Lunging for the Panic Button

With their season starting to slip away, the Chargers found their scapegoat Tuesday, firing defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and replacing him with Ron Rivera.

Of course, it was merely a half-assed lunge for the panic button rather than a full-fledged leap for the panic button. In other words, Norv Turner still has a job.

"We have underachieved on defense so far this season. It is unacceptable," said general manager Albert John Smith, who answers to the colorful nickname "A.J."

Rivera couldn't ask for an easier first game as defensive coordinator. The Bolts return from their bye week with a home game Nov. 9 against the pitiful Kansas City Chiefs, who may bring back Len Dawson as quarterback any day now.

If the Chargers allow more than 13 points against the putrid Chiefs offense, Rivera -- and Norv -- should be fired on the spot.

The Minor-League Town Quote o' the Day

"I was sitting on the sideline watching him working his magic, and I kept on just thinking 'When is he going to miss one?' "

-- LaDainian Tomlinson, after Drew Brees [pictured] carved up the Chargers' defense Sunday in a 37-32 Saints win

The USD Report

The University of San Diego lost to Jacksonville 30-29 in college football action Saturday.

And that's all for this edition of The USD Report.

Join us again next time for The USD Report.

The High School Football Report

Week 8 of the high school football season featured dozens of games throughout San Diego County.

And that's all for this edition of The High School Football Report.

We hope you enjoyed The High School Football Report.

Join us again next week for The High School Football Report.

The Minor-League Town Quote o' the Day

"I don't think this is an appropriate time for me to comment, particularly after a game like this."

-- SDSU athletic director Jeff Schemmel, on the job security of coach Chuck Long after Saturday's 70-7 loss to New Mexico

Technical Difficulties

Much like the electricity at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the Chargers are off and on.

Just when you think the Bolts might be on the verge of building some momentum, they come up with another dud, losing to the Buffalo Bills 23-14 on Sunday in a game marred by several power failures at the Bills' stadium.

It was probably a good thing that the lack of electricity prevented CBS from televising much of the game.

After Philip Rivers' big game against New England last week, some were starting to mention the Chargers' quarterback as one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. In fact, Rivers entered the game with the NFL's No. 1 passer rating, and it seems Opie might have fallen in love with his press clippings this week. Rivers turned the ball over three times -- two fumbles and an interception -- Sunday and the Bolts offense never clicked.

And then there's LaDainian Tomlinson, who once again had a less-than-MVP-type performance. LT managed just 41 yards on 14 carries. It's the third time this season that LT has rushed for under 50 yards and the sixth time in seven games he's been under 100 yards.

At some point, the Chargers have to start playing with a sense of urgency, right?

Well, at least one player thinks so.

"This isn't a slow start anymore," defensive end Luis Castillo said. "We're seven games into this thing. We've got to find a way sooner or later, because there's not that much time left."

While it was a thoroughly forgettable day for Charger fans, no doubt the late, great Tim Russert [left] was looking down on it all with a big smile.

The day began with former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell choosing Russert's old show, "Meet the Press," as the venue to announce his endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president. Then, a few hours later, Russert's beloved Buffalo Bills vetoed the Chargers.

And the Bolts were an easy accomplice on this day.

The San Diego Chargers ... making opposing fans (dead or alive) happy since 1961.

The High School Football Report

Week 7 of the high school football season featured dozens of games throughout San Diego County.

And that's all for this edition of The High School Football Report.

We hope you enjoyed The High School Football Report.

Join us again next week for The High School Football Report.

The Minor-League Town Poll

If the Padres trade Jake Peavy, I will:
	Jump off the Coronado Bridge
	Commit an act of road rage
	Not renew my season tickets
	Season tickets? That's funny
	Demand the firing of Kevin Towers, who answers to the colorful nickname "KT"
	Call for the overthrow of the Sandy Alderson regime
	Commemorate the occasion by reading Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck If ... "
	Consider it a good move because some dorks on sports radio say it's a good move
	Jake who? It's football season
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Not Your Father's Patriots

For those who have wondered over the years how good a coach Bill Belichick would be without Tom Brady, well, you're starting to get your answer:

Chargers 30, Patriots 10.

These Brady-less Patriots are kind of like what the Dodgers were without Manny Ramirez. Not a bad team, but clearly not a great team. Very beatable team.

And that's exactly what the Chargers did to the Patriots on Sunday night, thoroughly dismantling Belichick's boys on national TV.

Brady's replacement, Matt Cassel, might eventually be a serviceable quarterback, but the guy is learning on the job, and expecting him to beat talented teams might be asking a bit much at this stage of his development. And Cassel's cause wasn't helped by the fact that the Patriots had basically no running game, with Laurence Maroney inactive.

Seeing Belichick on the sidelines with an increasingly disgusted look Sunday night, we almost started to feel sorry for the guy.

Almost.

The USD Report

The University of San Diego defeated Morehead State 41-17 in college football action Saturday.

And that's all for this edition of The USD Report.

Join us again next time for The USD Report.

The High School Football Report

Week 6 of the high school football season featured dozens of games throughout San Diego County.

And that's all for this edition of The High School Football Report.

We hope you enjoyed The High School Football Report.

Join us again next week for The High School Football Report.

The Minor-League Town Stats o' the Day

The number of times NBC's Al Michaels and John Madden will mention Matt Cassel's name during Sunday's Patriots-Chargers game:

37

The number of times Al Michaels and John Madden will mention Tom Brady's name Sunday:

34

The number of times John Madden will mention Brett Favre's name Sunday:

27

The number of times Al Michaels will giggle like a schoolgirl at the sight of the San Diego Chicken:

2

The Minor-League Town Quote o' the Day

"The San Diego Chargers need to take care of the San Diego Chargers."

-- Mike Goff, Chargers guard

Swimming with the Fishes

The Chargers traveled 3,000 miles for this? What a waste of jet fuel.

It's tempting to criticize the Chargers' effort in Sunday's 17-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but we couldn't find evidence that they made any effort.

The Bolts were held to their lowest point total in three years and they piled up some pretty ugly numbers in doing so:

• They managed just 10 first downs, while going 3-for-12 on third-down conversions.
  
• LaDainian Tomlinson was held to 35 yards on 12 carries (2.9 per attempt) with no touchdowns. LT, who spent much of the day sulking on the bench in a familiar pose [right], has only one 100-yard rushing game this season.
  
• Philip Rivers completed just 13-of-28 passes (46 percent) for only 159 yards. Opie did throw for the Bolts' only touchdown of the game.
  
• The time of possession differential told much of the story, as well: 36:41 for Miami, 23:19 for the Chargers, as the Dolphins were able to simply run the ball at will whenever they needed to against the Bolts' defense.
  

And we can't let Norv Turner off the hook for this one. The Bolts looked uninspired and unmotivated throughout the day. Where was the coaching? Where were the adjustments? 

Was Norv intimidated by Dolphins coach Tony Sparano [left]? Norv coached like a scared juror in the Junior Soprano trial. Was Norv hearing voices whenever he saw a Fish?

Maybe it's time for Norv to get tough with this team. The Chargers are notorious for doing just enough to get by, often in a lackluster manner, a la a certain son with a sense of entitlement.

Perhaps it's time for Norv to take away the keys to the Nissan Xterra.

The USD Report

The University of San Diego defeated Valparaiso 42-14 in college football action Saturday.

And that's all for this edition of The USD Report.

Join us again next time for The USD Report.

The High School Football Report

Week 5 of the high school football season featured dozens of games throughout San Diego County.

And that's all for this edition of The High School Football Report.

We hope you enjoyed The High School Football Report.

Join us again next week for The High School Football Report.

The Minor-League Town Quote o' the Day

"We were bad. ... Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be trying to save our bacon in the last week of the season, trying to prevent ourselves from losing 100 games."

-- Padres GM Kevin Towers, who answers to the colorful nickname "KT"