<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
Well, this could be nearing the end of the line. <\/span>We lost to the Steelers, in a great snow game, by the unprecedented score of 11-10. <\/span>The Bolts are now 4-6, and in need of a 6-game sweep to have a good shot of the playoffs. <\/span>But we’ll save the prognosticating for later. <\/span>For now, here are my thoughts on today’s game, with, as always, uncredited and unappreciated input from Ryan “Leaky Pipes” Thies, JJ “Nittany Lions” Fiddler, and Shar “My Wife” Higa.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Snow game! <\/span>I can’t think of anything that makes me feel more like a rosy-cheeked young lad than watching a game in the snow…despite the fact that I never lived where it snowed. <\/span>Allow me my fantasies.<\/span><\/p>\n 2. Two minutes into the game, I make my first, “Well, at least LT can ice his toe while he’s still on the field” joke. <\/span>It’s not well-received.<\/span><\/p>\n 3. That early drive for a TD might prove the difference—Pittsburgh is infamous for having a terrible field, and it already looks torn up. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 4. Quentin Jammer breaks up a pass, and Fiddler calls it a Q-Tip. <\/span>Somehow he thinks this is better than my toe-ice joke. <\/span>He’s such a snob.<\/span><\/p>\n 5. Yes! <\/span>Finally, we’re getting some makeup calls! <\/span>That PI call on Taylor was…uh, let’s be generous and call it questionable. <\/span>Now the NFL just owes us another thirty blatant makeup calls, and maybe we’ll be even for the Hochuli debacle. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 6. That Troy Polamalu interception is one of the three finest catches I’ve ever seen on any level of football. <\/span>Is it me, or does it feel like fate is just against us this year? <\/span>How does he make that catch, in the snow?<\/span><\/p>\n 7. Every time I see that LT and Polamalu on the screen at the same time, I play through that awesome Nike commercial with them—you know, the one I discovered was filmed in Long Beach? <\/span>I’m going to call this game the Long Beach Nike Bowl.<\/span><\/p>\n 8. Okay, this is going very south, I’m going into hibernation.<\/span><\/p>\n 9. How does this keep happening? <\/span>We’re now 4-6, with losses of 2 points, 1, 7, 9, 5, and 1. <\/span>That’s a total of six losses by 25 points, including three by less than a field goal. <\/span>I’m telling you, it’s starting to feel like fate…<\/span><\/p>\n 10. Given that we allowed 410 yards, I’m amazed we didn’t lose by more. <\/span>But given that our defense allowed only 11 points (9 not counting the safety), the Steelers committed 115 yards of penalties, and LT was making good cuts, I can’t believe we lost this one. <\/span>On a field goal with 15 seconds on the clock. <\/span>Those two Rivers interceptions are hard to swallow. <\/span>I can feel my faith starting to slip…<\/span><\/p>\n 11. If I’m looking for positives…we got pressure on the QB, that’s something. <\/span>Now we just have to hope Jyles Tucker can stay healthy, and that we win six games in a row, against the Colts, Falcons, Raiders, Cheifs, Bucs, and Broncos. <\/span>Oy.<\/span><\/p>\n In closing, let me offer you this email from Leaky Pipes, whose faith runneth stronger than mineth:<\/span><\/p>\n Okay, so we’re 2 games back with 6 to go. We play Denver, at home, the last week of the year; we have to win that one. That will split the series and because Denver lost to KC, the Chargers will have the Division-Record tie-breaker. So all they need to do is make up 1 more game in the next 5 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n Denver has:<\/span><\/p>\n Home against Oakland; @ the Jets; home against KC; @ Carolina, home against Buffalo.<\/span><\/p>\n I think they take 3 of those (probably the 3 home games); and maybe they take 4, but there’s no way they take all of them.<\/span><\/p>\n San Diego has:<\/span><\/p>\n Home against the Colts, home against the Falcons, home against the Raiders (short week), @ Kansas City (long week to prepare), @ Tampa Bay.<\/span><\/p>\n Am I crazy or are those 5 winnable games?<\/span><\/p>\n They have beaten the Colts at home before—although it is never easy. The Falcons are formidable but it’s a long trip. The Raiders, and the Chiefs are must win games. So they could take those 4 games. And with momentum, they could go to Tampa and pull it off. In fact, right now it’s scheduled to be the Sunday Night Game (and good call by NBC that they predicted that to be a game with playoff implications.) <\/span><\/p>\n That means it’s Tampa, so no weather concerns. It’s a night game, so no early-morning concerns, it’s tough for a west coast team to go play at 10am their time, but 5pm? That’s not a factor. Again, even if they lose to the Colts, if they roll off the next four and Denver drops their 2 cross-country games; then it all comes down to the Week 17 game.<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, the Chargers barely won a game at home in Week 10. The following week they go back east to play an AFC powerhouse and they barely lose. They then came home and rolled off 6 straight wins to win the West.<\/span><\/p>\n They’ve done it before, they can do it again. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n