Chargers Do It Again!

(originally from 11.20.06)

I HAVEN’T HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY TALK FOOTBALL THE PAST FOUR OR SO BLOGS…SO I’M GONNA MAKE UP FOR IT TODAY. Awe yeah. So bust out your favorite team’s jerseys and your tofu sausages because we’re gonna get down and dirty. You ready? Good!

First item of business:

Rumor has it that the Chargers and Raiders have agreed to a deal for next week’s game where the Chargers will front Oakland a 21-3 first half lead. In exchange for the Chargers’ generosity, the Raiders have agreed to sing San Diego’s ‘Super Charger’ song in front of a live-espn- studio audience…in speedos… if they lose.

Why is San Diego open to such an unorthodox arrangement? Well, it’s quite simple really. The Chargers are eyeing a new NFL record of coming from behind from 17 or more points in three consecutive weeks. Apparently, San Diego not only feels confident they will once again be able to overcome such a large deficit, but sources also revealed that the real reason San Diego is offering Oakland an early lead is because they don’t believe the Raiders are actually capable of scoring 18 points on their own.

The record means that much to the organization!

Prediction:
Oakland – 21 Chargers – 45 … …with San Diego taking Monday off to fly to Bristol, Connecticut to rejoice in the Raider’s National TV debut (in speedos).

In other news: Shaun Alexander has been spotted recently with one-time figure skater Tanya Harding. Rumors continue to swell about what the two have been discussing. Some League sources reportedly are concerned with LaDainian Tomlinson rapidly approaching upon Alexander’s single season touchdown record…

The Commissioner’s office denied comment when asked about the possibility of increased security surrounding
San Diego’s star running back.

YOU PICK THE SUPERALATIVE…

Comeback Kids.

Second Half Kings.

Offensive Juggernauts.

Whatever you want to call them…you can call them good! Maybe great! The San Diego Charger offense is the league’s best …hands down! Better than the Colts. Much better than the Bengals or the Bears. Better than anything the NFC or any other AFC team can throw at you. 28 second half points against the league’s stingiest defense. This, on the heels of 40+ points in the latter half of their remarkable comeback against WKRP in Cincinnati.

They have comeback on consecutive weeks from deficits of 28-7 and 24-7. The first time any team has rallied for back-to-back victories of 17 or more points in league history. And they’re doing this without really exploiting one of the main weapons in their arsenal – Mister All-World Tight End Antonio Gates. (That’s a whole other story!)

A warning to the rest of the league – if the San Diego defense gets healthy and resumes their quality of play anywhere close to the level they were at when the season started, the rest of the league is in a whole mess of trouble.

THUMBS UP/THUMBS DOWN:

• Thumbs Down: The Broncos big-time dominated the Charger front seven in the second quarter – and this domination seemed to carry over into the third as well. The Chargers consistently missed tackles (in fact, the past two weeks the Chargers have been pathetic in the tackling department.). The Chargers ‘D’ was on the field for a big chunk of the second quarter and looked tired (The altitude I’m sure played a big role in that).

But at the same time…

• Thumbs Up: The Charger Defense. They have played poorly the past two weeks. But they’ve held ground at the very end of the games when it was absolutely needed and when it really mattered. Remember, this was the team’s biggest weakness last year. And they did so without two of their big guns.

Not to mention, the tremendous character the team showed as they struggled just to put enough healthy players on the field at the same time defensively.

• Thumbs Down: The Chargers need to use Gates more often. He seems to be an invisible man at times…and I’d like to see him involved offensively earlier in games. It just might help jump start this team in the first halves of games.

It would be nice if the team didn’t HAVE To make remarkable rallies every week

• Thumbs Up: Philip Rivers impresses me more and more every week. He had two interceptions (one of them deflected), but never got rattled. His composure is that of a 10 year veteran. Amazing.

• Thumbs Down: Was anyone else scared when the Chargers elected to purposely not score in the game’s closing minutes…instead electing to have Rivers take a knee to drain precious seconds off the clock? Luckily LT scored on the next play because that could have been disastrous if they came up empty and ultimately lost the game. I know it worked out for the best and the team was able to take a lot more time off …but I could have easily seen the Newspaper headlines. Yikes!

• Thumbs Up: LT –‘Nuff said.

• Thumbs Up: Rivers out of the shotgun. Anyone else notice how much less effective the offense was in the second half when Rivers took the snap directly under center? The shotgun formation seemed to open up the offense and allow Rivers more time to find open receivers. Great adjustment at halftime…it really helped counter an effective Denver blitz.

It also helped counter an ineffective campaign against global warming.

Log on to www.immakingthisupasigo.com for more details.

• Thumbs Up: Charger second half comebacks. And against an upper echelon team on the road, in front of a Prime-Time National Audience.

The Other Big Game of the Week:

• Is Tony Romo for real? It’s starting to seem that way, especially if you listen to the National Media. On the same vein, is Drew Bledsoe cursed? Maybe other teams should sign Drew, just so they can bench him and have the next Tom Brady…errr…Tony Romo magically appear?

• No disrespect to the Colts – but IMO, they were the worst 9-0 team in recent memory. Don’t get me wrong, they are very very good. But at no point did I feel they were dominant. I’m not even sure they are a lock to make the final four in the playoffs. They have a lot of holes… weak against the run, average running the ball, and they continue to show deficiencies against 3-4 defenses. But again, no disrespect to the Colts – they are still an upper echelon team in the NFL. They were just due to lose a couple of games along their journey.

• Donovan McNabb out for the Season!!!

I’m originally from NY …and even I feel bad for him and
Philadelphia. The man was headed for the Pro Bowl and having one of the best seasons of his career. Some guys get all the luck… Hmmm…maybe Terrell Owens will really rub it in and pay him a visit at the hospital?

• Wow—is it just me, or are the 49ers the team getting the most of out of nothing!! They’re coming on strong! But again—I ask HOW? Sure ain’t that intimidating defense! Keep this up and Mike Nolan may be a Coach of the Year Candidate.EXTRA THOUGHTS:

• The Charger’s Igor Olshanky should not ( I repeat – should not) have punched that Bronco offensive linemen. The timing was poor and it could have cost his team a victory. But at the same time, Igor is getting a lot of flack for responding to a cheap shot. Considering he is fresh off knee surgery, I don’t know if I can judge him on his emotionally charged, instinctual response to someone purposely diving at his knees. Those types of bush league antics could end a player’s career. I hope the NFL reprimands Denver for this.

But they probably won’t…and unfortunately Igor’s wallet will likely be a lot lighter next week. Finally News from The Diamond:

• Reports from Chicago say Alfonso Soriano has inked a deal with the Cubs.

Free agency is about a week old now—and it looks like the Chicago Cubs are already MLB’s biggest winners. In addition to landing a top notch manager in Lou Pinella, and re-signing Kerry Woods, they have now signed the off-seasons two biggest sluggers – Aramis Ramirez and Soriano. If Derek Lee is back healthy… Holy Sh-t!! Suddenly, that line-up is devastating!

• Soriano signing with Chicago is great news for the Padres As is Normar signing with the Dodgers oh hum…

What are the Padres going to do??????????!!!!!!!!!

More football coming up next time…and probably some more baseball…and perhaps a laugh or two