Tired Of Comin' Out On The Losing End/You Ain't Gonna Learn What You Don't Wanna Know

I know I've used the first quote from Springsteen as a post title before. But then I got the text that Bobby Weir had passed. There he is in the JIC collage next to Ladd. I know, FAITHFUL READER, that you're aware that I've suffered some real losses in my life. This isn't that, but I've seen him perform more than any artist and by that I mean close to 200 times. It hurts and my heart goes out to his wife and daughters. Like so many, he kept his illness private until there was only time left to grieve. In the event that you don't know what the second quote is from, it's "Black Throated Wind" by the JUSTICE IS COMING house band.

As for the Bolts, I didn't even bother to write a post last week. I figured since the entire team was essentially giving themselves a week off after the Texans game that I would as well. That game was tough to swallow. It seemed like after those two quick touchdowns that the Chargers wasted a lot of time running up the gut. I know that Popper said the strength of Houston's defense was on the edges, but that's also where Hampton can pick up a head of steam. Of course, when he was finally unleashed at the end of the game he hurt his other ankle. We'll see how effective he can be in a few hours. The image of LT with his visor on was fodder for all the Massholes after the 2007 title game. I admit that I wondered why he couldn't somehow tough it out, especially after Rivers played. Of course, Rivers also couldn't throw off his repaired foot and tossed three picks.

Anyway, I now get that LT really wasn't much use to us if he couldn't perform those lethal jump cuts that made him special. There were other things last week that lost the game. Dicker's missed kicks were huge. I won't go into full Nate Kaeding panic mode, since it's not productive. We all know how important kicks in the postseason are. Look at last night and to a lesser degree, the early game today. Gadsen's drop that led to a pick loomed even larger after the aforementioned missed field goal.

So far, the playoffs have been decided by a quarterback facing a deficit that could end his team's season who simply put the rest of the squad on his back and refused to accept defeat. I know we have one of those ourselves even if people continue to doubt him. I hope we don't need to have Herbert bail us out, since we need strong performance from everyone on the team. But it's the playoffs and anything can happen. No one knows that better than us.

I have never seen a 3 point underdog on the road given so little of a chance going into a game. It doesn't matter, but it does reflect what the outside world thinks of us, or doesn't. As Charger fans we worry about a meltdown like the one in Jacksonville. With the exception of the overthrow to Keenan, there is nothing Herbert did to contribute to the loss. It doesn't matter, he'd be the first to admit that as the quarterback, he should be expected to deliver a win.

On the outside, people are saying Maye, Vrabel, their running backs, are just too much to overcome. Some people allude to our endless injuries, but the Pats pass rush hasn't shown itself to be so imposing. It doesn't matter what people predict or not about the Chargers. Should they win, I am sure the hype train will grow. I think Rich Eisen was the only person I saw pick the Bills today, but he didn't even pick us.

Once Joe Alt went down, we could have easily thrown in the season. Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh refused. They both need at least one playoff win, that's for sure. Our last two were road wins coached by McCoy and Lynn. This is as good a matchup as we could hope for unless we won the division so let's focus on that.

There is no question that the only route to winning is to show the Patriots something they haven't seen this year. They won on the road in Buffalo and Baltimore, but the Chargers need to be tough, physical and resilient. They need to do the Pats what they did to us on 1/14/07. I don't meant to be behind in the final quarter and I don't expect New England to choke a game away. But the Bolts need to make sure they don't lose the game with mistakes. Herbert will have to be careful with the ball, more so than he's been. I've already covered the importance of the kicking game. The defense has been our strength, with the exception of the first two series of the Houston game. They have to do to the Pats what we couldn't in the AFC title game. We don't have the pass rush the Giants had that year, but we have to tackle well and get a hand in the quarterbacks face. You can't hit Maye like they did Brady that day. Brady got all the calls but Tuck, Strahan, and Osi (who AJ Smith rightfully coveted in the Eli Manning trade) were tattooing him.

We have the QB but the more we can run, the easier his job will be. As you can imagine, I'm not in Foxboro right now. It's not for lack of confidence. It's just as it was in 2007. I don't want to spend three hours being yelled at by a poor man's Portnoy. My son is so Bolted up he is going to sleep in his Herbert jersey since he says he can't handle a playoff loss. I have never said before a playoff game that I would be ok with just winning one. In those last two wins, we ended up never returning with the same coach. But are you getting closer or farther away to your overall goal of winning it all? With a loss tonight, you certainly can't say we are, even with all the injuries on the line. There is no question we won't have this same line next year, but there is no guarantee you are back in the playoffs. Aaron said he'd be happy with just one win for Herbo, so I want this even more for him.

Justin Patrick Herbert deserves to show the world what he can do in the playoffs. He has another chance. This team has outperformed so many expectations even when they were healthy, which was over the summer. No one saw them winning 11 games even before Slater went down. I just don't want this ride to end. I was ready to give up after the Alt injury, but I I also don't play. They have really fought so hard all year and I want see them get a chance to keep fighting. It's that simple. I went back to my post before last year. No one saw us getting steamrolled the way we did. Normally, settling for field goals is okay, especially against a team that was struggling offensively. Had Tuli or Bosa gotten that fumble, who knows? But games unfold in a crazy ways. Let's take this one, as Derwin said, by any means necessary. It's time to take all those Harbaughisms (it's also amazing how little credit he is getting from the outside world) and put them into practice.

Bolt up, way the fuck up.

JIC,

RLW