When the Chargers win 51-7, there isn't much to say other than 'w-o-w.' The Chargers are playing some amazing football right now, and are getting some huge contributions by some key players. The way Tomlinson has been running the football in December is downright nasty (439 yards, 6 touchdowns) and he's not done yet... LT is well within reach of a second straight rushing title. Thats impressive.

If Antonio Cromartie isn't a shutdown corner in this league, then there isn't a single player in the NFL who would better qualify. Not only does Cromartie lead all players with 10 interceptions, but he also leads the league in passes defended with a whopping 27! And like LT, Cromartie isn't done yet. There are two more games left and with the pace Cromartie has been going at, he could finish up with 14 interceptions, the single season record.

Shaun Phillips has stepped up real big this year, both as a player and as a leader in the locker room. Phillips has been particularly impressive in his unwaivering confidence in his team. There is no question he is a Pro Bowl caliber player, but unfortunately its not likely he'll be voted onto the AFC team because he doesn't lead the league in any category among linebackers. But there is no question that the season he is having is well recognized by those who follow the team closely and as far as rush linebackers are concerned, Phillips stacks up with the best of them.

Continuing the trend of discussing impressive players, I'd be remiss not to mention Chris Chambers. Is there a tougher receiver on the team? Week in and week out, I'm blown away by some of the catches and hits this guy makes and takes. Chambers is always good for a coach's challenge with his occasionally controversial "catches" but the fact of the matter is Chambers has emerged as a reliable and consistent target for Philip Rivers. There is no doubt in my mind that the Chargers would have had a harder time trying to win their division without Chambers on the team. I'm expecting Chris Chambers to be a difference maker for this time come playoff time.

Some other guys that deserve a shout-out are Igor Olshasnky (so far has been the team's best defensive lineman), Jeromy Clary (getting better and better each with as the starting right tackle), Eric Weddle (having the best season among Charger rookies), and Brandon Siler (wrecking ball on special teams and could end up being a huge steal as a seventh rounder).

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Eight interceptions is an absolutely unreal number... when was the last time a Charger player lead the league in interceptions? Antonio Cromartie is just punishing quarterbacks that challenge him, and he's making it look easy. I'm not sure he'll ever be a great tackler; wanting to hit someone is an attitude and not something you can really coach. But if Cromartie can continue to ballhawk like he has this year, then there is no reason he wont be a perennial pro bowler.

It was nice to see Ladainian Tomlinson roll up 177 yards. That makes it like 13 times in his career he has rushed for 170+. LT has been running with a little more anger and its probably due to the fact that success on the ground hasn't come easy in 2007. LT is breaking tackles and fighting for those tough yards because he knows he has to maximize his opportunities - Norv Turnerhas been limiting Tomlinson to 20 carries a game (on average) but Tomlinson is getting plenty of looks in the passing game. LT already has 50 catches on the year compared to 56 in 2006, 51 in 2005, and 53 in 2004.

My opinion may not be a popular one, but I'm still unimpressed with the Chargers return game. If you take out that freak game against Indianapolis's terrible special teams, Darren Sproles' numbers on the year would be pretty awful. If Antonio Cromartie won't get a real opportunity to return kicks (and with Cromartie recently earning a starting spot on the defense its not likely he'll be used much as a returner), the Chargers are going to need to address the need for a bonafide return artist who can be consistent and provide some playmaking ability to both special teams as well as on offense.

It's been a roller coaster ride for Shawne Merriman all season long. Only a half a sack away from a double digit sack total, Merriman's have seem to come in bursts. There might be a period of a few games where Merriman goes without registering a single sack and then the following week will bust out with a three sack game. Nonetheless, Merriman is clearly more evolved as a linebacker than he has ever been in his career and should continue to dominate for years and years to come.

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It all starts with attitude.

The San Diego Chargers, at 5-5, do not have one. It was evident watching the game, and it was made crystal clear in the locker room following an embarrassing loss:

“We need to get an attitude, period. We need to get an attitude around here,” said a furious Shawne Merriman.

Defensively, there was a reluctance to tackle people. Nobody past the front seven wanted to put a hit on somebody. Nobody wanted to play football. Instead, the secondary sat back and tried to play seven-on-seven. The Jaguars’ secondary, on the other hand, played with aggression and were viciously hitting people left and right. Fans were able to see a personal favorite of mine, Reggie Nelson, and how he affected the game. Nelson was the Jaguars leading tackler with 5 hits and 1 interception. Nelson hit Chris Chambers so hard that he drew an unnecessary roughness penalty from the referees.

Jaguars cornerback Brian Williams also had 5 tackles and Rashean Mathis added 3 of his own.

Yes the Chargers threw the ball more than the Jaguars did. But the Jaguars’ secondary came up and supported the run. They were hitting the Chargers receivers instead of dragging them down. Aside from Marlon McCree, nobody on the Chargers secondary had more than 2 solo tackles. Antonio Cromartie, who started the entire game, didn’t even appear on the stat line. No tackles, no assists. Cromartie has amazing cover skills, but unless he takes some classes at the Quentin Jammer School of Tackling, he’ll never be a complete player. He needs to use that big body of his and start running through people.

Clinton Hart? Don’t even get me started. He’ll get his one big tackle a game and then disappear. As a strong safety, you need to be a head hunter. You have to want to be physical and mix it up. If you blow a coverage you’ll be forgiven because you absolutely wreck running backs. But where is Clinton Hart? Standing around with a clean jersey. He gets credit for more tackles than he really makes. I’d like to see more solo tackles from our safeties instead of this assisted tackle nonsense.

Steven Cooper gets mad props from me. That guy plays angry. He brings it on Sundays. If you are on the opposing offense, you know where number 54 is because if you can’t see him, you’ll certainly be able to hear him. He talks trash and backs it up. He doesn’t just tackle you, he smacks you in the mouth. He runs through you.

Teams are staying away from Shawne Merriman. They are game planning against him like you wouldn’t believe. Shawne is understandably frustrated because they guy plays his heart out every Sunday, and yet after two weeks of embarrassing Chargers football, has only 4 tackles to show for it. Merriman is busting his butt and has to watch as teams go away from him and pick on the guys who don’t like to tackle people.

“This game is played with violence. It’s played with an attitude. I have no friends out there on the field. I just want to go out there and play football for 60 minutes. You have to go out and play aggressive for 60 minutes. That’s how you win a football game. You’ve got to want it and you’ve got to hate to lose. That’s the way we have to play as a team.”

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Thoughts on a frustrating loss to the Minnesota Vikings:

What exactly is the reason the Chargers don't use Antonio Cromartie on returns? The line about him needing to focus on defense is crap. How can you sit on a weapon like Cromartie, especially when Darren Sproles has been no better than an average return man? One of the biggest reason's Cromartie was such a valuable pick was that he brought so much more to the table beyond just cornerback skills. Sproles has been a middle of the road returner and Cromartie is making the spectacular play seem commonplace. If the concern is one of injury on behalf of the runner, I would like to believe that the Chargers have some guys who could step up if needed, such as Cletis Gordon, Eric Weddle, and Paul Oliver.

I've been largely supportive of Philip Rivers during his time here in San Diego. I had expected big things from him this season, and rightfully so; he was coming into his second year as a starter and was fresh off a Pro Bowl season. But I've had to bite my tongue this year as I've seen Rivers make poor throws all season long. I don't just mean bad decisions with the ball...I mean the ball is thrown in places that make it difficult for the receivers to catch. Sometimes the ball is thrown downfield and is wobbling around in the air. I'm not sure what's going on with Rivers, but the bottom line is that he needs to play better.

Is Vincent Jackson really that much of a better blocking receiver than Kassim Osgood? Because I know one thing: he certainly isn't far and away a better pass catcher. Jackson certainly contributes on offense with his ability to block down field. But its beyond frustrating to see footballs bounce directly off of his hands. The knock against Osgood is that he isn't a very good at receiving the ball. But neither is Vincent Jackson.

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At this point, I don't think there is any doubt the Chargers will need to draft another really good defensive end. This is not a slight against the current starters Olshansky and Castillo (or even Cesaire for that matter). The team simply needs some better depth there. Castillo and Olshansky missed games last year because of injury and it wouldn't surprise me to see them get dinged up this season. They play punishing positions and are extremely physical players.

The Vikings defenders allowed Ladainian Tomlinson to use the sideline against himself. On his runs to the outside, Tomlinson was often forced to run the ball out of bounds instead of bouncing it back up inside. Knowing that Tomlinson prefers to get out of bounds instead of take the unnecessary big hit, the Vikings defenders seemed all too happy to funnel LT out of bounds. Conversely, Adrian Peterson ran with a punishing North-South style and churned up a record 296 yards to Tomlinson's 40.

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The BAD:

Philip Rivers has to play better. He holds the keys to the offense and if he can't find a rhythm with his receivers and do a better job of taking care of the football, this team is going to lose lots of games.

Its a combination of little things that is hurting Rivers right now - he isn't doing a good job of planting his feet and throwing with good form. I'm not sure what it is, but his basic technique seems to have gotten worse since last year. He is throwing off balance, often times leaning to one side and side-arming the football. I know he has an unorthodox throwing motion, but his interceptions are way up this year, and there are lots of balls being batted down at the line of scrimmage. He is looking great when he is rolling out of the pocket, but when he has to stand in there and deliver the ball, he is hesitating or rushing the pass. He simply does not look comfortable.

The new offensive system combined with a fresh group of receivers might be taking more time to adjust to than I thought it would have. The only guy Rivers seems to be real comfortable throwing to is Antonio Gates. Of course, he is also looking down Vincent Jackson's way plenty but Jackson needs to be more consistent and reliable.

Taking care of he football was one of Marty Schottenheimer's biggest mantra. So far this year, the Chargers have seemed to forget about that mentality. Losing the football at the most inopportune times have killed the Chargers this year. Having opposing defenses score on you after you cough up the football is an almost guaranteed way to lose a game. The Patriots did it to the Chargers and the Chiefs did it to them as well. That took those team's point total up into the thirties, and with the way the Chargers' offense has been playing, scoring 30+ points seems to be too much to ask.

Allowing short plays underneath seems to be the philosophy for the Chargers defense the past few years. I'm not sure what it is; maybe its just the way the 34 defense is built. But the Chargers' secondary seems to want to allow the play to happen in front of them, and to let nothing get behind them. This has positives and negatives, but if you can't tackle the ball carrier in front of you, and you have no safety able to clean up the play, then you are putting yourself in the position to allow big plays for the receiver. Greg Jennings took a pass 57 yards for a touchdown. Dwayne Bowe did the same with a 51 yard catch and run. And add Randy Moss to that trio and that's three consecutive 100+ yard receivers the Chargers have allowed.

The GOOD:

Certainly there was plenty to like about how the Chargers performed Sunday. Nate Kaeding looked as strong as ever with his kicks. He was kicking touchbacks and his field goal attempts were true.

I like how Ladainain Tomlinson looked running the ball. The offensive line did a good job opening holes against an underrated Kansas City defensive line (Tank Tyler, Tamba Hali, and Jarred Allen are very good). Norv Turner was far more creative in his running schemes and it paid off as the Chiefs never really knew where the ball was going.

True to name, Shawne Merriman had a lights out performance. He continues to rack up sacks and continues to keep his average of about 1 sack per 1 game started. Merriman seems to love to compete against Larry Johnson and the Chiefs. His tackle totals seem to spike when Larry Johnson is on the field.

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Are the Chargers overrated? What about Coach Turner? Are the players responding to him at all, either negatively or positively? Is the team growing accustomed to losing? What's the deal with Philip Rivers?

Question marks abound, for sure.

Before I throw my hat into the ring and start declaring the season lost, I'm going to re-watch the disappointing game between the Chargers and their division rival Chiefs. I'll watch the first half and wonder if this is the team that is going to run through defenses like swiss cheese, and then the second half will come around and it'll be painfully clear that the Chargers cannot make half-time adjustments.

More to come later tonight..

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Part two of my post-game impressions. Click on to read about guys like Shaun Phillips, the Bears and their D-line, Shawne Merriman, Lorenzo Neal, and Antonio Gates.


Shaun Phillips is going to win most one-on-one matchups, and at the very least he is going to put some pressure on the QB. But when you let the man run into the backfield without even touching him, then you're fixing to get your quarterback killed. The guy is the Chargers' fastest linebacker off the ball, and he takes sacking QBs very seriously. As long as teams keep focusing on getting Shawne Merriman blocked, Shaun Phillips is going to have fun punishing guys like Rex Grossman. I've already talked about the real possibility that Shaun Phillips is going to have an amazing year, and he started his campaign for a Pro Bowl with his game in Week 1.

The offensive line was getting bullied by the Bears, but that should come as no surprise. The Chicago Bears have an amazingly strong and athletic set of linemen, and that extends to the situational guys as well as the four who come out on the base defense. There was a question mark on that defense let behind when they waived Tank Johnson, but it looks like the Bears wont miss a beat. Good on them, I say. As a football fan, ts a pleasure to watch such an impressive group of linemen in a 4-3 defense, something that seems to becoming more and more rare each season.

Shawne Merriman has been looking extremely impressive as he displays abilities other than his highlighted pass rush skills. Rushing the passer is how he gets paid, but lets not discount his ability to affect the game in the flats. He causes Cedric Benson is drop a pass coming out of the backfield; Merriman read the play, and began pursuit of Benson before the ball was even thrown. Benson, hearing footsteps coming from #56, decided it was best to just mis-handle the catch rather than take a huge hit from Lights Out. Benson undoubtedly saw Merriman's latest commercial.

Merriman was moved around the field, lining up outside and then pre-snap stunting in the middle. Instead of having to beat the offensive tackle with a spin move and then have to possibly take on a running back as an extra blocker, Merriman is freed up to simply bull rush the center, like he did on that infamous sack of Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. Merriman is becoming a complete player.

I was expecting for Antonio Gates to have a great season. There was talk all during the summer about how Norv Turner was going to use Antonio in a variety of ways to exploit matchups and to get the ball into the hands of one of our most dangerous weapons. However, I never expected Gates to get an amazing thirteen passes thrown his way!

I love Lorenzo Neal. I love what he brings to the team, and I love that he is a personal bodyguard to Ladainain Tomlinson. He has an awesome personality and hits like a Mack Truck. But can we please stop throwing it to him?! It seems like its such a wasted play. I don't care enough to do the actual research on it, but I'd be surprised if the success/fail ratio of throwing it to Neal the past three years is better than 40/60!

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The Chargers won a slugfest on Sunday in a game that feature two of the NFL's elite defenses. Not the easiest game to watch, the Bolts nonetheless came away with a victory. There were a number of players that caught my eye and I'd like to share my impressions of their performances in my post-game thoughts and impressions. Click on to read part one of two.


Eric Weddle continues to impress. While only credited with one sack, Weddell had two sacks in my eyes. He is a game changer and its only a matter of time before he starts opposite Marlon McCree on the base defense. Ted Cottrell and Ron Rivera are dialing up safety blitzes left and right and it’s a pleasure to watch. Using the defensive backs to blitz was something I would have loved Wade Phillips to do, and I called for them often last year. This is just another clear difference in philosophy that the defense under Cottrell/Rivera has versus the old Wade Phillips style of defense.

While he unquestionably has the physical tools to dominant in this league, it’s the mental aspect of the game that hinders Vincent Jackson’s ability to prosper. Jackson was called for a couple of penalties; one was an acceptable offensive pass interference that prevented a possible interception, but on the same drive Jackson was again flagged, this time for a costly false start. The knock remains against him about using his hands to catch so watching a football hit him directly in the chest and bounce off was both expected and yet heart-breaking. Jackson is expected to have a breakout year this season, and Coach Turner is certainly using him in a variety of roles – including lining him up in the backfield as a blocker. If Vincent can just wrap his head around the game, he is going to be a good one. He will never have a better opportunity than this season; no veterans ahead of him on the depth chart, and a thorough knowledge of the offense. He needs to have a nice season if he is going to have any shot at remaining the number one receiver. C’mon VJ!

The offensive playbook has certainly expanded, and if you were seeing the Chargers run plays that you never saw in years past, you weren’t alone. Its not too early to see why Norv Turner carries to reputation for being an offensive mastermind. The way the Bears defense was playing on Sunday, it’s a marvel the Chargers scored at all, let along two touchdowns in the second half. Its going to be awesome watching the Bolts run more of these new plays throughout the year. I’d expect a reverse play for next week’s matchup against New England.

Keep pounding the rock. Last year when the run game wasn’t there, Cam Cameron stopped calling it. Not so with Norv Turner. The Chargers kept running the ball, knowing they were facing eight and nine men in the box. The running backs accounted for 31 rushes in total, for only 78 yards. But the important thing is that the team remained committed to their bread and butter and forced the Bears defense to respect the run. LT didn’t gain but 25 yards rushing, but he needs his carries to thrive. He is still getting into his game-shape after sitting out the entire preseason as a precautionary measure. There is no better tune up than facing those Bears and their D-linemen. Especially considering Tomlinson will be taking the team into Foxboro next week where he is going to be counted on to lead the offense in hostile territory.

I have always liked Stephen Cooper, and I eagerly anticipated the day where he would take the reigns as a full-time starter. Cooper was forever around the ball, and hits with tremendous force. He has a compact and punishing build, similar to Michael Turner and Lorenzo Neal. Those two players are renowned for the blows they deliver to opposing teams, and Cooper is no different. He led the team in tackles and had a forced fumble to boot. Cooper will be more than an adequate replacement for Randall Godfrey and will bring a menacing presence to the middle of the field.

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