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Broncos, Chargers heading in different directions
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NFL on FOX Video Central |
The young Chargers were abundantly talented, what with LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates (who caught three touchdowns that day), Philip Rivers and Shawne Merriman. But four Octobers later, in the aftermath of a loss to a surprisingly excellent Denver Broncos team, it's safe to say that future never arrived. Norv Turner's team — talented enough to take the Colts in the playoffs just 10 months ago — is now 2-3.
On the bright side, the Chargers are dependable in at least a couple of respects. They are especially dismal and disappointing in the early autumn, great talkers and consistent underachievers. Turner was hired because the previous coach, Marty Schottenheimer, did not perform well in the playoffs. Turner changed that. Now the Chargers underperform in the regular season, too. In each of his three seasons as coach, San Diego began 2-3.
The Broncos are for real. But the Chargers, it turns out, never were. As they left the field Monday night, they were profanely serenaded by a miserably disheveled chorus chanting: "Norv's gotta go!"
Their ranks included a damsel with neon yellow hair, a guy in the obligatory Mardi Gras beads and the spiteful woman spilling her drink. I am not claiming the people represented a cross section of the grieving Charger nation, just that they made Raiders fans look respectable.
On the other hand, can you blame them?
A couple of weeks ago, the Chargers' own general manager called them "soft and bewildered." Certainly, to look at the offensive line he's assembled, one cannot disagree. The injury to center Nick Hardwick doesn't get A.J. Smith off the hook, either. It's a wonder Rivers can put up the numbers he does with the protection he lacks.
As the season began, LaDainian Tomlinson declared to the Los Angeles Times' Sam Farmer that he was the best all-around back in football. This is a guy who may or may not be in on third down and had a little snit when he wasn't in near the goal line Monday night.
Typical Chargers. Last year, they blamed their misfortune on the official, Ed Hochuli.
The year before, their season — what many had forecast as a Super Bowl season — ended with Tomlinson wearing his helmet on the sidelines in Foxborough.
Before that, it was Tomlinson bleating that the Patriots had the gall to celebrate on their field.
NFL Week 11
Week 11 action (all times ET)
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MIA-CAR, 8:20 p.m. (Thur.) -- Prediction
IND-BAL, 1 p.m. -- Preview
WSH-DAL, 1 p.m. -- Preview
SF-GB, 1 p.m. -- Preview
SEA-MIN, 1 p.m. -- Preview
ATL-NYG, 1 p.m. -- Preview
NO-TB, 1 p.m. -- Preview
BUF-JAX, 1 p.m. -- Preview
PIT-KC, 1 p.m. -- Preview
CLE-DET, 1 p.m. -- Preview
ARZ-STL, 4:05 p.m. -- Preview
SD-DEN, 4:15 p.m. -- Preview
NYJ-NE, 4:15 p.m. -- Preview
CIN-OAK, 4:15 p.m. -- Preview
PHI-CHI, 8:20 p.m. -- Preview
IND-BAL, 8:30 p.m. (Mon.) -- Preview
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FANTASY FIX: |
Sorry. I should shut up about this already. If the Chargers are a dreadfully familiar story at 2-3, at least they can take comfort in losing to the 6-0 Broncos. "Our team is so new that we should be getting better and better each week," said the Denver coach, Josh McDaniels. "That's what our focus is on ... We hope to be playing our best football at the end of the season."
That's the difference. The Broncos have a future.
Not two months ago it was widely supposed McDaniels, a 33-year-old who'd never been a head coach before, wouldn't be one for long. In way over his head. That's what everybody said. His star receiver quit in practice and demanded a trade. It was already the second insurrection he faced. Earlier, Jay Cutler weaseled his way out of Denver, and what did the Broncos get in return? Kyle Orton?
Well, as it happens, the tandem of an overmatched coach and an undertalented quarterback is undefeated after six games, already 3 1/2 games ahead of San Diego. For the record, Jay Cutler has thrown 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Bears are 3-2. As of Monday night, Orton is undefeated as a Bronco, nine touchdowns and one interception. That's right, one interception. And that was a Hail Mary pass at the end of a half.
Who'd have thought, two months into the season, that Kyle Orton would outduel Philip Rivers? OK, Rivers has that line, which allowed him to be sacked five times, twice by the wonderfully named Elvis Dumervil, who used a pro wrestling move — call it an overhand forearm — to induce a fumble in the third quarter. Orton, on the other hand, was sacked once.
The game saw three returns for touchdowns in the first half. Eddie Royal ran back a punt and a kickoff, and the Chargers' Darren Sproles did the same with a punt for 77 yards. But a game that had five lead changes wasn't decided until late in the second half. Most impressive, at least for those still unacquainted with Orton's virtues as a quarterback, was the touchdown he threw for his tight end, Tony Scheffler, who managed to keep his feet in bounds. Then there was another, late in the game, a touchdown to Brandon Stokley.
"He actually did not run the route the way he was supposed to," Orton said of Stokley. "I guess when he's played the game as long as he has, he has a good feel for the game. I missed him a couple times earlier in the game, but he kept saying, 'Come to me, come to me.' I rolled around and he was open..."
Of course, it helped that the line gave Orton enough time to brush his teeth.
So now I wonder: Is he a better quarterback than anyone knew in Chicago, or did McDaniels make him better?
"I don't want to take anything away from what I did in Chicago, but to get to Denver with Coach and work on my craft the last six or seven months has done some great things for me."
It's great to have a future. Ask the Chargers.
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