NATION DOWN

The hour is upon me, the pilgrimage to the "Murph", or to gen Xers, "the Q". I will depart Portland Oregon this afternoon, where we are free thinkers and a blue state, just like he mighty Chargers! Was that corny cool or what? Haven't blogged about last weeks game, we won. UGLY. But we showed heart and the dee rawked like Warrant, er I mean IGGY POP. I'm taking the train for unspecified reasons and I will pass the Raider Correctional Facility (c'mon, you know it looks like a prison) at about 6am tomorrow. I will lay me Bolt hex on yur ass then and there. You want dedicated Charger fan, u got. I train back right after the game, happy hopefully from our crushing of the Raidahs. My prediction for the game is Like Clubber Lang to Rocky...PAIN! It will give all Raider rooters a boost that Iam cursed when it comes to seeing the Chargers live, haven't seen them win in person since 1995. But like the Red Sox, the curse will be over for me this upcoming Sunday. My "Oakland Sucks" shirt is in my backpack, I can't tell you what it says on the back, ok I will hint: "...and Al Davis swal...! Do the math. I will see many Raider photo opps, u know the guys, Darth Vader, the pirate, the road warrior. Its like "Halloween Pt. 47" for me. They prissy up for a game like a girl. Like the "Village People" but everyone is dressed the same! And Iam gonna drink like a fish and maintain my cool. Most is good natured ribbing between fans, but some are ugly. Last Bolt/Raider game was like Custer's Last Stand getting out. Saw SUV's plowing into one another like bumper cars! I will add more on my journey as I go hopefully. Raiders, the blue hand of doom is upon you!

Not whining...but...

We had it, and we lost it. I will be as impartial as I can about the officiating, but one call stands out that didn't seem like much, but it was soooo important. Didn't mean we would have won, but we had a chance to pretty much put it out of reach. We had made it on two fourth and ones (gutsy calls Marty, one for an LT TD) and we were going for a third around mid field in the 3rd quarter. Brees gets called for some kind of illegal movement, for bobbing his head on the snap count! So we go to 4th and 6, drive killed. It was brutal, the announcers were appalled also. We were rolling if not somewhat methodically. That killed it, turning point of the game. We had a few really bad pass interference calls also that went against us, horrible calls that always kept Atlanta alive before Vick got on track. The "head bob" call maybe means we wouldn't have won the game, but it killed a real chance. And to make it on 4th and 1 wouldv'e been huge, oh well. Bottom line, we let it get away late when it counted most. Vick got to scrambling and turning into the gamebreaker he always has been. It was obvious LT was a shadow of what he usually is, even though he played well w/the groin injury. Chatman's toe must have been hurting, didn't see much of him in the back up role. Gates gets an "A" as does Eric Parker, good efforts guys. Defense was very good, till the latter part of the game. But Vick took over, alot of teams would have been in our shoes in that situation also. From 17-7 in the 3rd to a loss, it happens. I hate one point losses. The timeouts we burned for nothing really did come back and haunt us. All in all, on the road and fighting till the end is a good sign. No lay down in this game. I feel the Chargers are on the brink of a breakthrough, this would have been a sweet game to build on going into Carolina. Look out Panthers, we ARE going to WIN in your house. Mark my words...I feel it. Yours truly will be in San Diego on Halloween for our shellacking of the Raidahs! Its a long train ride from Portland, OR to SD, but worth it. Gonna hook upw/some friends and tailgate like its 1999! Keep the faith Charger fans, there are definite playoff possibilities as of yet...we gotta toe the line. As for the Panthers? "Che Checkity, Check yo self, before you wreck yourself, cuz the Chargers in yo house is bad for your health!"

Jag Flogging

Powder Blues baybee. This week I'll make it short and sweet. I will admit I was holding my breath and starting to think of ways to lose, Charger style when the dee ended it for JAX breaking up close to a TD pass in the end zone. I pictured a JAX onside kick and recovery and well, those days are over! You know how we Bolt fans can get after years of abuse. Jessee who? Jessee Chatham boyee! Hows about a one two punch in the backfield? Literally the SD offense chewed and spat out quick TD or fg drives and took advantage of the turnovers! Dee was in pursuit, mass pressure on Lefty and finally some sacks. And that cool INT where Lefty overthrew right to our man for a good return also and I believe a TD on the ensuing drive. We have proven we are a whole new, hungry team with mass confidence when we score out of the gate. But I guess the critics say any team plays better with a 21-0 lead! But this is the Chargers remember? As for next week, Wade Phillips gives Chargers mass inside info on the Falcons on how to defense them and offense them. I'm thinking Vick will struggle with the West Coast offense again. LT and new weapon Chatham will keep Atlanta honest, while Gates gets open and does damage also. Still looking for that breakout game by any Charger WR's, it is needed and would add a whole new dimension to what could be a most potent new found Bolt offense. Brees is a born again bad ass who has some swagger, he sure looks confident. Its fun to watch, and its nice to not lose! We are playing to win, not holding on. Still need to just go for the throat and end a game decisevly. Even though we were ahead in score at the end, JAX ate us up and made it mildly scary in the 2nd half. Look out Falcons, a new team is on the horizon, and you get to playem in your house. Were lettin' loose our bulls in your china shop! I also must say, from a GQ/Vanity fair tip, the old uni's are the sharpest in the league. We finally did the colors justice after dishonoring them a few yrs back against the Jets. Keep it up Blue, you have a loyal following here in Portland, OR. We have taken over a corner in a bar here and we are by far the most vocal, people don't get it. The TVs have gone from a 13' B & W tv the 1st week to the Jumbo tron screen last week, we are gaining respect in the size of the screens we play on. Look out everybody, we could be real!

Charger DOMI NATION

Sorry about missing last weeks disappointing whuppin' by Denver, my pc is being repaired and still is so your humble Bolt Blogger is reduced to writing the current blog from the library! All I will say quickly (as I only have an hour library time to do this) about the Game against Denver is we were getting stronger and getting the momentum untill that stupid ass roughing the kicker penalty and then we were done. On to better. The utter dismantling of the Titans by the Chargers was a surprise to me. I expected to win, but the Chargers never seem to roll over opponents. They did on this day. When Tennessee made it close, we responded and pulled away. No prevent defense either. Drew made me forget the past failures and believe, at least for one week, he is the MAN! Never looked rattled, major composure, and great accuracy. LT was LT, busting through some great holes and popping through the small ones. And making his own way also. And catching passes too. As the recievers and tight ends did also, there is hope for the Bolts, rockin the masses, from Madrid to Calabasas! The dee shored up impressively, clogging the run and respectable against the pass. I seemed to see way more pressure on Tennessee's QB Volek also. Yeah, I know McNair wasn't playing, but so what! Encouraging result and momentum builder as we prepare for JAX at home. What do the spirits tell me about JAX...we win, yep, we win a close one. I'm daring Iam. I also almost got into a brawl with the wimpiest stockbroker Bush supporter at my sports bar. Not cuz he was a Bush supporter, he was a smarmy know it all who read it all in a book and hasn't lived it. He and his buddy were nice at 1st and even shared a pitcher with me. What started as friendly turned ugly in seconds. He and his buddy tag teamed me, and it wasn't even a heated debate over issues. The stockbroker called me stupid, and also added that I looked like a poster boy for a fat boy in a McDonald's ad! He was pinned against a wall and his eyes were popping out of his head and his friend looked on in horrified fear. Drunk courage, with Princeton education dosen't mix unless your one of the few who own a black belt or joined special military opps. I was fuming, and they got kicked out cuz they had treated everyone (the wait staff) with disdain and aloofness all day. Show some respect Mr. Know it ALL. This white boyz education came from the streets of Tacoma, San Jose, and Harlem...and I graduated college also...dumb ass. Any who, see ya'll next week. GO CHARGERS!