushing attack, but the Raiders' particular brand of power running exposes the Chargers' weaknesses directly. The Chiefs, on the other hand, rely a bit more on speed than power. Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones are great backs, but they usually don't run people over. The Chargers undersized safeties and quick linebackers should be able to bring them down.

The Chargers' defensive line will be the key this week. Antonio Garay hurt his ankle in last week's game and returned to action but seemed ineffective. Can he play at a high level this week? In the first match-up he dominated Chiefs center Casey Whigham. At the defensive ends, Jacques Cesaire and Luis Castillo were consistently controlled. Those two have to rebound. If they don't and the Chargers lose? Don't expect them to be around next season. Either way, defensive end will have to be a point of focus this offseason.

On offense, I expect Rivers to rebound. The guy is just too good to hold down two weeks in a row. If Vincent Jackson doesn't get a hang-nail, he should help the Chargers stretch the defense for other receivers to get open if nothing else. The Chargers also need step up and run the ball. This may be Ryan Mathews' only chance to show his rookie season wasn't a bust. The Chiefs defense has been good, but they're not as stout and strong as the Raiders were last week. The Chargers, if properly motivated can go toe-to-toe with these guys and push them around.

Ultimately, even though the Chiefs haven't asked Matt Cassel to do too much this season, he's been the key in playing incredibly efficiently and make smart decisions when it mattered. Back-up Brodie Croyle simply won't be able to do that if the Chargers put pressure on him by making it close or taking a lead. As long as San Diego avoids more horrendous special teams mistakes, they will win this game.

Chargers 27, Chiefs 9