Alright, Turnipville readers…you’ve been waiting for it, and I’m loathe to disappoint. It’s my post-game wrap up of yesterday’s Chargers defeat. Instead of reliving the details of a thoroughly entertaining game, I’m going to touch on a few key things that really chap my ass.

1. Cromartie, you absolutely are the man. That pick in the end zone was brilliance. Unfortunately, your decision to try and run the ball out from 5 yards deep in the paint was horrific. Didn’t we learn anything from Marlon McCree last year? Lay down on the ball, and we’ll take it at the 20.
2. I simply cannot understand the way the clock rules work. I thought it was pretty straightforward: if you run out of bounds, the clock stops. If you’re knocked out of bounds, the clock stops. If you’re tackled and you slide out of bounds, the clock keeps running. But in this game (like the Colts game), the clock seemed to never stop. Could someone explain it to me?
3. Norv, when you’re down by two scores with about 9 minutes left, on their 40, with 4th and 10…you go for it. I don’t care how much confidence you’ve got in the defenese; you go for it.
4. The red zone doesn’t mean that you must throw into the end zone on every down. Three times, the Patriots picked up three or four yards on 1st and Goal, making their next two plays much more manageable; you guys insisted on being too tricky – including that run off the edge on 3 and 1 inside their 5. Turner picks up one yard without even touching the ball if he goes up the gut. Don’t get cute on big plays, and don’t run the edge. Pound it.
5. While I’m stoked that Nate Kaeding is putting balls through the uprights again, he’s completely forgotten what a touchback is. At least Dave Rayner was putting kickoffs deep…before you released him. It’s tough to stop the best offense in NFL history when they start on their own 40 every time.
6. Why the hell did I doubt Phillip Rivers? That dude played after having a minor surgery on his knee this week…I take it all back. That took guts.

While I’m quite stoked to have my Sundays available for productivity once again, I’m truly bummed to see my Bolts knocked out once again. Fortunately, they’ll be back. It’s a young team, and it’ll be tough to shut down that talent again.