Thank You, Jets: Or Should I Thank the San Diego Chargers?

Over the past three years, I have had to deal with the heartbreak of watching the Denver Broncos get eliminated from the playoffs late in the season.

So, when the playoffs roll around minus the Broncos, I usually look for three things: Good games, good stories, and the demise of teams I dislike, such as the Steelers, the Patriots, and, most importantly, the San Diego Chargers.

Sunday afternoon, after three really lopsided NFL playoff games, I was treated to a wonderful experience, watching the Chargers’ egotistical balloon of arrogance and self-confidence burst as they lost to a team who finished 9-7.

I do not bring up the record to disrespect the New York Jets; they are on a roll and looked like the better team. However, San Diego was 13-3, had won 11 straight, and probably should have won that game.

We can get into why the Chargers lost in the comments section if you want, but I am not really interested in that.

I am more interested in celebrating the fact that they lost. They flat out deserved it. Three Chargers players fill me with so much disgust week in and week out that I am happy to see them get humbled.

First, Shaun Phillips is a dirty, foul-mouthed instigator. Granted, there are probably dozens of players like him. We do not get to hear all that gets said, but we can see the body language.

What I constantly see is Shaun Phillips jacking his jaws at opponents after every single play.

What I see is Shaun Phillips getting unnecessary roughness calls in crucial playoff games.

He is about as classless as they come out on the field. The whole controversy with Josh McDaniels saying that “we own you” before the game in Denver is most likely Phillips’s fault.

Think about it: Everyone likes to hate on McDaniels because he is young, confident, and expressive. Because of that hatred, a lot of people just automatically believed Phillips’s story when he said that Josh McDaniels instigated the whole thing.

However, McDaniels claimed that Phillips first said to him, “I’ll kick your [effin' a@#] too!” McDaniels just responded to that. If you watch Phillips closely, is it hard to question whether or not McDaniels is telling the truth?

Next, Philip Rivers continues to get on my nerves. I think he is way too mouthy for a quarterback. In my opinion, quarterbacks need to be above the trash-talking and cocky swagger so prominent in every other NFL positions, but Rivers exudes it to the hilt.

I also get really annoyed with Rivers’ constant borderline intentional grounding throws to avoid sacks. Heck, maybe he is being resourceful and avoiding sacks, but most of those throws don’t have a reasonable chance of being caught. In my opinion, that is not skill; it is relying on a loophole to basically get away with intentional grounding.

Also, I got really irritated at Rivers’ response when Darrelle Revis had the acrobatic pick of one of his throws on Sunday. It was clearly an interception from my angle, but boy, did you see how unjust Philip Rivers thought the call was? He ran up to the referee screaming bloody murder. How dare they rule that an interception. He doesn’t throw interceptions. He just throws at the back of eligible receivers’ feet.

Vincent Jackson takes the cake with his stupid antics at the end of the game when he kicked Rex Ryan’s challenge flag immediately after he threw it.

Seriously, why does anyone believe any of these Chargers players when they accuse coaches and other players of instigating stuff with them?

What would drive Jackson to do something so stupid if he thought he really made the catch? Did he think the game was over and they didn’t have a chance anymore, because that was clearly not the case.

Jackson should not only have been penalized for kicking the challenge flag, but he should have been ejected. Before you Chargers fans get all uptight about this, understand that I would support any player on the Denver Broncos being ejected if he pulled something like that.

However, the smile on Rex Ryan’s face as he picked the challenge flag back up was priceless.

I could go on and on about how classless the San Diego Chargers are. Typically, a post of this fashion makes a lot of people angry and leads to vicious responses. I mean nothing personal against Charger fans. Fan behavior and mentality and that of the players are not one in the same.

I am not denying any of the arguments you would throw back in my face in retaliation:

“Well, the Broncos have choked the past two seasons.”

“The Chargers beat the Broncos in Denver by a score of 32-3.”

“At least the Chargers made it to the playoffs.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it.

My point is that the San Diego Chargers have a few real punks on their team. They do not have the poise, the leadership, or the class to stop the playoff meltdowns that occur promising season after promising season.

Go ahead and make all of the excuses for why the Jets won the game, but the actions of Phillips and Jackson are totally inexcusable.