A REVIEW OF THURSDAY AND WHAT THE CHARGERS NEED TO GET TO THE PLAYOFFS

 There is a famous Charlie Brown clip where Charlie Brown goes to kick the ball. Over and over again and every time Lucy pulls the ball away in the last minute. That clip tells the story of what it's like to be a Charger fan. Only thing is Lucy not needed. We can trip and miss perfectly well by ourselves.

 The Chargers started the season out 3-6 and had become the laughing stock of the late night TV circuit because of the 27,000 seat soccer stadium half full of opposing fans. The ratings for the Chargers in LA  were always last and a front office was stumbling in theirown way in the "FightForLA."

The Chargers vs Chiefs and the Rams vs Seahawks. Who is the "real" team in LA? One thing was proven. There is no FightForLA! The Rams stuffed their fist in the Seahawks face winning 42-7. on the road. The Chargers lost their game 30-13. That is not a fight that is a can of whoop ass.

 The Chargers were finding creative new ways to lose ball games in the last minute during the first 6 weeks of the season. The schedule gave the team a break midway through with the Giants, Raiders and Broncos. Those 3 teams were stinking up everyone sundays with their games.

Two road games followed with the Chargers playing the Patriots and Jaguars. The Chargers lost both. Next up was Buffalo who was starting a rookie QB. The Chargers defeated Buffalo by the way of the Bills coaching staff starting Nathan Peterman instead of Tyrod Taylor. Turkey Day brought a gift as well as Cowboys star RB Ezekiel Elliott suspension kept him out of the game. The Cowboys offense had not adjusted to his absence and the Chargers took advantage of it. The winless Browns and the injury ridden Redskins came to Carson and left with a loss. Their record went from 0-4 to 7-6.

 By way of the Chargers vs Cowboys on national television. The NFL had their chance to try and give Dean Spanos a boost in LA. Writers and talk shows filled the airwaves with the "Chargers are for real". "The hottest team in the NFL" was the headline on a lot of sports sites. In reality, The Chargers were beating bad teams and losing to winning teams. As the team started to believe their own hype came the battle for the AFC West Championship. How appropriate on national television for the winner to basically coast to the championship. The Chargers were exposed as pretenders instead of contenders.

 Like a sledgehammer to the face Charger fans realized something was wrong, This wasn't the team they witnessed 7 out of the previous 9 games. Bad things happen to bad teams. I have always believed that. Fumbles, bad calls, and penalties end bad teams hopes of a drive to the end zone.

 Kansas City had been a house of horrors for charger fans and Thursday kept the creep show going. Since defeated Andy Reid at the end of the 2013 season and advancing to the Playoffs. Andy Reid has laid the hurt on the Chargers defeating them in every game since.

For Philip Rivers if he is superman then the Chiefs are his kryptonite. In week 3 vs the Chiefs in Carson Rivers threw 3 INT in the 1st half. He equaled that amount in KC Thursday. The mistakes of a 7-6 team were showing as the injuries and turnovers began to mount up. Kareem Hunt ran all over the Chargers defense for 155 yards. He had 172 yards in week 3. Rivers has thrown 13 INT against the Chiefs in the losing streak to KC since that day in 2013 at Qualcomm.

 At this stage of Rivers career certain things work better than in the past. Running the ball with short passing has resulted in long drives to the end zone. Rivers can't throw down field  with a duck pass to a 6'5 monster anymore. Shorten his game up and his percentages go up. The stats through week 1-10 showed when throwing for 20 yards or more Rivers was 8-34 resulting in a passer rating of 65%. 21 other QB in the NFL do it better than Rivers deep down field.

 Before the season I predicted the Chargers would be anywhere between 7-9 and 8-8. Only because the AFC stinks are we even talking playoffs. The lack of depth and the Chargers are simply smaller in key areas resulting in teams taking advantage of their weakness. The Chargers are not that good yet. They are getting better and with some star players especially on defense. It is sad that Telesco can not put together a decent roster of depth players. Special Teams this year has been nothing short of a disaster.

   Gus Bradley put the Chargers in dime defense for 86% of the snaps Thursday, The safeties and corners were lining up taking on guys normally reserved for linebackers. The results: The team almost leading the NFL in missed tackles. In the 1st half they lined up a RB with TE and in the 2nd half switched to 2 TE. The Chiefs gained an avg of 10 yards on run plays. The Chargers made no adjustment staying in dime defense. The Chargers lack a nose tackle who can get in and stop these RB before their into the secondary. Telesco has to stop drafting guys 1-3 inches or weighs less than most of the guys across the line.

 Going into Kansas City they controlled their own destiny. Now they are a sinking ship with only a 18% of making the playoffs. If they won it would have been 86%

 But it is what is fans. Moving forward KC plays the Dolphins in Miami and the Broncos in week 17. They should coast to victories in both and win the AFC West.

 Chargers need win both games and Chiefs lose both games. Very Unlikely

For the Wild Card the Chargers have to win vs Jets and the Raiders.
Titans to lose 2 games,  the Bills to lose 1 game for the Wild Card.

 The Titans hold the 5th spot and the Bills have the 6th seed. That won't be the same after week 17.

 Bills: The Bills play 2 division games on the road. The Patriots and then the Dolphins. The Bills will not beat the Pats so there is there 1 loss.

Titans: The Titans have 2 home games against playoff teams. The Rams who are looking to clinch this Sunday then the Jaguars. As long as the Jags don't rest players in week 17 this is very possible.

The Chargers have to limp across the country and play a 10am game vs the Jets. The same Jets that beat the Chiefs after hanging 38 points 3 weeks ago. The Jets can surprise you so it depends what Jets team shows up Sunday. Forecast is cloudy and temp in the 40's for the game.

 Depending on the results from this week games if the teams hopes of the wild card are still alive. Next week will be a doozy. New Years Eve in Carson vs the Raiders. Sadly, the vast majority of ticket sales have been sold and are being resold to Raider fans making the trek from Oakland. Expect a massive amount of silver and black in attendance.

 My prediction stays the same as before the season. This is an average team with some above average starters. A QB that is aging and slowing declining.  I like the team to win in New York and lose to Oakland in Carson. The Chargers finish off 2017 much like the previous years under Dean Spanos with an average 500 record and hopes in the upcoming offseason.

 That night marks a new beginning in bringing in 2018. For the Chargers it means making a good team better. Even with the stars there is a lot of work to do this offseason.



                   Happy New Year everyone. I raise a beer to you. Now you raise the bar!