Breaking News From Denver

BREAKING NEWS DENVER (CO)--Denver Broncos football practice was delayed after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. Head coach Josh McDaniels immediately called federal investigators. After a complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white substance unknown to players was the GOAL LINE. GO BOLTS!

*Nothing is true about this breaking news except the Broncos suck!

**I repurposed this post from a few weeks ago!

Saving LT?

AHHHHH what an image of LT! I had it on my wall for the majority of my College career. It brings back memories of when LT was in so dominate at the RB position. We all know over the past years LT has been broken down going into the end of the season and the playoffs. What did that mean for the Chargers? Very little run game, if any run game at all in the post season.

Is Norv doing this on purpose? Is LT being saved for the post season? Will LT dominate the second half of the season?

I don't buy into this theory. I could be wrong, Norv could be a genius and be quietly saving LT for the post season. Imagine having a full strength LT in New England in the 2007 season. Would LT have pulled in the safeties and opened two touchdowns over the top in the pass? And given us a Super Bowl birth over the Pats and against the Giants?

Lets look back at this season. Last in the league in rushing yards and third to last in attempts. Is this a masterful strategy to save LT's legs for the post season? We gotta hope so, because if not, the run game needs a jump start.

And Then it was 13

The Chargers have extended their winning streak against the Raiders of Oakland. The current win streak is now up to 13 consecutive games against the Raiders. This game in San Diego had its moments and the Raiders were mathematically close to capturing victory from the jaws of defeat. Luckily for the Chargers, JaMarcus Russell is the QB of the Raiders. As long as he is the quarterback of the Raiders, the Raiders will not be successful. He misses too many wide open receivers. He just is not accurate.

A few game notes:
-Shaun and Shawne both had sacks! And Merriman actually looked like he wanted to be there.
-Great first half on all sides of the ball.
-Offense looked in control and even scored on the Wildcat!
-Defense was dominate. Turnover and good against the run with the rushing TD exception.
-Special teams
-Second half was less productive in all areas. Half time adjustments were not made, or the wrong adjustments were made.
-Lost the field position battle due to a Sproles fumble. The poor field position defensively led to scores by the Raiders.
-Offense was not productive in the second half on a whole. On the other hand, when they needed to score Philip Rivers and the Chargers took the ball the length of the field to set up Kaeding for a chip shot and an 8 point lead.
-On the last drive the defense did stop the Raiders but I do feel JaMarcus did a better job at stopping the Raiders.

All in all, I'm excited about the win, the Broncos loss, 2 TD's for LT and the fact that the Bolts are taking on the Giants when the are not playing consistent football!

Momentum

Ya, I know the Chiefs are terrible but, you got to start somewhere. And why not pick on the Chiefs?!?!

Let's take a look into what the Chargers did good today:
1. Down Field passing. This has been the most consistent part of the Chargers game this season. VJ leading the pack

2. Special teams looked solid. Bolts even blocked a punt and picked it up in the endzone. (And by that I mean, Jacob Hester blocked a punt and picked it up in the endzone)

3. Running the ball. LT had his longest run of the year today. That was followed by red zone issues inside the 5.

4. Run Defense. The D Line and LB's looked to actually push a team around. Haven't seen that in a while.

5. Can I really be writing PASS RUSH?!?! Yes I am, 4 sacks, granted two were by the secondary, but two were added by Shaun Phillips himself!

6. Pass D. Basically had a solid game, no big plays.

All around, the Chargers beat the Chiefs pretty bad, in all phases of the game, which makes 4 straight against the team from KC! Look for them to continue this in their next game against the Raiders.

Season prediction (12-4 or 11-5):
@Chiefs W
Raiders W
@Giants L
Eagles W
@Broncos W
Chiefs W
@Browns W
@Cowboys W/L
Bengals W
@Titans W
Redskins W

PS How Sweet did those uni's look?!?! All white!

Don't Panic... Yet

Chargers Upcoming Games:

Broncos Win
@ Cheifs Win
Raiders Win
@ Giants Loss
Eagles Win
@Broncos Win
Current Record (2-2). Predicted Record After 2 games against Broncos (7-3)


Broncos Upcoming Games

@ Chargers Loss
@ Ravens Loss
Steelers Loss
@ Redskins Win
Chargers Loss
Current Record (5-0). Predicted Record After 2 Games against Chargers (6-4)

My point... don't panic. Yes, we didn't expect the Broncos to be 5-0 at this point. And more or less, I expected the Chargers to be right where they are or, one game better. The Broncos have a difficult schedule coming up and I expect them to be one game behind the Bolts after week 11.

If the bolts do happen to be unsuccessful next Monday versus the Broncos, HIT THE PANIC BUTTON!

Thank You NFL Network!

Thank you NFL Network for airing the Chargers Dolphins game from 1995. This is the comeback game before the bolts went to Steel-town to beat the Steelers and eventually go to the superbowl! I remember this playoff run like it was yesterday! After Stan "the man" Humpries, Natron Means "business," Junior "Say-Ow," and one of my favorites Stanley "the sherif" Richards take down the Dolphins I remember a young Tyler losing my shirt and running like a mad man through the neighborhood! Besides the win, my favorite part was Don Shula riding around on the Rascal! HAHA Here is what a RASCAL is...

For those of you who don't have NFL network here is a link to the last few minutes of the game! Enjoy!

For a blast from the past here is the '94-'95 roster.

Lowered Expectations

Remember that Mad TV skit called lowered expectations. Well Kevin Acee of the UT is trying to get us to buy into this theory but replace date matching with the Chargers. Here is the UT Article if you want to reference my comments...

I feel it is quite presumptuous of the UT to think they have the power to lower our expectations. And I do expect them to win every game! Or at least have a chance to win every game. They very well had that chance (many times in the redzone) to win that game. A lot of the blame is on the shoulders of Norv and some has to fall on the players for not getting in the endzone. Personally, I blame Norv, bad call at the end of half with 10 seconds left and on the last play of the game. The players got them in position for Norv to make a play call to get them in the zone.

Kevin Acee... I'm not buying what you are selling. I watch each week (just like the bolts step on the field believing) they can win this game.

Week Two is in the Books

The good news is, I found a good bar in SF to go to for the games that are not of National Television. Bad news, we lost. At times we looked REALY good(offensively). At times our defense stepped up!

Norv is going to get a shit storm starting tomorrow and for weeks to come until the Bolts are above .500 again. Rightly so, I must say. What kind of call was the 4-2 run to Sproles. A similar call worked against Oakland last Monday. Imagine if that was a PLAY ACTION PASS!?!? Would have been a TD for sure, right?

I know Norv is going to man up and take the blame for the loss, as he should. As of now, I'm not worried. THE BOLTS WILL BE BACK! Good news... 14 games to go and one game out of first!

Keys to Victory

In the words of Jim Rome... "Chargers need to take some advice from Jim Rome... light suckers up, knock out chumps, smoke fools, talk noise about it and beat the ravens!"

This weeks "Keys" to victory are simple:

1. Without Jamal Williams, STOP THE RUN. Even though Joe Flacco beat the Cheifs last week because they were forced to pass, the best way to win is to make Joe Flacco beat you. MAKE FLACCO BEAT YOU...

2. Rivers... Stay hot, that is all!

3. Chargers need Sproles to keep his head on his shoulders. The Ravens hit hard, can Sproles make his moves and move right around them? That is offensively and in the special teams game too.

4. If the bolts can stop the run, I believe we will get a better pass rush today and take down Flacco. That said, field position will be big!

Note: These comments are in now way shape or form endorsed by Keyshawn Johnson.

Chargers Vs Raiders 2009

Duh duh duh DDUUUUUHHHH! Badom badom! If you can't read that, click here!

Game day baby! GO BOLTS! I don't think the Raiders stand a chance! But I will be at the game for a sideline report! (By sideline, I of course mean upper deck/Mt Davis Report)

Whaaa?!?!

As all Charger fans know by now, Shawne Merriman has been accused of a few felonies! Not good, not good at all!

Shawne did issue this statement: "On September 6, 2009 the San Diego Sheriffs Department responded to a citizens complaint that was initiated by Tila Nguyen (aka Tila Tequila). I was taken into custody based upon that complaint. At the time, I was concerned about her welfare given the intoxicated state she appeared to be in and I encouraged her to stay until safe transportation could be provided. We would all do our best to help a friend if we considered their actions to be detrimental to their personal safety. I in no way caused any harm to Ms Nguyen, however, paramedics were called and she was examined but no injuries were reported. She was released and has since returned to Los Angeles, California. There have been no charges filed against me. I want to thank the San Diego Sheriffs Department for their professionalism. I will continue to cooperate fully with the Department and I look forward to clearing my name regarding these false allegations. I want to put this behind me so I can continue to focus on a successful season for the San Diego Chargers."

The facts from this statement appear to clear his name. First, paramedics found no injuries. What I do want to know, Tila's blood alcohol level? This could be the missing piece to the puzzle. Second, Shawne cooperated with the police. That's all I got though.

This all said, Shawne did something that upset her in one way or another. I do believe Shawne will be cleared of all accusations simply by the inconsistencies in the story.

I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt as of now. Innocent till proven guilty right?

GO BOLTS!

HAHA!

Not sure how many of you have seen this very funny video, but here it is. Sorry the subtitles are so small...but take some time to watch!

All-Time Padres: 2B

Some names that need to be mentioned in this post: Roberto Alomar, he broke into the league as a Padre and made his first All Star team as a Padre. Tim Flannery, he spent the entirety of his career (as a player) in San Diego. His stats are nothing to write home about...but Flan is a great club house guy...that alone might earn him a spot on the All-Padres Team.

But in all seriousness, the second base position comes down to two Padres, Bip Roberts and Quilvio Veras. Bip played with the Pads longer than Q. Bip also had superior offensive stats. On the other hand Q was part of the team that took the Padres to the World Series. Q was in the leadoff spot for the majority of the season.

I'm going to have to go with Bip. Statistically Bip out performed Q and I have seen Bip do a sideline report. He would be great for the club house. He is also a very versatile player, in case of injury he could fill in at almost any position. The alternate would have to be Tim Flannery because he would be a great clubhouse guy!

All Time Padres Recap:
All Time Padres RF: Tony Gwynn
All Time Padres CF: Steve Finley
All Time Padres LF: Ted Williams
All Time Padres 3B: Ken Caminiti
All Time Padres SS: Gary Templeton
All Time Padres 2B: Bip Roberts

Bolts to the Bowl

Launch Party
I know it's probably a bit early to start talking Super Bowl. It's probably a bit early to be talking Chargers in reality...But I am officially launching my "Bolts to the Bowl" campaign! We all know this year HAS to be the year. The core of the team is healthy. We look great on paper. We have the experience, both regular season and playoff. Our coaches have been here long enough to have no excuses.