THANK YOU PHILLIP RIVERS, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
Now that my Tylenol kicked in to kill my headache, it's time to recap what was a really wild Monday Night Football game.
Twenty-one penalties & they still didn't get it right, the officiating was terrible.
I think San Diego took the worst of the penalty calls, the offensive pass interference call against tight end Antonio Gates should have been a non-call resulting in a touchdown. By the same token, the fumble by Dexter McCluster was obviously not a fumble. How do you watch that play in slow-motion & not reverse the call on the field? Even tho both San Diego offensive tackles were called for holding Tamba Hali, they still missed two other blatant holds. I don't get the personal foul called when Le'Ron McClain made the acrobatic catch & then was tackled on a hard hit. Let 'em play football already.
I talked about how crucial another pass rusher was, but none showed up tonight.
Tamba Hali is a stud, the fact that he can dominate all by his lonesome is a tribute to just how hard he plays down after down. I said in my preview I wanted to see Gilberry, Houston or Arenas make some plays. But in the end, it was Hali or nothing when it came to pass rush pressure. He finished the night with 3 tackles, 2 sacks, a tackle for loss & a forced fumble.
D.J. is a monster too.
Derrick Johnson is also having a Pro Bowl season. He had 13 tackles, 1 for loss, a sack & an interception. That's a full night for anyone in the league. I love the way he diagnoses a play & flies to the ball. He doesn't miss tackles & his pass drops are exactly where they're supposed to be. I think Justin Houston has the potential to play on a level with Hali & D.J. but he'll need to actually make a few plays before I buy into anything more than being a prospect.
The "Killer B's" have a good night, but some of the play calling was insane.
Wide receivers Jonathan Baldwin had 5 catches for 82-yards & a score. Dwayne Bowe snagged 4 passes for 62-yards, Steve Breaston caught 3 for 42-yards & RB Jackie Battle hammered out 70-yards on the ground a scored a TD. I loved Battle's aggressive 4th quarter running & his leap over the top of the pile to score. The "Killer B's" should become even more formidable as they get more comfortable together. We saw tonight the kind of potential Baldwin has, he could make a major impact in the 2nd half of the season. The 2nd quarter play calling was abysmal, what is the strategy behind running a 160-pound back between the tackles? I understand getting McCluster the ball outside where he can use his quick feet & excellent acceleration, but between the tackles against 300+ pounders? He ran 6 times for zero yards & 5 of those carries were between the tackles. The Chiefs were apparently using the same phone system the Cardinals used in the World Series, no one could hear what was being said, that's why it took forever to get the plays into Matt Cassel.
Baldwin celebrates his 1st NFL touchdown.
Cassel is still too eratic, will he ever become an accurate downfield passer?
No, not consistently, his arm isn't strong enough & he throws behind too many receivers. It's what we've seen for three seasons, so why would it change? Having better receivers will help once they all get on the same page, but he's never going to be a guy who can consistently throw it on target 20-25 yards downfield.
Why do TE's Pope & O'Connell get a penalty every single week?
I don't have a clue as to why, but they do.
The fumble by Phillip Rivers will haunt him & his teammates for a very long time.
With a fumbled center snap, the Chargers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. As he stood watching the Chiefs motor down the field in overtime, lip readers could clearly see him say "worst day ever." It was horrible for Charger Nation & it's a screw-up that won't go away anytime soon, it's burned into a lot of memory banks. Take two snaps , down the ball, send in the kicker & head for the airport with a win. It didn't go that way as Rivers all of a sudden couldn't take a snap like he's been doing since he was 12-years old. Credit should go to Chiefs OLB Andy Studebaker for wrestling the ball away from Rivers at the bottom of the pile. The fumble is simply inexcusable & Rivers "manned up" to the press after the game, admitting it was all his fault. Assuming their kicker could handle a kick similar to Succop's 30-yard game winner, the Chargers could have effectively put the Chiefs out of their misery with a win. It wasn't to be. At least River can atone for his mistake on Sunday when San Diego plays.....er uh....never mind, they play Green Bay.
We got a gift tonight, they better take 0-7 Miami very, very seriously.
The Dolphins played like they were sick of losing yesterday. Unfortunately, they made too many mistakes in the 4th quarter & allowed the NY Giants to creep back into the game & finally winning it. But Miami played hard all day & there's no reason to believe they won't this weekend.
The crowd was a big part of creating so many penalties.
Just as I predicted, the fans made life miserable for the Charger offensive tackles. They drew 6 false start penalties plus a couple of holding calls because they were late getting off the ball. What we heard tonight was the "Real Arrowhead" a place so loud you can't hear yourself think. Believe me, I spent an entire game on the sideline a few years ago & it's a lot louder than you think it is. So when an offensive tackle can't hear the QB & has difficulty seeing the ball, he's going to be late in his sets for pass blocking.
Why does my wife look like Bazooka Joe whenever the game get's close?
If you're old enough, you get the reference, if you're not, you take me for a total goofball. That's what Linda looks like whenever the game is ultra close. There is cursing & she pulls her Chiefs' jersey up over her face so she doesn't have to watch. She then claims it's because she does this the Chiefs win. Solid logic don't you think?
Who is the best prognosticator when it comes to predicting scores?
Why it's me, at least for this week. On the radio show tonight I decided to skip the trivia contest & allow listeners to call in & predict the score of tonight's game. Right before I signed off, I gave my prediction, Chiefs 24 Chargers 20. I missed it by 1 point, but one of my most loyal listeners & a solid caller, Skip, came closer than anyone else at 24-17 & will win two free rounds of golf at Old Kinderhook & a $25 gift card to the Trophy Room restaurant & bar. Congrats Skip!
Do me a favor & say a little prayer for our Chief.
Our 15-year old yellow tabby cat is fighting for his life. It appears his kidneys are failing but he isn't going without a fight. In spite of how he feels, he remains the most affectionate pet we've ever had. We know the end is probably near, but we hold out hope that his blood tests are more favorable than even we could hope for. Our veterinarian was encouraged by Chiefs' toughness & how feisty he was Monday morning after a brutal weekend. We thought he was a goner Saturday, but he made a remarkable comeback by Monday morning. Say a little prayer for our Chief won't you?
Twenty-one penalties & they still didn't get it right, the officiating was terrible.
I think San Diego took the worst of the penalty calls, the offensive pass interference call against tight end Antonio Gates should have been a non-call resulting in a touchdown. By the same token, the fumble by Dexter McCluster was obviously not a fumble. How do you watch that play in slow-motion & not reverse the call on the field? Even tho both San Diego offensive tackles were called for holding Tamba Hali, they still missed two other blatant holds. I don't get the personal foul called when Le'Ron McClain made the acrobatic catch & then was tackled on a hard hit. Let 'em play football already.
I talked about how crucial another pass rusher was, but none showed up tonight.
Tamba Hali is a stud, the fact that he can dominate all by his lonesome is a tribute to just how hard he plays down after down. I said in my preview I wanted to see Gilberry, Houston or Arenas make some plays. But in the end, it was Hali or nothing when it came to pass rush pressure. He finished the night with 3 tackles, 2 sacks, a tackle for loss & a forced fumble.
D.J. is a monster too.
Derrick Johnson is also having a Pro Bowl season. He had 13 tackles, 1 for loss, a sack & an interception. That's a full night for anyone in the league. I love the way he diagnoses a play & flies to the ball. He doesn't miss tackles & his pass drops are exactly where they're supposed to be. I think Justin Houston has the potential to play on a level with Hali & D.J. but he'll need to actually make a few plays before I buy into anything more than being a prospect.
The "Killer B's" have a good night, but some of the play calling was insane.
Wide receivers Jonathan Baldwin had 5 catches for 82-yards & a score. Dwayne Bowe snagged 4 passes for 62-yards, Steve Breaston caught 3 for 42-yards & RB Jackie Battle hammered out 70-yards on the ground a scored a TD. I loved Battle's aggressive 4th quarter running & his leap over the top of the pile to score. The "Killer B's" should become even more formidable as they get more comfortable together. We saw tonight the kind of potential Baldwin has, he could make a major impact in the 2nd half of the season. The 2nd quarter play calling was abysmal, what is the strategy behind running a 160-pound back between the tackles? I understand getting McCluster the ball outside where he can use his quick feet & excellent acceleration, but between the tackles against 300+ pounders? He ran 6 times for zero yards & 5 of those carries were between the tackles. The Chiefs were apparently using the same phone system the Cardinals used in the World Series, no one could hear what was being said, that's why it took forever to get the plays into Matt Cassel.
Baldwin celebrates his 1st NFL touchdown.
Cassel is still too eratic, will he ever become an accurate downfield passer?
No, not consistently, his arm isn't strong enough & he throws behind too many receivers. It's what we've seen for three seasons, so why would it change? Having better receivers will help once they all get on the same page, but he's never going to be a guy who can consistently throw it on target 20-25 yards downfield.
Why do TE's Pope & O'Connell get a penalty every single week?
I don't have a clue as to why, but they do.
The fumble by Phillip Rivers will haunt him & his teammates for a very long time.
With a fumbled center snap, the Chargers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. As he stood watching the Chiefs motor down the field in overtime, lip readers could clearly see him say "worst day ever." It was horrible for Charger Nation & it's a screw-up that won't go away anytime soon, it's burned into a lot of memory banks. Take two snaps , down the ball, send in the kicker & head for the airport with a win. It didn't go that way as Rivers all of a sudden couldn't take a snap like he's been doing since he was 12-years old. Credit should go to Chiefs OLB Andy Studebaker for wrestling the ball away from Rivers at the bottom of the pile. The fumble is simply inexcusable & Rivers "manned up" to the press after the game, admitting it was all his fault. Assuming their kicker could handle a kick similar to Succop's 30-yard game winner, the Chargers could have effectively put the Chiefs out of their misery with a win. It wasn't to be. At least River can atone for his mistake on Sunday when San Diego plays.....er uh....never mind, they play Green Bay.
We got a gift tonight, they better take 0-7 Miami very, very seriously.
The Dolphins played like they were sick of losing yesterday. Unfortunately, they made too many mistakes in the 4th quarter & allowed the NY Giants to creep back into the game & finally winning it. But Miami played hard all day & there's no reason to believe they won't this weekend.
The crowd was a big part of creating so many penalties.
Just as I predicted, the fans made life miserable for the Charger offensive tackles. They drew 6 false start penalties plus a couple of holding calls because they were late getting off the ball. What we heard tonight was the "Real Arrowhead" a place so loud you can't hear yourself think. Believe me, I spent an entire game on the sideline a few years ago & it's a lot louder than you think it is. So when an offensive tackle can't hear the QB & has difficulty seeing the ball, he's going to be late in his sets for pass blocking.
Why does my wife look like Bazooka Joe whenever the game get's close?
If you're old enough, you get the reference, if you're not, you take me for a total goofball. That's what Linda looks like whenever the game is ultra close. There is cursing & she pulls her Chiefs' jersey up over her face so she doesn't have to watch. She then claims it's because she does this the Chiefs win. Solid logic don't you think?
Who is the best prognosticator when it comes to predicting scores?
Why it's me, at least for this week. On the radio show tonight I decided to skip the trivia contest & allow listeners to call in & predict the score of tonight's game. Right before I signed off, I gave my prediction, Chiefs 24 Chargers 20. I missed it by 1 point, but one of my most loyal listeners & a solid caller, Skip, came closer than anyone else at 24-17 & will win two free rounds of golf at Old Kinderhook & a $25 gift card to the Trophy Room restaurant & bar. Congrats Skip!
Do me a favor & say a little prayer for our Chief.
Our 15-year old yellow tabby cat is fighting for his life. It appears his kidneys are failing but he isn't going without a fight. In spite of how he feels, he remains the most affectionate pet we've ever had. We know the end is probably near, but we hold out hope that his blood tests are more favorable than even we could hope for. Our veterinarian was encouraged by Chiefs' toughness & how feisty he was Monday morning after a brutal weekend. We thought he was a goner Saturday, but he made a remarkable comeback by Monday morning. Say a little prayer for our Chief won't you?
Comments