Chefs get Burned by Bolts

The sea of red was calmed by the Bolts lightning storm Sunday. All hopes for a bounce back season for the Chiefs were put in question by a team who has yet to find their true identity on offense. A 37-20 victory over Kansas City didn’t make many change their mind about San Diego. They may have gotten a big divisional win, they are still in the driver seat of the AFC West but they have struggled to find their offensive identity.

The defense was mightily impressive this week. While the defense forced 6 turnovers, the offense only committed 1. If you have that stat in your corner, a ratio of 6-1, you will win football games every time. They lacked on 3rd down defense where is which they need to improve, going 60% on 3rd down is decent, but to be a Champion you need to be better. It will be interesting to see if the Chargers defense will be able to hold strong as Drew Brees is awaiting the arrival of a team who cut him so many years ago. The Bolts pass rush looked decent recording 2 sacks on the day, but there is always room for improvement. The numbers don’t show how much the Chargers defense was in the face of Cassel.

The offense was saved by the defense this week. While the offense is still finding a way to drive they put up 6, 3 and outs or worse. While yes they had the ball 12 times you still need to get a first down to give the defense a chance to breathe. My golden rule of football success, “You are allowed two 3 and outs, every other possession must have at least 1 first down.” As a unit in the NFL if you want to keep winning you will have to find a identity. This should be a solid identity as to where they will be able to move the ball more often then not. If they can’t find that then they will have trouble this week against an offense that can most certainly put up points. Rivers will have to start taking command a little bit more and really get after it. He needs to show the NFL he can still sling the ball. If the Chargers can’t show they can keep up on the scoreboard, it might be over by half time. They really need to figure out how to get Robert Meachem open down field, maybe throw a slant or two to see if he can split the seem. For the amount of points the Chargers have put up in the 3 games they have won, no ones numbers really stood out. Also the sooner they figure out how to finish off drives… the better. They have left the door open giving the opposing teams chances to get back in it. They settle for field goals when they should be scoring touchdowns.

If the defense can play at this level consistently the Chargers might have a big year. The next two weeks will be huge for San Diego. A win over New Orleans will get some analysts to give them some respect and make people believers. If San Diego beats Denver the week after that will put them in the Captains chair of the AFC West. With all this being said, if the Chargers offense can find their identity and find a way to consistently move the football we COULD just be looking at a, “Super Season,” for the, “Super Chargers.”

Bolt Pride!

-Joey Nicks