Two hundred and ninety-wha?
So let's say you're Norv Turner (first of all, we're sorry to do that to you). It's halftime, and even though the offense (your department) hasn't been very good, you're still beating the semi-pathetic Vikings and have just completed the longest play in NFL history. Better still, Tavaris Jackson is injured and has been replaced by Brooks Bollinger. How good is Brooks Bollinger? Let's put it this way -- he backs-up Tavaris Jackson. So, all you have to do is two things and the win is in the bag:
A) Key on the run and make Brooks Bollinger beat you
B) Have some minimal amount of production on offense
Piece of cake, right? Not for our friend Norv. Adrian Peterson -- I'm sorry, I mean Purple Jesus -- ran for 253 yards and 2 TDs in the second half and the Vikings bitchslapped the Chargers 35-17.
Norv watches Peterson run like, well, LT used to...
Let's compare:
San Diego Chargers total yards: 229
Adrian Peterson total yards: 315
San Diego Chargers offensive touchdowns: 1
Adrian Peterson touchdowns: 3
Chargers record at the halfway point last year: 6-2
Chargers record at the halfway point under Turner: 4-4
The good news is that next week they get to play the Colts, who are reeling, in the middle of a one-game losing streak, and have nothing to prove. Yikes.
One last photo -- a cheesy cameraphone picture of a TV image, but it seems to sum things up so well:
