Reality Bites

It was an ugly game for my beloved Chargers. Brees was inept but I must admit he came around and had a respectable 2nd half. We were buried early and it looked hopeless blue faithful untill Tim Dwight's 87 yd kickoff return brought us back into it. That guy has wheels and it was beautiful to watch. Did he even catch a pass though? Can't remember, but if he did it was non eventful. TE Gates was absent. I swear there was one ball at fingertip length he didn't even try for! LT was again, solid and was the only thing going for us at times. He had one great long run after a reception. I sat at Claudia's Sports bar here in Portland, Oregon with not Charger fans, but a bunch of Purdue grads who were Brees fans! Not Charger fans, Brees fans! One guy had a serious man crush on Brees! His buddies kept saying if Brees went to the CFL and was a Toronto Argonaut, he would be an Argonaut fan. He paced back and forth, dropping f bombs like crazy, as did his wife! The Old Style tall boys were flowing with the Cubs logo on the can for these boys. I was mellow on this day, RC Cola was my beverage of choice and I met a very beautiful, single Cleveland Brown fan, sitting by herself. I'm drifting off the game cause it was painful to watch and the bar activities were more entertaining! The turnovers were devastating. Momentum killers for sure. The one punt return fumble (was it Caldwell, not sure) where it was ran backwards and the player was falling and fumbled destroyed great field position and a chance at the lead. The Brees pass into the end zone to Reche was textbook and brought me back to the game, but not for long. The Bree's bees all freaked when on the next series Flutie replaced Drew after Brees had done so well the previous series. The volume was down on the TV so none of us knew Drew had a concussion. When Flutie came in they all split! Talk about fantasy league type fans! I knew it was a stretch to pull out a victory at this point but Flutie did manage to confuse NY and managed to put it in the end zone with around 30 ticks left on the clock. I crossed fingers for the ensuing onside kick. No Marty didn't kick it long and put the dee on the field to try and hold'em! It failed...GAME OVER. The defense rose a bit in the 2nd half but not the secondary, AWFUL...the whole game pretty much. Loved the play where Jammer committed a pass interference and the Jet reciever still caught the ball for a long gain and the penalty was declined. We did get screwed and were called for a pass interference on a picture perfect bat down, that was lame. But for the most part the pass dee sucked! Jammer is young and inexperienced and it showed. Brought back memories Of Elvis "Toast" Patterson he got burned so many times! Get ready for a visit to mile high next week for a classic AFC West showdown, Chargers at Broncos, always exciting to watch whatever the outcome. I'm going out on a limb, cause I hate calling wins and losses for the Bolts. I see in the crystal ball...Rivers or Flutie starting and the change of QB either way will confuse Denver and we will win a close one. Anyone who is a fan ever remember a recent Charger blowout of any team except recieving one? Nuff said. If Denver prepares for Drew and he starts, I feel we will have a rough go unless Brees has one of his rare pre season preformances in the regular season. Oh and by the way, I got that Cleveland hotties number. And I thought all Cleveland girls looked like that chick from the Drew Carey show, was I ever wrong. Hopefully my passes will be recieved better by her than the way they were by the Charger recievers this last Sunday! Keep the faith Charger fans.

Texas 2 Step

It wern't purdy but the Chargers got it done, ON THE ROAD! The defense was porous at times and I feel tackling skills need work all over. Many tackles missed after point of impact on the line or in the backfield. More yards gained after a missed leg or ankle tackle. The good thing about the defense...big plays. The dee forced four turnovers, and at critical times also. Two of the turnovers were converted into TD's...HUGE! Steve Foley and Randall Godfrey teamed up with less than four minutes left, with Foley recovering a ball Godfrey knocked loose when the Texans were deep in Charger territory and looking to tie and possibly have the momentum going into a possible OT. Good job boys! Who calls us the "no name" team, maybe we will show shades of the 1972 Miami Dolphins "no name" defense. That would be nice. The Chargers played aggressively and went for the win, not get conservative as they have done in the past and try not to lose. Brees, LT were solid, and the O line looked decent also. My star and game ball go to Antonio Gates, flashes of another great TE were apparent all day. And I'm not talking about the arrogant one in Cleveland. Good job Antonio, you are the real deal. Great throw by Brees and better catch by Eric Parker. The TV replays were lousy and no feet were visible and Texas challenged, we got the TD. I later saw still photos and the official was right on it and Parker is in for sure but it was tight! I met many Charger fans at a local sports bar here in Portland, OR and it looks like I have a group to watch all the games with this year. I was 3 shots deep in tequila by noon which I never do watching early games but what the hell, it was the season opener! We were once humbled by the Jets a few years back when we donned the powder blues at home and it sent us into a tailspin we never recovered from. Watch out big apple team, weez is gonna take a bite out of ya this time! Brees summed it all up after the victory over Texas when he said they came to win, not to play well. I think Lorenzo Neal said something along the same lines also. A new attitude and a few breaks, this team may be able to get things done. Good luck and protect the house next week Chargers, I for one will be watching and I may not need to pray or knock on wood this game! Lets do it. PS Also kudos to Nate Kaeding who was perfect on PAT's and FG's, good job, keep up the good work, kicks were looking like Vijay Singh drives!

season opener

Here comes the 2004 Chargers marching to TX in what I feel should be a hard fought victory. Forget the pre season, this is for real and it is away. Drew is the man as of today, lets see if his newfound confidence holds through what may be a steady pounding. All the experts say we are going to be dismal. I do not concur to this opinion. Always keep it positive. Instead of finding creative ways to give a game away or hold on to a lead, we have to develop some kind of killer instinct. I feel a few early breaks for the Chargers strategically placed could easily change what the so called "experts" feel about my beloved bolt blue. Hold on to your seats, another year of the blue comin' at ya! Keep the faith Charger fans, it can only go up from last season.