Mike Tolbert Injury: Losing RB Is First Step in Chargers' Second Half Collapse

The San Diego Chargers have made a tradition out of not taking the next step towards NFL relevancy, and they have become known for coming up small in big moments and collapsing at the wrong time.

To sum it up, the Chargers have made a pattern of underachieving, and it looks like they may be repeating that pattern in 2011.

To be fair, it's not all their fault. This team has been plagued by injuries for the greater part of a year now. 

Losing star tight end Antonio Gates to a foot injury has been a huge blow to the offense, and you can tell that quarterback Philip Rivers is not playing to his full potential without him.

Week 8 is the halfway point of the NFL season, which means we can seriously start looking forward to the second half and determine who may be worthy playoff contenders.

At 4-2 the Chargers are on top of the AFC West and are clearly a mid-season option for a playoff berth, but yet again they have been hit with the injury bug, and one can only wonder if this is just the start of another collapse.

Gregg Rosenthal of ProFootballTalk reports on the Chargers injury woes:

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The Chargers injury report for Monday night’s game in Kansas City isn’t out quite yet, but we already know that the team is expected to be without a few of its key players.

Pro Bowl guard Kris Dielman is out after suffering a scary concussion and seizure last week.  Norv Turner also admitted that running back Mike Tolbert is likely out, as is starting outside linebacker Shaun Phillips.

“You lose a guy that you look at as your best pass rusher and probably our most experienced player in terms of our front,” Turner said. “Yeah, that’s a concern.”

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This is undoubtedly horrible news for Chargers fans, who have to feel like their streak of bad luck will never end.

Not having Dielman and Phillips is really going to hurt the team, but I feel missing running back Mike Tolbert will be the most costly injury, especially this week against the Chiefs.

While Tolbert isn't the starter, he brings a huge, physical presence to the Chargers running game. On 47 carries this season he has rushed for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns, and he is a force in short yardage situations.

Right now it's not certain how long Tolbert will be out, but the Chargers are going to need him back real soon with the tough second half they have coming up.

Beating the Chiefs on Monday Night Football is going to be quite a task, but then they have to host the Packers and Raiders, which could very well leave them at 0-4 in their past four games.

Could this be the start of a second half collapse?

Knowing the Chargers history as of late, I wouldn't be surprised.