Bolts Beat Up The Best

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I don’t know what was worse…the sweltering heat from the 112-degrees on the field…or the heat generated by Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers in the Bolts 30-21 win over the Seattle Seahawks yesterday.
 
Yes, those Seahawks.  The Legion of Boom.  The ones with the Super Bowl trophy.
 
It was a complete victory.  Rivers’ offense owned the game.  They wouldn’t let Seattle QB-Russell Wilson get his guys on the field.  And Rivers would not let his own leaky defense have to do too much either.
 
The stat sheet was painted all Powder Blue & Bolt Gold.
 
San Diego had an amazing 75-40-edge in plays…..had 42 minutes time of possession to just 18 for the visitors.  At one point Rivers offense had converted 10-of-13 on third downs.  Mike McCoy’s men had 17-plays of 10-yards or more against the champs, who looked like chumps, getting beat on mismatches all over the field.
 
And when Wilson did get the ball, he was under siege. The pass rush chased him around.  Melvin Ingram-Dwight Freeney and friends had 2-sacks,4-tackles for losses and 10-pressures against a QB that likes to move the pocket and run.
 
It was vintage Antonio Gates, with those 3TD catches and 7-receptions in all.  And while Seattle couldn’t cover the tight end, they didn’t cover either his slot receiver teammate Eddie Royal, who added 7-more receptions.
 
The Chargers were so hot, they even survived five penalties to their offensive line, that at first seemed to slow drives down, but in reality, kept the Seattle defense on the field even longer.
 
Loudmouth Richard Sherman was not heard from yesterday, but was seen chasing open receivers when he was not falling down.  The beast of a running back Marshawn Lynch had few carries and little impact.  And the fleet footed Percy Harvin scored a tainted TD on a 51-yard run, then fumbled, and did nothing the rest of the day.
 
So go figure.  San Diego loses to Arizona, whom you’d think they could beat, and then beats Seattle, whom most people thought would win.  The Seahawks had nine days to prepare for this, while the Chargers had just five.  Seattle walked in and acted like this would be a walk-over victory.  Instead they got trampled.
 
San Diego may have paid a price, with the knee injury to Ryan Mathews.  They paid a salute to fallen center Nick Hardwick, his season and career likely over, with Rivers wearing #61 on the back of his helmet, because he wanted Hardwick’s presence in that huddle at all times.
 
The Lightning Bolt and Heat Stroke, Seattle never recovered.  And this win is a signal, this offense may be as good as Denver’s, and we know there are still two meetings coming between those teams before this season is over.

Some good may come out of NFL bad times

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Maybe something good comes out of all this, which seems very bad right now.
 
The NFL is not unlike all the other sports.  It takes something catastrophic for them to do something to make situations better.
 
The Ray Rice knockout punch of his wife, accompanied by slaps, curses and spits, has been horrific to watch on video, now knowing actual violence of the blow he delivered.
 
It has led to a nationwide uproar involving everyone; the NFL, owners, players, fans, the networks, women’s organizations and now Congress.  It will lead to stronger sanctions going forward for anyone who hits a woman or child.
 
It’s no different than the crisis involving concussions, suicides, Alzheimer’s and Dementia.  It led to significant rule changes, suspensions, fines, and the bitter lawsuit that is till out there, but the NFL will be better in treatment of its players..
 
It took a steroid scandal that spilled PED juice all over the most sacred record book in the Hall of Fame, which led to outrage, that led to Congressional hearings, that brought us now to every type of drug testing there is in baseball.
 
It was the Kansas City and Pittsburgh drug trials that brought us testing and sanctions, in the first step to clean up the sports from cocaine, marijuana, LSD and amphetamines.
 
The tragic death of Tony Gwynn, the affliction of Curt Shilling, will be next up in the battle against tobacco in baseball.   
 
It took horrific head injuries in the NHL to get them to make significant rule changes, first on fighting, then on helmets, then on open ice and along the board hits, to make the games safer and faster.
 
In pro basketball, violence and fights spilling into the stands, and equipment changes, led to a cut down on cheap shots, player protection on flagrant fouls and better equipment.
 
In auto racing, the tragedy of the instant death of Indy car driver Dan Wheldon in his airborne car, and the snap of the neck head on crash that killed Dale Earnhardt, brought about constant upgrades in safer equipment, from helmets, to neck restraints, to walls, to aerodynamics, to slower cars, to make the sport better.
 
And while the rage will carry on against Roger Goodell, what he knew, when he knew it, and how he acted upon it, the NFL will come out of this Ray Rice black eye crisis better, if not by the experience, but by a new standard of conduct. 
 
More than anything, it takes an incident, in any of these sports, to make people step back, take notice, and make changes.

Goodbye to a Good Guy…

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He was the last man standing, and now he’s gone.
 
Nick Hardwick, the perennial Pro Bowl center of the Chargers will miss the rest of the season with nerve damage in his neck.  This after limited play in preseason, an offseason of treatment for what was becoming a chronic condition, he lasts one quarter into the opening game of the season.
 
It is not only the end of the season for Philip Rivers’ trusted teammate, it probably is the end of his career.  Call it the NFL ‘wear and tear’ factor, getting beat on in the trenches for nearly a decade.  The bruised shoulder led to stinger issues, which has now led to a deep root nerve issue.
 
The history of Chargers football has been highlighted by guys who played that spot.  Donnie Macek was the Batman to Dan Fouts’ Robin.  Macek finally retired with hip surgery still to come.  Courtney Hall was all that too for quarterback Stan Humphries, before knee conditions ended his run after just eight years in the league.
 
Hardwick was tough as cement, smart, sensitive, hostile, funny and relentless.  He was exceptional as a player and as a person.
 
He was the last man standing from just a few ago.  While Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson drew all the accolades during the Marty Schottenheimer era and the early success of Norv Turner, Hardwick and his hooligan offensive line did yeoman work, un-noticed by the fans, but respected by those who really know the game.
 
And now they are all gone.
 
Left tackle Marcus McNeill retired because of a neck stenosis problem that he brought with him from Auburn.  Left guard Kris Dielman’s career ended on one snap and one plane ride, the severe concussion and the followup Grand Mal seizure on a team flight home.  Right tackle  Jeromey Clary is gone for the year and maybe forever with two hip surgeries.  Right guard Louis Vasquez, never hurt, always reliable, is now blocking for Denver Broncos icon Peyton Manning.
 
McNeill was a happy go lucky star.  Dielman was a grinder.  Clary was a selfmade man.  Vasquez was unsung and rock solid consistent.  Hardwick was the hammer and glue guy.
 
It was a tremendous group, maybe equal if not better than the Russ Washington, Billy Shields, Ed White, Macek group that protected Fouts during the Air Coryell run.
 
The proud Purdue Boilermaker, called line blocking adjustments, stood his ground against massive nose-tackles, protected Rivers at all times, spilled some blood, and showed up everyday, in pain-or-without pain, always ready to work.  Street tough-street smart-surly and sensitive.
 
That’s what Pro’s pros do in the NFL, and he was a good one.  Good guy, good person..

List of Sins – Wednesday

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The NFL scoreboard does not lie, about the games, the stats, or off the field, the players rap sheets.
 
Raging is about the only word to describe the cross-section of emotion around the NFL, and in cities and from fans and the media the last 48-hours.
 
Upon further review, the replay term, the video of the Ray Rice incident is ugly, irresponsible and forever staining.
 
The Associated Press now has audio as part of the video, and it shows the Baltimore Ravens running back and his then fiancé cursing each other, shoving each other, he made five threatening gestures to her, she spit on him.  Then the NFL player knocked her out with a left-handed punch to the jaw.  Upon further review, it is pretty gross.
 
The non-stop stream of criticism has come from every direction.  Condemnation of Rice, from teammates and opposing players.  Criticism of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for not gaining access to the damning video and the meager 2-game suspension.  Heat directed at the Ravens owner Steve Biscotti and GM-Ozzie Newsome for not making themselves available to discuss the suspension-then release.
 
Now his wife has gone public condemning the media for the way they have reported the story, the intrusion of their life, the picture they have painted, after the pictures shown on the grainy video.
 
Ray Rice puts his name right up there with other NFL players, who have done horrible things.  The list of sins is significant.
 
Somewhere in the Carolinas, ex-Panthers receiver Rae Carruth is serving a long sentence for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend.  Josh Brent of the Cowboys just finished a 90-days prison sentence for a (.18) drunk driving manslaughter conviction in which a teammate died.  We remember Dontae Stallworth’s suspension for a drunk driving death of a jaywalker, and the ex-Ram Leonard Little’s one year suspension for running a red light, drunk, killing another woman, who was also driving drunk.
 
The NFL has its hands full.  The Rice crisis is just one of the items on the checklist of problems the league has.
 
The concussion lawsuits, the pain killer lawsuits, the still to be implemented HGH drug testing plan, the New Orleans Bounty Club, Miami’s Hazing Gate scandal, and the fact a record 38-players (Rice is the 39th) suspended to start the season.  All that comes on the heels of player suicides, an owner’s arrest, possible Congressional intervention in the Blackout law.
 
Of course people will say the PR-type of things, about the player being a family member, and the support we will give him.  They will issue generic answers about not wanting to go into private matters of players, as if a new day will make you forget yesterday.  It’s a flaw the NFL has about its talented players.
 
Some say money-corrupts and the NFL cares only about the almighty dollar.  The bill on their credibility is coming due.  Some say the NFL leadership is tone deaf.  Many believe the NFL has lost its moral compass.
 
Hard to argue with all that, considering what we have just witnessed, and what we have had to report on the last couple of years.  NFL instant replay, it’s here, and upon further review, the Ray Rice video is just awful, and another dent in the so-called NFL Shield.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly…

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The Chargers lost their season opener in Arizona, (18-17).  A stomach churning, gut wrenching defeat, filled with mistakes and more mistakes.  What should have been a win-turns into a loss.-.
 
It was the “Good-Bad-Ugly”, a terrible game to watch, and an awful ending in a game they will regret losing before the season is over.
 
 
GOOD…The young players showed up and held up well.  CB-Jason Verrett had 4-passes defended, made strong open field tackles, and was not overwhelmed.  Linebacker Jerry Attaochu had a quarterback sack, a forced fumble, and a blocked punt, and was really active.
 
Dwight Freeney, a year removed from playing, had five QB-pressures, and two near sacks, though ran out of gas late in the game.  Corey Liuget had 2-tackles early and a sack but disappeared in the second half too..
 
Ryan Mathews kept plugging away and broke off a couple of good runs.  Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates played exceptionally well.
 
 
BAD…This year’s pass defense looked like last year’s 29th ranked pass defense.  They bracketed star WR-Larry Fitzgerald, containing him till late in the 4th quarter, but everyone else caught passes.
 
The Bolts secondary have 4-pass defense penalties that resulted in lst downs.  That secondary gave up 16-plays of 11-yards or more, and by the time the damage was done, they had allowed (409Y) of Cardinal offense.  Arizona hit big plays of 20-25 and 63-yards.
 
The wide receiver group had 4-dropped passes.  The offensive line got beat time and time again at the point of attack, and lost OC-Nick Hardwick with an ankle problem early.
 
QB Philip Rivers bore the brunt of 4-big time hits in the pocket.  He had his own personal nightmare, mishandling a shotgun snap, throwing one pick and a second likely one that was voided by a bogus pass interference call.  He was pressured and not very accurate over the course of the evening.  His offensive line had a poor outing.
 
The debut of new offensive coordinator Frank Reich was shaky, in terms of getting the calls in, and having Rivers call plays in the noise at the line of scrimmage.  The Bolts had just 2-series where they looked like the offense of a year ago.
 
 
UGLY…How this ended up with dropped passes, a couple of wasted possessions late, and the likely regret, though this only counts as one loss in the standings, they may regret not stealing this win.
 
Arizona won ugly and the Chargers played ugly, and it was a likely win turned into a loss.