MVN: Most Valuable Network

Nothing like a little Raider blow-out to make a Chargers fan feel a little better about an otherwise disappointing season.  I can't exactly explain the phenomenon, but I can say that it can take any Chargers fan frown and turn it upside down.  Remember when the Chargers went 1-15, with that single win coming against the Raiders?  A lot of Chargers fans called that a .500 season, and almost felt content with that number-1 draft pick.

Anyway, nothing like playing the Raiders to bring back the offensive punch that had gone limp, and the ferocity in the pass defense that had gone tame.  Still, I'm left wondering, "Why couldn't they play like this consistently over the previous 12 games?"  It's not as simple as just blaming a very bad opponent.

For what seems to be the first time all season, the Chargers made significant adjustments to their offensive and defensive schemes and play-calling.  Even after the firing of Ted Cottrell, the defense looked basically the same.  And that's no knock on Rivera- Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say.  But for the most part, this team has approached every game the same.

Especially in the Turner/Cottrell era (which wasn't short enough), the Chargers lost players on both sides of the ball but never tried to adapt to the effect that it had on their starting lineup.  They plugged in a new, and most importantly different player and kept pushing ahead.  The problem was that the new, and most importantly different players were often not effective replacements in the same old schemes.

That's not a difficult concept to understand.  Bill Belicheck understood it, and made the necessary adjustments to salvage the season.  Tom Coughlin understood it, and made the adjustments to his defense that he needed to make to remain a contender.  With a lot of new players and almost as much uncertainty, Mike Smith of the Falcons realized it and made the necessary adjustments needed to succeed.  I am willing to bet that most professional coaching staffs understand that concept.  Why didn't ours?

It took until week 14 for the Chargers coaching staff to figure it out.  Actually, give Rivera some credit- he's only had 5-weeks to figure it out.  Still, why was this so difficult?  So the offense had trouble blocking- it's obvious that you need to make an adjustment.  Finally against the Raiders they did, throwing in an extra offensive lineman to help spring LT for some decent 1^st-half gains.  So the pass-rush has sucked- you have to make an adjustment... you have to do something.  And they did, switching Shaun Phillips back to his most familiar spot on the weak-side and mixing up the rotation on the defensive line which led to 3 sacks, plenty of hurries and 4-turnovers.  Yes, the big lead played a part, but to just see something different AND effective gives me a glimmer of hope for the future. 

This team is not necessarily a bad team, but they needed to adapt to the players they had to be successfully.  You can't just replace a Merriman or a Neal, and you can't wish away a lingering injury to your center, DB, or any number of players who are at much less than 100%.  If you can't replace them, you have to do something to compensate. 

And finally, the Chargers did something.  Look at how much fun a little change can be!