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Hacksaw: A signature win for Chargers
By Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton 6 A.M.DEC. 16, 2013
It was a signature win for the coach, his running back and maybe even the organization, this San Diego Chargers victory in Denver on Thursday.
A sign of what the Bolts franchise was becoming; who the coach Mike McCoy really was; and what Ryan Mathews, the running back, has turned into.
You have now won in Arrowhead Stadium-Kansas City, won in Denver against the brilliance of Peyton Manning, and won earlier against the great unknown, the Eagles. You win in those places, against those odds, those teams, what does it say your team has turned into? A franchise with the arrow pointing up.
This Chargers victory was a more meaningful win than just another game on the schedule, in what could still turn out to be another non-playoff season. No, this win was about commitment, toughness, resilience, leadership, and productivity. This was a message game to those on the outside, and importantly, to those inside the lockeroom. This approach works. What was in the past is gone. This is a new era.
The Bolts beat Dallas when they had all their firepower. They took the game away from Andrew Luck and the Colts, but bashing the Broncos, and it was a beat-down, was taking the next step. San Diego's style was about "Taking No Prisoners," dictating tempo, not wilting under the glare of the spotlight and the heat of Peyton Manning.
Mike McCoy closed the Country Club he inherited from the past regime. Norv Turner's favorite pet phrase of late had become "it's fixable." McCoy replaced that with "It's not tolerable." Whereas Turner won with Marty Schottenheimer's players early on, McCoy took a bunch of losers and drove them to excel.
It's probably stamped right there on his drivers license; you can read it on his face; hear it in his speeches. You now understand why players tell me this coach is "Intensity Squared."
The Chargers may be (7-7) and they may still need help to get to play into mid-January, but you get the sense there are changes at The Fortress. Sure, there are still those awful losses hanging over their head, horror-show setbacks to the lowly Raiders, the imploding Redskins, depleted Miami, and the battered Houston Texans. But now there are quality wins of recent weeks, and early wins in the Eastern Time Zone, which hardly ever happened.
What was the last meaningful victory San Diego had? A Philip Rivers-led playoff win, coming off knee surgery, against Indianapolis? That was a long time ago, a bunch of shaky drafts and faulty roster decisions ago. It seems like another lifetime.
The roster is not perfect, still flawed on defense. There are still salary cap problems hanging over from recent bad free agent signings. And there is the never-ending bad luck-black cloud of injuries. But there is Rivers throwing, Matthews earning big boy-tough guy yards, and the dynamics of the matchup problems created by Danny Woodhead, Keenan Allen and others.
Sadly there still seems to be a disconnect with the fans, the weekly struggle to get to sellout numbers to avoid blackouts, and the lowest TV ratings the team has had since the 2007-season.
But for this weekend, there was a feel good vibe around the Lightning Bolt. Not just because they beat the hated Manning family back-to-back, not just because of a road win, but because of the bigger picture. Growing as a team, believing as a group, trusting the new leadership without a pause.
The era-of-errors from the last regime has been replaced by the fire and brimstone of a new coach and the arrival of all the things that winners are. Creative, Tenacious and Athletic.
Signature win in Denver? Yes. Statement game about the team, its Coach and its running back? Definitely.
Hacksaw: A signature win for Chargers
By Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton 6 A.M.DEC. 16, 2013
It was a signature win for the coach, his running back and maybe even the organization, this San Diego Chargers victory in Denver on Thursday.
A sign of what the Bolts franchise was becoming; who the coach Mike McCoy really was; and what Ryan Mathews, the running back, has turned into.
You have now won in Arrowhead Stadium-Kansas City, won in Denver against the brilliance of Peyton Manning, and won earlier against the great unknown, the Eagles. You win in those places, against those odds, those teams, what does it say your team has turned into? A franchise with the arrow pointing up.
This Chargers victory was a more meaningful win than just another game on the schedule, in what could still turn out to be another non-playoff season. No, this win was about commitment, toughness, resilience, leadership, and productivity. This was a message game to those on the outside, and importantly, to those inside the lockeroom. This approach works. What was in the past is gone. This is a new era.
The Bolts beat Dallas when they had all their firepower. They took the game away from Andrew Luck and the Colts, but bashing the Broncos, and it was a beat-down, was taking the next step. San Diego's style was about "Taking No Prisoners," dictating tempo, not wilting under the glare of the spotlight and the heat of Peyton Manning.
Mike McCoy closed the Country Club he inherited from the past regime. Norv Turner's favorite pet phrase of late had become "it's fixable." McCoy replaced that with "It's not tolerable." Whereas Turner won with Marty Schottenheimer's players early on, McCoy took a bunch of losers and drove them to excel.
It's probably stamped right there on his drivers license; you can read it on his face; hear it in his speeches. You now understand why players tell me this coach is "Intensity Squared."
The Chargers may be (7-7) and they may still need help to get to play into mid-January, but you get the sense there are changes at The Fortress. Sure, there are still those awful losses hanging over their head, horror-show setbacks to the lowly Raiders, the imploding Redskins, depleted Miami, and the battered Houston Texans. But now there are quality wins of recent weeks, and early wins in the Eastern Time Zone, which hardly ever happened.
What was the last meaningful victory San Diego had? A Philip Rivers-led playoff win, coming off knee surgery, against Indianapolis? That was a long time ago, a bunch of shaky drafts and faulty roster decisions ago. It seems like another lifetime.
The roster is not perfect, still flawed on defense. There are still salary cap problems hanging over from recent bad free agent signings. And there is the never-ending bad luck-black cloud of injuries. But there is Rivers throwing, Matthews earning big boy-tough guy yards, and the dynamics of the matchup problems created by Danny Woodhead, Keenan Allen and others.
Sadly there still seems to be a disconnect with the fans, the weekly struggle to get to sellout numbers to avoid blackouts, and the lowest TV ratings the team has had since the 2007-season.
But for this weekend, there was a feel good vibe around the Lightning Bolt. Not just because they beat the hated Manning family back-to-back, not just because of a road win, but because of the bigger picture. Growing as a team, believing as a group, trusting the new leadership without a pause.
The era-of-errors from the last regime has been replaced by the fire and brimstone of a new coach and the arrival of all the things that winners are. Creative, Tenacious and Athletic.
Signature win in Denver? Yes. Statement game about the team, its Coach and its running back? Definitely.
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