Chargers Want Off Rollercoaster Ride

Mamba · Oct 14, 2008

The Chargers have a new perspective on their season, but there is also pragmatism.

“The dust settles, and we come in here today and we are 3-3,” Philip Rivers said Monday afternoon. “That's still where we are, and we have a long way to go ... We won one game. It's key to understand we didn't all of a sudden change the season or accomplish something huge. What we did was give ourselves a chance to accomplish everything we wanted to.”

Sure, the Chargers can use the push of a 30-10 rout of the New England Patriots to get on a roll. They've done it before; they're good enough to do it again. But they'll have to keep playing as they did Sunday night, and better. They must use the lessons of a rough start to make sure they don't slide backward again.

“Momentum is about confidence,” LaDainian Tomlinson said. “If you have confidence, going into the next week it just carries over, and you continue with that confidence. Sometimes that's why teams get on a winning streak. Sometimes it doesn't matter who you're playing, you have the confidence at some point you're going to make the plays you need to win a game.”

But they know momentum doesn't just happen, it needs continuous energy, something the Chargers finally showed Sunday for an entire game.

“It's a week-to-week thing,” Rivers said. “You have to gear up and do it again. All these games don't just continue to carry over into other ones. You have to go with it. It doesn't just happen. It's not just, 'Hey, we played a better game as a whole now, we've got it. This is the Chargers team we knew we could be.'

“You have to go do it. But I think certainly there are plays in games and types of wins that can kick-start you and get you on a roll, and hopefully that was one (Sunday).”

Besides the name value of Sunday's victory – beating the team that had ended their past two seasons, the defending AFC champions, the New England dynasty – the Chargers know what is ahead of them is likely a more difficult stretch.

The 10-day, two-game road trip is challenge enough. The opponents won't be easy either. Buffalo (4-1) has the league's fourth-ranked defense, and New Orleans (3-3) has the league's top-ranked offense.

And it's no longer early, where losses can be justified by the vast horizon of remaining games. When they return from this trip, the Chargers will have a bye and then begin the second half of the season.

“You're reaching the middle part of the season,” Tomlinson said. “The middle part of the season is critical, where people start to make their move and position themselves for where they're going to be for the home stretch.

“This is going to define which way our season is going to go. We need to understand that, and I think we do understand that.”

While the Chargers have spent much time talking about their experience coming back from a 1-3 record in 2007, Tomlinson has worried a little bit about a redux of 2005. The Chargers were 3-4 before a five-game winning streak put them in playoff position with four games to go. But, exhausted from fighting back, they lost three of four.

“We were going through this same situation, up and down, and we ended up 9-7 and on the outside looking in to the playoffs,” Tomlinson said. “ . . . We can't afford to do that. That's what I mean when I say these next few weeks are going to define what type of team we have and what we're going to be looking at with the scenarios of the playoffs.

“We've got to continue to play like we need wins, which we do. We're not back in it at all . . . We can't keep on going up and down – a win, a loss. We've got to be able to put a streak together where we can feel good about ourselves.”
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Vintage · Oct 15, 2008

I think they righted the ship. Big win against New England, the whole team looked in sync. And Rivers continues to step up when the team relies on him to generate the offense (as opposed to LT). Rivers really has taken the next step. The Chargers will be fine even if LT continues to not play at a previous level.

Mamba · Oct 15, 2008

This week is going to be a huge test for them. The Bills are a tough team, especially at home, but I expect the Chargers to control the tempo.

Next week against the Saints should be an offensive arsenal for the Chargers. If the D can step up, they can run of 2 wins in a row here and go into their Bye week @ 5-3.

Vintage · Oct 15, 2008

I'm well aware of how tough the Bills are at home, lol...

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Chargers Want Off Rollercoaster Ride

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Chargers Want Off Rollercoaster Ride

Mamba The King is Back Staff Member Global Moderator

Vintage Defeating Communism...

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