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Chargers season comes to a close in snowy Pittsburgh
SAN DIEGO SPORTS
This is the blog post I didn’t want to write. It’s taken me a few days to recover from the Chargers 35-24 loss to Pittsburgh. The slipper, as it were, just doesn’t fit.
You can talk left, right, backwards, and forwards about what went wrong for San Diego, but the bottom line is this: Pittsburgh is a more physical team, better suited to win in January. I said in last week’s preview that the team that would best answer some key questions would win. Let’s revisit those questions:
Can Darren Sproles carry the load again this week for San Diego? Well, yes and no. When the Chargers got the ball to Sproles on the edge he was effective, including in the first quarter when he took a couple of screen passes for first downs. For the game, he finished with 91 receiving yards, including his 62-yard TD catch late in the fourth quarter. But for some reason, the Bolts kept insisting that Sproles try and run the ball up the middle of the stout Steelers D. The result: 11 rushes, 15 yards. It’s almost like they forgot how to best utilize their personnel, trying to use the smallest man in football as Jerome Bettis. Not really wise.
What affect will Ben Roethlisberger’s concussion have on his play? Well, not much as it turns out. Big Ben was solid. He made throws when he needed to (including the 41-yard bullet to Hines Ward that set up the Steelers touchdown right before halftime). He threw a block to spring a reverse. He got rid of the ball quickly and avoided being sacked. And he didn’t make any mistakes, which turned out to be crucial.
What can Philip Rivers do to improve on his earlier showing in Pittsburgh? Rivers played great. He threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns. When he was actually in the game, he did everything that he could to help his team stay in it, and he established himself as one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. But, all that said, through no fault of his own, here’s a quick look at what he did in the third quarter (which is where the game turned, coincidentally):
Sit on bench, try to stay warm. Get up and make a few practice throws to stay loose. Sit on bench, try to stay warm. Stand up and cheer on the defense. Sit on bench, try and stay warm. Enter game after big Sproles kickoff return. First-and-10, Pittsburgh 23. Drop back, sling it. Watch as ball is tipped and intercepted. Damn. Sit on bench, try to stay warm. Get up and make a few practice throws to stay loose. Cheer on defense as they force Steelers to punt. Get directions from coach, you’re going back in. Watch as the punt inexplicably bounces off Eric Weddle’s head and is recovered by Pittsburgh. Damn. Sit on bench, try to stay warm. Damn.
Who will win the battle of turnovers? This one is obvious. San Diego kept relatively good care of the ball. But the Steelers had a clean slate, as the Chargers weren’t able to force any mistakes. However, the thing about the Bolts' two anomaly-like turnovers was their timing. Each time the Chargers had some momentum, they just couldn’t capitalize on it. Whether it was conceding a long punt return touchdown minutes after taking a 7-0 lead; or having a bad luck pick after a long return that could have gotten them back into the game, it just wasn’t the Chargers day.
What’s the biggest X-factor? As it turns out, it wasn’t special teams. It was the return of “Fast Willie” Parker into the NFL consciousness. Having done essentially nothing since his 138-yard, 3-TD opener, Parker exploded for 146 yards and two scores against a “once-again” soft San Diego D. Pittsburgh dominated the line of scrimmage and had the Chargers back on their heels all game, allowing Parker, who now looks as spry and agile as Week 1, to have his way, essentially killing any chance the Chargers had to come back. His performance was not expected, and was the difference in the game.
It’s too early to discuss what the Chargers should do in the offseason, and speculating on which players or coaches (it was recently announced that position coaches Bill Bradley, Clancy Barone, Jack Henry, and Kevin Ross will not return) might be in different locations in 2009. We can get into that later. But having endured one of the most frustrating seasons in recent memory, a season which saw expectations shattered, glimpses of hope, heartbreaking last-second losses, the emergence of a pint-sized new fan favorite, the loss of “Lights Out,” the maturation of a new superstar, a game in London, an impressive close to the regular season, one of the worst calls in officiating history, a near-perfect record against our AFC West rivals, and yet another win over Indy in the playoffs, one question remains for Charger fans:
What am I gonna do this Sunday?
Eric Yates, much like the rest of the city, isn’t a native San Diegan. He’s been here for the past eight years and has adopted the Padres and Chargers as his own. Serving as a full-time and freelance sportswriter while in San Diego, he’s covered the beat for both the Padres and Chargers. A sports fanatic, his crowning achievement as a fan was appearing on the ESPN game show Stump the Schwab and coming within one question of toppling the big guy.
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