Chargers vs Raiders week 8 Overview

A fantastic day of football for San Diego fans as the Chargers looked to improve their standings in the AFC West Division title. To start the great day, the Denver Broncos were brutally beaten by the Baltimore Ravens putting them at 6-1. The Bolts beat Oakland right after putting them at 4-3. The good news for San Diego fans is that Denver is facing Pittsburgh next week which could potentially put them at 6-2 unless the Broncos play really well. San Diego is playing the New York Giants next week after coming off a two game winning streak and the Giants being humbled by Philadelphia. If the Bolts win, they would only be one game behind their division leaders, the Denver Broncos. All that said, today's game started out great for San Diego, stopping the Raiders on their opening drive with an interception and going on to score an amazing touchdown in nine seconds off of two plays that got the fans riled up. Seeing a 59 yard pass to Floyd, and then a wildcat play from LT for the touchdown amped up every Charger fan watching. The only area the Bolts looked week in was stuffing the run, and special teams. Although, as far as the run goes. The Raiders ran the ball nearly every play because their passing game is non-existent. Rivers was on fire today as he connected with his favorite receiver, Vincent Jackson to gain another touchdown in a five play drive. One thing that is great about being a Chargers fan is that the Bolts know how to move the ball quick. Oakland put up a good fight, but it just wasn't enough to break their now 13 game losing streak to San Diego. I don't think Phillip Rivers ever plans on losing to Oakland. LT was looking good for the most part, and was able to get into the end zone twice in today's hard hitting game. I am anxious on a week to week basis to see what the Bolts are going to do. I hope the trend that started today continues through the rest of the season, which is, Denver losing and the Chargers winning. Next week should be a lot of fun, but San Diego has a lot of preparation and hard work to do if they want to beat the Giants in New York inweek 9. How about Shawne Merriman!!! It is about time!!! Two sacks for the big man today as he got to give the fans his famous "Lights Out" dance for the first time this season. As long as SD's defense is amped up, they will perform. I can't wait to see if Merriman and Phillips stick it hard to Eli Manning next week in New York. The Chargers beat the Raiders. The Raiders beat the Eagles. The Eagles beat the Giants. So theoretically, the Chargers should be able to beat the Giants also, right? We will find out next Sunday. GO BOLTS!!!

Kansas City Crushing!

There isn't too much to be said about today's game other than..."It's About Time!" I'm sure every San Diego fan out there was as satisfied as my self as we watched our Chargers destroy Kansas City. No hard feelings KC, but we needed that sort of win to get our momentum going. I hope the Chargers carry the momentum from today's game to next week and crush Oakland in SD. It may have come later than us fans would have liked, but I believe that San Diego is picking up the broken pieces of their team and putting it back together correctly. One negative that I saw was the O-line and LT trying to get into the end zone in short yardage situations. That being said, I am happy to see that Norv kept LT in and tried to give him the TD. I think it is important to the team, to the fans, and mostly to LT to know that his coach believes in him. Tomlinson was running great the first half of that game, but it seemed like KC got his number the second half. The passing game was great also, with Rivers hitting Jackson multiple times for big yard plays. It warmed my heart to see the little banners on NFL Today that showed the stats, and the Chargers being at the top of nearly every list. Although it was an exciting game for the Bolts, there is still the fact that Kansas City is not that great of a football team. I look forward to seeing how the Chargers play in a harder situation. I feel like Norv Turner got the message that the fans sent him after Denver last week. I think he will work on the criticisms and hopefully pull this team that has so much potential out of the gutter. Today was the first step, but there still many games left and the Bolts need them all. The more that turn out like today, the better. I don't know about you, but I would rather be bored watching the Chargers totally annihilate a team, then be stressed out watching a close game where the Chargers barely win or lose. Every other game I want to be close for the love of a good game, but San Diego I want to have won before halftime. There were little things here and there that need improvement, but with a 37-7 win, I don't feel it appropriate to dwell on them too much. The coaches and the players need to do that, and hopefully they prepare well for Oakland next week. Oh, and NO MORE INJURIES!!! That being said, I will sleep well tonight and dream about the Superbowl. GO BOLTS!!!

Chargers Shift in Offensive Focus

Ever since Ladanian Tomlinson joined the San Diego Chargers, he has been the key factor in their playoff success. He was the top rusher in the NFL for a few seasons straight and has almost 1200 career rushing yards. I'm not sure if it is LT or the Offensive line that has been the decline in San Diego's rushing game. Or maybe it is the predictable Charger play calling by Norv Turner. The fact of the matter is; San Diego's rushing game is nearly non-existent at this point, and Norv Turner does not emphasize the importance of running the ball as there has been no improvement on the ground. Maybe the problem is that Norv was a QB when he played, and since he is calling the plays for SD he is chasing QB stats. Is it a good or a bad thing? Well, Phillip Rivers is playing beautifully and averaging 311 yards a game, but there needs to be a balance if the Chargers are going to be effective. I believe that LT still has some juice in him, but hasn't been given the opportunity to show himself because the team has been playing catchup all season. I saw the spark LT had in the Pittsburgh game. He was looking more like the running back San Diego fans love. His problem in Pittsburgh was the line gave him nowhere to go, and he only had a few attempts before San Diego was behind by 28 pts. If Rivers continues to do his job effectively and the Chargers can get the running game back, then San Diego will be dangerous. I'm starting to think that the offensive line coach needs to be replaced by someone who will put some fight into the players, and if Norv Turner can not get the job done, then he is a useless head coach and he should be replaced as well.

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