Week 6-Painful Payback

After beating them twice in two years in the playoffs, and pummeling them in the regular season last year, the Chargers got their payback on Sunday. Their first play of the game was a deep bomb to Charger wide receiver, Vincent Jackson. That set the tone for the rest of the game, as the Chargers caught us horribly off guard with a slashing passing game. Our defensive backs played poorly against receivers who were taller, and a lot more aggressive. It felt like the Patriots were rag dolls all night, barely stopping the Chargers only to get the ball back for, what felt like, 2 minute possessions.
No doubt, the Chargers came in with a better game plan, were it seemed Bill Belichick came in with the same usual plan of stopping running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, and tight end, Antonio Gates. Instead, the Chargers unleashed a deep and powerful passing attack built around attacking the small and speedy cornerback, Deltha O'Neil. They matched him up against taller receivers, who could easily reach over Deltha's head and go deep down field.
The Patriots offense struggled all night finding consistency. They had few promising drives, one of which, may have changed the outcome of the game. Matt Cassel and the offense made it's way down field with a passing frenzy early in the 3rd quarter, and brought it all the way to the 2 yard line. The Chargers, however, stepped up and stopped us on all four downs, and responded by marching 98 yards back down field for a score of their own. After that, the game quickly got out of hand, and the Patriots continued to hurt themselves on penalties and turnovers.
The Charger defense played great, sacking Cassel multiple times and preventing him from efficiently moving the ball down field.Randy Moss was almost completely cut off all game, with the Chargers cornerbacks knocking the ball out of his hands on more than one occasion. The running game seemed feeble, and Matt Cassel appeared flustered most of the game.
The Patriots defense, in one small bright spot, did do a decent job of stopping L.T. mostly. He did break for a couple of gains, but overall, he was not a major factor. Kudos to the Patriot linebackers for staying on tap there. But overall, the unit played poorly as well. The Chargers were free to pass to who they pleased, and when they wanted.
The Bills still lead the division at 4-1, and are set to play the Chargers this weekend. Hopefully they can suffer the same fate we did to them. If they do, and we can beat the Broncos this Monday night, we are back in a position to tie for the division. The Patriots need to start getting their act together though, because the division is beginning to improve. Hopefully Belichick will have the Pats ready and prepared to pull out a win against the Broncos this Monday. They have had our number for the past three games, and an upset would be real nice right now.