(Many thanks to B-Daddy for holding down the fort this weekend as we were visiting family up in Orange County and though it may seem like piling on from what was posted by B-Daddy already this afternoon, we did have a few thoughts of our own… )
Well, this certainly cannot be considered good news by any measure but it has become evident that the Charger players are entirely on their own. Everything that has been lacking from a coaching and leadership standpoint this season was epitomized in a single coaching decision made in the 4th quarter of today’s jaw-dropping loss. Down by 7 and driving, QB Philip Rivers faded back to pass. He brought his throwing arm up and then appeared to start bringing his arm back down out of the throwing motion when he was hit, fumbled the ball and the ball was then picked up by a Chief defender and returned for a touchdown… game over.
“Tuck Rule” was our immediate thought. Head Coach, Norv Turner is going to throw the challenge flag, right? He has to. The obscure throwing motion rule that saved Tom Brady and the New England Patriot’s bacon a few years back in the AFC championship game certainly looked like it may apply here with River’s fumble. And may apply is the key term here. If you let the play go without challenging the ruling as the head coach, you are essentially conceding defeat. But in this situation, if there is just a glimmer of hope that the replay officials may see the play as a “continuation of the forward throwing motion” and thus an incomplete pass……. You Have to Throw the Challenge Flag!
Never happened.... Never... happened. We were dumbfounded – utterly shocked and frankly horrified that we saw a coaching staff just give up on their team. There is no reasonable explanation for not throwing the challenge flag there.
So as we were saying originally, the players are on their own and that ain’t good news because outside 1 or 2 players on this team like LT or fullback Lorenzon Neal we see no one with the intestinal fortitude and heart to step up, take over the leadership void and start infusing the individual players on this team with some heart of their own. Guess its not all about brains, afterall.
Outside of LT’s performance in the 1st half, we cannot think of a single positive thing to say about today’s performance. Even GM A.J. Smith is going to get some as he assembled this pathetic coaching staff… and we couldn’t help but notice that Dwayne Bowe (8 catches, 160+ yards) was the LSU receiver that the Chargers didn’t draft this past spring. But to be fair to A.J. and receiver Craig Davis, Davis wasn’t going against the Charger’s defense.
Home crowd, against a mediocre opponent with your backs against the wall….. If you can’t win a game like that then the spray-painting is on the wall for a very long season.
Well, this certainly cannot be considered good news by any measure but it has become evident that the Charger players are entirely on their own. Everything that has been lacking from a coaching and leadership standpoint this season was epitomized in a single coaching decision made in the 4th quarter of today’s jaw-dropping loss. Down by 7 and driving, QB Philip Rivers faded back to pass. He brought his throwing arm up and then appeared to start bringing his arm back down out of the throwing motion when he was hit, fumbled the ball and the ball was then picked up by a Chief defender and returned for a touchdown… game over.
“Tuck Rule” was our immediate thought. Head Coach, Norv Turner is going to throw the challenge flag, right? He has to. The obscure throwing motion rule that saved Tom Brady and the New England Patriot’s bacon a few years back in the AFC championship game certainly looked like it may apply here with River’s fumble. And may apply is the key term here. If you let the play go without challenging the ruling as the head coach, you are essentially conceding defeat. But in this situation, if there is just a glimmer of hope that the replay officials may see the play as a “continuation of the forward throwing motion” and thus an incomplete pass……. You Have to Throw the Challenge Flag!
Never happened.... Never... happened. We were dumbfounded – utterly shocked and frankly horrified that we saw a coaching staff just give up on their team. There is no reasonable explanation for not throwing the challenge flag there.
So as we were saying originally, the players are on their own and that ain’t good news because outside 1 or 2 players on this team like LT or fullback Lorenzon Neal we see no one with the intestinal fortitude and heart to step up, take over the leadership void and start infusing the individual players on this team with some heart of their own. Guess its not all about brains, afterall.
Outside of LT’s performance in the 1st half, we cannot think of a single positive thing to say about today’s performance. Even GM A.J. Smith is going to get some as he assembled this pathetic coaching staff… and we couldn’t help but notice that Dwayne Bowe (8 catches, 160+ yards) was the LSU receiver that the Chargers didn’t draft this past spring. But to be fair to A.J. and receiver Craig Davis, Davis wasn’t going against the Charger’s defense.
Home crowd, against a mediocre opponent with your backs against the wall….. If you can’t win a game like that then the spray-painting is on the wall for a very long season.
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4 comments:
Did anyone notice that Breckenridge fumbled the ball before he reached the endzone? He dropped it on purpose so that he could start his celebration, but I was able to freeze-frame the action...the ball was out of his hand before it crossed the plane of the goal line.
One of the Chiefs (Allen) recognized the mistake and picked up the ball in the endzone. However, the forward fumble rule states that a fumble into the endzone must be recovered by the original ball carrier. Therefore, the touchdown should have been negated.
charger's fan, If that was the case... good catch. I did not notice but if it went down how you described it then certainly it represensted yet another instance of the Charger "brain-trust" being asleep at the wheel. Unbelievable game for all the wrong reasons.
There was a great article in the OCReg on LT's class performance after the game. The only Charger to go out and chat with his fans after the game. Dad
Daddy-O, We continue to be amazed at the professional attitude, graciousness and humbleness displayed by LT all these years in San Diego. He is the measure of a Man.
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