What we really learned against San Diego

MJD is nobody to these coaches.  I did a double take when Maurice cracked off that first run. It looked like the Jaguars blocking of old and the Maurice of old. I thought he would have his first 100 yard game in two years. Then he vanished. He did catch one pass and ran that one well, but then he vanished again. MJD getting 9 carries is wasting his time on the field and wasting time with practicing run blocking. This game was not out of hand so why was MJD discarded?

The insults are getting to the players.  Here is how you get a first down against the Jaguars; say something to Andre Branch or Sen’Derrick Marks and wait for the flag.  Being on a losing team means you are going to get the worst insults possible and a little physical abuse thrown in. These guys are getting laughed at and it is getting to them. We have a long way to go to rise up in respectability. Gus has a lot of coaching to do in the mean time.

London was calling. If you were leaving for a 10 day European trip the next morning and hadn’t packed yet or had to get the dog to the kennel or your wife was all excited to go, Sunday would be a hard day to focus. Going to London is a big deal and a big adjustment in your life. This team flew home from Denver and had to get ready to the London trip. The home game against San Diego just got in the way. I wish the NFL would blow off this London stuff. I don’t see it becoming anything but annoying.

Rookies are not all-pro players yet.  Our entire draft focused on developing the defensive backfield and those guys are playing hard but Phillip Rivers was so good at picking us apart. He never made even one mistake and our rookies did because they are still learning. Even if we were on our game, this one would have been tough. The offense just couldn’t get on the field. We are in for this kind of up and down games for awhile.

The QB is a key issue.  A good QB would change the flavor of this team quickly. On the Jaguars first drive down field, Henne is sacked. If you can see the game again, you would see a most beautiful screen play set up for MJD which would have taken us inside the 10 yard line, if not more. Henne just had to shot put the ball, instead he pulled it down and got sacked. I have seen other QB’s make this play. There is just too much we leave on the field due to QB play. I know he threw for 300 yards, but not when it mattered.

– Terry O’Brien