Musings on the game

I suppose if the Chargers had to lose today, that was a good way to go. Brady had a bad game; Rivers valiantly battled on his injured knees; the Bolts played the Pats very evenly. The Chargers were outgained by 36 yards but got one more turnover, and the Patriots also had the only fumble of the game, which they recovered. The Chargers had too many 40 yard drives with field goals or short punts, while the Patriots wisely had either short drives or long touchdown drives. Health was probably the difference in the game. A healthy Rivers could have moved around a little better in the pocket on some of those red zone pass attempts, and a healthy Gates would have been a great red zone target. A completely healthy Jamal Williams maybe limits the Patriots' rushing success in the second half. It was a good game played by both sides, particularly both defenses, and the Patriots did deserve to advance (unlike last year, when the Chargers roundly outplayed them). A great day was had by Quentin Jammer bumping receivers at the line, making the great interception, and deflecting at least one key third down pass attempt. The secondary in general played very well, and the pass rush was solid as well. Rivers played well considering the extent of his injury, and Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson were both excellent again (with the notable exception of Chambers' play on the first interception).

On less optimistic, more whiny note, Norv Turner continues to not be a very good head coach. In both halves, an early timeout was burned in the red zone, and the resulting play was unsuccessful and ugly. The decision to punt with 9 minutes left inside the Patriot 40 yard line effectively ended the game, even before the Patriots ran the remaining time off the clock. He called a few too many runs right up the gut on first down for minimal gain and not enough short passes designed to put the team in favorable second and short situations. At least there weren't any delay of game, false start, or too many men in the huddle penalties today.

Continuing the whining theme, officials need to start calling holding. I wasn't watching the Chargers' line as intently as I was watching the Patriots', so I can't tell whether or not the Chargers were taking advantage of the officials' leniency as much as the Patriots were, but the number of uncalled holds was ridiculous. Several 10+ gains on wide receiver screens and an end around were set up by holding or blocks in the back by the wide receivers. This issue isn't specific to this particular game though, as throughout the playoffs the refs have been ignoring holds. David Garrard's long run to set up the game winning field goal in Pittsburgh was set up by an obvious hold. So, yes, refs should start calling holds. That would have been helpful for the Chargers' defense today. Whether it would have been the same amount helpful to the Patriots' defense, I cannot say.

Overall, it was a good game. There's always next year. Hopefully next year they can reach the playoffs and face the best teams in the league with their three best players (Rivers, Tomlinson, Gates) healthy.

A postscript: I blame myself for the loss, as I forgot to compose tv network signs for this game. They clearly were the good luck charm that carried them to the win over Indianapolis.