Rivera's Tackling Dummies

For no apparent reason, there seems to be a common perception that the Chargers' defense has improved since Ron Rivera replaced Ted Cottrell as defensive coordinator midway through last season.
Yeah, sure it has.
We've seen no evidence to support this myth. With Rivera calling the shots, this defense is every bit as horrible as it was with Cottrell.
And Sunday night's 38-28 loss to the Steelers might have been Rivera's most Cottrell-esque piece of work yet.
Pittsburgh's offense, which had been struggling to put points on the board, torched Rivera's tackling dummies for 497 total yards. But on the bright side, it could have been worse -- 497 sounds better than 500 yards.
Rivera's Tackling Dummies stood around and watched as Ben Roethlisberger completed 79 percent of his passes while throwing for 333 yards and two touchdowns. But the key to the game was allowing Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall to rush for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Mendenhall, whose NFL resume before Sunday consisted of basically nothing, might have a Hall of Fame career if he were allowed to run against Rivera's Tackling Dummies every week.
So after four games this season, Rivera's Tackling Dummies have allowed 366 total yards per game and 26 points per game. And the Chargers have been outscored 102-101 through four weeks, while also losing the time of possession battle three out of four weeks.
But Charger fans can rest assured that Ron Rivera has this mess under control.
Yeah, heck of a job, Ronnie.