San Diego Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers: Good, Bad and Ugly for the Bolts
The San Diego Chargers rolled on Thursday Night, posting a brutal 34-7 beat down of the San Francisco 49ers as the Chargers closed out their home schedule and put the heat on the Kansas City Chiefs to win out or face dropping the AFC West Championship.
There wasn't much not to like about the Chargers after their big win, but hey, this one is becoming a tradition, so what do you say?
Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the San Diego Chargers' Week 15 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Good: San Diego Chargers Defense
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Quick question to you all: Did any of you expect Antwan Barnes to have the kind of impact he is having on the Chargers when he was first signed as a depth guy while Larry English was hurt?
In the nine games he has played with the Chargers this year (none of which he has started), Barnes has four sacks and an interception. Great transaction.
In any case, the Chargers played another game of shutdown defense, allowing the 49ers a mere 192 yards of total offense.
The 49ers couldn't run the ball (61 rushing yards).
The 49ers couldn't pass the ball (131 passing yards, one interception).
The 49ers couldn't protect the quarterback (Alex Smith was sacked six times, each by a different player).
A quick note to all other AFC teams: You may want to start rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs, because this Chargers defense is looking scary. Very scary.
The Good: Vincent Jackson
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And a hearty welcome back to you, Mr. Jackson.
After a season that has been mired by contract dispute, holdouts, grudges and injury, Vincent Jackson returned to the stage last night in a performance that reminded everyone why he is so good.
He's big, he's physical, and he makes plays happen.
Just look at his numbers: five catches for 112 yards and three touchdowns. None of his receptions failed to result in a first down.
Again, welcome back to San Diego, Vincent Jackson, the Chargers missed you (A.J. Smith not included).
The Good: The San Diego Chargers' Running Game
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Well, well, well, look at Ryan Mathews.
After spending a good chunk of the season watching from the sidelines as he dealt with an unfortunate high ankle sprain, Mathews has really come back in style over the past two weeks.
He may have been stifled up the middle this week, but he had plenty of opportunity to show why the Chargers went after him in the draft, and boy did he ever.
How about that juke on Dashon Goldson? That was pretty nice.
I feel like I'm forgetting someone here...
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The Good: Mike Tolbert
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...o yeah, Mike Tolbert!
Yes, I know, I bring him up every week, but he continues to prove to me week in and week out that he should be with the Chargers forever.
It isn't just about his running ability. Sure, watching him blow through the middle of the San Francisco 49ers and level a 49er defensive back on his way to a first down is fun, but I continue to be astonished at how great of a character guy he is.
Take his punt return job as an example. This is a guy who should've graduated from the ranks of special teams already, but he takes the job when the coaches give it to him because he's good at it and he wants to be on the field.
Then, during one of the 49ers six punts, Tolbert has his helmet ripped off at the line of scrimmage. What does he do? He turns around and does his job helmet-less. And you know what happened? He got laid out before he could make the tackle. He got up with a smile on his face, though.
If I were a general manager, I would want to populate my team with guys like that, guys who love playing football and never quite.
The Good: Philip Rivers
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This one almost hardly bears repeating, but heck, let's talk about him anyway.
Philip Rivers is playing top grade football. He may not be Tom Brady, but he is damn close, and his showing against San Francisco proves it.
His numbers say a lot (19 of 25 for 273 yards and three touchdowns), but there is a lot that doesn't get covered in that, like his receiving corps, for example.
Aside from Vincent Jackson, Rivers had no regular targets. No Malcom Floyd. No Legedu Naanee and, most importantly, no Antonio Gates.
Yet somehow, he put together this kind of performance.
Who needs chemistry and all-star receivers when you have Philip Rivers?
The Bad: The Chargers' Run Defense
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I wish this was the Good, the Bad and the Meh, because that might better describe the Chargers run defense against the 49ers.
They can't really be classified as bad, since they held the 49ers to 61 yards rushing. San Francisco did give up on the running game, but it was 61 yards nonetheless.
However, the Chargers continued to have a hard time keeping away big runs up the middle and were a tad sloppy tackling Anthony Dixon and Brian Westbrook.
They did have a brilliant goal line stand, though.
The Bad: Special Teams
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Things almost went horribly awry for the San Diego Chargers on special teams once again Thursday Night.
They had one punt that should have been blocked (Mike Scifres ended up on the ground anyway), and they had a kick taken back 85 yards on them for a touchdown, which was, fortunately for the Chargers, reversed by a facemask penalty which took the 49ers all the way back to their own 10 yard line.
They didn't give up a touchdown, and they didn't have a punt blocked, so this day was a win for the Chargers, but they still let up a lot of return yards, and they still made a good amount of mistakes.
The Bad: Antonio Garay's Haircut
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Antonio Garay is playing great football right now in the most important position in the 3-4 defense.
That's great and all, but I want to politely ask, what is that?
His hair-artwork rivals a lot of the greats in insanity, and it's just plain strange. Please make it go away...
The Ugly: Late Game Play Calling
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When I saw that the Chargers put Billy Volek in, I was elated.
I thought, here is a guy who selflessly sits on the sideline every week, knowing fair well that there are teams in the NFL right now that he could play for and possibly start for (see Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, possibly Buffalo Bills).
Instead, he has sat on the sidelines for five seasons, getting the occasional shot at glory.
He played three series against the 49ers. He didn't throw a single pass.
I know, I know, running up the score isn't encouraged, but neither is Marty Ball. The Chargers may not have played ultra-conservative on defense (they played a little, but not too much), but they sure kicked things into offensive Marty Ball against the 49ers.
Get inventive, Norv, for all of our sakes.
The Ugly: The Remainder Of The Chargers Regular Season
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The Chargers have played their final home game of the 2010 regular season, which could end up being their final home game of the whole 2010 season, depending on the outcome of the next three weeks.
The Chargers have two games left: at Cincinnati and at Denver.
Wow, that's ugly.
In all honesty, though, there is a reason why the NFL flexed the game at Cincinnati back to 4:15 EST. It's promising to be that bad.
On the other side of things, the rest of the Chargers schedule is ugly simply because there is nothing they can do to affect their playoff hopes other than win their next two games.
The ball is in Kansas City's court right now. If they win out, the division is theirs. If they don't, though, they give up the spot to the Chargers (assuming the Chargers win out, of course).
They don't have an easy schedule (at St. Louis, vs Tennessee, vs Oakland), but it's winnable.
All the Chargers can do is keep their head down, win games, and maybe cross their fingers.
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