Not just in terms of injuries (of which they have a
lot) or in the playoff race, but in a grander, big-picture sense, something
appears to be lacking in San Diego. With each passing week, the seemingly
ever-present questions about coach Norv Turner’s and general manager A.J.
Smith’s futures with the franchise grow louder and louder.
Thursday night’s 24-17 (BOX | RECAP) loss to Oakland
was the Chargers’ fourth straight setback. It dropped them to 4-5 and a full
game back of the Raiders in the topsy-turvy (read: mediocre) AFC West.
And now it’s worth asking if Turner and Smith have
reached the end of the line.
San Diego won five division titles in six years from
2004-09 and just could never get over the top, bowing out in the playoffs each
time. Then last year, with high expectations and a veteran roster, the Chargers
finished 9-7 and missed the postseason.
Chargers president Dean Spanos brought Turner and
Smith back, citing the franchise’s long struggle to become a contender in the
first place. But nine games into the 2011 season, you have to wonder if Spanos
is rethinking that decision. San Diego is on the verge of becoming the AFC’s
Vikings, a team that plummets from contender to over-the-hill also-ran in a
matter of a few games.
Thursday, the Chargers had three possessions in the
fourth quarter, three chances to pull even with Oakland. The notion they deserved
to be in this game, though, is laughable.
Oakland, with Michael Bush running wild and Carson
Palmer showing off some of the reasons the Raiders traded for him, beat San
Diego into the turf in the first half. The Raiders put up 293 yards of offense
to the Chargers’ 65 before halftime and took a 17-3 lead into the break.
Their edge really should have been bigger — Oakland
dominated on both lines, especially after San Diego lost left tackle Marcus
McNeill to an early injury.
Somehow, the Chargers found their way back into
things, aided by a pair of Palmer turnovers. But their late desperation efforts
to get the game tied just proved what the first half had shown us — this San
Diego team is not getting it done, mentally or physically.
The play that put it all into focus came with 3:38
left in the final quarter and the Chargers still down seven. Philip Rivers
heaved a deep pass into coverage, as he’d done repeatedly throughout the night,
looking for Vincent Jackson to make a play in the end zone. Jackson was covered
by two defenders and never even looked for the ball. As he ran past the goal
line, he acted as if the ball was in a different area code.
Only it came down about two feet from him, right
into the arms of Oakland safety Matt Giordano, who made the interception.
Where was the effort? Where was the spark?
San Diego came into Thursday on a three-game slide
but could have retaken control of the AFC West by holding serve at home.
Instead, it went through the motions in the first half, then came up short in a
late rally — a similar script to the one the Chargers followed in Week 9
against Green Bay.
For the moment at least, the division is now in the
Raiders’ hands. Without star running back Darren McFadden, Oakland still
managed to come out and slam the ball down San Diego’s throat. Bush wound up
with 242 total yards, breaking Bo Jackson’s single-game Oakland record.
Palmer took some big steps forward, too, in his
second Raiders start, despite a costly fumble near midfield and egregious
interception deep in San Diego territory — both of which were caused by
pressure. Unlike his first two Oakland appearances, which resulted in an 0-2
mark, Palmer looked comfortable in the pocket and confident throwing the ball.
He wound up with 299 passing yards and two
touchdowns to emerging rookie star Denarius Moore.
Now 5-4, the Raiders have some winnable games
forthcoming, plus looming rematches with the Chiefs, who routed Oakland in Week
7, and the Chargers. While things have changed over and over again in the AFC
West, the Raiders took the bull by the horns Thursday.
The exact opposite is true of the Chargers. This was
a tremendous opportunity for San Diego to prove it was better than 4-4, better
than the inconsistent mess of a team we’ve seen for much of 2011.
The Chargers let that chance slip away — or the
Raiders ripped it from them, depending on which view you want to take. And with
seven games left in what’s rapidly turning into another awfully disappointing
season, San Diego has to start wondering if it’s time for some big changes.
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