Bolt Notes: Wrap Up and Preview Plus Week 3 Picks!

Well, after week 1 I felt pretty good about myself and my ability to predict NFL games (without the spread). Now, I've gone from a strong 13-3 to a meager 20-12. Ouch! Oh well, that is what I get for picking some long shots and picking with my heart instead of my brain. That being said, I will continue to pick my Bolts no matter how many guys get put on IR and I will most likely always pick against the Broncos just because I really want them to lose every week of the year. Enough of that, now let's recap the Chargers game against the Ravens, preview the Bolts/Fins game and take another shot at making picks for all the games this week.

WEEK 2 - Ravens @ Chargers

I went into this game expecting the Chargers to lose. No Hardwick. No Williams. No Tomlinson. Injured guys all over the place! That did not give me much confidence going up against a very tough Ravens team. You would think that expecting to lose (yet picking the Bolts to win), would make losing this game easier to handle. Ah......no. It didn't help at all. If the Chargers had gotten blown out then I could have walked away saying, "it's the injuries." Unfortunately, the Chargers not only didn't get blown out, they had a real chance to win that game, late in the fourth quarter! Now that makes it hard to swallow.

The only thing keeping the Chargers in the game at all was the near heroic effort of quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers threw for over 400 yards against the Ravens very respected defense, while having the likes Linebacker Ray Lewis frequently knocking him to the ground after, and occasionally before, his release.

Another highlight for the Chargers was the outstanding play of 5' 6" Darren Sproles. Sproles with over 100 yards receiving as well as more than 100 yards in kick off returns. The only aspect of the game that didn't work well for the Chargers was the run game. At least, from what the stats say it didn't work. At one time in the first half, the Chargers were averaging over 5 yards per carry! So, in his infinite wisdom, Head Coach Norv Turner decided to abandon the run and let it fly. This play worked quite well until the last offensive play of the game for the Bolts when on a fourth and two call, Turner decided that he would fool the Ravens and run the ball with Sproles. If you didn't see the play, let's just say that the Ravens have Ray Lewis on their defense and he is very difficult to fool. Game over.
The most frustrating part of the Chargers effort may have been from the red zone. Five times the Chargers marched down the field and got very deep into Ravens territory. With these five trips, the Bolts managed to kick four field goals and had a turnover on downs. One of these drives, Rivers connected with Vincent Jackson at the one foot line for a first down. After a review of the catch, there was confusion about he clock which lead to a five yard delay of game penalty. That was one of three delay calls on the day for San Diego. Such is the price you pay with young inexperienced players being thrust into the action due to injury.

Speaking of injuries...nine Chargers have missed practice this week. Names like Merriman, Cooper, Phillips, Siler, Tomlinson, Hardwick, Dielman, Vasquez and others have been dealing with injuries and now the flu! Not the way to get ready to play a team that has beaten you the last seven meetings.

Yes, the Miami Dolphins have had the Chargers numbers over the years. Seven straight victories over the Bolts, as well as Joey Porter trying to take advantage of a backup center, make it difficult for even the most biased Chargers homer to feel too confident about this Sunday's match-up.

That being said, I still feel the Chargers will be able to take care of business. The way I see it, the schedule is greatly in favor of the Chargers this week. The Dolphins are coming off of a brutal loss on Monday night to the Colts. Along with the short week, they have to fly across country to play in San Diego. Personally, I don't think the NFL should force teams to travel 3000 miles on a short week, but since the Dolphins have to do it, I'm glad that they face my favorite team.

The main concern I have from the Dolphins is that they are very capable of running the football and they have several gadget plays. The Chargers defense is 30th against the run and has been totally fooled on play far less confusing than some of the Dolphins plays. This ground attack of the Dolphins dominated the play clock against the Colts on Monday. The Fins held the ball on offense for more than 45 minutes! That is an incredible amount of time with the ball. However, that stat aside, the Dolphins strength also illuminated their weakness as well.

Think about it. The Colts had the ball for just over 14 minutes in the entire game and Peyton Manning still threw for over 300 yards and won the game. Now whether you think Rivers compares favorably with Manning or not. The fact is that the Chargers should be able to continue their big play offense and score very quickly.

Side note: Good job Chargers fans for selling out the game on Sunday in time to have it air on television. I feared that the game would not sell out after last week's loss. Whether it was Chargers fans, or Dolphins fans bought the tickets will be discovered on Sunday, but in the long run, it just doesn't matter.

Enjoy the game!

NFL Picks For Week 3

redskins @ LIONS (Just a funny feeling)
PACKERS @ rams (Rams are bad)
niners @ VIKINGS (Niners playing well, but too much A.D.)
FALCONS @ patriots (Pats have not impressed. They'll probably bounce back and make me look stupid)
TITANS @ jets (Hey Mark!!! DUCK!!! Titans are due)
chiefs @ EAGLES (Chiefs are bad)
GIANTS @ bucs (Bucs are bad)
RAVENS @ browns (Browns are bad)
jaguars @ TEXANS (Jags are bad)
BEARS @ seahawks (Injury to Hasselback)
SAINTS @ bills (Too much offense)
STEELERS @ bengals (Could be close without Polamalu)
broncos @ RAIDERS (Close game. Broncos on the road and not as good as their record. Russell stinks though.)
colts @ CARDINALS (Bob Sanders out and Cards receivers getting healthy)
panthers @ COWBOYS (Panthers are bad)
dolphins @ CHARGERS (Because I don't want the Charges to start 1-2)