T.K.O.
10-12-2010, 01:16 PM
Originally Published: October 10, 2010Share4 Email Comments42 Week 5: Chargers losing grip on AFC West
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
AP Photo/David Richard
Falcons DE Kroy Biermann delivered one of the most spectacular plays of the day. His late deflection, turned interception, turned touchdown helped Atlanta outlast the Browns 20-10. Week 5 leaders
We learned Sunday that divisional games should be close this year regardless of history. The Chargers owned the Raiders heading into Week 5, but Oakland was able to end a 13-game losing streak with a 35-27 victory. Eighteen of the 26 divisional games played this season have been decided by eight points or less
What we also learned is there will be some separation during an October schedule that doesn't have a lot of divisional games. Though there was plenty of drama and wild plays on Sunday, only three of the 12 afternoon games were decided by a touchdown or less. The Texans beat the Cowboys 34-27, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers accepted a Cincinnati Bengals fourth-quarter meltdown in a 24-21 victory and the Washington Redskins beat the Green Bay Packers 16-13 in a come-from-behind overtime victory.
Expect more separation in future weeks. So far this season, 45.8 percent of nondivisional games have been decided by eight points or fewer.
Here are five things I learned in Week 5.
[+] EnlargeKyle Terada/US Presswire
Philip Rivers passed for 431 yards, but he and the Chargers suffered a rare loss to Oakland.
1. Chargers open the door: The Chargers have lost their stranglehold of the AFC West and have opened the division to any team wishing to challenge. Their loss to the Raiders showed Philip Rivers can't do it alone. Rivers completed 27 of 42 passes for 431 yards and two touchdowns, but for the third consecutive road game, he couldn't convert that final two-minute drive to get the victory.
The Chargers are a different team this year. Statistically, they entered the game ranked No. 1 on offense and No. 1 on defense, but defensive coordinator Ron Rivera has been doing it with smoke and mirrors. One-time star players such as Shawne Merriman have become invisible. Recent defensive draft choices such as Larry English, Vaughn Martin, Cam Thomas, Darrell Stuckey and others have been either injured or inactive, leaving Rivera with a growing list of street free agents and undrafted players.
The Chiefs now lead the division with a 3-1 record. The Chargers had grown accustomed to 5-1 records in the AFC West. With losses in Kansas City and Oakland, the Chargers will have to scramble to win the division with maybe an eight- or nine-win record.
2. Running on empty: Don't underestimate the impact of running back injuries on how the game is being played. Even though nine backs ran for more than 100 yards in the first 12 games Sunday, running offenses are drying up quickly. The run-to-pass ratio Sunday was 41.9-to-58.1, continuing this season's downward cycle for running attempts. Entering Sunday, the running percentage was 42.9, lowest since 1999.
Heading the list of affected teams were the Denver Broncos. Knowshon Moreno was out with a hamstring injury for a third straight week, leaving Kyle Orton with Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter and a lot of pass plays. The Broncos had only 13 runs for 39 yards in a 31-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Orton once again had to go pass crazy to survive, completing 23 of 38 for 314 yards, a tremendous improvement over the shutdown he suffered last season in Baltimore. But the Broncos are too one-dimensional and it is leaving them vulnerable against good defenses.
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan has a lot of work to do in trying to find a running game minus Clinton Portis, who is out four to six weeks with a groin injury. Ryan Torain had 16 carries for 41 yards in the Redskins' overtime victory over the Packers, who have their own running issues. Overall, the Redskins had 51 rushing yards and had to make Donovan McNabb attempt 49 passes against a defense that often dropped seven or eight players into coverage.
Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns wasn't the same back Sunday because of his thigh problem. Hillis had 28 yards on 10 carries and the Browns had only 48 yards rushing in a 20-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, dropping them to 1-4.
3. Chiefs improving in the ratings: The Kansas City Chiefs didn't prove they are ready for prime time, but at 3-1, they have progressed to a point where they can go against local evening news or maybe a game show or two. The Chiefs were able to hang with the Indianapolis Colts in a 19-9 road loss. Their success can be attributed to a 2-3-6 scheme that held Peyton Manning to 244 passing yards, one red zone touchdown and no completion longer than 24 yards. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who knows Manning from their old battles when he coordinated the New England Patriots' defense, used a lot of packages in which he dropped eight defenders into coverage, forcing Manning to call a lot of running plays and settle for field goals.
Chiefs coach Todd Haley tried a game-opening onside kick that didn't work and gave Manning a field goal drive from the Chiefs' 35-yard line. Haley researched game-opening onside kicks back to 2000 and found the team that tried it won six of 11 games.
"Opening that way wasn't going to win or lose the game for us,'' Haley justified afterward.
Haley also went for a fourth-and-2 that failed at the Colts' 8 in the first quarter, figuring a team playing the Colts has to steal a few possessions or go for seven instead of three. Where the Chiefs failed and have worries is in the passing game. Dwayne Bowe dropped back-to-back passes, including one that would have been a touchdown, in the third quarter. Quarterback Matt Cassel was far from clutch, throwing six incompletions over three consecutive possessions when the Chiefs were tied or trailed by three. The Chiefs must be wondering if they have a good enough quarterback to win against an elite player like Manning.
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
AP Photo/David Richard
Falcons DE Kroy Biermann delivered one of the most spectacular plays of the day. His late deflection, turned interception, turned touchdown helped Atlanta outlast the Browns 20-10. Week 5 leaders
We learned Sunday that divisional games should be close this year regardless of history. The Chargers owned the Raiders heading into Week 5, but Oakland was able to end a 13-game losing streak with a 35-27 victory. Eighteen of the 26 divisional games played this season have been decided by eight points or less
What we also learned is there will be some separation during an October schedule that doesn't have a lot of divisional games. Though there was plenty of drama and wild plays on Sunday, only three of the 12 afternoon games were decided by a touchdown or less. The Texans beat the Cowboys 34-27, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers accepted a Cincinnati Bengals fourth-quarter meltdown in a 24-21 victory and the Washington Redskins beat the Green Bay Packers 16-13 in a come-from-behind overtime victory.
Expect more separation in future weeks. So far this season, 45.8 percent of nondivisional games have been decided by eight points or fewer.
Here are five things I learned in Week 5.
[+] EnlargeKyle Terada/US Presswire
Philip Rivers passed for 431 yards, but he and the Chargers suffered a rare loss to Oakland.
1. Chargers open the door: The Chargers have lost their stranglehold of the AFC West and have opened the division to any team wishing to challenge. Their loss to the Raiders showed Philip Rivers can't do it alone. Rivers completed 27 of 42 passes for 431 yards and two touchdowns, but for the third consecutive road game, he couldn't convert that final two-minute drive to get the victory.
The Chargers are a different team this year. Statistically, they entered the game ranked No. 1 on offense and No. 1 on defense, but defensive coordinator Ron Rivera has been doing it with smoke and mirrors. One-time star players such as Shawne Merriman have become invisible. Recent defensive draft choices such as Larry English, Vaughn Martin, Cam Thomas, Darrell Stuckey and others have been either injured or inactive, leaving Rivera with a growing list of street free agents and undrafted players.
The Chiefs now lead the division with a 3-1 record. The Chargers had grown accustomed to 5-1 records in the AFC West. With losses in Kansas City and Oakland, the Chargers will have to scramble to win the division with maybe an eight- or nine-win record.
2. Running on empty: Don't underestimate the impact of running back injuries on how the game is being played. Even though nine backs ran for more than 100 yards in the first 12 games Sunday, running offenses are drying up quickly. The run-to-pass ratio Sunday was 41.9-to-58.1, continuing this season's downward cycle for running attempts. Entering Sunday, the running percentage was 42.9, lowest since 1999.
Heading the list of affected teams were the Denver Broncos. Knowshon Moreno was out with a hamstring injury for a third straight week, leaving Kyle Orton with Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter and a lot of pass plays. The Broncos had only 13 runs for 39 yards in a 31-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Orton once again had to go pass crazy to survive, completing 23 of 38 for 314 yards, a tremendous improvement over the shutdown he suffered last season in Baltimore. But the Broncos are too one-dimensional and it is leaving them vulnerable against good defenses.
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan has a lot of work to do in trying to find a running game minus Clinton Portis, who is out four to six weeks with a groin injury. Ryan Torain had 16 carries for 41 yards in the Redskins' overtime victory over the Packers, who have their own running issues. Overall, the Redskins had 51 rushing yards and had to make Donovan McNabb attempt 49 passes against a defense that often dropped seven or eight players into coverage.
Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns wasn't the same back Sunday because of his thigh problem. Hillis had 28 yards on 10 carries and the Browns had only 48 yards rushing in a 20-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, dropping them to 1-4.
3. Chiefs improving in the ratings: The Kansas City Chiefs didn't prove they are ready for prime time, but at 3-1, they have progressed to a point where they can go against local evening news or maybe a game show or two. The Chiefs were able to hang with the Indianapolis Colts in a 19-9 road loss. Their success can be attributed to a 2-3-6 scheme that held Peyton Manning to 244 passing yards, one red zone touchdown and no completion longer than 24 yards. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who knows Manning from their old battles when he coordinated the New England Patriots' defense, used a lot of packages in which he dropped eight defenders into coverage, forcing Manning to call a lot of running plays and settle for field goals.
Chiefs coach Todd Haley tried a game-opening onside kick that didn't work and gave Manning a field goal drive from the Chiefs' 35-yard line. Haley researched game-opening onside kicks back to 2000 and found the team that tried it won six of 11 games.
"Opening that way wasn't going to win or lose the game for us,'' Haley justified afterward.
Haley also went for a fourth-and-2 that failed at the Colts' 8 in the first quarter, figuring a team playing the Colts has to steal a few possessions or go for seven instead of three. Where the Chiefs failed and have worries is in the passing game. Dwayne Bowe dropped back-to-back passes, including one that would have been a touchdown, in the third quarter. Quarterback Matt Cassel was far from clutch, throwing six incompletions over three consecutive possessions when the Chiefs were tied or trailed by three. The Chiefs must be wondering if they have a good enough quarterback to win against an elite player like Manning.