Following the Chargers leaves the follower with a lot of questions. Is this a championship team slowly rounding into form? An average team hanging on by its collective fingernails? At 5-3, the Chargers are off to their best start under Norv Turner. Then again, without two last-minute drives, they could be 3-5 and staring into the abyss.
One thing has been answered, though, unquestionably. This is a mentally tough and resilient group. They hang together, they keep fighting when everyone else counts them out, and they never, ever quit on themselves or the game.
Turner talked about his team’s mental toughness the day after it was on display in the Big Apple:
Hear from Shawne Merriman, Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson and more from Norv after the jump:
Say what you want about Norv, his teams have hung in there. Down 13 in Kansas City last year with less than two minutes to go, we all gave up on the Chargers but they kept playing to win and actually won. Two years ago, needing to drive the field with Rivers and LT injured, Norv and the offense cobbled together a Billy Volek-led drive to win a playoff game in Indy. This year’s team lost the key cogs in both lines during the first game, but continues to plug away and improve.
The Chargers defense gives up yardage, third down conversions, and sometimes loses track of the running game. But put their backs against the wall and they usually respond. Shawne Merriman talked about the attitude of the unit as they took the field against the Giants, needing to defend a late first-and-goal from the four yard line to keep the team within striking range:
The most singular conduit of the Chargers’ collective will is their quarterback. Like the rest of his team, Philip Rivers isn’t perfect. But when the chips are down, Rivers has shown an innate ability to play at his very best.
On Monday, Rivers talked about how a win like Sunday’s can help pull a team even closer together:
Vincent Jackson says Rivers’ late efficiency is part and parcel with the preparation the Chargers do every week in practice:
Sproles' key fourth quarter catch was called thanks to Norv listening to his running back on the sideline (AP photo)
Here’s another positive sign for Norv the leader: his team is thinking together and learning under his watch. In the final drive against New York, one of the key plays was a Darren Sproles catch-and-run on a seam route, a 21-yard pickup that set up the final touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson. Turner talked about how Sproles actually recommended the play to him on the sideline:
It’s clear the Chargers are currently deficient in certain key aspects of successful football, particularly in the ground game. The irreplaceable loss of Jamal Williams will leave the defense vulnerable to the run game all year. Norv says there are many ways in which the team can still improve, but that’s a good thing:
In Denver, back-to-back losses have fans and experts wondering if the slipper has fallen off Josh McDaniels’ foot. The toughness and mental resiliency of the Broncos will be called into question over the next two weeks.
While they may or may not rise to the occasion, at least it’s comforting to know that in San Diego, there’s no need to ask those questions of the Chargers. They will battle beyond all hope to overtake the Broncos and win the AFC West. It’s just the way they are wired, with Norv the head electrician.
