The Good and Bad Of The Charger's MNF Win

As a Charger fan a win is a win, however ugly the win was.  It would be much easier to nitpick the team’s performance and criticize every blown assignment, lack of intensity, rare openings in the line, Rivers being hit every other play, a contagious fumble-itis (though only one fumble lost), the Raider’s domination on D…. well, maybe I can keep on listing the negatives.

But, a win is a win and since many a prognosticator claim that San Diego needs to start fast out of the gate, I’ll run a bit with that.  So what are some of the positives that I can glean from the stellar MNF performance?  Here’s my list

Good: The awesome 50^th anniversary unis in powder blue.  Still the best looking jerseys in the NFL.

Bad: Somehow, the Chargers seem to under perform in those jerseys. Like once they put those jerseys on the awesomeness of the jersey is too much for our players to handle.  Except for…

Good: DARREN SPROLES!!!!! He owned the powder blue jerseys and certainly owned the field for the chargers offense and special teams. Stat Line: 9 carries for 23 yards and a TD; 5 catches for 43 yards; 5 kick returns for 170 yards; 246 Total yards of moving the chains (I know I omitted the 10 yards on 3 punt returns, but that stat doesn’t show off the savior of the game’s godliness).  He’s our X factor, game-changing, electric, mini-man back.

Bad: His star was shining so brightly, the others couldn’t match his intensity. When I mean others I mean his protectors. The Offensive Line for the Chargers were atrocious.  The tackles were manhandled all night by a Richard Seymour that’s “past his prime” and never practiced with the Raiders. They made him look like a superstar..oh wait, he already is.

Good: Philip Rivers is still on two feet! His performance was pedestrian at best (24/36, 256 yards a TD and INT), but was able to lead the offense to scores when the Chargers needed it.  That pass to VJax for the touchdown seemed like a miracle! It’s also a miracle that he hasn’t joined some of his buddies on…

Bad: Injured list. Luis Vasquez, Luis Castillo, Nick Hardwick. Some usual suspects here. Castillo and Hardwick never seem to stay healthy. Vasquez, though injured in preseason, was unfortunate.  What’s worse, the injuries to the O Line will really thin an already suspect and fireless corps. Speaking of fire, guess who’s back!

Good: Lights Out! Shawne Merriman brought his intensity back to the Charger’s D.  His absence made the D leaderless and without an identity last season. This year should prove to be different as he plays back into game shape and stays out of Ms. Tequila’s way.  Though he did show up on the field…

Bad: The defense was still invisible. At least for the first half of the game.  The D did hold the Raiders to…20 points. IT”S THE RAIDERS!!! JEEZE GUYS!!!! Did you look at Cromartie and Hart  point fingers at each other?  Absolutely ridiculous. Take responsibility guys. I give the Raiders credit. McFadden is finally getting the touches he needs to make an impact, running all over the charger’s D in the first half.  Zach Miller killed the chargers again.

Actually, this kind of turned into an extended rant and I’m sure that I can ramble on a bit longer on the intricacies of the Charger's ineptitude for this game. The Chargers got their win, on the road, in front of a national audience, against a fired-up team that should have killed them if not for an inadequate starting QB (Jeff Garcia, where are you now?).  The Chargers certainly need some tinkering to do, maybe some waiver wire work as well to patch the line, but a little home cooking next week should do them wonders.  That being said, thank goodness it’s football season and GO CHARGERS!