- Joined
- Sep 12, 2013
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- 10,330
- Name
- Wil Fay
As if .....
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http://boltblitz.com/?cat=10
After defeating the division rival Raiders in a game that was far too close for comfort, the Chargersnow face the St. Louis Rams in what is pretty much another must-win game. Despite an early season five-game winning streak, the fact that the Bolts lost three in a row prior to beating Oaklandmakes this another game that must end with a victory.
Although the Rams come to San Diego with a 4-6 record, they have beaten some of the toughest teams in the NFL in San Francisco, Seattle and Denver. St. Louis held the Denver offense to its lowest score since the days of Tim Tebow.
That was not a typo.
There are so many factors that go into walking away from an NFL game with a much-needed win. I’ll highlight my five keys to achieving victory for your Chargers listed below.
1. Protect Philip Rivers
I find it hard to believe that Antonio Gates’ comments about Philip’s supposed rib injury were “taken out of context.” That being said, El Capitan is fine and he will not be missing any time. He may be the toughest player in the entire league. Yup, I said it. Keeping Rivers clean and upright is crucial to the success of the Chargers. Lose Rivers and you can certainly kiss the season goodbye. The Ramsdefensive front-seven is stout when rushing the passer. They have pass rushers that will prove to be a handful and they must be accounted for at all times. If Philip walks away from this game without grass stains all over his jersey, there’s a very good chance that San Diego will be celebrating a win.
2. Get pressure on Shaun Hill
Shaun Hill recently took over for Austin Davis as the starting quarterback in St. Louis. Now playing with his fourth team in 13 NFL seasons, he is a seasoned-vet that knows the ins and outs of the league. He will never be confused for being mobile, but he is a bit savvy when it comes to maneuvering in the pocket. But make no bones about it, he can be rattled. Pressure from multiple areas, and a concerted effort to keep him guessing on where the rush is coming from, is paramount in disrupting his rhythm and making him nervous after coming out from under center. The Chargersmust force Hill to make mistakes. The best way to do that is to continuously breathe down his neck and make him throw while on the move.
3. Establish the running game on offense
The return of Ryan Mathews was big for the Charger offense and the running game last week. His ability to wear out the Oakland defense legitimized the importance of his return late in the game even when Ryan was not on the field. Having the threat of Mathews in the game changes what theBolts can do on offense. The offensive line is not only responsible for keeping Philip Rivers safe, they must also open holes and provide the San Diego backs with room to run. Establishing the run game only helps the passing game and the offense as a whole. Frank Reich, along with Mike McCoy, must devise a plan that incorporates the running game and accentuates the strengths of the big dogs upfront. I am interested to see how that plays out.
4. John Pagano must be aggressive in defensive playcalling
At this point in the season, this is not the time to revert to the soft-shell cover 2 or soft-shell cover 3 pass coverage — where the secondary is playing 8-12 yards off of the line of scrimmage — that we have seen at times under Pagano. With the linebacking corps returning to health, let’s see them pin their ears back and frustrate the opposing team’s quarterbacks. I want stunts via the defensive line. I want to see a corner blitz from either the nickel or outside spots. Get exotic and confuse Hill on Sunday, and going forward. Just because he has been in the league for a long time does not mean that he can handle an immense amount of disguised pressure and blitz combinations. Pagano was masterful last week, and we’d all like to see that happen again in week 12.
5. Wrap up and take good angles on defense when tackling
This boils down to the basic fundamentals of defensive football. See the play, get to the corresponding spot in where there is help or someone coming up in support, wrap up and drive through the ball carrier. At times when watching the NFL, it gets frustrating when watching the game. These are the best athletes in all of the world, in my opinion. But when it comes to fundamentals of the game of football, it seems as though a lot of that was never taught to them in their younger years during Pop Warner ball. It is no secret that tackling, or the lack thereof, has been a major challenge for the San Diego defense. There are many athletic defenders on this team. It is up to them and the coaching staff to fix this problem heading down this ever so important stretch of games.
Those are my 5 keys to walking out of Qualcomm with a victory. Did I leave something out, in your opinion? Let me know by leaving your comments below.
Thanks a lot for reading.
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http://boltblitz.com/?cat=10
After defeating the division rival Raiders in a game that was far too close for comfort, the Chargersnow face the St. Louis Rams in what is pretty much another must-win game. Despite an early season five-game winning streak, the fact that the Bolts lost three in a row prior to beating Oaklandmakes this another game that must end with a victory.
Although the Rams come to San Diego with a 4-6 record, they have beaten some of the toughest teams in the NFL in San Francisco, Seattle and Denver. St. Louis held the Denver offense to its lowest score since the days of Tim Tebow.
That was not a typo.
There are so many factors that go into walking away from an NFL game with a much-needed win. I’ll highlight my five keys to achieving victory for your Chargers listed below.
1. Protect Philip Rivers
I find it hard to believe that Antonio Gates’ comments about Philip’s supposed rib injury were “taken out of context.” That being said, El Capitan is fine and he will not be missing any time. He may be the toughest player in the entire league. Yup, I said it. Keeping Rivers clean and upright is crucial to the success of the Chargers. Lose Rivers and you can certainly kiss the season goodbye. The Ramsdefensive front-seven is stout when rushing the passer. They have pass rushers that will prove to be a handful and they must be accounted for at all times. If Philip walks away from this game without grass stains all over his jersey, there’s a very good chance that San Diego will be celebrating a win.
2. Get pressure on Shaun Hill
Shaun Hill recently took over for Austin Davis as the starting quarterback in St. Louis. Now playing with his fourth team in 13 NFL seasons, he is a seasoned-vet that knows the ins and outs of the league. He will never be confused for being mobile, but he is a bit savvy when it comes to maneuvering in the pocket. But make no bones about it, he can be rattled. Pressure from multiple areas, and a concerted effort to keep him guessing on where the rush is coming from, is paramount in disrupting his rhythm and making him nervous after coming out from under center. The Chargersmust force Hill to make mistakes. The best way to do that is to continuously breathe down his neck and make him throw while on the move.
3. Establish the running game on offense
The return of Ryan Mathews was big for the Charger offense and the running game last week. His ability to wear out the Oakland defense legitimized the importance of his return late in the game even when Ryan was not on the field. Having the threat of Mathews in the game changes what theBolts can do on offense. The offensive line is not only responsible for keeping Philip Rivers safe, they must also open holes and provide the San Diego backs with room to run. Establishing the run game only helps the passing game and the offense as a whole. Frank Reich, along with Mike McCoy, must devise a plan that incorporates the running game and accentuates the strengths of the big dogs upfront. I am interested to see how that plays out.
4. John Pagano must be aggressive in defensive playcalling
At this point in the season, this is not the time to revert to the soft-shell cover 2 or soft-shell cover 3 pass coverage — where the secondary is playing 8-12 yards off of the line of scrimmage — that we have seen at times under Pagano. With the linebacking corps returning to health, let’s see them pin their ears back and frustrate the opposing team’s quarterbacks. I want stunts via the defensive line. I want to see a corner blitz from either the nickel or outside spots. Get exotic and confuse Hill on Sunday, and going forward. Just because he has been in the league for a long time does not mean that he can handle an immense amount of disguised pressure and blitz combinations. Pagano was masterful last week, and we’d all like to see that happen again in week 12.
5. Wrap up and take good angles on defense when tackling
This boils down to the basic fundamentals of defensive football. See the play, get to the corresponding spot in where there is help or someone coming up in support, wrap up and drive through the ball carrier. At times when watching the NFL, it gets frustrating when watching the game. These are the best athletes in all of the world, in my opinion. But when it comes to fundamentals of the game of football, it seems as though a lot of that was never taught to them in their younger years during Pop Warner ball. It is no secret that tackling, or the lack thereof, has been a major challenge for the San Diego defense. There are many athletic defenders on this team. It is up to them and the coaching staff to fix this problem heading down this ever so important stretch of games.
Those are my 5 keys to walking out of Qualcomm with a victory. Did I leave something out, in your opinion? Let me know by leaving your comments below.
Thanks a lot for reading.
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