Bolt Notes: Week 1 Wrap up and Week 2 Preview and Picks

Alright, the first week is in the books and I found out that it is better to be lucky than good. Due to some last minutes heroics by my Bolts and the Patriots, I ended up having a pretty strong week on my picks. I went 13 - 3 picking the games straight up. I'm too big of a wuss to pick against the spread.

As for the Chargers / Raiders game on Monday night, it was very hard to watch, as a Chargers fan. I never really felt like the Chargers would lose, but I certainly had concerns at times and in the long run, the Chargers lost quite a bit.

The game started out with Oakland on fire! They marched the ball up and down the field with a powerful running game and a dominant offensive line. The silver and black defense also dominated the line of scrimmage and kept the high powered Chargers offense off stride and ineffective most of the night.

Fortunately for the Chargers, the Raiders do not have a very consistent quarterback. Throughout out the entire game, Jamarcus Russell had receivers open and could not get them the ball. He looked very poor until the Bolts blew deep coverage on a third and long and the Raiders hooked up for a 56 yard touch down and a very late lead. If Russell had been more accurate, the game would have been a blowout for the Raiders, even though the Chargers figured out at half time how to stop the Raiders running game.

With a little over a minute to go, the 90 million dollar man, Philip Rivers, calmly drove the Chargers 90 yards with the help of Darren Sproles and Legadu Naanee. So, after being tied, or behind most of the night, the Bolts ended up on top and left Oakland thrilled to get out with a win.

On the other hand, the Bolts may have traded the win for the health of their players. Seven chargers, including six starters went down to injury during the game. Pro Bowl center, Nick Hardwick, future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, and Pro Bowl Nose Tackle Jamaal Williams will all miss this week's game against the Ravens. Williams was placed on the IR today which will keep him out for the rest of the year.

Well, a win is a win and it's off to week two!!!

I must admit that I am not exactly over confident for the Chargers against the Ravens. The Ravens did struggle with the lowly Chiefs, but not on defense. There were a couple of fluke touch downs by KC that kept the game close. The Ravens offense ran over 90 plays on the day and totally dominated the Chiefs defense.

The Ravens have a very tough defense, lead by Ray Lewis. Say what you want about Lewis and his personal struggles off the field, in the past. The fact is the guy can play football at the highest level and if you give him a chance, he will find a way to beat you.

On the bright side, as poorly as the Chargers played last week, they still piled up 24 points! Rivers is healthy and so are Sproles, Gates, Jackson, and most of the other offensive weapons of the Bolts. Unfortunately, the Chargers offensive line will have at least one second string player, at center, and may need to spell LuisVasquez at right guard if he isn't ready to go. Losing 40% of your line and your starting tailback doesn't help your offense. I'm afraid that unless Sproles and Bennett can move the ball on the ground, the Ravens will be able to pin their ears back and push around the line to pressure Rivers.

All that being said, I am a die-hard Chargers fan and I always pick my team. Therefore, I say that Rivers will pick apart the Ravens defense and Sproles will give the Chargers great field position all day by running back kicks and punts into Ravens territory. A couple of years ago, the Chargers dismantled the Ravens and made it look easy. No reason they can't do it again. (Did I sound confident?)

Here are all of my picks for this week's games. Winning team is in CAPS.

Season Record: 13-3

PATRIOTS @ jets
SAINTS @ eagles
rams @ REDSKINS
cardinals @ JAGUARS
panthers @ FALCONS
VIKINGS @ lion
bengals @ PACKERS
texans @ TITANS
RAIDERS @ chiefs
bucs @ BILLS
SEAHAWKS @ niners
STEELERS @ bears
BROWNS @ broncos
GIANTS @ cowboys
COLTS @ dolphins

ravens 20 @ CHARGERS 31

Enjoy the games and thanks for reading! Feel free to leave comments. I'd love to hear from you

Opening Day and Raider Week?! Are You Kidding Me!!!???

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. In the past, on "the other site", I always predicted the winner of every NFL game and gave the reason I picked a team and my best guess for the final score. That was fun, but very time consuming. This year, I'm going to focus on my favorite team, the San Diego Chargers and break down their game each week. At the end of the post, I will make my picks for the winners of the other games as well, but without analysis. I hope this change is alright with you and please remember that I am a homer and very biased. I will try to be fair in my writing, but it is my blog and I'm a Chargers fan, so don't be surprised if you don't agree with everything I say. Okay? Let's get on with it!

VS

Chargers vs Raiders!!! This is a rivalry that goes back since the beginning of the AFL! They have been playing each other so long that Raider owner Al Davis was actually a Chargers coach before moving on to the Raiders! He had a brilliant football mind and was one of the main reasons that the AFL was such a huge success. He helped the Chargers to their only league championship as well. Thanks Al!

As for the Al Davis back then, and the Al Davis now, there does not seem to be much in common. In the '60's through the 90's, Davis seemed to be on the cutting edge of the NFL. He was a great evaluator of talent and his "just win baby" motto surrounded him with a bunch of low character, high ability players who challenged for the ring every year and actually won three Super Bowls! That is three more than my Chargers have won. Raider fan will remind you everyday that they have won those three Lombardi Trophies as well. That is when I remind Raider fan that the past is the past and the present is all that matters. No one on the Raiders was part of those championships and the culture of winning is long since gone. Only Al was around in those days, and he may not even remember.

Over the course of time, the Raiders do hold the better record against the Bolts. However, since 2003, the Chargers have beaten the Raiders 11 straight times! That is the most dominance any NFL team has had over another ever! For whatever reason, the Chargers have had the Raiders number and it really hasn't even been close. Last year, the Raiders did have the Bolts shut out going into the fourth quarter and looked to be on the verge of an upset. In the fourth quarter, the Chargers unloaded for 25 points and ran away with the victory. Even in the "Black Hole" the cream seems to rise to the top.

In my youth, I guess I went into a rebellious faze. I was actually a Raiders fan! I loved watching Stabler, Branch, Belitnikoff, Matusak, Casper etc... Then it happened. The Holy Roller aka The Immaculate Deception. With the Chargers on the brink of their first post season in years, The Snake, while being sacked, threw the ball forward (incomplete pass). The referees called it a fumble. Van Eegan kicked it around and batted it toward the goal line. Dave Casper then kicked it a while and knocked it into the end zone where he fell on the ball and was awarded the game winning touchdown. Call it cheating. Call it improvising. Call it winning at all cost. Call it whatever you want. It turned me off to Raiders football and I made a switch to the home town team, the San Diego Chargers.

Today, it is no longer Fouts and Coryell trying to out fox Stabler and Madden. We have Rivers and Turner up against Russell and Cable. I don't know if Rivers' numbers will surpass Fouts, but the other three are a real downward slide from their predecessors.

Okay, I'll let the cat out of the bag early. I think the Chargers will win and win easy. The high powered Chargers offense and revamped defense should be much to much for the Raiders who have been dealing with coaches fighting each other and star players not showing up from trades that were made. What a mess it is in Oakland! The Chargers have had a few negative stories during the preseason, but nothing compared to the Raiders. Shawne Merriman and his domestic abuse and false imprisonment case does not even compare to Cable breaking his coaches jaw and Seymore not showing up to camp. Merriman is not 100%, but I think he knew that the charges would go away and on the football field, he is no choker.

Now, let's look at what the Raiders defense will have to stop. To start with, we have quarterback Phillip Rivers. All Rivers did last year was throw for 34 touchdowns, over 4000 yards, and led the entire league in passer rating. Also, he has a new 90 million dollar contract that he is out to prove was not a mistake.

LaDainian Tomlinson is on a mission this year. All off-season, Tomlinson has heard how he is washed up. He is too old and does not have it anymore. Well, the fact is that he is healthy this year and wants to prove that he still has it. Fortunately, for him, he gets to prove it against the team he has ran over since he joined the league. With just over 90 in Monday night's game, Tomlinson will reach the 2000 career yards mark against the Raiders. That is more rushing yards than any rusher has against any other team in the NFL.

Need a first down, look for number 85, Antonio Gates. Gates also had an off year last season. He battled a foot injury that kept him from being able to explode off the line and made it difficult to block. This year, he is healthy and said that he learned a lot about the game of football by being limited last year. He claims that he is a better football player now than before. That is a scary thought for opponents.

Okay, you stopped the run, and you are putting a lot of pressure on Rivers. Congratulations! Now you will get a healthy dose of Darren Sproles and the screen pass. Here is another dangerous weapon who is trying to prove that his franchise tag was no mistake. Ask Indy and Denver about Sproles. They will tell you how hard he is to bring down.

Okay, but do the Chargers have a deep threat? Absolutely! Meet Vincent Jackson. Jackson should become an upper tier receiver this year. His 6' 5", 235 lb frame helps him sky over the smaller defenders and make spectacular catches for big yards. Also, Malcolm Floyd averaged over 20 yards per catch last year. Both of them can get down field. Throw in a possession receiver like veteran receiver Chris Chambers and you have quite a receiving corp.

I'm not even going to get into the Chargers defense today. Jamaal Williams, Shawne Merriman, Antonion Cromartie, Quenten Jammer, Shaun Phillips, Stephen Cooper, and the rest of this talented D will introduce themselves on Monday Night Football!

Final score Chargers 34 Raiders 13

Here are my other picks for the NFL games this week. You'll have to take my word on the first game since it has already been played. The winning team will be in blue.

Titans @ Steelers

Dolphins @ Falcons

Vikings @ Browns

Lions @ Saints

Broncos @ Bengals

Jaguars @ Colts

Cowboys @ Bucs

Eagles @ Panthers

Jets @ Texans

Niners @ Cardinals

Chiefs @ Ravens

Redskins @ Giants

Rams @ Seahawks

Bears @ Packers

Bills @ Patriots

Well, there you have it. Agree or not, I'd love to read your comments and predictions for this week!

Side note: On my site tracker, I see people in countries all around the world have stopped in to read. If you are from outside the US, I'd love to know where you are from and how you found me. Please leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks!

Go Bolts!!!

The Tweating's On The Wall For Chargers Cromartie

The Chargers have a lot of decisions to make after this season. I believe that Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Shawne Merriman, Jamal Williams, Darren Sproles, and Antonio Cromartie are all playing on the last year of their contracts. There is no way that A.J. Smith can, or will, sign all of them. Therefore, this season will be very important for all of these players. How they play on the field, and how they behave off the field will be what helps Smith, the Chargers General Manager, decide who stays and who goes.
Some of this list seem like a no-brainer. You have to pick up Rivers. He was the top rated passer in the league last year. Maybe there are better quarterbacks, but you don't have one of them. The Chargers simply must pay the man.

Shawne Merriman is expected to be slapped with the franchise tag for the next season or two, and then let go. Smith will not pay Merriman what he will demand and has not lead anyone to believe otherwise. In fact, the maturation of first round pick Larry English will have a lot to do with how long they keep Merriman.

Jamal Williams and Antonio Gates are dominant at their positions and when healthy make the Chargers chances of winning go way up. However, health has been a huge concern for both of these players in recent years. It would not be a shock to see Smith go another direction, at least with Williams.

As for Sproles, he is not the only one who is in control of his future with the team. As this year's franchise tagged player, a lot will depend on two things. 1. How well does Sproles play this year? And 2. How well does LaDainian Tomlinson play this year. If L.T. slips further down in production and is not healthy when the post season comes around, they can't afford to let Sproles go.

That brings us to Antonio Cromartie. I'm sure that you heard that Cromartie was just fined $2500 for blasting the Chargers "nasty" food on Twitter. He went so far as to say that the food may be the reason they didn't win the Super Bowl yet! Huh? Okay, maybe he was joking, but I won't let him off so easy.

Let's take a look at some of the decisions Cromartie has made in the last few years, along with how he has played.

A. Cromartie had 10 picks in the regular season, just two years ago.

B. Cromartie only managed two picks last year after predicting 15 before the season. He was torched many all season long, including an 18 catch performance by Bronco, Brandon Marshall in week two.

C. He waited until the end of the season to let people know that he fractured his hip during the Broncos game in week two and it never was right. Now, shouldn't he have been upfront with his injuries and let a healthy guy step in? All he did by being brave was make everyone think he was a one year wonder.

D. Cromartie fatherd seven kids across five different states. Enough said.

E. Now, Cromartie has gotten himself in trouble for negative tweats about his employer. I know he may have been joking, but he has no room to joke. He said today that his freedom of speech has been taken away. Sorry Antonio, very few of us can publically rip our employers without consequence.

F. Furthering his image, his Twitter screen name is "Crimetime31". If your read his Twitter page, you will see that Cromartie Tweats about everything but football. Merriman, Williams, and Phillips constantly talk about working out and working hard to get better. Yes, Merriman has had his verbal war with Ocho-Cinco, but for the most part, he seems to be focused. Cromartie talks about girls, partying, and bad food. That does not go far toward helping A.J. Smith desire to keep him as a representitive of the Chargers. The Bolts have been embarrassed enough over the last few years. Smith will have no more of it.

So, the way I see it, unless Cromartie puts up "stupid" numbers this year, it will be bye bye to Crimetime and he will be sent on his way to act like a fool somewhere else.

No News Is Good News

Every year, when my Padres fade from contention, and there is nothing else (that I care about) going on in sports, I start craving for San Diego Chargers news. Just give me something! It seems that all the other teams are making the headlines on SportsCenter, or in the papers. My Chargers apetite is not being satisfied. Then it happens...

The Chargers make the news.

* Shawne Merriman test positive for steroids
* Steve Foley shot by off duty cop
* Stephen Cooper tests positive for stimulants
* Junior Seau, or Donnie Edwards, or Rodney Harrison sent packing
* Marty fired after 14-2 season
* Shawne Merriman and Chad Ocho-Cinco fighting over Twitter

That is not what I am looking for. How about...

* First round draft pick signs and shows up to camp early
* Charger player saves person's life
* NFL recognizes Chargers as the team of the century

You see, I'm not asking much.

What I have finally come to realize after years of frustration over the lack of coverage of my Bolts is that no news is good news. If I hear a report about the Chargers in the preseason, it will certainly be negative. A player breaks the law, a player breaks the rules, a player gets hurt, a player sits out, etc... So, I am happy not to hear about the Chargers this year.

The news out of San Diego this year has been positve, despite the lack of natinoal coverage.

* Team seems focused on winning, not hype
* Team healthiest it has been in years
* Shawne Merriman shows up to camp with rookies to get started
* Rookies showing great skills and potential

The only negative stuff right now is that their number one draft pick, Larry English has not signed. Norv Turner said yesterday that he is confident that English will sign and he is not concerned at this time. I hope he is right!

So, I guess what I am trying to say is, if you are sitting there craving stories about your team and are frustrated that nothing is coming out. Be happy instead. Those negative stories about Chargers players listed above could easily be about your favorite team next time. So remember, no news is good news.