Chargers
| Chargers show why they're AFC's best 12/4/2006 | |
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|  By JERRY SULLIVAN There's no sense in beating them up. The Bills have won three of their last five. The losses were by one and three points to the Colts and Chargers, who are tied with the Bears for the best record in the NFL. The Bills are 5-7, which is all any sensible person could have asked for three-quarters of the way into the season. So they've made progress. The Bills battled back in the second half and made a game of it Sunday. They refused to get blown out, as they had a year ago in San Diego. They made the Chargers struggle to the end, scoring in the final minute and nearly recovering an onside kick before bowing, 24-21. But let's not get carried away. The game wasn't as close as it sounds. The Bills are growing up, but talent-wise, they're not in the same league as the Chargers, who seemed to lose interest when they took a 17-0 lead to the halftime locker room as a light snowfall began to descend on Ralph Wilson Stadium. It's good for a young team to get a close look at the competitive standard. San Diego is the AFC standard. As General Manager A.J. Smith said, they're "loaded for bear." I've seen the Bills lose to the Patriots, Bears and Colts - all division leaders. The Chargers are the best team in the conference. Some day, given two or three more solid drafts, the Bills can dream of being so good. "They've got tremendous balance," said Bills GM Marv Levy. "Offensive line, defensive line, running backs, receivers. [Smith] has done a great job. I don't know what to say to elaborate on it." San Diego has the game's best running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for 178 yards and two TDs. They have Antonio Gates, the pre-eminent tight end. They have an emerging quarterback in Philip Rivers, who showed on the clinching drive why he's the NFL's top-rated passer in the fourth quarter. The offense gets most of the attention, but the Chargers' defense - led by our old pal, Wade Phillips - is loaded, too. They have a Pro Bowl nose tackle in Jamal Williams. They have a pair of dynamic outside linebackers in Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman - a budding superstar who had two sacks and two forced fumbles in an emphatic return from a four-game suspension. The Chargers were missing two starters, defensive end Luis Castillo and free safety Marlon McCree. Two other starters, linebacker Randall Godfrey and right end Igor Olshansky, got hurt during the game. It hardly mattered. Until scoring a garbage-time TD in the final minute, the Bills didn't have a drive of more than 28 yards. The other two TD drives began in the red zone. The "bad" J.P. Losman showed up again. He threw two interceptions and had three others dropped. He lost a fumble. The running game was non-existent. Willis McGahee had 26 yards on 16 carries. His longest run was 5 yards. "They're pretty solid up front," said Bills fullback Daimon Shelton. "We were fortunate to be able to score when we did. We couldn't get the run game going, and you've got to have that." You don't win too often when the opposition outrushes you by 134 yards. It's remarkable that the Bills have won three of five, since they've given up an average of 177 rushing yards in that span. It was bound to catch up to them. Here's an idea: Make those adjustments before the game, instead of waiting to get pounded into submission in the first half. Oh, and be more judicious with your timeouts. Dick Jauron called timeout after the officials ruled Peerless Price out of bounds on a sideline catch in the fourth quarter. Then he challenged the play - which he should have done in the first place - and lost the challenge, costing himself another timeout. I wouldn't expect such bumbling from Gregg Williams. Then there was the punt late in the second quarter, which allowed San Diego to score a cheap TD before the half. The Bills had fourth-and-1 from their 11 with 1:04 left. Brian Moorman punted the ball with 22 seconds left on the play clock, rather than allow it to wind down. That gave San Diego about 20 extra seconds on their ensuing drive. They scored in five plays to make it 17-0. Jauron criticized the officials for measuring after Buffalo's third-down play, saving the Chargers a timeout. In the ensuing confusion, the coaches couldn't get the punt team's attention and tell them to run down the clock. You'd expect more from Bobby April's special teams, and from a veteran punter like Moorman. But, I promised not to beat them up. Hey, they're big boys. They know they're not good enough to beat the elite teams yet. There were positive signs. They had only two penalties. They were 3 for 3 in the red zone. The game wasn't sold out again, but the fans who showed up made their presence felt. No one said it would be a picnic. Young teams must learn the hard way. It's amazing that such a flawed team has been in every game but two. Somehow, even when they're getting dominated in the trenches, they find a way to stay in games. They have that football temperament Levy loves. Now the talent level has to catch up. Levy said they're making progress, but they have a ways to go. He said the Bills aren't looking for quick fixes. He wants them to develop from within, with solid drafts stacked on top of one another. You know, like the Chargers. "Yeah," said right guard Duke Preston. "They've got a lot of young guys in their third and fourth year who are really playing well together and have been in that system awhile. It definitely gives us a model to shoot for." What they could really use is the next Shawne Merriman. "Good advice," Levy said. |
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| Chargers show why they're AFC's best 12/4/2006 | |
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| By JERRY SULLIVAN There's no sense in beating them up. The Bills have won three of their last five. The losses were by one and three points to the Colts and Chargers, who are tied with the Bears for the best record in the NFL. The Bills are 5-7, which is all any sensible person could have asked for three-quarters of the way into the season. So they've made progress. The Bills battled back in the second half and made a game of it Sunday. They refused to get blown out, as they had a year ago in San Diego. They made the Chargers struggle to the end, scoring in the final minute and nearly recovering an onside kick before bowing, 24-21. But let's not get carried away. The game wasn't as close as it sounds. The Bills are growing up, but talent-wise, they're not in the same league as the Chargers, who seemed to lose interest when they took a 17-0 lead to the halftime locker room as a light snowfall began to descend on Ralph Wilson Stadium. It's good for a young team to get a close look at the competitive standard. San Diego is the AFC standard. As General Manager A.J. Smith said, they're "loaded for bear." I've seen the Bills lose to the Patriots, Bears and Colts - all division leaders. The Chargers are the best team in the conference. Some day, given two or three more solid drafts, the Bills can dream of being so good. "They've got tremendous balance," said Bills GM Marv Levy. "Offensive line, defensive line, running backs, receivers. [Smith] has done a great job. I don't know what to say to elaborate on it." San Diego has the game's best running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for 178 yards and two TDs. They have Antonio Gates, the pre-eminent tight end. They have an emerging quarterback in Philip Rivers, who showed on the clinching drive why he's the NFL's top-rated passer in the fourth quarter. The offense gets most of the attention, but the Chargers' defense - led by our old pal, Wade Phillips - is loaded, too. They have a Pro Bowl nose tackle in Jamal Williams. They have a pair of dynamic outside linebackers in Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman - a budding superstar who had two sacks and two forced fumbles in an emphatic return from a four-game suspension. The Chargers were missing two starters, defensive end Luis Castillo and free safety Marlon McCree. Two other starters, linebacker Randall Godfrey and right end Igor Olshansky, got hurt during the game. It hardly mattered. Until scoring a garbage-time TD in the final minute, the Bills didn't have a drive of more than 28 yards. The other two TD drives began in the red zone. The "bad" J.P. Losman showed up again. He threw two interceptions and had three others dropped. He lost a fumble. The running game was non-existent. Willis McGahee had 26 yards on 16 carries. His longest run was 5 yards. "They're pretty solid up front," said Bills fullback Daimon Shelton. "We were fortunate to be able to score when we did. We couldn't get the run game going, and you've got to have that." You don't win too often when the opposition outrushes you by 134 yards. It's remarkable that the Bills have won three of five, since they've given up an average of 177 rushing yards in that span. It was bound to catch up to them. Here's an idea: Make those adjustments before the game, instead of waiting to get pounded into submission in the first half. Oh, and be more judicious with your timeouts. Dick Jauron called timeout after the officials ruled Peerless Price out of bounds on a sideline catch in the fourth quarter. Then he challenged the play - which he should have done in the first place - and lost the challenge, costing himself another timeout. I wouldn't expect such bumbling from Gregg Williams. Then there was the punt late in the second quarter, which allowed San Diego to score a cheap TD before the half. The Bills had fourth-and-1 from their 11 with 1:04 left. Brian Moorman punted the ball with 22 seconds left on the play clock, rather than allow it to wind down. That gave San Diego about 20 extra seconds on their ensuing drive. They scored in five plays to make it 17-0. Jauron criticized the officials for measuring after Buffalo's third-down play, saving the Chargers a timeout. In the ensuing confusion, the coaches couldn't get the punt team's attention and tell them to run down the clock. You'd expect more from Bobby April's special teams, and from a veteran punter like Moorman. But, I promised not to beat them up. Hey, they're big boys. They know they're not good enough to beat the elite teams yet. There were positive signs. They had only two penalties. They were 3 for 3 in the red zone. The game wasn't sold out again, but the fans who showed up made their presence felt. No one said it would be a picnic. Young teams must learn the hard way. It's amazing that such a flawed team has been in every game but two. Somehow, even when they're getting dominated in the trenches, they find a way to stay in games. They have that football temperament Levy loves. Now the talent level has to catch up. Levy said they're making progress, but they have a ways to go. He said the Bills aren't looking for quick fixes. He wants them to develop from within, with solid drafts stacked on top of one another. You know, like the Chargers. "Yeah," said right guard Duke Preston. "They've got a lot of young guys in their third and fourth year who are really playing well together and have been in that system awhile. It definitely gives us a model to shoot for." What they could really use is the next Shawne Merriman. "Good advice," Levy said. |
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