Hernandez, who either did not watch the Chargers much this year or who is not very intelligent (or both), cites the three consecutive three-and-outs as evidence of Rivers’ declining abilities. Although it is always dangerous to draw conclusions from a small sample size, let’s play along with Hernandez’ reasoning and see what we can learn from these three possessions.
1 - Pipkins is not ready for prime time. His early penalty and poor blocking put the Chargers in a deep hole on possession #1 that could not be overcome.
2 - If memory serves, the Chargers in the 2nd and 3rd possessions were under the mistaken belief that they were an NFL team that could establish a running game. They of course were wrong.
3 - Hunter Henry had a chance to make a play on a safe throw from Rivers that was thrown only where Henry could catch it. Would have been a tuff catch, but he couldn’t make it.
So if we want these three possessions to serve as a microcosm for the season as Hernandez does, the only thing they show is that the oline, especially the LT, is poor and the running game is nonexistent. None of this is on Rivers.
Hernandez gets dangerous again by using only one stat in isolation to draw the conclusion that Rivers is washed up. Rivers apparently had more time to throw this year than last year. Anyone who has watched the games would know this stat is either incorrect or extremely misleading. Last years’ line was far superior in creating a clean pocket and last years’ receiving corp created greater separation so not as much time was needed.
The irony is is that while Hernandez does not make a compelling case, he may still be right. But it would be nice if people who get paid to write articles about a team would at least watch the games.
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