The best seat in the house is the view from the couch

Live Blog - Pats-Chargers Divisional Round - Second Half

8:25 I'm honestly speechless. I knew it would be a close game, but not like that. I've gotten four phone calls in the six minutes since the game ended. My mother called me to tell me that people near her house were shooting off fireworks... and it's only a second round playoff game! I'll say this as a Patriots' fan - we all talked a pretty big game this week. Everyone around here was 100% convinced the Pats would win this game, and most of them thought it wouldn't be close. But we were all terrified. You'll hear a lot of talk about "Never a doubt" and that, but let me tell you something - I am a card carrying, pom-pom waving, nver say die member of Patriots' Nation (or whatever you want to call us... Patriots' Asylum, maybe), and this game scared the shit out of me. I'm going to go to the airport, pick up my co-worker, and then go down somewhere between three and thirteen beers. Good Night, and thanks for reading.

8:16 Here's the kick... nothing more to do but watch and cross my fingers... snap, kick, MISSED IT!!!!!!!!!!!! That's it - I'm going to bed.

8:13 Atta boy... another rookie earning his paycheck tonight. Now, just hold for 1:10... with no timeouts and a first year QB. By the way - that god Mike Turner fell down on that kickoff return - otherwise, he was breaking that kick. There was no one within ten yards of him on that cut.

8:11 I remember last season, the Chargers had a heartbreaking loss to Philly on a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. I don't know why, but I'm getting a really bad vibe about that right now. And if it happens, assume I had a heart attack and collapsed, because I certainly won't be posting anymore tonight.

8:07 By the way - it needs to be said. Marty Schottenheimer has, so far, coached this game brilliantly. The Chargers played as well as they could have played, except for a few key drops and some inopportune bounces that went New England's way. It also should be noted that my boss retreated to his bedroom at halftime to avoid my yelling. He hasn't been seen since, except to tell me that the upstairs toilet is now clogged.

8:06 Third and Ten... 2:42 to play in the 4th... HOLY SHIT!!! Reche Caldwell is my new hero! How the hell did he make that grab, and even more, how the hell did he stay in bounds to pick up those extra yards?! Pats ball inside the 20 now... just hold the ball, kill the clock, and kick the figgie. Please...

8:01 Earlier this week, I had a debate with someone within the comments section on Shanoff's blog about whether or not Asante Samuel was a top-5 cornerback. I said he was, at best, a top-25 - that he was a ball hawker who could easily be burned. I take it back - he had completely shut off the right side of the field today.

7:58 Now the Pats need to slow down Tomlinson. It's time to clamp down on those six yard runs. They eat the clock and advance the ball too much. Need to slow LdT down and force Rivers into passing situations. Like this upcoming third and four...

7:54 Touchdown to Caldwell. Had to know the Pats were going to try to get him his touchdown back in San Diego... Time for the 2pt try... NICE! Direct snap to Faulk! Tie game baby... but 4:36 on the clock is scary as hell...

7:52 New England's driving... down to about the 13 yard line. They still need the TD and 2pt conversion, but it needs to be said - they're leaving too much time on the clock here. 4:47 and counting in the fourth. 2nd and 1 from the 4-yard line. Time to run the ball

7:46 Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit.... Fourth Down, interception, fublmed, New England recovers, first down. My head hurts.

7:40 Here's what I wrote on Thursday, at the end of my Weekly Picks Post: "If I’m New England, I’ve got to believe that if my team is within eight points, we’ve got a shot to win." Well, it's 21-13 Chargers, with about 8 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, and I can't tell you I feel supremely confident about this game. The Pats have a shot, but unless they find some bigger holes in the Chargers' defense, this one is all but over. Let's see a big kick return here...

7:37 Yup. The Pats guessed wrong on the LdT penalty kick again - touchdown, and it's a seven point game, soon to be eight.

7:36 Thereis no reason Antonio Gates should ever have less than two people covering him. Of course, the one the Patriots put on him on that third down completion is vastly better than the zero people covering Gates on the 19-yard pass a few plays back. I guess the improvements come in small increments... And there's the Chargers following my advice again - only throwing to the people being covered by either Artrell Hawkins (Gates) or Ellis Hobbs (Vincent Jackson). First and Goal Chargers... wonder what's going to happen here.

7:31 And LdT goes off for another 14, as sadly, no one broke his leg. Oh shit, wait - he's limping! I swear to God - someone in the Patriots organization is reading this page. And I thank you... Damn, LdT's back in. I must type really slow.

7:29 I just realized - I will never be able to accurately gauge how many people decided to check out the live blog today. I made the mistake of refreshing my own page after almost every update, which counts as a unique hit. I'm an idiot. Feel free to use the comments section to identify yourselves, if you are so inclined. Otherwise, I'm going back to watching a crucial 4th and 2... Oops, nevermind. The Pats are going to punt.

7:24 Count me among those people who think that Budweiser probably could have found better "athletes" to put in the commercial with Jay-Z than Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick. I mean, driving and alcohol - there's two things that go together real nicely. (EDIT: Before you say it - I'm not a complete nASCAR neophyte - I know Dale Jr. drive the Budweiser car. Still...)

7:21 And there's your complete momentum swing! Rosie Colvin making one hell of an interception there, plus the 15-yards for the blatant LdT facemask... whoa whoa whoa! "The payer's hand slipped right over the helmet and never grabbed the face mask..." My ass! See, LdT is dirty, he just never gets caught. That's it - I'm openly rooting for someone to take out his knee on the Chargers' next drive. By the way, if the Pats end up winning this game, the entire defense gets a game ball.

7:19 "For those expecting to see 60 Minutes..." Seriously, who is tuning into CBS right now, seeing that football is on, and deciding to change the channel because 60 Minutes has been pre-empted? Anybody? Or are they all too old to hear me, and way too terrified of the Instawebs in the eBay to ever read this... By the way - nice to see at least 15 people have been checking in periodically through the day here. Glad to have you all aboard.

7:15 Open mouth, insert foot. "I'm starting to feel better about our special teams." Naturally, Gostkowski shanks the ensuing kickoff out-of-bounds, giving the Chargers the ball on the 40. Great.

7:12 Logan Mankins is not having a good day. Two holding penalties, and the unbelievable offensive pass interference. For a game that had no flags for the first quarter and a half, there's been a lot of yellow on the field ever since. Also, Tom Brady doesn't look right today. He's made some terrible decisions, and missed some wide open receivers - including Ben Watson just now on a wide-open touchdown strike. I'm in the camp that Brady has been injured most of the year, but played through it. The Pats are going to settle for a field goal attempt from about 35 yards out... and... it's 14-13. I'm starting to feel better about our special teams.

7:09 Remember how I said Clinton Hart made the biggest boneheaded play on defense today for the Chargers... nope. Drayton Florence - welcome to the spotlight. After Brady fumbled on third and 13, Florence decided to head butt Daniel Graham, after the play, to prove just how big of a man he is. Enjoy riding the bench for the rest of the game, kid.

7:06 An offensive lineman just got flagged for offensive pass interference. I've officially seen everything.

7:03 The Rookie earns his roster spot... David Thomas recovering the ball after Eric Parker muffed a punt. Also, Eric Parker came out of the scrum and nearly collapsed on the field - he's in bad shape right now. He got speared in the side while he scrambled to try to recover his fumble... This could be the tide-turning moment - let's hope Brady doesn't throw another stupid pick here. (I never thought I would say/type those words in succession)

6:56 Hmmm. It seems my math skills never developed past kindergarten. I only listed two plays below, not three. But rather than simply "edit out" my mistake, I'm sheding light on it, for you all to openly ridicule.

6:55 If I'm the Chargers, I call three offensive plays from now on - run left with LdT, throw to whoever Ellis Hobbs or Artrell Hawkins are covering. Also, after the back judge correctly called VIncent Jackson's catch out-of-bounds, it needs to be said: for as much shit as we all give the refs in football, they make a hell of a lot of good calls with little to no time to work with. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm sure there's a ticky-tack pass interference call on the patriots I nee to scream about.

6:51 Wow. If Luis Castillo dropped about sixty pounds and started thowing lame duck passes to no one in particular, he could easily pass for Rex Grossman. Also, it's nice to see the Chargers copying the Patriots' quick-snap QB sneak on third and short. Works just about every time.

6:49 Another terrible, inexcusable pick by Brady. That was just plain ugly. He either underthrew Troy Brown by about 10 yards, or missed Reche Caldwell by about six yards to the left. Doesn't help when you throw off your back foot either...

6:42 Ah... the dreaded phone call. But it turns out, this co-worker is a big football fan and doesn't want to miss any of the game while driving back to the hotel, so he's going to sit in the airport bar and watch the second half! I'm not going anywhere until the clock reads 0:00 or the score is completely out of hand. By the way... seems like the Patriots are following my game plan - giving LdT his yards, forcing Rivers to beat them. Of course, if the Chargers' receivers could actually hold on to the ball, this would be a vastly different game. Currently, Chargers receivers have one reception - a 21-yard grab by Eric parker. Tomlinson, Neal and Gates have accounted for Rivers other six completions and 96 yards.

6:34 And onto the second half. I'm fully expecting the phone to ring any minute now with my summons to the airport, but until that happens, I'm here, blogging away. This is kind of fun - let's see how long until my fingers fall off. And unfortunately, I can't have a Ronnie Lott procedure done in my hotel room to keep me going...

posted by Big D @ 6:35 PM