No Panic Button for Chargers: Slow Start in San Diego Follows Yearly Pattern

Just hours away from a Thursday night primetime match-up with AFC West rival Kansas City, the 2nd place San Diego Chargers (3-4) may find themselves in a must-win situation.

At 1-6, the Chiefs are virtually out of playoff contention as we approach Week 9 in the NFL, especially considering the Broncos and Peyton Manning appear to be heating up. The Chargers, however, find themselves in the heat of the race for the division title.

Philip Rivers' offense got off to a quick start to the season, beginning the season at 3-1 (including a 37-20 victory over these same Chiefs) with the lone loss coming to the still-undefeated Falcons. On defense, San Diego limited opponents to 17.8 points/game while putting up 25.0.

But since that Week 4 victory over KC, the Chargers have dropped three straight games, including a devastating 35-24 loss to Denver three Mondays ago and a 7-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns just last Sunday.

There didn't appear to be any reason for concern when the New Orleans Saints knocked off the Bolts by one touchdown in the beginning of October, but after blowing a 24-point halftime lead to the Broncos the following week, concern started building up.

To make things worse, the Chargers failed to re-group following the bye week and failed to put the ball into the end zone against a team (the 2-6 Browns) that has allowed the 4th-most yards, 10th-most points and 4th-most passing TDs in the entire league.

It's not like the Chargers didn't have run support against Cleveland, either. Running back Ryan Mathews, who, by the way, has finally appeared to be fully recovered from the broken collarbone suffered in August, ran for 95 yards on 24 attempts. But the struggling Rivers managed to complete just over half of his passes for 154 yards.

San Diego's 9th-best scoring defense and 8th-best total yardage defense did its job against rookie signal caller Brandon Weeden and the Browns, limiting them to just 250 total yards and one Trent Richardson touchdown. But Rivers failed to get anything going in terms of touchdown drives and two Nick Novak field goals is all San Diego came away with.

It's been clear that added pressure and lack of a true No. 1 receiver has really hurt the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback thus far in 2012. But, there's certainly a silver lining when it comes to Rivers' and San Diego offense's slow start: it can be overcome, and overcome rather quickly.

Ever since taking over the full-time starting role with the Chargers in 2006, the Bolts have struggled to pull away with a division lead through the first 7 games of the season. In fact, they're usually right around the current pace in terms of winning percentage. Just take a look:

Chargers' year-by-year records (thru first 7 games) since 2006: 5-2, 4-3, 3-4, 4-3, 2-5, 4-3, 3-4.

Total record (thru first 7 games) from 2006-12: 25-24 in seven seasons (average per year: 3.6-3.4)

How many postseason appearances over those 7 seasons? Four. With three double-digit win totals.

When it comes to Philip Rivers' numbers, everyone should be aware of his December/January breakout. Here's a look at his career regular season stats from September-November, compared with his December stats:

Pre-December: 77 games, 42-35 record, 245.0 yards/game, 1.6 TDs/game, 0.9 INTs/game
December/January (Regular season only): 31 games, 27-4 record (undefeated in January), 53 TDs, 18 INTs; 99.9 rating in Dec., 100.7 rating in Jan.

As a whole, San Diego's offense just plays better December football thanks in part to Rivers' elevated play. So, before you start rule the Chargers out of the race out Wes, keep in mind that Rivers is bound to turn this one around and improve on his current 82.4 rating (tied for his career-low as regular starter).

Despite being without top receivers Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal tonight (both inactive due to injury), San Diego's quest for its first postseason appearance since '09 begins with a victory over Kansas City.

Moral of the story: Never rule out the Chargers.

Note: We do not own the above images (borrowed from zimbio.com). No copyright infringement intended.

With Mathews Out 4-6 Weeks, Brinkley and Brown Must Step up

Following last night's 21-13 preseason-opening victory over the reigning Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers, the San Diego Chargers received some very bad news.

Starting running back Ryan Mathews, 25, suffered an injury on his very first carry of the game. It was later revealed that he sustained a broken clavicle (collarbone) and was scheduled to undergo surgery at some point today. His recovery time is 4-6 weeks.

Being as it is August 10, Mathews isn't expected to return until at least September 10 and that is a very optimistic way of looking at San Diego's situation.

The way I see it is that the Chargers will now have a position battle to be Mathews' replacement, for the time being. It appears to be a battle between 30-year old proven veteran Ronnie Brown and the 26-year old unproven and inexperienced Curtis Brinkley.

Brown, entering his first season with the Bolts, is clearly past his prime and was brought in as merely a third-down or an insurance back while Brinkley wasn't expected to make much of a splash at all behind Mathews.

Brinkley has just 32 career attempts between 2010 and 2011 after being signed by the Chargers as an undrafted free agent. But last night he showed he could step in and help out a team in need, showing off his speed on his way to a 42 yard, 1 TD performance on his 11 carries against Pack's defense.

With Mathews out until Week 3 or 4 of this season, the Chargers will need to rely on a combination of Brinkley (1st and 2nd downs) and Ronnie Browns (3rd down) if they want the running game to hold its ground while Mathews recovers.

Given Mathews was supposed to breakout this season after his 1,091 yard, 6 TD in just 13 starts during his sophomore campaign last season, the Chargers will certainly miss him for the first few weeks no matter who steps it up for coach Norv Turner.

Brinkley's senior year at Syracuse was way, way back in 2008 but his NFL career got off to a slow start after he was shot three times during the summer of 2009. Recovery has been gradual, but if last night was any indication then it appears as though Brinkley is completely focused and geared towards his performance on the football field.

With Mathews out, Brinkley (shown above in a 2011 game vs. Kansas City) looks poised to step up and take the reins for a couple of weeks...with a little help and leadership from the veteran Brown, of course.

Note: I do not own any of the above images. No copyright infringement intended.