Bolt fans confident

[BradyRocksMySox]

Could be close, however, it is a home game against a lesser defense than what we faced in Miami.

To make that claim sincerely signifies you know little about defenses and have not done the research or observation required to give any value to your statements. This is simply ignorant of you. At the very least, you should remember the game played against the Chargers last season, where even after 4 turnovers, the Pats were still limited to 10 points. Brady was sacked 4 times, and held to 159 yards. The Chargers defense is only improved. Manusky has his tricks he should unleash too.

......and it is missing it's best DLineman.

You really speak poorly for yourself with your baseless, outright claims. Antonio Garay is undeniably the best D-lineman, Castillo would be considered a solid 2nd last year, but Liuget has taken that ranking. Mostly, Castillo is there to do the dirty work, attract the double teams, open up slots, etc. Chargers fans widely dislike Castillo, mainly because he does his job and hardly has those dynamic plays he was given a nice contract for years ago (but his role has changed). Nonetheless, Vaughn Martin was dynamic in the preseason and the hope is for him to carry that over to Sunday's game (and the future).

......and the fill-in kicker can't reach the endzone

I hope you're talking about Novak (and not Scifres, the punter), and if so, that was in 2008. He purportedly has improved drastically by working with John Carney and Michael Husted, and he was named Special Teams MVP in the UFL and made 83.3% of his kicks, and all that pizzazz. However improved or worse he is, chances are he’ll make his field goals against the Patriots and hopefully have strengthened his pitiful foot strength to reach even your 20 yard line.

......and your historically bad 2010 Special Teams already gave up a 103 yard TD return last week.

Rich Bisaccia is one of the best Special Team coaches in the league, and he was given only a few weeks to correct the 'worst Special Teams in league history' (remember that lockout?). Special Teams are still very much a work in progress, and besides the TD return and a huge gain on another return, the Special Teams was above average in all facets. A TD return will not happen on Sunday.

......and the guy who gave me the worst agita (Sproles) is in New Orleans now

Yeah, he created match up problems all across the league. However, look out for the Mathews and Tolbert tandem whom have so far been a dynamic duo with a one-two punch.

I respect Philip Rivers and Gates and all that, and yes, it could be close.....but this could also be a 40+ point game for the Pats.

Hey, a small measure of respect is better than none! It ‘could’ only be a 40+ in your mind, because in your mind, you really don’t know what’s going on with the Chargers. This game should be close and come down to the last seconds. Chargers and Patriots have always been great, tough match ups, and that’s something the much acclaimed Belichick and Brady have wholly acknowledged.

In summation either it's a close game or the Pats win a beatdown. The other option (SD Stomp) isn't happening.

The Pats win a beatdown, or the Chargers stomp the Pats, or it remains close, or it’s a marginal win for one side. There’s a wide spectrum here and it could go any which way. It has in the past and it should continue to.

 

[Deus Irae]

To make that claim sincerely signifies you know little about defenses and have not done the research or observation required to give any value to your statements. This is simply ignorant of you. At the very least, you should remember the game played against the Chargers last season, where even after 4 turnovers, the Pats were still limited to 10 points. Brady was sacked 4 times, and held to 159 yards. The Chargers defense is only improved. Manusky has his tricks he should unleash too.

The Dolphins surrendered only 11 more points than the Chargers last year, despite being handicapped by an offense that finished 30th in the league in that category. That clearly gives a legitimacy to the opinion that the Dolphins had the better defense last season. If there's any ignorance here, it's apparently yours.

You really speak poorly for yourself with your baseless, outright claims. Antonio Garay is undeniably the best D-lineman, Castillo would be considered a solid 2nd last year, but Liuget has taken that ranking. Mostly, Castillo is there to do the dirty work, attract the double teams, open up slots, etc. Chargers fans widely dislike Castillo, mainly because he does his job and hardly has those dynamic plays he was given a nice contract for years ago (but his role has changed). Nonetheless, Vaughn Martin was dynamic in the preseason and the hope is for him to carry that over to Sunday's game (and the future).

Liuget was a rookie who'd done nothing, and he certainly hadn't taken any ranking from Castillo before playing a meaningful NFL down.

I hope you're talking about Novak (and not Scifres, the punter), and if so, that was in 2008. He purportedly has improved drastically by working with John Carney and Michael Husted, and he was named Special Teams MVP in the UFL and made 83.3% of his kicks, and all that pizzazz. However improved or worse he is, chances are he’ll make his field goals against the Patriots and hopefully have strengthened his pitiful foot strength to reach even your 20 yard line.

So you've got nothing but hope here. That's fine, but talking smack based on only that is a bit stupid.

Rich Bisaccia is one of the best Special Team coaches in the league, and he was given only a few weeks to correct the 'worst Special Teams in league history' (remember that lockout?). Special Teams are still very much a work in progress, and besides the TD return and a huge gain on another return, the Special Teams was above average in all facets. A TD return will not happen on Sunday.

To repeat: The same ST that struggled last year gave up a TD return already this year. Again, you're going on nothing but hope. Again, that's fine, but it's nothing to hang your hat on in a discussion thread of this nature.

Yeah, he created match up problems all across the league. However, look out for the Mathews and Tolbert tandem whom have so far been a dynamic duo with a one-two punch.

No, they haven't. So far, they've carried the ball 24 time for 80 yards, with Tolbert rushing for less than 3 ypc in the opener, and are coming off a very "Meh" last season.

Hey, a small measure of respect is better than none! It ‘could’ only be a 40+ in your mind, because in your mind, you really don’t know what’s going on with the Chargers. This game should be close and come down to the last seconds. Chargers and Patriots have always been great, tough match ups, and that’s something the much acclaimed Belichick and Brady have wholly acknowledged.

It could be 40+ in his mind because the Patriots offense was dominant last week, and it wasn't even firing on all cylinders. I love the way you think it's all about ignorance on the part of the Patriots fan, yet your responses are almost nothing factual and are based almost entirely on hope and fantasy.

The Pats win a beatdown, or the Chargers stomp the Pats, or it remains close, or it’s a marginal win for one side. There’s a wide spectrum here and it could go any which way. It has in the past and it should continue to.

First significant thing you got right in your whole post. Yes, the game could go in a wide variety of ways. That's why they play the games.

 

[jawlz]

SD fan here...

I don't know that I would be confident predicting a win for either team this week.

Confidence being expressed on the SD boards is mainly a result of the impression of SD being a much better team than Miami. Miami's offense actually looked decent on Monday, though I recognize that much of the Henne yardage total was from what amounted to garbage-time passing. Predictions of Rivers passing for 400-500 yards because Henne was able to aren't well-thought out, and if he does it's going to be because the Chargers are playing catch-up, which is not where we want to be. That said, SD's offense is significantly better than Miami's.

On defense, SD has the potential to be really good (MIN, bad as they are, held to 28(!) total passing yards and 187 total yards; that doesn't happen - even against a bad team, unless your defense is solid). And, with the exception of that week 2 game in '07, they've played NE and Brady pretty tough. That said, Brady and Welker were on fire on Monday, and if they continue to play at that level, it will be interesting to watch. It's the no. 1 passing offense (you guys) vs the no. 1 passing defense (Chargers). I am not at all confident that SD can shut down the Patriots offense, but I do think they will at least be able to put up more resistance than Miami did.

It's a hard game to call; both teams are good. Barring a special teams collapse (unfortunately very possible, though hopefully less likely now that SD doesn't have to rely on Kaeding for kickoffs that even with the new rule only went all of 2 yards into the end-zone), it should be close.

 

[SanAngeloState]

Patriots are coming off a grueling and emotional win in hated Miami, on a short week. Chargers are a good team and Rivers is aborderline great QB...

Pats are often flat after a big week but the Chargers often haven't been very good early in the season. Plus they're on the road.

We'll see. I am excited!

 

[shmessy]

Confidence being expressed on the SD boards is mainly a result of the impression of SD being a much better team than Miami.

Fair enough point.

Now, let's turn that around. Is New England at home a much better team than Minnesota on the road?

That gap there is FAR BIGGER than the one between a home Miami team and a road San Diego team.

I assure you that.

 

[SDBoltz]

Every year the media picks them to go to the superbowl or the conference match and every year they always come up short. They are in the second weakest division in football, every average team would look great playing in that division. I really think it'll be a easier game than against the Dolphins.

LMAO You roll with that.. I hope your team does too, but I doubt they are that ignorant.

 

[PATSNUTme]

You only have to read 3 of those to see that they have a much higher IQ than Jets fans

A wild turkey almost ran in front of my car today. He stopped and turned back. He has a higher IQ than most Jets fans.

 

[reflexblue]

A wild turkey almost ran in front of my car today. He stopped and turned back. He has a higher IQ than most Jets fans.

Remember Alex the African Grey Parrot? MUCH smarter than any Jest fan, Gunnails excluded of course.

 

[SDBoltz]

Remember Alex the African Grey Parrot? MUCH smarter than any Jest fan, Gunnails excluded of course.

Is that the one who flew over and read the other teams playbook for you guys? Sorry couldn't resist.

 

[Ivan]

Nothing is wrong with Norv Turner. Take away the fact he coached for the 2 worst owners in sports in Al davis and Dan snyder and his career looks great. If he does get a ring this year in SD then you have to talk about him as one of the greatest coordinators and coaches of all time. The guy that turned aikman into a HOFer. The Guy that took Rivers to an elite level and brought the Chargers a championship. One of the best play callers of all time. Just 1 super bowl win away from that being true....

Don't hold back, you already anointed them the best team in the AFC so all you have to do is call them the best team in football and give Norv the ring he can't win proactively, then you can waive the 5 year waiting period and put him in the fictional Hall Of Fame along with his fictional rings, trophies, and Championships. Your Balboa trophy awaits you, just think it and it's true (You may have to wrestle it away from Jets fans as they call dibs on all make believe titles but that won't be too hard as most will be busy making their one phone call on sunday afternoon, just try to time it right.)

 

[everlong]

Let's stop all the petty bickering over our differences and celebrate our commonality, you guys have seen the light and now all of us hate LT the classless.

 

[gato]

Before people get over the top about this game perhaps they should read a very interesting interview of Brady and Belichick on Chargers.com. I don't think they were just being polite....hmmm....since when is Belichick Mr nice guy .

Conference call: Belichick and Brady

They both talk about how difficult it was playing the Chargers last year and how except for the turnovers the game was in doubt. More importantly they say why it was so difficult.

The Patriots have tried to upgrade problem areas. But so have the Chargers. They are now a much better team than last year, especially on defense. They have an excellent secondary with very good depth. Belichick mentions Dante Hughes, and yet he is a backup CB who was the primary nickel DB. They have a second round pick named Gilchrist who was very impressive in camp and preseason. This guy is very fast, 4.2 /40 yd speed, good coverage skills and a solid tackler. But he's probably #4 on the depth chart. On most teams he would be starting as a rookie.

Unlike last year this Charger team is intact and healthy. Last year when the Patriots played the Chargers they were without 2 key starters, Vincent Jackson and LT McNeill. They pose a big matchup problem just from their base offensive set. They have 2 tall fast WRs on the outside that will take the NE corners deep and pull the safeties with them. Then you have TE Gates in the deep middle, now you have RB Mathews, FB Hester in the flats or short outside. The Chargers can put 5 good receivers on patterns just from their base set. Make no mistake Mathews in space can take it the distance from anywhere on the field.

How deep are the Chargers at RB? Patriot fans probably are familiar with RB Jordan Todman. He had an outstanding camp and preseason and he might not be active for this game though he's healthy.

The defense the Patriots are going to face was the #1 defense last year and they are actually stronger and deeper this year. The same can be said for the Charger offense. Don't be deceived by the Vikings game. The Charger starting offense had very little work in preseason. Last week was their shake the rust off game. By the end of the game the offense and defense both were dominating and looking back to form.

Read the interview, your own QB and HC will tell you the measure of the team coming to Foxboro on Sunday.

 

[Clonamery]

....your own QB and HC will tell you the measure of the team coming to Foxboro on Sunday.

Are they still going to play the game?

 

[Ivan]

You clearly don't know Belichik and Brady, both would claim Carolina is the 2nd coming of the 1970's steroid driven Steeler Championship teams if they were coming to town this week.

Not that the Chargers suck but both coach and QB would be sloppily blowing them no matter how good they are if they are next up.

 

[BradyRocksMySox]

The Dolphins surrendered only 11 more points than the Chargers last year, despite being handicapped by an offense that finished 30th in the league in that category. That clearly gives a legitimacy to the opinion that the Dolphins had the better defense last season. If there's any ignorance here, it's apparently yours.
-Straw man argument. When it comes down to it, the Chargers were ranked as the better defense in all categories, so there's that. As for conjecture, they're a better all-around defense and simply have more playmakers. You'll take notice on Sunday



Liuget was a rookie who'd done nothing, and he certainly hadn't taken any ranking from Castillo before playing a meaningful NFL down.
-It's a baseless presumption, I'll admit. Perhaps the better route would have been to denote Castillo's backup might just be a legitimate, effective DE.


So you've got nothing but hope here. That's fine, but talking smack based on only that is a bit stupid.
-Yes it's hope, and I acknowledge it.



To repeat: The same ST that struggled last year gave up a TD return already this year. Again, you're going on nothing but hope. Again, that's fine, but it's nothing to hang your hat on in a discussion thread of this nature.
-Returns do happen, and 8 happened in week 1. I repeat, none will happen against us this upcoming Sunday.



No, they haven't. So far, they've carried the ball 24 time for 80 yards, with Tolbert rushing for less than 3 ypc in the opener, and are coming off a very "Meh" last season.
-The comparison was Sproles, a guy who could receive and run. Therefore, they are a dynamic duo who can do both efficiently and quite well. You'll see.



It could be 40+ in his mind because the Patriots offense was dominant last week, and it wasn't even firing on all cylinders. I love the way you think it's all about ignorance on the part of the Patriots fan, yet your responses are almost nothing factual and are based almost entirely on hope and fantasy.
-Dominant against what will probably turn out to be a pretty poor team, yet again. Even if they make the playoffs, you're playing against us, another team which necessitates an entirely different and much more complex game plan (ask Belichick). I never accused the Pats fan as a collective body of ignorance, just that one dude.



First significant thing you got right in your whole post. Yes, the game could go in a wide variety of ways. That's why they play the games.

............

 

[gato]

Perhaps you guys missed last year's game? Hmmm calling your own HC and QB liars? :nono:

 

[reflexblue]

Is that the one who flew over and read the other teams playbook for you guys? Sorry couldn't resist.

Ha.. ha ha just in case you don't know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)

Alex (1976 – September 6, 2007)[1] was an African Grey Parrot and the subject of a thirty-year (1977–2007) experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard University and Brandeis University. Pepperberg bought Alex in a regular pet shop when he was about one year old.[2] The name Alex is an acronym for Avian Language EXperiment, but Pepperberg later cited the name as meaning Avian Learning EXperiment to evoke further acceptance in her research field, a then touchy topic (explained in her book, Alex & Me).[3] His successor was Griffin.


I think Alex could count to Ten, a rare feet for Jest fans. Even using Ten Toes.

 

[spacecrime]

Valid points, You are right but you can surely see how Chad Henne passing for over 400 yards gives me confidence. I saw the game, I know that the Pats pass D is the teams biggest weakness, which bodes well for the Bolts.

The game against the Vikings wasn't as close as the score suggests. I won't spend time trying to convince you that this is true, but you shouldn't make any kind of prediction on that score alone.

I think we agree that the Chargers have a good chance here, a bigger chance than many give us credit for, but we will see on Sunday. If you are right, and we lose this by a few scores and I will be the first to acknowledge that I was wrong. But I think it will be close. If I was a betting man I'd go for NE by a score.

I'm with you in that I also have confidence that the Chargers will put up 400 yards of offense if they are down by 2+ scores in the four quarter.

Only saw the score on the SD-MIN game, but I'll believe you that the game was not as close as the score indicated, with the proviso that a 7 point game is never more than 10 seconds from being a tie game no matter who has the ball.

I don't know that the final score will have anyone winning by multiple scores, given that garbage time TDs happen. All I can say is that this is not a game that I'm overly worried about. Still, any given Sunday and team can beat any other team....

You know better than I: what is the Chargers record overall the last few years playing on the East coast? The Pats do pretty well at home, though the short week after an away MNF game doesn't help.

 

[ernie_adams]

quote below might be my favorite post from their board (post #440 pg44) from a genius with the name vicsteele....somehow hinting that Brady may be involved in off the field drug activity and Goodell is covering it up hahahaha. CLASSIC!!!!


"Brady is such a stoner. The majority of the times you see him off the field his eyes are bloodshot and half slits.

How can you be married to a supermodel and not be familiar with the drug scene it brings in. Brady will get free passes as long as Goodell allows it."

 

[Funktopus]

quote below might be my favorite post from their board (post #440 pg44) from a genius with the name vicsteele....somehow hinting that Brady may be involved in off the field drug activity and Goodell is covering it up hahahaha. CLASSIC!!!!


"Brady is such a stoner. The majority of the times you see him off the field his eyes are bloodshot and half slits.

How can you be married to a supermodel and not be familiar with the drug scene it brings in. Brady will get free passes as long as Goodell allows it."

Funny stuff, though I didn't laugh out loud until I got to the "As long as Goodell allows it" part.