Chargers shock nobody by failing in 4th quarter against Cincy

We know, Norv. We can't believe you're still coaching either.

Perhaps the local blackouts in San Diego have been a blessing in disguise.  Once again, the Chargers proved to everyone that they are completely incapable of delivering the knockout punch.  No lead is safe, and a 3 point advantage in the 4th quarter was hardly insurmountable for an offense the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals.  With the Chargers completely abandoning the ground attack, the Bengals asserted an aggressive pass rush against the masking-tape offensive line of San Diego, resulting in two crucial turnovers by Philip Rivers.  Final score: Chargers 13, Bengals 20.


 When a mid-season scoop off the free-agent pile results in the acquisition of your most dangerous offensive threat, you know things aren't going well.  That is exactly what Danario Alexander has been.  In fact, Alexander has been the ONLY weapon the Chargers have had over the past few weeks.  Today, DX hauled in 6 receptions for 102 yards, but unfortunately could not find the end zone.  But, then again, neither could any member of the Chargers offense.  The only touchdown scored was off of a Demorrio Williams interception return of 31 yards to the pylon.  The only other scores for San Diego came from two chip-shot field goals by Nick Novak.

The offensive line lost another member due to injury.  This time, the victim was often-ridiculed RT Jeromey Clary.  Not surprising to some, Kevin Haslam, who was recently signed off the practice squad, was able to adequately fill in during Clary's absence.  However, throughout the entire game, the offensive line was unable to open any running lanes for Ryan Mathews, nor were they able to provide protection for Rivers.  Same shit, same result, different day.  It is a foregone conclusion that the focus of the offseason has to be upgrading the offensive line, and for the sake of the Chargers' future, we should hope that the man making personnel decisions in the spring is not A.J. Smith.

John Pagano designed about as good of a defensive gameplan as we could expect, as his squad held the Bengals to only 20 points...their lowest total since they put up 17 in a loss against the Steelers in Week 7.  With the exception of an awful attempt to tackle BenJarvis Green-Ellis, I was impressed with the play of Corey Lynch.  His tipped-ball snag of an Andy Dalton pass gave him his first interception of the season...one more than the man he replaced, Atari Bigby.  Combined with his 9 tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 2 tipped passes, and 1 tackle-for-loss, Lynch easily had the best day of any Chargers defender.  Pressure on the quarterback is still a major concern, as Shareece Wright logged the only sack of the day for San Diego.  Regardless, the Chargers defense appears to be in good hands under Pagano's watch.

The Chargers continue to lose games in predicable ways, and we should have no reason to believe anything can or will change unless Dean Spanos puts his fears aside and disrupts the continuity within his staff.  Norv has proven time and time again that he is not a winner.  A.J. Smith has proven time and time again that his ego and poor judgment will not allow the Chargers to have a team capable of winning a Super Bowl.  It may hurt to watch the Chargers fail on a weekly basis, but it will ultimately be for the best if it leads to a high draft pick and the dismissal of Turner and Smith.  It's time to start fresh in San Diego.  Let's just hope that Spanos feels the same way.