How was the game McBoog?

[steeler]

[Squeegiebo]

Let me be the first to say I am sorry your anniversary gift sucked.

 

Oh, and to say I told you so.

[Caveman_Nick]

I am shocked. How does a slumping jets team knock off a surging Bolts team.

 

I thought 3 of the 4 visiting teams had a shot to win, and the Jets weren't one of them. BUT, if my thoughts on Denver righ true, we get a Pats vs. Jets playoff game. That would be truly awesome!!!!

[McBoog]

Sorry I didn’t reply until now. Didn’t see the thread! (San Diego - Jets Game)

 

Actually, it did not suck! My wife and I were disappointed with the outcome, but had a great time! This pregnancy has been kicking her butt and the baby has been VERY active, more so than the twins combined. She (the baby) got really still with all the noise in the stadium and actually gave my wife a break for a while.

 

The game, from about the middle of the third quarter on got exciting, and I think the VERY young Charger team did a lot of growing on that final drive to take the game into OT. I think it is interesting that 3-pointers were the key to the Jets winning and losing their playoff games. The game was a real battle, great to watch, and to see the Jets go out and fight the Steelers the way they did the following week showed a lot of heart. I gained much deserved respect for that team in those last two games.

 

The Chargers need better defense and do not have a championship quality defense yet. The pieces are there, but a few key spots are missing (Rodney Harrison ???), particularly a pass rush monster of a d-lineman. I was also frustrated with the defense's strategy! I would have rolled coverage to the middle of the field and made the Jets throw everything outside. For the first 2 and ½ quarters, the Jets played their game and controlled the tempo, this despite the lack of success they were used to on the ground.

 

I have learned another thing. As I get older, I am more able to remove myself from the emotion, heck, I am not the one strappin’ it on anymore, and sit back and enjoy the game. We ended up sitting next to a neat couple from New York, who were very conscious of being “polite” yet enthusiastic fans of their team in an opposing stadium.

 

My biggest gripe, and I watch the game through STRONG binos and look at individual match ups when at the games, was the uneven way the refs were calling holding in the trenches. To my surprise, when I was mumbling something about it, the guy from New York admitted (he was watching it through binos as well) that we were getting ticky- tack calls on us but not on them, mostly in the first half. The most blatant was when Jamal Williams burst through the middle and slammed into Martin for what should have been a five yard loss, except for the fact his arms were pinned to his side and was being tackled from behind by Mahway (sp?). The Jets fan, watching through his binos actually said, “There’s your holding flag!”, but as we looked up, we looked at each other in surprise when none was thrown.

 

The Chargers either through great Jets D, or from refs that seemed to only see blue, always seemed to be in first and 20 or second and 14 situations and I think it really threw them off. They looked “out of synch”, but a lot of that has to be credited to excellent D by the Jets! Because of this, I think they started to limit what they were doing in order to try and get out of the holes they kept finding themselves in and not making mistakes that could lead to TOs. It was clear that the Chargers did not match up well against the Jets, and I think the young guys were getting frustrated. Also, Pennington did not look as "hurt" as he had in recent weeks. His passes were less than crisp, even in warm-ups, and I, once again, was surprised to see the Chargers surrender the middle of the field as much as they did. The Chargers try to "keep everything in front of them", but that is the Jets offense, little chunks, kill the clock, win with D. Bad matchup of styles/schemes. The Chargers just never made the Jets offense do anything "uncomfortable" and could get very little pass rush going.

 

I know a lot was said about Marty being too conservative at the end in OT, but Keading has been pretty automatic at that range all year. I would probably not have thrown it, but may have tried to pitch it outside or run some counter from a spread formation to try and get LT some space to pick up another chunk or two. That missed field goal took all the wind out of the team, especially the defense, and I think the game winning field goal was through the uprights before the D realized they had to make a stop.

 

All in all, we had a great time. We paid too much for seats, hot dogs & sodas, and my six month pregnant wife sent me on a holy grail search to find a “café mocha” (which I did I am proud to say… Have you ever watched a game in the stadium by stopping at every other aisle or TV, I have gotten real good at that). The game got exciting and we had a chance to win.

 

San Diego does need to re-learn how to be the “3rd man” again. It did get really loud, but usually too late. The noise has to happen during the huddle all the way to the snap of the ball and the fans were only getting really loud as they would line up (as a player, it is was more important for me to hear what play was being called in the huddle, clearly, than to worry about snap count and audibles which are usually simplified in a noisy environment).

 

The pundits said the Chargers would win 2 to 4 games. They won 12 and took us for a heck of a ride. There is a lot to be enthusiastic about. The team is young, 2 number one picks next year, 21 million under the cap, and a better QB sitting on the bench (Rivers) than the one that played above his head this year (Brees). Much of what teams did to the Colts defensively down the stretch, INCLUDING the Pats in the playoffs, was based on what San Diego did in their game with them. A few more players and some maturity, and this team will contend for quite a few years to come. Oh, and they need to get Huock back as the O-line coach. He builds great lines wherever he goes!

 

Thanx for askin’

 

 

By the way, I made up for it and still threw down a few grand on some jewelry!

[Chargerz]

Even though the Chargers lost, I thought the game was great entertainment. Your comments about the defense, refs, and crowd noise are right on!

 

I'm glad you got to go!!!

 

(By the way, I agree with you. We need to keep our offensive line coach. Hopefully things will work out, but it's not sounding optimistic so far!)