SB Nation - Jamal Williams

Ogemdi Nwagbuo Needs Your Help

John (obviousman) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:06:47 -0000

That's right faithful BFTBers, Ogemdi Nwagbuo is asking for your help. He wants more Twitter followers. Not that he's planning on getting in trouble with his Twitter account, he just wants more people to chat with when he's bored (which I'm sure he will be often while rehabbing). He's also tired of hearing the rest of the defense brag about how many Tiwtter followers they have.

So go to OG's Twitter here and follow him. Tweet to all of your San Diego friends to follow him. Grab every man, woman and child you see walking down the street with a Chargers jersey, shirt or hat on and tell them "Follow OG's Twitter!" Besides the fact that you're a Chargers fans, there are legitimate reasons for helping out OG....

He's a San Diego native, which means there's a good chance of you bumping into him in the future. Don't you want to say "I follow you on Twitter"? It's much less creepy than "I'm your biggest fan!"
He might just be the future Nose Tackle of the Chargers. If he is, chances are he'll anchor the line for a long time. Wouldn't it be smart to get on his good side?
He's a good Twitterer. Steve Gregory and Jamal Williams have 1 combined tweets since training camp. You don't need to be following them. OG has 11 tweets in the last 5 hours, stating his opinions and chatting up fans.
He'll owe you. Request a specific sack celebration (stanky leg!), find out what he was thinking on a specific play or get him to retweet some info to the masses. Go ahead. He'll owe you.
He had surgery yesterday (I think), and flew to North Carolina to have it done. Not only should you be nice to somebody who just had surgery, but North Carolina in the middle of December is no place for a San Diegan.
Think about BFTB! If we get OG a couple thousand followers, maybe he'll create an account and start commenting. Maybe he'll start writing FanPosts. At the very least, it should get us a few interviews and a friendly face the next time a BFTB writer is in the Chargers locker room.
You'll look smart. If OG is the successor to Jamal WIlliams at the NT, he'll be a star in San Diego. Right now? He's not a star. He's a project. If you've known about him, and have even been following his tweets since his rookie season you'll look like you know everything about the Chargers. You'll also look like you can predict the future.

Getting Ogemdi to Antonio Cromartie's level (20,000+ followers) in a few days may be asking too much, but I see no reason why we can't help him get past Steve Gregory (1,500 followers) and Jamal WIlliams (2,400 followers), up into the range of Luis Castillo (5,800+ followers). We have that kind of audience here. So do what you need to do, and let's build OG a Twitter fanbase.

Broncos Thoughts and Musings - Indy Week

Emmett Smith — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:38:06 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

11 days ago: Denver Broncos tight end Daniel Graham catches a short pass before running for a touchdown during the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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There's nothing quite like back-to-back wins to put a shine into the work in the film room. The glow of the past two wins hasn't faded at all, but the upcoming contest against the Indianapolis Colts is starting to loom large. Before we get into our matchups and needs against the next foe, let's take some time to look back over what we've accomplished. Special teams, the nose tackle position and even raiderology are on today's menu. Let the feasting begin!

The Film Room I - KC Autopsy

A moment of silence for a team that has passed away, out of contention for the season and fighting for respect. It's a tough time to be a Chiefs fans, and I want to thank them for a week of intelligent football talk and good-spirited fun. Nice guys, over at Arrowhead Pride. But the nice guy's team, in this case, is finishing near last (if they don't awaken right now. You couldn't miss that on the tape.

I had mentioned that the game this past weekend, like most games, would come down to how Denver played in the trenches. The Broncos responded with a solid performance by the O-Line, prying open gaping holes more than large enough to pass a running back through. When Ryan Harris stepped out in the early second quarter and Tyler Polumbus replaced him, I wondered for a brief moment if we were seeing a very bad thing but there was no dropoff that I saw. Polumbus seems to have stepped up his game, as has Russ Hochstein. Both improvements are timely - and much needed.

Mistakes - Orton had an uncharacteristically bad red-zone play on the first drive, but he moved them well on the next drive. He was blindsided twice and lost the ball, but let's be real - if the defensive player hits the arm right, every QB loses those. Over his career Orton hasn't tended to that issue, so I'm not worried. I want to see those blindside hits stop, though. Orton was 'burping the baby again, an old and bad habit, but the O-Line doesn't get off scot-free, either. They bear some responsibility for the sacks and the one fumble. They really stepped up when they had to though, and that was the name of the game. They let KC get to the one and held them to a FG. INTs, negative plays, pressure and domination go a long way. They took us to an eighth win.

I've wondered about the progress of Richard Quinn of late mostly because I hadn't had the time to break down the ST work as well as I should. That's being fixed, and the guys on Upon Further Review have been kind enough to help me out. As I result, I've been seeing a lot of good things with Quinn and I'm pleased that he singlehandedly made a huge play on the faked punt. KC must have assumed that since others have caught the Broncos with those kind of plays, it would work again. Here's what Josh McDaniels had to say,

They went to a gadget-type formation and I know that there was a guy leaking out the other way and they had an opportunity to get that ball out there but TE Richard (Quinn) made a heck of a play. I don't know what happens if the ball gets thrown but it probably wouldn't have been too good for us. Whenever you break the formation and have a gadget-type play, we were prepared and we split out with them but you are never sure who they are trying to pick for or who they are trying to spring free. That was a big play in the game because we obviously took possession of the football in their territory.

It wasn't the only big play, either. The Broncos were unstoppable in the running game and despite some errors, still used the pass to score 2 TDs, which would have been enough by itself. The game was over when Cassel's QB rating hit 3.1. There isn't a mercy rule. Perhaps there should be. This was a good reminder of that fact.

The Broncos won despite some sloppy play that won't work in the upcoming weeks. In the final analysis, the Broncos committed too many errors and they can't win against the best if they do. But still, you get a sense of how the team can play, and there is a heck of a team in here. You have to balance the bad with the fact that we're seeing a lot of things getting fixed in the new systems the team has learned. When I go back to what I wanted to see from the team this year, that was at the top of the list. Nice work, guys.

Film Room II - The Special Teams

The emphasis on this week's review was the play of the Broncos' special teams this season. Everyone is in agreement that the STs can play better than they did in the first 10-12 weeks of the season. While there are now some obvious bright spots (David Bruton, Spencer Larsen, Darrell Reid, Darcel McBath), I felt that a major review might be in order. It was a great week to feel that way - wow, what a performance on special teams the Broncos put in place. Huge kudos to MHR favorite Spencer Larsen, who notched a huge 4 special teams tackles and to Darrell Reid, who trailed him with 3. Great job on ST! Eddie Royal looked comfortable and Mitch Berger was a monster - again. I don't know how he avoided the block on that one punt, but I was impressed. Berger has no history of frequently blocked punts; so despite his slower motion, he hasn't let it hurt the team.

How was our kicking game against KC? Take a look:

Extra Points Made-Attempts 5-5
Field Goals Made-Attempts 3-3
Red Zone Efficiency 4-6-67%
Goal-to-go efficiency 2-2-100%

That's the kind of efficient red-zone and ST play that wins games.

Some things are obvious. Royal hasn't had enough room to run on punt returns, mostly due to our tendency to let the offenses get into the 40/40 yard-line range, which lets the teams either punt into the coffin corner or just create a touchback, nullifying Eddie's chances of getting in a good runback. They got over that pattern during the past two games and had two wins. Are they connected? You decide. I'm going to vote yes.

Two names that I wanted to look more closely at this week were Richard Quinn and Russ Hochstein. I recalled Hochstein making a couple of serious errors on ST while we were losing and while I'd heard good things about Quinn's ST work, I hadn't caught him on film enough to develop an opinion one way or the other. that obviously changed in KC - his play on the fake punt was perfect and his blocking on kick returns was excellent as well. Nice to see!

The balance of veterans like Mario Haggan, Champ Bailey, Darrell Reid and Andre' Goodman with younger players such as Bruton, Larsen and McBath seems to have found an area of comfort. Lanes are being filled, discipline has improved, tackling is much better and, just as importantly, we haven't been pinning Royal back in coffin country. This is the first time I've seen us playing the way we need to on special teams in a long time. I can only hope it continues.

Safety in Numbers: It's also obvious that David Bruton was a heck of a 4th-round pickup and that Darcel McBath was a great investment. Over the next 5 years, with those two and Josh Barrett, we're in good shape at safety. There was pre-draft talk of moving McBath to CB if certain teams drafted him - McBath can cover very well and can tackle, too. Denver will keep him at safety, though, and for good reason. He won't replace Renaldo Hill anytime soon, but I love that our chances are that good at when we're covering folks.

The response to the recent rise in short-passing offenses (much like our own) has been a switch to fast, coverage safeties. I believe that McBath can be smoothly moved into the slot currently well-occupied by Renaldo Hill when Hill finally slows. Keep in mind that Hill, too, was a CB/S tweener who played CB during his first 4 years in the NFL. McBath seems to be very much in the same mold - he's also bright, like Hill, and was a team leader in college.

We can also go with two smart, effective covering safeties, and although I will miss Dawk's aggression and leadership when the time comes, Hill is an excellent leader and as mentioned, McBath was also a captain in his own right. I believe that David Bruton has the power to later fill many of B-Dawk's roles, although few will ever do so as well. Bruton was also a defensive captain, a pattern in McDaniels' pickups. Finally, Barrett's ability to cover the best TEs one-on-one and to interchange with Wesley Woodyard when needed is a nickel option that few teams can match. Although everyone, myself included, would love to see an Eric Berry on our team, we can establish safety as a lower-cost, high-return group at any point. The fact that all three have done good things on ST makes me even happier - that's a seventh of the game that we need to win, week in and week out. We're finally starting to win at it with a good mix of veterans and younger players. No surprise, then, that we're back to winning.

By the way, we've scored exactly 70 points in the past two games. Things have changed, and for the better. We still need to improve on our mistakes, but I like the direction things are going in.

raiderology

If I'm Al Davis, which is unlikely in the extreme, I'm having a contract meeting with Bruce Gradkowski's agent tomorrow. Gradkowski is on a one-year (2009) contract for $535,000, and in 2010 becomes a restricted free agent. That is one tough, talented guy and the raiders should get a clue: He's a good option right now and a good backup in the future. When's the last time they had a guy come on and win them games? It's ironic that he's the polar opposite of JaMarcus Russell - smaller and lighter, only 6'1" and 220 lbs, but he's smart, tenacious and can play this game. You don't need to waste a pick in the 1st round - you've got your QB in-house for this year and even next year if you want to make the effort to rebuild the team. The young man earned it. Consider his game against PITT:

Att/Comp Yds YPA TD INT QB Rating
20/33 308 9.3 3 0 121.8

Those are numbers that work for me. He has accuracy issues, no question, and his arm strength isn't what the team would like. I don't think that he's a long-term answer - he's just a heck of a lot better answer than Russell and they can keep him on as a backup when they find someone better. The Raiders love the vertical game too much to have a starting QB that doesn't have the arm for the long ball, but they still need one that has some common sense and drive. Mark Twain mentioned that the problem with common sense is that it ain't. That's been Problem 1 in raiderville for a long time and Russell is a perfect example of why. Right now, Gradkowski is a step up.

The raiders have some good running backs in Justin Fargas and Michael Bush. Darren McFadden fumbles too much, has always had issues with his upright style and injuries; he may mature well, but hasn't shown that consistently yet - so I don't count him. They have a fine young TE in Zach Miller, too. Their receiving corp will be mediocre or worse until they catch onto the fact that running fast is of no use if you can't catch the danged ball. They need a couple of possession receivers badly, preferably veterans who don't need to be bottle-fed. They also need to patch a couple of holes in the O-Line, as in much of it. If they can put together a couple of drafts that actually match their team needs, fine, then they can drop big dollars on a QB. Until then? Gradkowski is fine.

This is one example of how a person's feelings on the theory of team building color their approach to decision-making. I personally believe that you need an offensive line more than any other single factor in football. To me, there's no point in arguing about how to win a Super Bowl until you at least have a team that can contend for their division and I think that you start that with the O-Line and move on from there. The raiders seem to do everything backwards, so this is no shock, but they can buy a few wins for relatively few bucks with Gradkowski and they need to develop a longterm plan for a change.

Speaking of the dead, I found it interesting last week when Nnamdi Asomugha went on record as being against the moribund system that Al Davis has in place of not making defensive adjustments for other teams' systems. Davis stills lives and refuses to die on the theory that you play your own system come drought or flood and you ignore what other teams are doing. We all know how that's been working for Oakland. Since this is a team that we play again soon, I'm content to watch them ignore reality with aplomb, but it's interesting when your best player calls out your system in the media. In other cases, I think that kind of thing smacks of ego, but in this case, it smacks of a legitimate cry for help. One that will be ignored, though, like all the rest.

Concussions (briefly) Continued

The NFL is considering a rule change that involves the running back position. The idea behind it is to prevent the RB from using his head as a battering ram, a style of running that has become increasingly common. Running backs like this maneuver because it permits them to deliver a blow rather than just take them.

I'm torn on this. I'm greatly encouraged by the new guidelines for dealing with concussions, and I support rule changes that will reduce the number of head injuries and simply 'blows to the head', which we now understand to be equally bad or even worse, over the course of time. I recognize the the running backs have a legitimate point regarding this approach - they take so much punishment that it seems harsh to take away one of their few options in return.

However -- running in that fashion is going to increase the number of blows to the head that the athlete experiences. It's really that simple. Research has shown a link between frequent blows to the head, even if they do not induce a concussion per se, and increased brain damage. That's a huge problem - the cumulative effects of those blows are increasing the number of retired players who are experiencing loss of their cognitive faculties. What number of yards makes up for that?

From my admittedly-biased position as a retired doc, I'm in favor of this rule change. Using your head to hit people isn't, well, using your head. I'd like to see alternative techniques taught and coached. I'd like to see an end to the kind of problems that hits like Adrian Peterson's created when he used his head to smash into Detroit safety Louis Delmas. By bending down to where his head was only a foot or so from the ground, Peterson smashed his helmet into Delmas' helmet as Delmas came in to tackle him. It was deliberate, and damaging to both men, if more so to Delmas; the hit left Delmas on the ground. I also would like to see it prohibited to use the head to deliver any kind of hit by any player and would support considering a change in the way that tackling is taught. These changes will not greatly change the way the game is played - just how the players are taught.

I understand that many fans will think that if you change the way the game is taught, it's "not really football" anymore. I'm sympathetic, but let's be real here - no amount of money is worth becoming a walking vegetable in your later years. Demanding that players be willing to trade their own abilities in consciousness for the experience of the NFL is, frankly, barbaric. Yes, it's a tough sport. Yes, it's impossible to prevent all injuries and you shouldn't try. However - dropping some of the gladiatorial fervor in the name of living a normal life beyond football isn't an unreasonable approach. We shouldn't ask anyone to be willing to increase their chances of living with brain trauma just for the chance to be a professional football player -- or for any other sport's sake. I hope that we, as a culture, are willing to move beyond that kind of lower-consciousness belief.

QBs and Ratings

While we're considering the media, consider this from Kerry Byrne at si.com:

16.13 yards per attempt -- This is the number that truly leaps off the stat sheet to those who understand the Cold, Hard Football Facts.

Passing yards per attempt is probably the single greatest individual statistical indicator of success in football, and maybe in all of sports. Teams that win the passing yards per attempt battle win nearly 75 percent of the time and the great quarterbacks almost always have high averages per attempt, from Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas to the greatest winner of all, Otto Graham, whose career average of 8.63 YPA is the best in history. to

So, when you see a number like 16.1 YPA, it pays to investigate a little further. Turns out Brees is just the fifth player since 1960 to average more than 16 yards per pass attempt in a game (min. 20 attempts).

It brings up an interesting point: Many teams - most, in fact - have moved to a NE-style offense with an emphasis on the short pass. That doesn't exclude throwing deep, but it does mean that teams will see more of the short passing game, which will tend to skew that number in the statistics. Since many of the offenses that emphasize the short pass use it much as teams used to use the ground game -- picking up 2-8 years at a time, keeping the clock moving and controlling the ball -- you will see the numbers on yards per attempt lessening. It's still true, however, that yards per attempt can be increased by yards after the catch, and that's an area where the Saints have excelled.

The Broncos are starting to throw deeper passes more often, and experience and comfort level between Brandon Marshall and Kyle Orton is a big factor there. It paid off again, and was that Brandon throwing his TD ball to McDaniels? Nice...so much for Brandon leaving. He likes to talk, but they will open the checkbook to keep him (and Doom).

How many more longer passes? It isn't a vertical game onslaught, but this is from the list of the Broncos top-10 long plays each week:

49 4 3-6-DEN 24 (14:08) K.Orton pass short left to B.Marshall pushed ob at KC 27 for 49 yards (J.McGraw).
19 4 1-10-KC 41 (11:26) K.Orton pass deep left to T.Scheffler to KC 22 for 19 yards (C.Mays).
18 1 1-10-DEN 33 (14:55) K.Orton pass short left to E.Royal to KC 49 for 18 yards (B.Flowers).
17 2 2-6-50 (10:18) C.Buckhalter left tackle to KC 33 for 17 yards (M.Vrabel).

Orton added three plays for 14 yards, two to Marshall, one to Royal. The mid-range game is starting to work better and the running game was money all day long. Then there's the kind of rushing dominance that I hadn't seen in too long. The combination gives us a puncher's chance against anyone, if we can control the line of scrimmage.

Final Note: NTs come Full Circle

Pat Kirwan of NFL.com posted this last week:

3-4 nose tackles are scarce

Any team that plays a 3-4 defense knows that success starts up front with a massive nose tackle that plays over the center's head and forces double teams. In the NFL, 3-4 nose tackles are an endangered species. The Chargers lost Jamal Williams and somehow keep winning. The Jets have dropped three of four games since Kris Jenkins went down. Jason Ferguson of the Dolphins just found he is heading to IR, which leaves Paul Soliai to replace him. All three teams have playoff aspirations, but the lack of a quality nose tackle hurts their chances. So far, the Chargers have adjusted best.

He brings up an interesting point. Increasingly, we are seeing smaller NTs coming in and being effective through leverage and athletic ability -- as well as getting penetration. While it is essential that the NT be able to take up 2 or more blockers, it's not really important that he weight 365 lbs. when doing so. The ability to move other people, great technique and an explosive first step are even more important than size.

Since we are now at 12 teams using the 3-4 in some form full-time and many others that use some hybrid variation at least part of the time, we're not going to necessarily see every team moving to the traditional kind of huge player at NT. Players with skill, stamina and unusual strength and/or leverage as well as a scale-tipping 340 lbs will probably continue to be relatively rare. But as Marcus Thomas (314) has shown in Denver when playing behind Ron Fields (314), as the combination of Travis Johnson (311) and Ogemdi Nwagbuo (303) have shown in San Diego since their massive NT, Jamal Williams (348), went on IR and as Jay Ratliff (304) has shown in Dallas, there is more to the NT position than sheer size. Jason Ferguson comes in at 305, no larger than many 40-front defensive tackles. There's a pattern here.

One of the advantages that Denver has shown this season is that Ron Fields is obviously as good as the commentators who called him a steal believed. Even better, Marcus has shown considerable ability in coming in and handling the NT duties when Fields sits down. Thomas is a serious penetrator who obviously plays by relishing of the chance to compete at this level. If Chris Baker (329) develops this off-season, we may get to see Baker or Thomas showing us their skills at DE - personally, I'd love to see Marcus handling that position, but right now he's the second-best option at NT and a very close second at that. He is also said to really enjoy the position, so perhaps he stays there. An eventual flexible rotation that uses Fields, Thomas and Baker at NT, with Baker or Thomas rotating at DE at times isn't beyond possibility, either. That would be flexible and versatile, hallmarks of the amoeba approach.

Regardless of which one slides over (or whether they do - I'm suggesting an option, not predicting that we'll use it), the fact that we have some solid options in the pipeline at DL speaks well to the way the team will play next season. It also frees up a position in the draft, which always is a comfort. What I'm seeing is that we don't need a NT, thanks to good player evaluation last offseason.

Taming the Colts?

How will we handle Indy? Tough question, since they look like the cream of the league to me right now. If we do, we will do it much as we did against KC, even though Indy is so much better. We need for the running game to keep Peyton Manning off the field. It's the only real way to limit him - he's just too good. We need our coverage to be what it's been the past two weeks - or even better. I don't know if even Champ and Goodman can shut down Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and friends, but for us to have a good chance, they will have to. It will be up to Ryan Clady and the offensive line to handle Dwight Feeney. Giving Orton time to throw and the right holes to our newly-empowered running game gives us the best chance. We will be mixing the zone blocking and gap blocking again - over the past two games, that has really begun to gel, right on time for a run at the wild-card slot.

We can't keep committing unforced errors. I suspect that our game will hinge on that -- too many players have contributed cognitive flatulence by taking stupid penalties this season. If we beat ourselves, we're toast. We need to show that we can play like a playoff team and make them beat us. Indy is a predator - always ready to pounce on the weaknesses a team manifests. We're moving two time zones and Indy is murder at home.

It's our toughest game of the year. I look forward to seeing where we measure up.

Go Broncos!

Game Preview: San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos

John (obviousman) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:52:25 -0000

More photos » by Chris Park - AP

"Last year the government spent less on the Ministry of Silly Walks than it did on National Defense!" (AP Photo/Chris Park)

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Here was how I started the preview for the last Broncos/Chargers matchup.

So, the bye week sucked, huh? Back to business in a big way this week with the Week 6 AFC West Championship Super Bowl Extravaganza (W6AFCWCSBE for short).

I also predicted that all hell would break loose if the Chargers lost, but I was wrong. I had failed to think that the Chargers could play a good game, show some promise, and still lose the game. Silly me. Anyways, the stakes are even higher for this week's game, which shall be dubbed the Week 11 AFC West Championship Super Bowl Extravaganza Spectacular (W11AFCWCSBES for short), aka the Unofficial AFC West Championship Game. How exciting!

When the Broncos Have the Ball

via bp3.blogger.com

Why does the Bronco have a horn? Is that really a unicorn? I think that's a unicorn, and an underfed one at that.

According to what I've picked up talking to Broncos fans over at MHR, their recent slide has more to do with the defenses problems stopping the run than anything that's gone wrong with the offense. The poor offensive output against the Redskins had everything to do with trying to comeback with a backup QB who hadn't been in an NFL game in years. So, in looking at the numbers, things should be relatively the same to the last time these two teams met.

Week 6:

6th in the league in offensive yards per game, but 22nd in points per game.
The Broncos have less rushing TDs inside the red zone (2) than the Chargers (3) even though they've played 5 games to the Chargers 4.

Week 11:

22nd in offensive yards per game and 24th in points per game.
17th in passing yards per game, 18th in yards per passing attempt.
24th in the league in "explosive" passing plays (plays of more than 20 yards).
16th in rushing yards per game, 16th in rushing yards per carry.
21st in the league in "explosive" rushing plays (plays of more than 20 yards).
In the same amount of games (9), the Broncos have managed to score half as many rushing TDs in the red zone (3) as the Chargers (6). That says to me that this is not an offensive line and a rushing attack that is going to punch you in the mouth or push you around.

via image.examiner.com

In most of these game previews, I stuff the thing full of facts and stats. Before the Week 6 game, perhaps because the game meant everything to the Chargers and we were all hoping for a performance we hadn't yet seen, I posted almost no stats and instead went for opinion and conjecture. How's that for journalistic integrity? Anyways, even without having anything to compare it to.....let's take a look at the current stats for the Bolts D.

14th in yards allowed, 20th in points allowed.
Still ranked low (28th) in terms of 3rd down conversions by the opponent.
11th in passing yards allowed, 16th best in terms of passing yards per attempt against.
Tied for 6th best in explosive pass plays allowed (20).
23rd in rushing yards allowed per game, 8th in rushing yards allowed per attempt (4.1). So the Chargers actually do a fairly good job at slowing down the run but, because there's not a ton of stops and the passing defense is so good, teams seem to be running it a lot against them.
7th in the league in terms of rushing attempts per game against. No other team in the league has as low of an allowed YPC (4.1) and such a high number of attempts against them (29.2 per game). The next closest is the Broncos, who allow 3.8 yards per carry and get run on 27.6 times per game.
1st in the league in explosive running plays against them (2). The Chargers have yet to allow a run of 40+ yards. I'm no expert, but I have to attribute that to good tackling by the secondary (specifically Eric Weddle) and the team as a whole. All of these numbers combined seem to say that the only thing missing from the Bolts having a dominating D right now is a dominating defensive line (or at least a dominating Nose Tackle like Jamal Williams).

Advantage: N/A. I can't know who has the advantage here without know who is starting at QB. Even then, since I have no idea how bad Kyle Orton's ankle is or how much better Chris SImms can be with a week of practice, it would be difficult. Looking at the stats alone, the Broncos offense is very average. It'll be San Diego's job to try to keep them there and keep their playmakers in check.

When the Chargers Have the Ball

via a.espncdn.com

This seems as good a time as any to announce that BFTB interviewed Kellen Winslow last night. I'll try to post the transcription of the interview later today, but it's more likely that I'll find time to get it up tomorrow. Kellen was awesome, had a great sense of humor, and talked a great deal about Air Coryell vs. the 2009 Chargers offense. Really, really interesting stuff. Also, his pick for the greatest TE of all time took me completely by surprise and it probably will for you too.

A look at the Chargers stats and rankings:

18th in terms of offensive yards per game, 6th in terms of points per game. That is exactly how you want that ratio to go, especially with a poor running game. This means that the Chargers are converting their opportunities into points quite often.
12th in terms of 3rd down conversion rate. +2 on the turnover battle (11th best).
7th in passing yards per game, 2nd in passing yards per attempt. This is another great sign that the Chargers offense is not producing "inflated" stats with short passes and screens. When the Chargers pass the ball, good things happen.
3rd in the league in explosive passing plays (34).
32nd (last) for rushing yards per game and rushing yards per attempt (3.2). Let us not pretend otherwise.
26th in the league for explosive rushing plays (3).

via www.lonestarsportz.com

Where, oh where, has that vaunted Denver Broncos attacking 3-4 defense gone? Well, the easy answer is that although the Broncos were able to bring in top-tier talent to start and therefore turn around the team in a hurry, it takes more than one offseason to build talented depth behind those players. Now that the Broncos are beginning to battle a few injuries, and the veterans are starting to lose that extra pep they had in the beginning of the season, players with flaws in their game are getting on the field. Let's see what the stats say.

6th in yards per game allowed, 4th in points per game given up. Sounds like a strong defense to me.
17th in 3rd down conversions allowed. 2nd least defensive penalties called against them.
19th in time of possession. That's a lot of time on the field for a team of aging veterans without great depth behind them.
5th in passing yards allowed, 11th in passing yards per attempt against.
10th in explosive passing plays allowed (21).
2nd in sacks.
11th in rushing yards per game allowed, 6th in rushing yards per attempt allowed.

I don't know fellas. Three game skid or not, the stats are saying that this is still one of the best defenses in the league.

Advantage: Tie. So the passing game is great and the running game stinks. What else is new? The offensive unit, led by Philip Rivers, has been effective all season. Usually, if the Chargers defense can hold the opponent under 30 points (which they couldn't the last time they faces the Broncos), there's a good chance the Bolts walk off the field with smiles on their faces. Unfortunately, that may not be the case when you're facing a strong defense on the road when they held you to 23 points when you played at home.

I have no idea who wins this game. I think the Chargers' momentum and the Broncos' home field advantage cancel each other out. I also think Orton and Simms are entirely capable of running the type of offense (short passes) that can just kill the Bolts. The key to this game, for me, is how often Ron Rivera turns up the blitz with Kevin Ellison, Eric Weddle, Steve Gregory and Paul Oliver.

Just like the last game was determined by who could score the most on special teams, I believe this game will be determined by who wins the turnover battle. The Chargers (+2) and the Broncos (+3) are pretty evenly matched in that regard. Actually, they're fairly evenly matched across the board. It should be a fun, competitive game.

Go Chargers.

State of the AFC West Week 10

Sam (sdsuaztec4) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:32:00 -0000

Those standings look a little strange don't they? First of all, it's kind of funny that the top two and the bottom two teams have the same records. Second of all, it's starting to resemble last year's standings more and more. For the second year in a row, it looks like the division will come down to the second match-up between the Chargers and Broncos. The game will be played in Denver this season but the momentum of the teams in certainly the same. The Chargers have won 4 in a row and the Broncos have lost 3 in a row. This season there will still be games to be played but the losing team will essentially have to win out to win the division. The Raiders and the Chiefs will actually play a big part as potential spoilers; the Broncos play the Chiefs twice and the Raiders once more. If the Broncos lose on Sunday they will have to sweep those three games and I don't expect those two teams to roll over with a big chance to play spoiler against a division opponent. The Chargers play the Chiefs once more at Qualcomm after the Broncos game which will be their last divisional game.

Click the jump to see where all the teams are at

AFC West Standings

	W	L	PF	PA
Denver	6	3	167	151
San Diego	6	3	237	202
Oakland	2	7	88	217
Kansas City	2	7	142	215

(updated 11.17.2009 at 1:16 AM PST)

Kansas City Chiefs: Things aren't getting any better for the Chiefs. As you have probably already heard, WR Dwayne Bowe was just suspended four games for testing positive for PEDs. Bowe is probably the Chiefs' best player and losing him is going to be a big blow to their already meager offense. You have to wonder if the Chiefs knew this was coming when they claimed Chris Chambers. Matt Cassel will probably have even more trouble completing passes now. But hey, at least they beat the Raiders and got their first rushing TD of the season right? It doesn't get any easier for the Chiefs as their next three games are vs. Steelers, @ San Diego, vs. Denver. Their next divisional game is @ San Diego for which there are still 7,000 tickets remaining. With both games left against Denver and one more against San Diego the Chiefs will surely try to play spoiler within the division so they still have a big chance to decide the division.

Kansas City Chiefs Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jamaal Charles	leg	11/16/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mike Vrabel	knee	11/16/2009
Dantrell Savage	ankle	11/16/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Devard Darling	knee	09/01/2009
Jarrad Page	calf	11/04/2009
Mike Goff	shoulder	11/11/2009
Jackie Battle	shoulder	10/14/2009
Colin Brown	undisclosed	09/05/2009

Oakland Raiders: So the Raiders have lost 7 straight at home against the Chiefs, no big deal right? Well, since the middle of the 2007 season, no team in the NFL has been worse than the Chiefs. On a good note, the Raiders did have a fantastic day on the ground, especially RB Michael Bush who had 119 yards on 14 carries. I still really wish the Chargers had ended up trading for him. The routine stayed the same for the Raiders; Jamarcus Russell played poorly compounded by constant drops by rookie WR Demetrius Heyward-Bey. Russell was benched again in favor of Bruce Gradkowski who played even worse. Head coach Tom Cable, who probably won't be head coach much longer, hasn't yet announced who will be his starter this Sunday. Maybe it will be Charlie Frye. Hey at least P Shane Lechler kicked for 531 yards right? Now they get to play the Bengals, Cowboys, and Steelers. Their next and last division game is week 15 against the Broncos.

Oakland Raiders Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tommy Kelly	ribs	11/16/2009

Doubtful

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Javon Walker	hamstring	11/16/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
John Bowie	knee	09/30/2009
Oren O'Neal	ankle	10/14/2009

Denver Broncos: Mr. Hyde showed his face last Sunday when the Broncos lost to the Redskins. Losses against the Ravens and Steelers are understandable but the Redskins are really, really bad. Another thing happened on Sunday that hadn't happened in Bronco land all season, injuries. RT Ryan Harris is already out for this Sunday's game and QB Kyle Orton injured his ankle and is questionable for this Sunday's game vs the Chargers. From what I've heard and read they are basically going to play it by ear and see how much he can practice if it all. It's not out of the question that he plays after not practicing all week, they need to win this game and they know it, especially coach McDaniels. Back-up QB Chris Simms had an awful time after Orton left the game and while I'm sure he'd be better after a week of practice he certainly isn't Tom Brady. During their game on Sunday, on that fake punt, the Redskins did everything to show that a trick play was in the works. The Broncos still couldn't stop it. Clearly the Broncos have strayed pretty far from where they were after beating the Chargers. Their next division game is this Sunday against the Chargers; if they lose it will probably be too late to get back on track to win the division. I'm not sure SBNation's injury widget is very helpful....

Denver Broncos Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryan McBean	knee	11/16/2009
Josh Barrett	hamstring	11/16/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Nick Greisen	knee	08/05/2009

San Diego Chargers: The Chargers were able to establish a running game and stop the run in one game on Sunday, which is something they will need to continue if they want to succeed going forward. Unfortunately, the run defense came at the expense of the pass defense, although that was also a function of the defensive game-plan against QB Donovan McNabb as well as the lack of a great pass rush. The Chargers had a great pass-rush over the previous games; injuries to Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips probably didn't help things. Hopefully they are feeling better this Sunday and getting pressure on whomever is the Broncos QB; the Broncos quick WRs can do crossing routes just as well as the Eagles WRs. If C Nick Hardwick is able to return this Sunday it will be a huge upgrade on pass and run blocking. If we get ahead early I think LT will have another big day and will soften up the Bronco's secondary when we need to pass the ball. The Broncos have given up a huge amount of rushing yards in their last 4 games and I still think the Chargers are at their best when LT is pounding the ball up the middle. After this Sunday against the Broncos, the Chargers have their last divisional game against the Chiefs, and then a game against the Browns which should be nice. As far as injuries, it looks like Jeromy Clary and Tim Dobbins will be able to play, and hopefully Travis Johnson, too, since the DL by committee thing has worked out pretty well so far.

San Diego Chargers Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Travis Johnson	leg	11/16/2009
Jeromey Clary	ankle	11/16/2009
Tim Dobbins	knee	11/16/2009

Doubtful

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Nick Hardwick	ankle	11/16/2009
Jyles Tucker	ankle	11/16/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryon Bingham	arm	09/05/2009
Jamal Williams	triceps	09/19/2009
Antwan Applewhite	hamstring	10/20/2009
Brandon Hughes	knee	09/02/2009

Poll

Which team is more dysfunctional right now?

Chiefs

53 votes

Raiders

414 votes

467 votes | Poll has closed

Chargers Stat of the Day: Defensive Ratings

John (obviousman) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:05:35 -0000

by Chris Park - AP

The San Diego Chargers defense swarms Brian Westbrook during the Chargers 31-23 victory in a NFL football game Sunday Nov. 15, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Chris Park)

View full size photo »

Attention all nerds. Do you head straight to Football Outsiders when you're looking for better-than-average stats? Well, I found another website that you're going to want to bookmark. (Editor's Note: This is not a paid advertisement. I've never even talked with the guys from this website. So if this sounds like a sales-pitch, it's not.)

ProFootballFocus.com is a website that football stat-geeks have been dying for without knowing it. Just about any question you have about the team can be answered within their stats. Want to know who has played the most defensive plays for the Bolts? Eric Weddle, with 544. How about which player has the most QB Pressures? It's a tie between Luis Castillo and Shaun Phillips (both have 10). Wondering who the best MLB on the Chargers is? You'll be surprised.

Let's delve into some of PFF's defensive stats and player ratings...

I was taught a long time ago to never argue with someone who was smarter than me. I almost never abide by this rule, but today I'll make an exception. These guys have done such a great job at collecting stats, that I'm going to assume they do just as good of a job comparing them.

In terms of defense, it appears they look at all of the stats (sacks, QB hits, QB pressures, tackles, penalties, missed tackles, stops) and compare them relative to the number of plays the player had played. So a played like Brandon Siler, who has 10 stops on 104 plays, would be looked at as a more efficient player when he's on the field than Stephen Cooper (22 stops in 454 plays).

Each player is rated based upon their work rushing the passer, stopping the run and in pass coverage. Also factored in are things like Penalties being called against that player (surprisingly, leading the Chargers D in penalties is a tie between Shawne Merriman, Shaun Phillips and Larry English) and Missed Tackles.

The missed tackles stat also needs to be looked at proportionally against actual tackles. For instance, Stephen Cooper leads the team with 10 missed tackles to go with his 48 tackles on the season. However, that's probably not as bad as Antonio Cromartie's 6 missed tackles with only 15 tackles to his name.

So, follow me down the rabbit hole as we look at PFF's ratings of Chargers defensive players by position group. The number next to each player is their PFF Rating, which is roughly explained here. In a nutshell, zero is average across the league and any number above that is above average. Any number below is obviously below average. Also, for the sake of this not being too confusing, I'm leaving out any player who has been on the field for less than 75 snaps.

Defensive Line

Travis Johnson -1.5
Ian Scott -3.0
Alfonso Boone -3.1
Ogemdi Nwagbuo -3.1
Jacques Cesaire -9.5
Luis Castillo -10.3

How about that trade for Johnson? The Castillo number is a bit jarring, but appears to be accurate. Although he's near the top on the team in terms of defensive stops and QB pressures, apparently relative to the number of plays he's played it's just not as impressive as it has seemed. Also, according to their individual rankings he's fairly average at rushing the passer and well below average at stopping the run. For those looking for a comparison, Castillo's 2008 was ranked at 0.8 (or just a little above average) and Jamal Williams' 2008 was ranked at 27.4. 27.4! In 2007, Castillo was well above average at 7.7 when he was on the field.

Linebackers

Brandon Siler 5.8
Shaun Phillips 2.7
Kevin Burnett 2.6
Stephen Cooper -2.4
Tim Dobbins -2.7
Shawne Merriman -3.3
Larry English -12.2

I told you this stuff was interesting. As mentioned above, Cooper is killed by his missed tackles and by being below-average (-1.5) in pass coverage. Siler is actually the only LB that ranks as above average against the run and in pass coverage this year. Phillips would probably be #1 if it weren't for the 4 penalties he's picked up this season. This group is greatly improved from 2008, when no LB ranked as average or above average (Wilhelm was -16.9 if you were wondering).

Cornerbacks

Antoine Cason 1.4
Steve Gregory -1.0
Quentin Jammer -3.8
Antonio Cromartie -5.6

Jammer is actually playing better than he did in 2008, when his season ranking was -5.9. The stats seem a little off for cornerbacks in terms of what's "average", but at least they appear to be consistent. Cromartie's 2008 rating? -27.4. He was the anti-Jamal Williams.

Safties

Eric Weddle 3.7
Paul Oliver 0.5
Clinton Hart -1.8
Kevin Ellison -2.7

Before you start screaming about Hart being rated ahead of Ellison, listen up. Here's what I gather as the explanation by looking at the stats they're presenting. Both players are equal against the run (0.5), and the rookie actually better in pass coverage (-2.3 to -3.7), but the main two factors that catapult Hart above Ellison is penalties (zero for Hart, 2 for Ellison) and pass rushing (1.4 for Hart, 0.1 for Ellison). I can't entirely disagree with that, and considering these guys are charting the plays and I'm not....I'm going to believe them.

Still, it was the right move to get rid of Hart. Ellison is an improving player and Clinton was a declining one. Also, it has opened up plenty of playing time for Paul Oliver (who is obviously playing well).

So what do you guys think? Interesting stuff, right? Obviously, like all stats, these are not perfect. From what I can tell, these ratings do not factor in the level of competition being faced (which explains why Gregory would be higher than Jammer and Cromartie) nor do they factor in double-teams (which explains why Luis Castillo is down this year and why Shaun Phillips had such a poor rating in 2008). Still, in terms of judging who is making the most impact with their time on the field....it's intriguing.

Stats and rankings taken from ProFootballFocus.com do not include information from the Week 10 match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles.

State of the AFC West Week 9

Sam (sdsuaztec4) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:15:45 -0000

Well well well, here we are after week 9, a week I'd been looking forward to for awhile. I had a crazy day on Sunday which of course had a perfect ending. Last night's game was the proverbial "icing on the cake". The Chargers are now 1 game back at the halfway point of the season with 8 games to go. The Broncos still have the advantage with the 1 game lead and a win over the Chargers as a potential tiebreaker. As far as the schedules, of the 8 games remaining, 3 are easy division games (2 KC 1 OAK), but 4 are against tough teams (SD, NYG, INDY, PHI) and their game this week at Washington. On the other hand, the Chargers get the Browns and Titans, don't have to play Indy, but they only play the Chiefs one more time. As far as momentum, it is clearly on the side of the Chargers who have capped their three game winning streak with an emotional win at the Meadowlands. The Broncos on the other hand are riding a two-game losing streak that included two disappointing second halves. Oakland and KC are still out of the picture.

Jump the break for individual teams.

AFC West Standings

	W	L	PF	PA
Denver	6	2	150	124
San Diego	5	3	206	179
Oakland	2	6	78	201
Kansas City	1	7	126	205

(updated 11.10.2009 at 1:30 AM PST)

Oakland Raiders: The Raiders had a quiet bye week getting healthy and trying not to lose any football games. Running back Darren McFadden, wide receiver Chaz Schilens, left guard Robert Gallery and right tackle Cornell Green returned to practice Monday and are expected to play against the Kansas City Chiefs this week. So that's good news. Although Tom Cable won't be charged criminally, the NFL is evaluating the situation and sending out people to determine if Cable should attend anger management classes. The National League of Women (NOW) and other women's rights groups are calling for Cable's job. The Raiders next division match-up is this week's pillow-fight of the week in Oakland. Let the battle to determine the most dysfunctional team begin, too bad nobody will see it because it will likely be blacked out.

Oakland Raiders Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Cornell Green	calf	11/09/2009
Tony Stewart	chest	11/09/2009
Gerard Warren	toe	11/09/2009
Jon Alston	shoulder	11/09/2009
Ricky Brown	ankle	11/09/2009
Robert Gallery	fibula	11/09/2009
Tommy Kelly	elbow	11/09/2009
Chris Johnson	groin	11/09/2009
Chaz Schilens	foot	11/09/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
John Bowie	knee	09/30/2009
Oren O'Neal	ankle	10/14/2009

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs played a close game against the Jaguars which inevitably ended in another loss. As the Chiefs march toward another top 5 draft pick, the big story is still the rapid fall of Larry Johnson which ended in his release from the Chiefs. Although they will probably end up paying him a lot of money since I doubt anyone will pick him up, this gives Jamaal Charles more opportunity to play and gets rid of a clubhouse cancer. Chris Chambers seem to have rejuvenated their offense, at least for the moment, with two TD passes. The addition seems to have helped the Chiefs and the Chargers at the same time, and Chris will probably be happier too. As already mentioned, the Chiefs next division game is at Oakland which I'm sure will be terribly exciting.

Kansas City Chiefs Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jon McGraw	thigh	11/09/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Devard Darling	knee	09/01/2009
Jarrad Page	calf	11/04/2009
Jackie Battle	shoulder	10/14/2009
Colin Brown	undisclosed	09/05/2009

Denver Broncos: Will the real Broncos please stand up? Are they the 6-0 team or the 0-2 team? Are they the second-half juggernaut or the second-half duds? Is Kyle Orton the QB who threw one INT in 7 games or 3 INT's in one game? Are they a punishing opponents on the lines or the team that didn't get ONE rushing first-down against the Steelers? The answer is probably somewhere close to the middle. Teams are starting to key on the Broncos weakness and adjusting their game-plans as such. Kyle Orton looks nervous as opposed to the pillar of strength he looked like earlier in the season. Either way, the Broncos are much better than everyone thought but they still aren't an elite team. The Steelers were clearly the superior team last night, even at Mile High. The Broncos have lost some momentum going forward but they are still healthy and still have the advantage over the Chargers. Now is the time for Josh McDaniels to adjust to the adjustments that other teams are making. Going forward, we will see if the Broncos and McDaniels are studs or duds. The game at Washington this weekend may tell us a lot about the Broncos. Their next division match-up looks to be a huge game with playoff implications at Mile High against the Chargers.

Denver Broncos Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryan McBean	knee	11/10/2009
Peyton Hillis	other-excused	11/10/2009
David Bruton	groin	11/10/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Nick Greisen	knee	08/05/2009
J'Vonne Parker	knee	08/08/2009

San Diego Super Chargers: The Bolts are flying high after an emotional victory at the Meadowlands and gaining the momentum in the AFC West race if not the advantage. They are finally getting healthy, emotionally and physically, as well and it looks like All-Pro center Nick Hardwick will make his return to Qualcomm Stadium this weekend against the Eagles. The Chargers are still a little banged up at the linebacker position; SP95 was injured in the Giants game and Kevin Burnett and Tim Dobbins are still ailing. It looks like Phillips and Burnett will play this weekend while Dobbins will sit. LB Jyles Tucker is also most likely out this weekend. It looks like the Eagles are having the same problem the Chargers were earlier in the season: inability to keep anyone healthy. If Westbrook is out and the Eagles must depend on the passing game, the Chargers could win big with improved pass rush from Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips. The Chargers are also only 2-2 this season and they need to improve their play at home. The game is already sold out so we know it will be loud this weekend. Our next division match-up is Week 11 at Mile High Stadium.

San Diego Chargers Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tim Dobbins	knee	11/09/2009
Nick Hardwick	ankle	11/09/2009
Kevin Burnett	ankle	11/09/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryon Bingham	arm	09/05/2009
Jamal Williams	triceps	09/19/2009
Antwan Applewhite	hamstring	10/20/2009
Brandon Hughes	knee	09/02/2009

Philadelphia Eagles Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Max Jean-Gilles	shoulder	11/09/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Victor Abiamiri	knee	11/09/2009
Chris Gocong	other-excused	11/09/2009
Akeem Jordan	knee	11/10/2009
Brian Westbrook	ankle	11/09/2009
Quintin Demps	ankle	11/09/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Shawn Andrews	back	09/15/2009
Stewart Bradley	knee	09/01/2009
Omar Gaither	foot	10/22/2009
Cornelius Ingram	knee	09/01/2009
Fenuki Tupou	chest	09/05/2009

San Diego Chargers Half-Season Awards

John (obviousman) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:29:28 -0000

When the Chargers schedule initially came out, I remember looking at it and thinking to myself, "I'll take 5-3 at the halfway point." Well, the Bolts are there and the only difference in the situation is that they're looking up at the Broncos. Still, if the season were to end today the Chargers would be in the playoffs.

It has been a rocky first-half though. The team has lost one of it's defensive captains, replaced the starting SS and benched the future starting CB (probably). Also, Brandon Siler started a couple of games and wasn't as bad as everyone feared. All in all, a good 8 games. However, some myself remains......like who won the prestigious BFTB Half-Season Awards?

Chargers' Coach of the Half-Season

Norv Turner

I remember watching a video clip of Norv giving an interview earlier in the season. I believe it was after the Pittsburgh loss. He was being questioned about his job, and his response was something along the lines of "I don't really care what people think." I remember thinking that it was just a cliche line, but I'm starting to think it's true. Norv never seems to be rattled by the constant criticism of the fans and media. Isn't that who you'd want coaching your team?

Turner has done a great job of keeping control of the locker room during a rough patch of games, and they're growing together now (as evident by his hug with LT). He deserves praise for that. He also deserves praise for making the calls for a top 10 offense without a semblance of a rushing threat.

Is Norv ever going to coach a 14-2 mistake-free team that eventually wins the Super Bowl? Who knows? Not many coaches can. However, with each passing year I'm confident that this team will always be competitive with him at the helm. His steadiness is a big reason why.

Chargers' Offensive Player of the Half-Season

Vincent Jackson

#83 / Wide Receiver / San Diego Chargers

Height: 6-5

Weight: 230

Born: Jan 14, 1983

College: Northern Colorado

He has been ridiculously good. His playoff games in the 2007 season cannot even compare to the games he's put up every week of this season.

VJ's numbers are incredibly consistent when you compare his stats by quarters, by halves or even by down. 88% of his catches have been for first down! He leads the team in receiving TDs with 7. The next highest player has 2.

In 2009, Vincent Jackson has been every bit as important to the offense as Philip Rivers. If he isn't with the Chargers in 2010, it will be the shock of the century.

	Receiving						Kickoff Returns					Punt Returns
G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	Lng	TD	KR	YDS	AVG	Lng	TD	PR	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
8	42	722	90.3	17.2	55	7	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Chargers' Defensive Player of the Half-Season

Eric Weddle

#32 / Free Safety / San Diego Chargers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 200

Born: Jan 04, 1985

College: Utah

Things I just realized in the last 30 seconds....

Eric Weddle looks a lot like my wife's ex-boyfriend from high school. They're practically twins.
Eric Weddle is exactly 2 weeks older than me.

Anyways, back to the award. Eric Weddle has been ridiculous this season. Talk about fitting out a stat sheet...

		Sacks		Interceptions			Tackles
	G	Sacks	YdsL	Int	Yds	IntTD	Solo	Ast	Total
2009 - Eric Weddle	8	1	6	1	31	1	46	9	55

Every box has a number in it! On top of those stats, he also is second on the team with 4 defended passes. He's been solid against the run and the pass, and has even found some time to lay a handful of big hits on receivers coming over the middle.

Much like Shaun Phillips has been better with the recent re-emergence of Shawne Merriman, Weddle has been even better with Kevin Ellison/Paul Oliver playing next to him since Clinton Hart was waived.

Chargers' Rookie of the Half-Season

Kevin Ellison

#25 / Strong Safety / San Diego Chargers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 221

Born: Jan 08, 1987

College: U-S-C

Here's my argument for Ellison over Louis Vasquez and Larry English. Vasquez almost won the starting job by default due to Kynan Forney's neck injury in camp, and English has yet to make a big splash in any game. Ellison was a 6th round pick and 3rd on the depth chart at the beginning of the season, and is now starting and playing on 90% of the snaps. That not only shows the talent he possesses, but it shows that he didn't give up and continued to fight in practice for the spot even after it looked like he wouldn't get a shot this season.

		Sacks		Interceptions			Tackles
	G	Sacks	YdsL	Int	Yds	IntTD	Solo	Ast	Total
2009 - Kevin Ellison	4	0	0	0	0	0	17	6	23

By the way, anybody else realize that Jackson, Weddle and Ellison all have birthdays within 10 days of each other? Random.....

Chargers' Comeback Player of the Half-Season

Luis Castillo

#93 / Defensive- End / San Diego Chargers

Height: 6-3

Weight: 290

Born: Aug 04, 1983

College: Northwestern

It's funny how confused he looks in that picture. Anyways, I'm not even going to bother posting his stats because they don't matter. He's on pace for a Jamal Williams-type season, where the stats don't show up because the offense he's facing is too busy double and triple-teaming him.

He's been a beast this season and has earned his big contract. The key has been his health. For the second consecutive year, he's managed to stay on the field. The difference this year is that he's practicing and generally seems to be avoiding his usual nagging injury. This is the player we all fell in love with in 2006 and 2007.

Chargers' MVP of the Half-Season

Philip Rivers

#17 / Quarterback / San Diego Chargers

Height: 6-5

Weight: 228

Born: Dec 08, 1981

College: North Carolina State

Was there ever any doubt? Similar to Luis, Philip may be having his best season yet but you wouldn't know it by looking at the stat sheet. Without a rushing attack to speak of, an offensive line to block for him or a defense for the first quarter of the season, Rivers managed to keep himself healthy and dangerous.

His game-winning drives against the Raiders and the Giants speak for themselves. What has impressed me the most has been his ability to avoid mistakes while avoiding pass-rushers on seemingly ever play.

With his strong play, Rivers has solidified his spot as a top 10 QB in the league and has even made some fans in the fanbases of opposing teams. Now it's the Chargers' job to give him the support he needs to finally get that Super Bowl ring that both Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning have gotten.

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
2009 - Philip Rivers	8	94.6	166	274	60.6	2245	280.6	8.2	14	6	15	47	5.9	3.1	1	18	119

Bolts & Dolts: San Diego Chargers at New York Giants

John (obviousman) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:41:46 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

about 1 month ago: New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs (27) is tackled by San Diego Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper (54) in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Chargers won 21-20. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

View full size photo »

Hello friends. Look, I made it out of Giants Stadium alive!

I couldn't be happier at this moment. The first San Diego Chargers game I see in person in years, and it turns into an incredible win that's capped with a late TD that happened right in front of me. The sun was shinin' on me yesterday.

So now that I've gotten home, "slept it off" and watched the game on television.....let's get to quite possibly the longest edition of "Bolts & Dolts" ever.

Bolts

Offense

Philip Rivers - 24/36, 209 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT. Just barely. Two plays put him in the Bolts category. One, obviously, was the game-winning touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson. The second happened right before that, when Rivers saw a blitz coming and audibled to a Darren Sproles pass that picked up 21 yards in the flash of a eye. Outside of the last drive, Philip had a poor game by his usual standards. Throwing twice into double-coverage (and getting picked both times) is not his style and I don't expect to see it again.

Vincent Jackson - 5 catches, 58 yds, 2 TD. At this point, VJ should be in the MVP conversation. He has been that dominant in every single game. I think his 3 non-TD catches yesterday were all for first downs. Also, he had a good game against fantastic coverage from Corey Webster all night. I don't think there's another receiver in the league that has that kind of game against a CB playing that well.

Brandyn Dombrowski. Anyone want to guess why? If you're planning on re-watching the game, pay close attention when the ref is calling defensive pass interference on Corey Webster in the end zone. You'll see Dombrowski waiting patiently behind the ref the entire time. The second the ref turns around, Brandyn clearly symbols and says "I'm an eligible receiver" and the ref gives him a thumbs up. Fantastic job, Brandyn.

Defense

Ron Rivera. I've been guilty of bashing Rivera quite a bit this season. This game, I will eat my crow and give him praise. He obviously came in with a game plan to stop the run and stop the big plays in the passing game. Well, there was the occasional gash in the running game but there were just as many stops on 2nd & 2 or 3rd & 1. Travis Johnson is proving to be a valuable linemen in those situations, by the way. Anyways, there was plenty of blitzing that kept Eli Manning running around outside of the pocket more often than he would've liked and the Giants' passing game had only one play that went for 20+ yards (and that was a WR screen to Hakeem Nicks for 29 yards). The defense was good enough on this day, and a big reason for that was Rivera's excellent play call.

Shawne Merriman - 3 tackles, 2 sacks. This doesn't even tell the whole story. Merriman had his hands on Eli close to 10 times during the game. He was incredibly disruptive, and both of his sacks came on huge 3rd down players late in the 4th quarter. Ladies and gentlemen, "Lights Out" is back.

Shaun Phillips - 8 tackles, 1 sack. Wow. I had almost forgotten what an amazing weapon Phillips is when he's not being double-teamed on every play. He was everywhere during the game. Those short run-stops that ended New York's drives? On just about every one of them you can see Phillips either making the tackle or screwing everything up along NY's offensive line by beating his man easily. He also played well in coverage (the Kevin Boss TD was not his fault) and......(take this with a grain of salt because it's just one game)......Shaun acted like the leader of the defense. 5 sacks in 3 games is no joke. Phillips is currently playing out of his mind and I couldn't be happier with his game last night.

Eric Weddle - 9 tackles. Where did that sledgehammer come from? Early in the game I was pretty sure he gave Boss a concussion, and during the Giants last possession he damn near killed Steve Smith. As usual, Weddle seemed to be around the ball on every single play. Not as usual, he was making it really scary for Giants receivers to go over the middle. Unreal game from him.

Luis Castillo - 1 tackle. Want to know why Eli Manning was constantly running out of a shrinking pocket? That would be Castillo. He spent all night destroying double-teams and chasing Eli Manning right into the hands of the Chargers OLBs. The stats aren't there, but he reminded me of Jamal Williams last night. I think this may be Castillo's best season yet and yesterday's game was probably his best this year.

Special Teams

Darren Sproles. I'm not going to put stats up because they don't matter for why he got the Bolt. He gets the Bolt because the Giants were willing to sacrifice great field position just to have him not touch the ball. The Chargers average starting position was on their own 32 yard line. If you take out the Giants interceptions, their starting position was on their own 21 yard line. That's a big swing, and that had everything to do with Sproles and......

Mike Scifres. 3 of his 5 punts pinned the Giants inside their own 20 yard line. It would've been 4 of 5 if Mike Tolbert hadn't been called for holding. After that call, Scifres' punt was downed at the Giants 21 yard line. He was consistent, accurate and had the big booming leg when he needed it. Between him, Merriman and Phillips, it's like the Chargers traded for players from the 2007 Bolts team mid-season.

Miscellaneous

Chargers fans. There were a ton of Bolts fans for a game across the country from San Diego. There was probably one Chargers fan for every 5 Giants fans. Also, with the exception of my personal bodyguard/chauffeur, they were all quite well-behaved. Considering how drunk and angry the Giants fans were (and rightfully so), it was surprising to only see one fight during the game.

Clip Show. He couldn't have been a better guest. We had a ball drinking and watching the game together. Even after one game, I consider him a friend and will definitely try to catch a Chargers game with him in San Diego. Also, he came through with a digital camera after I left mine at home (not surprisingly). He should have a picture-laden FanPost up here sometime this week after he gets home and spends some quality time with his baby girl.

Giants fans. Not at all what I was warned about. I had to take the occasional heckle, but I'd be disappointed if it didn't happen. Giants fans were nice and very accommodating. Even the one my friend was badgering all game didn't do anything but throw an empty soda bottle after the game. Well played, Giants fans. Also, when the Giants took the lead, those NY fans were loud. Louder than I've ever heard it at Qualcomm. So loud I couldn't talk to Clip Show right next to me. I hope the new stadium they're building next door is that loud. Those fans deserve it.

Referees. The first Chargers game in years where I wasn't able to pick out one bad call. Usually, whether it's for or against the Chargers, there's one call where the announcers look at the replay and say "I have no idea what he saw there." Not the case in this game. Although the penalties were called heavily in the Chargers favor, every penalty was clearly backed up when watching the replay. A solidly-called game.

Norv Turner. I think each year, as the team finally starts to take shape, Norv lightens up a bit. Before that it's like he's stoic and....almost nervous. Yesterday he was pumping his fist, laughing and hugging LT. It's not too much emotion, but it's something and it let's the players know that he's invested in the team with them. I've noticed that in December he always seems to wear his heart on his sleeve a little more, and I saw that from him yesterday. It's a great sign. Oh, and he also called a fantastic game as the offensive coordinator.

Dolts

Offense

LaDainian Tomlinson - 12 carries, 22 rush yds, 2 catches, 8 rec yds. The plan for this game was simple. The Chargers wanted to get up early to try and take away the Giants rushing game. They did that, and at half time (losing the time of possession battle 2-to-1) it seemed they decided to try to work the clock and help out their tired, banged-up defense by running Tomlinson a lot. It didn't work. As usual, with the exception of one or two decent looking runs, LT looked very astute at taking the handoff and falling forward for 2 yards. His 1.8 yards per carry shows that he couldn't even do that every time.

Why does LT always seem to be falling down? The good RBs around the league have fantastic balance. You have to wrap them up and bring them down because you're sure as hell not knocking them over. Even Sproles is like that. With LT, it seems like he could be tackled by a stiff wind. Half of the time he's going down after bumping into one of his offensive linemen. I think his days of bursting through the arm tackles at the line of scrimmage are behind him. To get more than 3 yards on a carry, he needs a BIG open hole to run through.

Antonio Gates - 5 catches, 67 yards. I very nearly didn't make him a Dolt. He had a very good day, and would've been a Bolt if it weren't for those two drops. After watching the game on tv though, I couldn't let him go. Those were two very easy catches, one for a huge play and the other for a third down conversion, that he just lost because he didn't look the ball into his hands before trying to make a play. That's the type of "focus" play that he's known for making. I hope, and I don't think it's just wishful thinking, this is his last time as a Dolt.

Defense

There are no defensive Dolts this week.

Special Teams

There are no special teams Dolts this week.

Miscellaneous

Chris Chambers - 3 catches, 70 yds, 2 TD. This guy is apparently only good for the second half of seasons in which he switches teams. Seriously though, a 54 yard catch? Catches 3 of the 4 balls thrown at him? That doesn't sound like the Chris Chambers I remember.

With a Pittsburgh victory tonight, the Chargers are one-game behind the Broncos with a game against them in two weeks. I'd call that "controlling our own destiny". Go Steelers. (We'll be doing an open thread here tonight during the game.)

Report: Peyton Manning quits on season, tells team it is OK to "coast" until technology allows us to clone non-brittle Bob Sanders

BigBlueShoe — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:31:35 -0000

Hi. I'm BigBlueShoe, and this is your

Friday Night Open Thread!!!

My job this fun-filled Friday is to inject a little humor into the news cycle, especially in light of all the WONDERFUL injury news we've gotten today. In case you've been living under a rock, or are too lazy to scroll down the blog frontpage, here is a quick recap of the wounded:

Tyjuan Hagler, done for the year; biceps
Marlin Jackson, done for the year; knee
Bob Sanders, ~~likely~~ done for the year; biceps
Anthony Gonzalez, out until December; knee
Kelvin Hayden, out until December; knee

All these injuries were reported to us in less than 24 hours. As a result, Peyton Manning, Dwight Freeney, and Jim Caldwell have declared that it is OK to quit on the season. All players, fans, and bandwagoners can officially stop thinking about football and focus on Thanksgiving travel plans, Christmas shopping, and whether or not an animated Jim Carrey "playing" Ebenezer Scrooge on the big screen is worth a $10 investment.

Season over. Quit now. We'll see you next year for our pre-draft coverage. Pack it up. Bye-bye season. Bye-bye happiness. Hello off-season loneliness. I think the 2009 season's gonna die.

Or...............................

We can look at the team depth chart, take a breath, and look at this logically and intellectually.

Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson barely played a lick this season, and the Colts still had the #1 scoring defense without them.
Anthony Gonzalez's injury is not season-ending, and like Brandon Stokley in 2004, Gonzo could come back and make a big late-season difference. His injury also hastened the development of Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie, which was a big positive.
Tyjuan Hagler was playing well, but the Colts have Philip Wheeler waiting in the wings. If Wheeler isn't ready, then that's on him and the Colts will simply plug into another backer.
Kelvin Hayden is expected back.

So, before you slice a razor blade across the throat of the Colts 2009 NFL season, know that the Colts have sustained injuries that are on par with injuries other teams have had to deal with.

The Bears lost Brian Urlacher in Week One. Half of the Packers offensive line is gone. Injuries to the Vikings secondary have made their defense swiss cheese. The Texans lost Owen Daniels. The Giants lost their safety as well. The Chargers lost Jamal Williams, the best player on their defense. The Steelers lost Aaron Smith.

Welcome to the NFL, fellow football fans! Injuries are as much a part of the game as the pigskin ball, the field goal bars, and stupid pontificating from idiot TV announcers. Before you give up, take a look around the NFL and look at the injury reports for other teams. Shockingly, I bet you'll see their situations are the same as ours.

Go Colts!

Click after the jump to see the text from Bullard47's open thread, which I have combined with this thread to make your disco-tastic Friday night as injury-free as possible.

From Bullard47's thread, which was combined with this one:

For a week leading up to a game against a common opponent that nearly everyone expects us to beat, this one has been just about as stressful as you can ask for. Let's recap the stupidity first:

Tyjuan Hagler somehow ruptures his bicep(again), out for the season

Marlin Jackson hurts his other kneee, out for the season

Bob Sanders hurts his elbow, out for the season

Anthony Gonzalez goes under the knife, out for at least 3 more weeks

Hayden aggravates a previous injury, out for about a month

Jackson's injury happens in a practice that according to the Colts, he didn't participate in

So, with that out of the way, there was some good news. Let's take a second to recap that:

Donald Brown practiced, looks healthy

We have great cornerback and safety depth

Hank Baskett has yet to get acclimated to the offense, and could shine as the year moves on

Kyle DeVan is more than likely going to get more playing time

The Star wrote a really great story on the awesomeness of our O-Line

The media thinks we are done for

With all of that said, I think that should be a lot to talk about. This might even be a majority-on-topic open thread, but the usual open thread shenanigans are welcome. I will be running a few errands for a bit, but should be full on into the conversation later tonight.

WAAAHHHH!!!

I can hardly concentrate at work today – not good. But ultimately, we’ve really only lost 1 player who had been contributing, and 2 who hadn’t made it back to contribute significantly (yes, I know, what about Bob’s INT? that was a tipped ball that he happened to catch).

Just hoping that Gonzo and Hayden can complete the journey back and that the only reason their return is meaningless is because we’ve already got the #1 seed locked up.

NEXT MAN UP!

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on Nov 6, 2009 4:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

To open this on a lighter note

Captain O’Hagan: I swear to God I’m going to pistol whip the next guy who says, " Shenanigans."
Mac: Hey Farva what’s the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
Farva: You mean Shenanigans?
Mac: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Thorny: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
[as they hand the Captain their pistols]

I also wish I had time and motivation to blog at Speed Blue Nation

by Bullard47 on Nov 6, 2009 4:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Their next movie's due out in early Dec. I can't wait.

by vintagephoenix on Nov 6, 2009 4:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They're making another one?!?!?!?!?!?

Freakin sweet!

As long as we have Peyton we will always have a chance to win.

by skywalker on Nov 6, 2009 4:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Horse Tracks 11/5/09 - McBean, J. Williams, Bruton miss practice; Clark unlikely to play for Steelers

Douglas A. Lee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:01:18 -0000

Thanks for all of your votes and input yesterday, folks! I think it provided enough feedback/encouragement to help make Horse Tracks a tighter ship, and I truly appreciate it. But just to be clear, I'm not looking to make Tracks easier/faster for myself. I'm just trying to cut the fat so I can add back in some commentary/snark where it's called for (ironically, not much today).

DB - Week 9 - Wed: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DPP - Briefs: Broncos a big zero on opening drives this season - Lindsay Jones
OT Ryan Harris (out w/two dislocated toes), DE Ryan McBean (MCL), CB Jack Williams (unkown) and S David Bruton (ankle) missed practice.

CSG - Broncos notes: Altitude likely to sideline Steelers' Clark - Frank Schwab

DB - Déjà Vu All Over Again? - Gray Caldwell

DB - Ecstatic To Enter The Locker Room - Chris Gentilviso
Carlton Powell is thrilled to be back with the Broncos, while Lance Ball found a couple of familiar faces in Denver.

CBS - Rating big trade winners, losers at midseason - Clark Judge
"The move was supposed to say more about McDaniels than Cutler, and maybe it did. Maybe it said he knew what he was doing." My, how things have changed...

DB - Week 9 - Wed: Orton - Broncos TV

DB - Week 9 - Wed: Dawkins - Broncos TV

CSG - Broncos prepare for physical Steelers on Monday night - Frank Schwab

CSG - Nothing wasted on young coaches Tomlin, McDaniels - Frank Schwab

DPP - Krieger: Broncos pit their new physicality against the masters

DPP - Broncos brace for black-and-gold invasion by Steelers fans - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Analysis: Broncos' running game vital against Pittsburgh - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Q&A: Broncos short-sighted in passing game - Jeff Legwold

DP - Orton expects Broncos to rebound against Steelers - Mike Chambers

KDVR - Broncos vs. Steelers Preview: Gadget plays may be a factor

DP - Woody's Mailbag: Can hurry-up help?

AP - Staggered Broncos Out To Avoid Losing Streak - Arnie Stapleton

DB - When Overtime Became Reality - Jim Saccomano
Sacco recalls the NFL's first OT game, which happened to be Broncos/Steelers at Mile High.

CBS4 - Broncos To Honor Vets, Active Duty Military Monday

Steelers News

PPG - On the Steelers: Injured Kirschke unlikely to play - Ed Bouchette
Old friend (barely) Nick Eason will be starting at LDE in place of the injured Aaron Smith and Travis Kirschke.

Y! - Another Clark episode not worth the risk - Charles Robinson

FH - Hines Ward's the NFL's Dirtiest Player? - J.J. Cooper

SI - Hines Ward, Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL's dirtiest player, peers say - Richard Deitsch
Troy Polamalu also made the list; BMarsh received one vote from the 296 players polled

SN - Knock on Troy Polamalu: huge hitter but not a textbook tackler - Dennis Dillon

BCT - Steelers' Starks can make 2009 even better - Mike Bires

AFC West News

FH - NFL Oddly Quiet About Larry Johnson, Tom Cable and Personal Conduct - Nancy Gay

ESPN - Dangerous Player: Darren Sproles, Chargers RB - Bill Williamson

SDUT - Rivers, Manning forever linked by draft - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Hardwick practices; Sunday return possible - Chris Jenkins

SDUT - Chambers sought legal help vs. ex-girlfriend - Brent Schrotenboer

SFC - Cable's job appears safe, at least for now - David White

SFC - Gwen Knapp: Davis needs to hear out allegations

SFG - Raiders Silver and Black Blog : Satele wins job - David White

OT - Monte Poole: Oakland Raiders -- Weird is the new normal

KCS - Chiefs believe Chambers can help them - Adam Teicher

KCS - Chiefs notebook: Page placed on injured reserve - Kent Babb

KCS - Messages from team and fans directed at Larry Johnson - Kent Babb

NFL News

NFL - Wednesday Injury Reports

Y! - Thomas shoots down strike talk rumors - Jason Cole

NFL Opinion

SN - Confluence of influence: NFL coaches praise mentors - Dennis Dillon
McD on Belichick, Kubes on Shanny

FOX - Not all injury absences are created equal - Alex Marvez
Marvez thinks the injuries to Nick Hardwick and Jamal Williams (although big) are why the Dolts have had a slow start (NORV). Right (NORV). And why did they have a slow start last year (NORV)? Just as a reminder, Marty was fired after going 14-2. Hmm. What could it be? (NORV)

NFL - Saints and Colts are 7-0, but is quest for perfection realistic? - Pat Kirwan

NFL - It's time to wonder: Are these teams who we thought they were? - Steve Wyche

ESPN - NFL: Division races lack usual sizzle - John Clayton

FH - Zebra Report: 'Instant' Replays No More - Matt Snyder

SI - Dallas Cowboys rising in Week 9 NFL Power Rankings - Don Banks

FOX - Week 9 Cheat Sheet: NFL picks and predictions - Peter Schrager
"The Pick: Steelers 28, Broncos 13"

NYT - Week 9 Game Probabilities, and a Forecast for Giants-Chargers - Brian Burke

NFP - Tavern talk: Giants struggle to solve problems - Mike Lombardi

NFL - Defensive failures at root of Giants' three-game losing streak - Bucky Brooks

NFP - Scheme Session: the big play Eagles - Matt Bowen

NFP - Darren Sharper for MVP? - Matt Bowen

Special "What's Wrong in Cleveland" Section

FH - Dirty Dozen: What Have They Done With The Browns? - Dave Goldberg

PFW - Browns fumbling away another season - Tom Danyluk

NFP - Wednesday whys: Will Kokinis get paid by the Browns? - Andrew Brandt

NFP - The mess in Cleveland gets worse - Robert Boland

NFP - A lesson learned in Cleveland - Jack Bechta
More excellent insight here