The Bitter Cold

The San Diego Chargers went into the frigid New England night and battled a flawless foe; while they fought hard, they ultimately faded into the night. Despite a valiant effort from a hobbled Philip Rivers, the team couldn’t quite put it together. Kudos to the Patriots for continuing their epic quest of ultimate perfection.

For what it’s worth, the Chargers looked like they had a shot at winning this thing. Their doom was sealed, however, after failing in three crucial areas.

First up was their Red Zone impotence that led to nothing but field goals. I can recall, through tepid inebriation, uttering the obvious to those that would listen: “they’re not going to win with field goals.” And they didn’t.

Second, adjustments on both sides of the ball in the second half were nonexistent. Even though the Patriots seemed content slamming the ball with Maroney and using little dump or screen passes, the Chargers couldn’t stop it. They let the Pats eat the clock like it was a featured entrée at the Rio buffet.

Lastly, there’s the question: where in the hell was LaDainian Tomlinson? I saw some dude sitting on the bench with Tomlinson’s jersey on. He looked dejected, draped under a giant coat, shiftless under a tinted visor. This imposter was statuesque, a despondent non-factor.

The aggravated injury might have taken Tomlinson out of the game physically, but he took himself out of the stadium mentally. I’m not saying he needed to be a cheerleader while sitting out nearly the entire game, but the water-guy was more of a factor. Hell, the water bottle was more of a factor.

Clearly it goes without saying that no one knows what was going through Tomlinson’s mind, however- and I know I’ve posted it before and I will post it ad nauseam- perception is reality. Realistically I don’t know what Tomlinson could have said or done (short of getting back on the field) that could have helped his team win, but he didn’t try. Maybe a little cheerleading wouldn’t have hurt.

So here we are, another Brady Bowl.

With the New York Giants being the spoiler in Green Bay, looks like they’ll be the last best chance of ending New England’s run.

The Super Bowl is set to be yet another New York/Boston rivalry played out on the grand stage (insert a collective west coast yawn here.) But will Chargers fan watch?

It would have been a dream come true to face Eli Manning in the Super Bowl, deliver a dose of comeuppance for his draft day shaft.

Now we have Evil Eli against Brady the Bolt Beater. I don’t think there’s many in Chargers Nation that wants either team to win, it’s more like who they want to lose the least.