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.