While we were expecting the Chargers to have a so-so season,
this loss against the Falcons is still a bit of a downer. We had predicted a 7-9 record in 2012, but
maybe the two wins to start off the season made us let our guard down a little
bit. We tried to dampen our
expectations, tried to remind ourselves that the Raiders and the Titans were awful
teams, and that wins against them didn’t mean much, but maybe we got carried
away. We thought that even though the Falcons
were undefeated and impressive so far, maybe the short week and the trip out West
might play to our advantage.
This game had many of the elements which worried us this
summer and during training camp. The
offensive line struggled to keep Philip Rivers upright, he was constantly
hurried and hit. Philip still
doesn’t have a connection with his new receivers, certainly not as good as the
one he enjoyed with Vincent Jackson. His
only reliable option is Malcom Floyd. Eddie Royal and Robert Meachem are not
yet in sync with the new offence.
The John Pagano defence seemed promising during training
camp, what with new, more athletic players and draft picks. As with every new Defensive Coordinator ever
appointed, he promised us a swarming blitzing spectacular defence, one that we
get off the field on third downs, a specific weakness of last year’s unit. While this was in evidence against the
clueless Raiders and the neutered Titans who struggled without a productive Chris
Johnson, the defence seemed overmatched against the powerhouse Falcons. We may agree that the Falcons are a stern
test for most teams, but if the Chargers are to compete, heck, if they are to prove me wrong and win the division and/or make the playoffs, they need to
be effective against productive offences.
Ryan Matthews played his first game of the season, and was
effective running the ball at first, showing speed, quickness and change of
direction ability, as well as power.
Unfortunately, his old bugaboo resurfaced when he fumbled the ball near
the Falcons goal line, killing a drive and any chance the Chargers might have
had. We can be lenient in that he was
thrown in the fire of regular season competition without a training camp and is
barely recovered from a collar bone fracture, but the fumble was another
manifestation of his problem hanging onto the ball. Again, he failed to protect it as he was
going to the turf.
This is not new. Ryan
says all the right things about working on ball security, but we get the sense
that he lacks the mental tenacity and awareness to effectively deal with this
problem. It’s sometimes difficult to
analyze these issues properly strictly from viewing games on TV and by reading
reports online, but a lot of red flags seem to be popping up: showing up out of
shape last training camp, his problems picking up the playbook and pass
protection, his traffic collision recently.
A.J. Smith was pointed when asked to comment on Ryan
Matthews’ fumbling problems. He
explained that players whose fumble regularly go through a three-stage process,
the third of which is that they become a fumbler on someone else’s team. Pretty harsh, but a good indication of a
growing concern and impatience regarding the young running back. Norv Turner also touched on the issue,
explaining that Ryan would get more limited touches in specific situations,
meaning he wasn’t going to get the ball when the game was close or near a goal
line, which severely limits his effectiveness and value to the team. And to this fantasy football owner who was to
really happy to scoop him up on waivers early this season.
