Bolt Notes: Wrap Up, Preview, and Week 4 NFL Picks!

Well, last week went a little better for my picks. I was a decent 10-6 to move my overall record to 30-18. Not great, but not a complete embarrassment either. So, on to week 4!

Chargers vs Dolphins WRAP UP!

Miami came into San Diego last Sunday with the knowledge that they had beaten the Chargers seven straight times. It didn't matter what coast they played on, Miami had the Chargers number. They also had some other reasons to be optimistic.
- LaDainian Tomlinson would be on the side line for just the second regular season game ever, due to injury.
- Shawne Merriman was also banged up and has yet to regain his all pro form.
- Jamaal Williams was out for the year.
- The Chargers were the leagues worst defense against the run and had not shown that they could stop the wild cat offense last year.

All that being said, it did not look great for the Bolts against the Fins.

That is why they play the game!

The game started much like the Dolphins thought it would. Miami marched the ball right down the field like the Germans marched through France (until they ran into Americans). Then, for some reason, the Dolphins imploded at the goal line. They simply missed the hand off and promptly kicked the ball through the end zone for a Chargers touch back!

The first quarter ended with no score and the second didn't provide much more offense. Both teams moved the ball some, but could not break the plane as the half ended with the score 3-3.

A couple of things happened in the second half to help decide this game. First, the Chargers defense showed up and started stopping the run. Next, they slammed Chad Pennington to the ground and knocked him out of the game, and the season. Chad's replacement, Chad, was left dangling by the Dolphins coaches. It seems like Florida has lots of problems with dangling Chads. In this case, the Dolphins brain trust decided that the run was not working and they should rely on the pass. Ball game.

Chad Henne showed no ability to move the team and made several rookie mistakes. The biggest mistake was when he read a blitz by the Chargers and immediately threw to his "hot read" and decided that Chargers safety Eric Weddle was it. That turned into a "pick 6" and the game was essentially over.

The Bolts also finally scored in the red zone when Philip Rivers lumbered in from the five on third and goal in the third quarter. That was a nice play but it does not do much to help Chargers fans who are worried about their red zone offense.

PREVIEW OF CHARGERS @ STEELERS!

Okay, if there were ever a time to beat the Steelers, it would be this week. The World Champions are without two of their most important players. Troy Polamalu and running back Willie Parker are both expected to miss this game. Also, the Steelers offensive line has struggled to keep Big Ben safe while looking to throw. Actually, the Steelers problems sound a lot like the Chargers problems. Both teams have star players hurt. Both teams seem to be transitioning from running teams to passing teams. Both teams has major trouble scoring from within the red zone. This may as well be an intersquad game!

What the Chargers do have to worry about is that Pittsburgh, even without Polamalu, has been very good against the run. The Chargers, on the other hand, have struggle to stop the run and there is no reason to think that Moore, or Mendenhall will not be able to run the ball, at least in the first half.

LaDainian Tomlinson appears to be ready to return and anxious to show the Steelers that he may have made the difference in the playoffs last year. Unfortunately, he will still be behind a make shift offensive line and a poor fullbacks so holes may be hard to come by.

Another issue the Chargers have to deal with is getting another monkey off of their backs. Last week, the Dolphin seven game winning streak monkey was knocked to the ground, and this week they have a gorilla on their back when you consider that the Chargers have never beaten the Steelers in Pittsburgh during the regular season! The Bolts are 0-11 in Pittsburgh in the regular season and 2-1 during the playoffs in the Iron City. That is about as dominant as you can get during games that are on the regular schedule.

The way I see it is that the only hope the Chargers have is to air out the Steelers defense and test their back up safety. Rivers is the best deep ball passer in the league and has huge, talented receives to throw to. If his line can keep him on his feet, he should have more success through the air this week. Also, the addition of Tomlinson should force defenses to respect the run in the red zone and open things up in the air for touchdowns. Look for Gates to be open much of the day.

WEEK 4 PICKS! (winners are in all caps)

lions @ BEARS (2 wins in a row? No way)
BENGALS @ browns (I am thinking of moving to Ohio and trying out for QB)
raiders @ TEXANS (Good thing for the Texans that they are playing the lowly raiders. Perhaps the Raiders should be calling Cleveland for a new QB)
seahawks@ COLTS (No Hasselback and too much Manning)
TITANS @ jaguars (Hard hitting, but the Titans are better than their record)
bucs @ REDSKINS (bucs could be this year's lions)
BILLS @ dolphins (quarterback problems leaves only the wild cat - not enough) ravens @ PATRIOTS (Brady at home)
jets @ SAINTS (Brees at home)
COWBOYS @ broncos (start of the broncos return to reality)
rams @ NINERS (San Francisco is looking to beat up on someone after tough loss)
packers @ VIKINGS (Home team wins each time they play this year)

CHARGERS 31 @ steelers 17(Rivers goes nuts through the air and Tomlinson has good enough day to help Rivers passing game. If not now....never.)

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)

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.

Does The NFL Owe Micheal Vick?

Follow me, if you will. Pretend that you are the CEO of a major, high visibility company. One of your top employees starts to get into trouble with the law. First, he gets caught at an airport with a water bottle that has been tweaked so that it hides things in a secret compartment. In fact, in this case, there was trace evidence that there was an illegal drug in that compartment. Charges were dropped, but still, the company was embarrassed.


Next, the same employee is accused of financing a huge dog fighting ring where dogs are tortured for financial gain and personal entertainment. In fact, this is reported to be one of the largest dog fighting gambling rings in the country!

Okay, it's time to call this employee in and here his side of the story. You call him in and he says everything you want to hear. "I have nothing to do with any of this!" Great, as long as he is telling the truth, all will wash out in the end and we can go about our business as usual.

Oopps!!! A trial happens and your employee is found guilty and sentenced to two years is prison!! Ouch, that does not look good for our company! What an embarrassment!

Two years go by and your former employee is released and has paid his debt to society. He would like to come back and have his old job. True, there are other people in your company that have done terrible crimes as well, and they are playing, so what about this guy? People seem to think that you owe it to him to let him play? Do you? Is working in your company a right, or a privilage? Don't you have the right to say who represents your company?

So, maybe you take him back, maybe you don't. Maybe you tack on a suspension of your own to show that you didn't appreciate how he made your company look.

My question isn't should this employee be allowed back, but why is it that the NFL apparently owes employment to Michael Vick when any other company in the world (outside of sports) would be free to say that they are not interested in hiring him?

Just so you know that I'm not going spineless on this one. I think the NFL should take Vick back. However, I would suspend him for another year so that he can prove that he has rehabilitated. People say that he has been an awesome person the last two years. Sure he has! He has been locked up! Most of his decisions are made for him behind bars. Now that he is out on his own, let's see what choices he makes for his life. Then and only then would I give him his "second" chance.

How about you? What would you do if you were Roger Goodell?

Chargers Dream is Broken Again

This is just an experiment to see if anyone will stumble on to my blog for sports related posts. This is a piece from my blog on foxsports.com.

Well, that game sucked. As a Chargers fan, I went into this week's game with the Steelers with high hopes that the Chargers defense had improved and perhaps Big Ben was seeing three receivers where their was only one. After the first drive of the game, I thought I may be right! Then, the rest of the game happened.
Too much Steelers defense for the Bolts. No game changing bad calls by the refs. No bone head coaching decisions that gave Chargers fans a scapegoat. No individual player who cost the Bolts the game. It was simply too much Steelers D and a solid Steelers offense, not to mention a punt return for a touchdown to top it off.
Overall, this was a terrible weekend for me and my picks. I missed every stinking pick!!! Not three of four, every stinking pick! I may have to change my weekly post to My One Cent instead of My Two Cents.
Anyway, I'm going to wrap this Chargers season up by saying congratulations to the Steelers and good luck next week. Also, congratulations to B@O, thesupposedbuckles, and any other Steelers fan on Foxsports.com.
Good luck to anyone who still has a dog in the race!