Justice Is Coming--November 20, 2009

November 20, 2009, 4:52 pm

rating

1.0

1 votes

Introduction

I'm a thirty-eight year old freelancer who has contributed to a bunch of books and magazines that you could care less about. Before becoming a loving husband and doting father, I became a Charger fan at the impressionable age of seven. Like so many of my generation, I was sold on the Bolts after watching Dan Fouts and the rest of "Air Coryell." However, unlike most non-San Diegans, I vowed to ALWAYS BE A CHARGERS FAN. Despite never having lived anywhere but in the state of New York, he became even more dedicated as the Bolts went through a ten-year playoff drought. In 1994, as the Chargers were moving towards their first Super Bowl, a tagline from an upcoming film caught his eye. The movie was Tombstone. The slogan was "Justice Is Coming." I rode that mantra with the Bolts to Pittsburgh and Miami (despite maxing out my American Express to do so). After being snubbed in my attempts to improve the only publication covering his favorite ream, Chargers Football Weekly, I vowed to begin my own publication. Founded in 1995, "Justice" was what would now be classified as a blog. What it was and what it will always be is commentary on the Bolts filtered through the centrifuge that is one man's brain. That brain has been called many things, "a CD player on shuffle and repeat simultaneously" and "a blender mixing all things Chargers football and popular culture." Most importantly, JUSTICE IS COMING represents the never-ending dedication of The Legion Of The Lightning Bolt and the belief that the Bolts will finally win it all. That belief has led me not only to every enemy stadium from Detroit eastward, but it also led him to Canton for a 2002 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But JUSTICE IS COMING will always be for you, the FAITHFUL READER. A Chargers Super Bowl victory won't even end the quest. But it would be sure nice to have that dilemma. Despite what the song says, the obsession ain't always pleasin'. --RLW

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Thanks to Tom Twomey of Edgewater, NJ, for sending me the clip of Naanee's touchdown "celebration." I don't know if it really warranted a penalty or fine, but it didn't end up mattering. I agree with Tom's suggestion that the Bolts need to bring their best, regardless of who is under center for the Bunkos. I don't think the Bolts will buy into the hype about them surging and Denver choking. They didn't buy into all the hype that suggested the exact opposite trend after the Monday Night Loss. Look at this piece written at the time on FOX Sports' crappy site. There's no time or place for gloating. As I said after that loss, division titles don't mean shit. Only January matters and hopefully February too. Of course, Tom, I get to have the last word, which is the whole point of having your own site. However, you are correct that the NUTTING UP must continue and the Bolts seem to be well aware of how every win counts and you can't overlook anyone. As tough as our 3 losses were, you can't really accuse us of taking the opposition lightly. The Chargers know that there is no such thing as an ugly win. As I heard Rich Eisen say about the Cincy win at Pittsburgh, there are no pictures, pretty or otherwise, in the standings.

Being forced to play the NFC East in consecutive weeks may have forced the Bolts to toughen up. For this reason, I don't believe that the Chargers are listening too much to talk about Denver slumping or Orton sitting. They should want him to play. We can't expect to finally win a ring by shooting for just getting by. During ESPN's NFL Countdown last week, Mike Dikta mentioned that the only goal for the Eagles should be to win the Super Bowl and that nothing else matters. The same goes for us. However, we can't expect to turn it on in December automatically. I truly believe the Bolts have learned that. It doesn't mean that they will win every game, but at least they hopefully won't be shooting themselves in the foot.

Incidentally, I have been listening to the Lewin/Bauer broadcast on SIRIUS during the games. If for nothing else than the NFL broadcasts, all FAITHFUL READERS should get satellite radio. I know not everyone shares my taste in music, judging by the lack of comments on the tracks I post this week. However, there is truly something for everyone on there. Hank Bauer, who is definitely a homer (although we need as many as we can get), started singing "The Party's Over" at the end of the 3rd quarter, a la Don Meredith. Of course, the Eagles gained a ton of yards after that, but the win held up. It appears that Rivera did make the decision before the game not to allow the big play. When we grabbed a big lead after Naanee's score, it seemed that became even moreso the philosophy of the defense. If it wasn't for that crazy catch on 3rd and long and the dropped picks, the final score might have been very different.

As I mentioned during the game, my only complaint with Norv's decision making on Sunday was the 3rd and short call to Sproles. Seriously, we used to have issues with that situation before the handoff to LoNeal arrived. Eventually, teams caught on, but it still worked about half the time. I think Tolbert (or even Hester) up the gut would be a better option. At least there is no chance of losing yards. How about Rivers on a sneak or even a quarterback draw?

However, to Norv's credit, he didn't try to run the clock out once we got the ball. I don't think that this was just because, as Acee Tweeted, he didn't trust our run game. Even with an improved run game, putting the ball on Rivers' hands is still the best way to finish the opposition off. That's not going to change and it's not a bad thing. Jim Trotter's (formerly of the U-T) "Recharged" piece on LT in this week's Sports Illustrated, suggests that Norv even said in his interview for the job that he envisioned more plays from Rivers being the key to getting out of the first round of the playoffs. Whatever your opinion of Norv, you can't deny that it's been true. I found an interesting post on the Bolts' official site contrasting this week to the 2005 debacle that ended with Steve Foley missing a block and Tweety's kick being returned for a touchdown in Philly. This, of course, was after the Bolts showed some sack and took the tead in the first half, with Keenan McCardell mocking bitchface T.O. with his "waiter" touchdown celebration. Marty tried to nurse the lead, as he would in Baltimore a year later.

From Chargers.com:

Not so much to get into Marty vs Norv, but the SDUT article by Canepa today:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...ok-of-success/

...made a very interesting point.

"Head coach Norv Turner decided sitting on the lead wasn't an option. With the ball on his 23, Turner instructed quarterback Philip Rivers to throw it, and so he did. He ran 11 plays, six of them passes, five of them complete, before the drive stalled at the Eagles' 11 and Nate Kaeding kicked a 29-yard field goal with 30 seconds to play."

I had to wonder, how much time would McNabb have had with a different coach. Let's take Marty. Up five points, Marty would have run the ball, and run the ball, and run the ball. I think...do we have a reference:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/footb...chargers_x.htm

So up 4 with not much time left (about 3:37 when SD took over) Marty goes with:

And as the Chargers cautiously advanced the ball, running on three consecutive plays to avoid the potential for another interception or a sack that would move them out of field goal range,

We all know how that one ended up.

Now obviously the HC isn't to blame, other than his role over the ST coach, for the blocked figgy. But the question I have on a boring Tuesday, is WWMD? What would Marty do, up 5 staring at a drive to seal the game.

Norv let Rivers do what Rivers does.

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Enough about last week. The Bolts are saying all the right things. They expect the Denver team that went 6-0. Josh McDaniels, he of the Howard Dean fist pump, is stroking the Bolts right back and even praising Norv. As you can see from the photos I have posted, it just takes a crappy call to see the fire in him. In last week's postgame, Rivers mentioned that we hadn't won in Denver for a long time before he took over. He wasn't even saying it to point to himself as the difference. However, that is exactly why we have been able to win. During the game, everyone talks about how Rivers is jawing with everyone. Phil Simms said as much on XX1090 after the Giants game. Simms loves Rivers, although he may not much longer if his Jake Busey (star of Road House 2, mind you) look alike son has to suit up on Sunday. However, I don't see Rivers running his mouth. Maybe that's beacuse I only do so when it is caught on film. Adam Schein, avowed Giants fan, and SIRIUS host wrote this article for FOX Sports' shitty site. His point that everyone but Charger fans must hate Rivers puzzles me a bit. Is he that mouthy? I guess I am too much of a Bolthead to notice. I definitely trust him with our Super Bowl hopes. It is interesting, however, to see someone outside of regular Charger watchers cite our "loudmouth linebackers" and "cantankerous GM."

Newly expectant father LaDainian Tomlinson has also had good games against the Bunkos. NFL Network showed the 2002 game, in which Jamal Williams was lost for the year, last month. However, I couldn't sit through it after the loss on Monday Night. I hadn't thought about Alex Molden in a while, I can tell you that. Of course, that was a game that LT put the entire team on his back. He doesn't need to do that anymore for us to win. However, we do need to put pressure on whoever is back there for Denver. We do owe them for a humbling loss on national TV. They might be all classy now, but their TE was talking a ton during that game. The thing is, they earned the right to on that night. We need to continue the NUTTING UP and shut Denver up. We could not make any 3rd down stops in that game and Rivers was under all sorts of pressure and his fumble was a killer. I don't know if there is any way for him to do a better job of holding onto the ball when he's hit from the blind side like that. I hope we don't need to find out this week. An improved running game would help. It's frightening how important Clary looks to be once he gets hurt. Hardwick is shooting for the Queef game for his return so we can't expect him to jump start the rushing attack. Dielman did a nice job on LT's long run, but I remember Bauer pointing out how much Hardwick is missed in setting up screens. Mike Tolbert's touchdown was his first since the Hochuli game in Denver a year ago. Maybe we can run one of those passes where he is magically wide open.

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As Jerry sang in "Mountains Of The Moon," it's time to matter. It goes without saying that we cannot allow Royal to have any big returns. I am sure that containing him will be a big priority. However, I am more concerned with a new problem that didn't rear its ugly head on that Monday Night popping up. As I said at the start of the season, the Bolts lost the individual battles in all their losses last year. Guys need to nut up and beat the guy across from them. Elvis Dumervil may not have the game he did in the last matchup, but the Chargers need to make sure that some other Bunko doesn't come free on the rush.

In other words, the Chargers need to set the tone in this one and keep the foot on the throat of Denver. I know it's a cliche to say that each game is hopefully only a stepping stone towards the Ultimate Goal. After our last meeting with this team, we all wondered (at least I did) if we were missing too much upfront on both sides of the ball for our "talent" to shine. As a cohesive group, both units have proved otherwise. Our linebackers are "loudmouths" only when they don't back it up on the field. We'd prefer that our guys always stay humble since we all know how quickly things can change. But the reality is that it's what on the scoreboard at the end of the day that really counts.

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Last week was very refreshing because a week after Vincent Jackson played his biggest game of the season (he had sick 1st halves in the others), we were able to put up points with him being covered for the majority of the day. In case you missed it, Rivers mentioned that Jackson was rarely in single coverage and that on the Naanee play he looked at him first. I am sure that Jackson was Rivers' first look often but take great satisfaction that other guys were able to get free. Antonio Gates has been fantastic, even if I am constantly yelling for him to go down before he fumbles or gets hurt. It's stupid, but that's what being in The Legion Of The Lightning Bolt is all about, right? You've got one eye on the positive, while the other is trying to guard against disaster. To quote Neil Young in "I Am A Child," I gave to you, now you give to me. I'd like to know what you've learned.

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I leave you with two random video clips. The first is from Terry Moody and contains footage of 15 year-old Conrad Oberg, who could be the next Derek Trucks. The second chronicles Dock Ellis' no-hitter on acid, proudly pitched in San Diego.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/ldCylI8erS0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

[kml_flashembed movie=" http://www.youtube.com/v/_vUhSYLRw14" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

I'm ready to approve those comments now. FAITHFUL READERS, unite.

JIC,