Morning Canepas

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Game Could Have Been CloserThe Chargers dominated last night from the beginning of the game until the end but had a couple of breaks went the other way, the Niners would have hung in there a little bit longer. The first break was when Ahmad Brooks dropped a sure pick six at the end of the second quarter when the score was 10-0. The next play, Rivers hit Kelly Washington for a 36-yard gain and questionable late hit call tacked on another 15-yards. Four plays later Rivers hit Jackson for his second of three TD receptions and the Chargers were up 17-0. But had Brooks held onto that ball the score would have been 10-7.

The second break the Chargers got was on the Ted Ginn kickoff return to open the second half that got called back due to a facemask penalty. (BTW, I thought we fixed those special teams problems.) The penalty didn’t seem to affect the play and had it not been called it would have been a huge play for the Niners that could have brought them back into the game.I don’t think there was a chance Chargers would have lost the game, mainly because the 49ers offense is absolutely putrid, but had those two plays went the other way the score in the third quarter could have been 17-14 or the Niners could have been leading 14-10 and fans watching would have had acid-type flashbacks to the Seattle game where the Chargers had control of the game and let it go due to a couple of breaks that went the Seahawks game. It would have been a bad trip…

VJ has his Rod Tidwell MomentWith Phil Rivers, the Chargers obviously don’t need a true #1 receiver to have an effective passing game but you saw how good the Chargers offense can be with Vincent Jackson in there. Jackson not only caught three TD passes but he was able to clear out the defense for the other receivers and give Rivers some easy underneath routes all night. Jackson definitely makes life for Rivers a little easier and only three other WRs in the league (Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald) can make the play that Jackson made to score his first touchdown where he jumped, held both arms over Nate Clements, took the ball away, and threw Clements off of him on the way into the endzone.

Jackson proved his worth last night and its time the AJ Smith and Chargers to show him the money.

The Jerry Maguire analogy could only be more perfect if Vincent Jackson were on Jim Rome is Burning this afternoon then mid-interview, news broke that the Chargers just signed him to an long-term extension and as Jackson cries he calls his agent, Neil Schwartz the Ambassador to his Quan…

Best Receiving Corps in the NFL… Best Offense in NFL?Imagine how good the offense can be if the Chargers can ever get Jackson, Antonio Gates, Malcolm Floyd and Patrick Crayton healthy and on the field together at the same time. I would put that receiving corps against any in the NFL. There would be a mismatch somewhere on the field with Jackson and Floyd on the outside, Crayton in the slot, Gates at TE and either Mike Tolbert Ryan Matthews or Sproles in the backfield. There won’t be a defense in the league that can slow down that offense.If they can ever get all those guys healthy this year the Chargers offense has the potential to be unstoppable…

NFL Network Booth Can Use Some WorkMatt Millen and Joe Theisman made more than their fair share of head scratching comments last night like when Millen suggested Eric Weddle was having a Pro Bowl year (uh… not really) but the one that took cake was when the Chargers were up 17-0, had a 4th and 1 inside the five yard line and Millen and Theisman were debating whether the Chargers should go for it. Millen clumsily argued that the Chargers were up by three scores and a field goal would still only put them up by three scores. Theisman stuttered something about being up four scores but what these fools didn’t realize was even with the touchdown that the Chargers would eventually score, they were still only up by three scores (24-0– three touchdowns with three two point conversions).

It was one of the many arguments / comments that Millen and Theisman made throughout the night that made absolutely no sense…

Where have you gone LaDanian Tomlinson?When LaDanian Tomlinson started off the season hot he got a lot of media attention and instead of displaying a classy image that he always tried to project, Tomlinson used it as a chance to take subtle pot shots at the Chargers, the Chargers running game and their offensive line. In all his comments, Tomlinson’s underlying message was that he wasn’t washed up and that his diminished stats were due to the Chargers not having the right game plan or the line not blocking right for him.

Check out Tomlinson’s stats over the past seven games since the Jets came out of their bye:

16 carries 54 yards 3.4 YPC15 carries 55 yards  3.7 YPC18 carries 57 yards 3.2 YPC12 carries 36 yards 3.0 YPC13 carries 49 yards 3.8 YPC10 carries 47 yards 4.7 YPC19 carries 49 yards 2.6 YPC

TOTAL: 103 carries 347 yards 3.4 YPC

Tomlinson hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 6 and that 3.4 YPC average looks eerily similar to the 3.3 YPC he had last season with the Chargers. In the meantime, the Chargers are averaging 3.8 yards per carry over their past seven games including last night and while Tomlinson appears to be getting worse as the season progresses, the Chargers’ running game appears to be getting stronger…

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