| Safety Eric Weddle dropped this punt late in the fourth quarter Sunday but managed to recover his own fumble. It was just one of many Chargers mistakes in a loss to the Cleveland Browns." (US Presswire) |
The Chargers (3-4) fell to the lowly Browns (2-6) on Sunday. Despite having two weeks to prepare, the offense played uninspired in the 7-6 loss.
General manager A.J. Smith and coach Norv Turner remain anchored to their jobs. After three straight miserable performances and a Stickum scandal, a perfect storm of negativity is upon San Diego -- and that storm brings hope of purification and a new brighter era of Chargers football.
Offense: F
The Chargers entered Week 3 on a streak of scoring a touchdown in 151-straight regular season games. They lost 27-3 to the Falcons that week. Sunday’s performance marked the second time in five weeks that Turner’s dynamic offense failed to reach the end zone. The weather didn’t help -- there was heavy rain and 19 mph wind -- but weather is never a great excuse. San Diego played flat and uninspired on offense. The Chargers started the fourth quarter trailing 7-6. The offense then lethargically ate 7:03 of game clock and failed to net points in a drive emblematic of their performance. Previous game’s grade: F
Defense: A-
Browns rookie RB Trent Richardson rushed for 122 yards and one TD for the Browns' only score. Not a perfect performance on defense, but good enough to win if you have a marquee QB in Philip Rivers and an offensive genius as a head coach. The minus was earned from not consistently getting pressure on rookie QB Brandon Weeden; two sacks is simply not enough. The defense also had an opportunity to win the game with a pick-6 , but SS Atari Bigby dropped an interception deep in Brown’s territory. Previous game’s grade: D
Special Teams: B+
K Nick Novak was perfect with two field goal attempts (43 and 31 yards). FS Eric Weddle stepped in for WR Eddie Royal (hamstring) on punt returns and had a 20-yard return to the Browns' 47 to set up the Chargers' second score, although he did drop a punt in the final minutes that he was lucky to recover. The coverage unit didn't allow any substantial returns that led to a Browns' score. P Mike Scifres averaged 45.3 yards per punt, well above the Browns P Reggie Hodges, who averaged 32.2 yards per punt. The only real issue on special teams was the loss of WR-KR Richard Goodman (hamstring) on the game’s opening kickoff. Previous game’s grade: A-
Coaching: F
Coming off a bye in Week 7, Turner had two weeks to prepare for a one win Browns team with 16 rookies. Turner failed to put together a winning game plan and failed to inspire his players. In the two previous games, the Chargers fell to an 0-4 Saints team and blew a 24-0 halftime lead against the Broncos. The Chargers are also being investigated by the league for the illegal use of Stickum in their loss to the Broncos.
The time for change is now. Those pushing against the dismissal of Turner argue there is not a good option available to replace him. A good business leader always has options. If there truly isn’t a good replacement readily available, the fault lies with owner/president Dean Spanos. Previous game’s grade: F
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