Unreal - Where the Lack of Respect for the Chargers Comes From

There's a certain stigma that is carried into the playoffs as an 8 and 8 NFL team. There is good precedent for this, as no team had won a playoff game prior to 2004. In those five attempts, the closest a team came to winning was the first one - the 1985 Cleveland Browns, who came within a field goal of Miami. The only two teams to actually win a playoff game as an 8-8 team were both in 2004. Both Minnesota and St Louis made the NFC playoffs in a terrible year for that conference. Both won their first round game (vs. Green Bay and Seattle, respectively) and both were spanked in the second round. Thank you ESPN for keeping this updated.

Now the Chargers have made it. The San Diego Chargers, who were likely everyone's favorite to win it all once Tom Brady went Carson Palmer on us, are now in the playoffs[sorry about the link Pattie Fans, but this is what sports does to us]. So why should we show any respect to a team that is 8-8 and only in the playoffs because they play in a weak division? Well first, we should take a look at who they beat, and who they lost to. Perhaps we should think about how they lost the games they did lose.

1. To the second seeded Carolina 26-24 on a last second TD pass.
2. On the road to the Broncos (not quite a playoff team!) 39-38, which should have been a win. In Baseball, they would have played the remainder of the game under protest.
3. On the road to the third seeded Dolphins 17-10.
4. On the road to the MIGHTY BUFFALO BILLS!!! 23-14.
   
5. In England to the Saints 37-32 after which they fired their defensive coordinator for not getting pressure on quarterbacks (17 sacks in 8 games).
6. On the road to the second seeded Steelers 11-10 in the last minute.
7. To the fifth seeded Colts 23-20 in the last minute.
8. To the fifth seeded Atlanta Falcons 22-16

The Chargers were 3-5 at on the road this year, with two of those losses coming against playoff teams. One of those games was a farce (the Broncos) and should not have counted as a loss. One of those games was played over 11,000 miles from home. Two of those losses came with a combined 35 seconds to play for a total difference of two points. Their only loss more than seven points (on the road or at home) came against the MIGHTY BUFFALO BILLS!!!

There's an old(?) saying that bad teams lose close games. The Chargers were 2-7 in games decided by a touchdown or less (both wins vs. Kansas City). This is indeed disturbing. However, there is also a saying that good teams don't lose to bad teams. The Chargers are 8-3 against non-playoff teams (9-2 if you fix that stupid Bronco game!). The average score in these games was 33-23 Chargers.

The scariest stat for the AFC (besides Phillip Rivers, who I'll get to) is that the Chargers are only allowing 18.5 points per game (including three playoff teams - ATL, IND, PIT) since changing D coordinators. This is down from 24.9 in the first 8 games. This is also better than their first opponent's (Colts) 20.9/game in their last 8 meaningful games (games 7-15) against only two playoff teams (Tenn and SD).

Really, considering their record and their past history, I was not terribly surprised this morning by John Clayton's article Here. Mr. Clayton presents ten questions in which he rarely mentions the Chargers. He highlights their major injury (LT's abdominal strain), there rematch with the Colts (week 12) and their ineffectiveness at the running game, stating that LT "has had one of the worst seasons of his career." This is because he only rushed for 1,110 yards and 11 touchdowns whilst not fumbling once. This was fourth among AFC backs!! Oh, and second among playoff bound AFC backs (Johnson, TEN - 1,228). Are you kidding me John?! Note that Darren Sproles ran for an additional 330 yards on only 61 carries. Actually the Chargers' 4.1 yards per rush is third among AFC playoff teams (Tenn 4.3, Mia 4.2). Great analysis John. That must be because of their O-line's "shaky run-blocking". Laugh-Out-Loud John, Laugh-Out-Loud.

Maybe the Charger's are a threat because of their passing game then. This is what Mr. Clayton says:

"6. Which quarterbacks hold the edge?

Manning, Roethlisberger and -- believe it or not -- Collins have the edge. Manning is the most experienced playoff quarterback. He's been in 14 playoff games, winning seven and losing seven. He has 21 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions in those 14 games, and he's completed 61 percent of his passes. He's won three of his past four playoff games, and he has a Super Bowl ring.

Roethlisberger is next. In the postseason, he's 5-2 with 12 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, and he has the league's highest completion percentage (62.4) [he's at a whopping 59.9 this year John, 21st in the NFL]. Collins is the sleeper. He's been to two conference championship games and a Super Bowl. Pennington is a solid playoff quarterback. He took three Jets teams to the playoffs and is 2-3 in the postseason with seven touchdown passes and a 60.4 completion percentage. Rivers is just starting to learn how to be a successful playoff quarterback. He is 2-2 in the postseason, thanks to last year's run to the AFC title game."

So not only has Phillip Rivers been stiffed out of a trip to the Pro Bowl, now he's doesn't even hold an edge in playoff passing. The Chargers' 241.1 passing yards per game is seventh in the NFL and second among AFC playoff teams (Indy with 255.9). Phillip is getting an astounding 8.4 yards per pass attempt! Wait a second. That means that the Chargers are getting 6.0 yards per play! That's tied for tops among NFL playoff teams (Car).

Rivers completed this season with a QB rating of 105.5. His previous highest in a full season was 92.0 in '06. How does this compete with other QB's? Well in 2007, Tom Brady had a QB rating of 117.2. In 2004, Peyton Manning set the single season record of 121.1 while Daunte Culpepper (yes, him) had 110.9. That places Rivers fourth on the list for this decade. Among active QB's? Kurt Warner in '99 had a 109.2, and that's it! We're talking about the fifth best performance by an active QB, and he's not a great threat in the playoffs. Thanks John. Great job, John.

What does all of this mean? Watch out AFC. Their's a fierce storm on the horizon and it wears a giant bolt of lightning. Go Chargers! Set 'em straight!