BoltBeat on Cat Crave Radio

In preparation for the Chargers season opener against Carolina, I was a guest on Cat Crave Radio over at www.CatCrave.com. John White does a great job over there, excellent blog.

Give it a listen and let the Panthers fans know whose house their coming to.

Bolt Beat BS’n

FOXSports.com columnist Mark Kriegel says Shawne Merriman is something of a noble idiot. Have two torn ligaments ever caused so many people to drop in with their two cents?

Ins & Outs- The Bolts did a little roster housekeeping following the preseason finale at San Francisco. In: Tight end Kris Wilson and guard Kynan Forney. Out: Scott Chandler (IR), Andrew Pinnock (released) and center Cory Withrow (IR).

Eight Is Enough- LB Antwan Applewhite, WR Gary Banks, S Tra Battle, RB Eldra Buckley, DE Andre Coleman, G Brandyn Dombrowski, DE Keith Grennan, and FB David Kirtman have all been signed to the practice squad. Don’t expect to see these names again any time soon.

Ladies, please… Pictures of the 2008 Charger Girls are online. Good times.

Chargers Settle The Seahawks

If you really want all the details of the fake game against the Seattle Seahawks, I’m sure you already have them. Bolts won 18-17, improve to 2-1 in the preseason with one to go, and it sill doesn’t matter.

When one of two scenarios happen, then I will give preseason games their proper coverage:

Scenario 1: Tickets and concessions are half off.

Scenario 2: Starters play 4 quarters.

If the powers-that-be won’t give the fans a monetary break or entertainment value, I don’t see a need to dwell on the stats of a meaningless game predominantly played by many fine athletes, some of who will be seeking other career opportunities or enjoy sparse playing time in the coming weeks.

But I will say that Darren Sproles was great. Just over a hundred yards on the ground with a TD and two point conversion.  I still say this guy is poised for big things. Don’t see him as being LT’s only other option, but he has to get more playing time.

Next up: San Francisco. Last preseason game, when the starters really, really sit out.

 

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In older video news, I always said that LT’s visor was hindering his career…

 

Disaster Averted: Merriman Will Play

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, and the entire sports blog-o-sphere, is reporting that Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman will play this season.

A torn LCL and PCL in his left knee won’t keep the defensive star on the sideline. The injury will eventually need surgery, but Merriman feels ready for the Super Bowl run.

It’s a gamble, to be sure. But every second on the field is a risk, healthy or not.

You may now exhale, Bolt fans.

Disaster Watch: Merriman Out For Season?

Several news outlets are reporting that Shawne Merriman is considering season ending surgery for two torn ligaments in his knee.

The Pro Bowl linebacker has a few options, one being playing through the pain, which could put his career in jeopardy. He can also opt for arthroscopic surgery, a temporary solution, would could have him back in the lineup come October.

Should Shawne keep on going or shut it down for the year?

I don’t have to tell you what an impact this will have on the Bolts. They have a very capable crew, but Merriman’s absence will resonate throughout the team for the entire season. 

Somewhere, Shaun Phillips just felt a great disturbance in the Force.

Disaster Watch: Merriman Knee Damage

The North County Times is reporting that Shawne Merriman has ligament damage in his left knee.

Merriman played in the preseason opener and hasn’t practiced since. He had surgery in the offseason. 

Dr. James Andrews, surgeon to the athletic world, will evaluate Merriman’s knee. No word on whether he will be on the field week one.

Chargers fans, start holding your breath. Potential disaster is brewing.

Please stop mocking me.

All right, so I didn’t really know what to write about, and was pretty bored this evening, so I decided to live blog an online mock draft. Excited right? I’ve got my first real draft tomorrow, so I thought it might be some good practice. I’m in a 12-team Yahoo league with standard setting, plus points-per-reception (PPR). I used cbssportsline.com for this one because I can’t ever get ESPN’s to work, and the CBS ones are usually pretty smooth. Here are how the teams break down in this draft: 14 rd. start 1QB/2RB/2WR/1flex (RB/WR)/K/Def. and 5 bench spots. So, here we go…

1st round:  I hated to do it, but I took Brady with the 5th pick. There is a huge drop-off after the top four (LT, A. Pete, Westbrook and Addai).

2nd round: I was targeting Fitzgerald, Edwards or Wayne here, and both Fitz and Edwards fell to me. I had another tough choice here. Edwards may have more upside, but this is a PPR league so I take Fitzgerald.

3rd round: Ok, so I gotta go RB or another top-flight receiver here. Housh was still available, but so were two RB’s that I had my eye after I picked Brady: Michael Turner and Brandon Jacobs. I know turner hasn’t been a featured back in this league yet, but if he stays healthy and Norwood doesn’t cut into his carries, he’ll rack up a ton of yards behind that line and a lot of those long runs will be for touchdowns. Jacobs is just a beast. Someone who can run flatten a linebacker and then turn on the jets for a long gain. He has been hurt though, and I think Coughlin will spell him now and then because they have so many solid backups. Turner and the upside win.

4th round: I add a little veteran presence to the ball club and take Marvin Harrison. Last year was a fluke, right Marv? Please stay healthy and out of prison Mr. Harrison. Unless you’re playing the Titans…

5th round: I get auto-drafted Selvin Young because my Internet connection sucks. I had Witten queued up, but he was snagged the pick before me. Young seems to be Shannahan’s guy though, for now, so he will do.

6th round: Dallas Clark is the pick. Even though I didn’t get Witten, I’m pretty happy with it.

7th round: Not really sure what to do here, so I take value in RB Chester Taylor. Blah…

8th round: Didn’t need him, but I take Felix Jones. Too busy typing to really see what was going on so I just picked the guy that I saw first with the most upside. It’s all about value and upside now… Titans D next?

9th round: Titans defense. There was a huge run on defense, and they were the best available, so my hand was sort of forced. I do like the pick though; I just wish D’s didn’t go so early.

10th round: I need another WR or two so I take Patrick Crayton. Not crazy about him, but he is a decent plug-in for bye weeks.

11th round: So Dante’ Stallworth is who I take in the 11th. At least I’ve got some depth there, right?

12th round: Bironas is gone, so I’ll wait until the last round for a kicker. Don’t take one before then, but if you read our team preview on Yardbarker, you’d know that him and the defense are the most ownable fantasy assets for the Titans this year. Don’t sleep on Crumpler or either of the RB’s either. The draft is winding down, so again I go value and take QB John Kitna. If (oh please if) Brady misses time, Kitna will be a solid guy to fill in. He’s got tons of options at receiver, a big mouth and the Lord on his side. I’ll take it.

13th round: Deuce McAllister. It’s a 14 round draft man. What do you want me to do?

14th round: Any old kicker will do. I’ll probably spot start here during the season anyways. David Akers it is.

Here’s a recap of my draft:

Player	Round Drafted	Overall Pick	Status	Pos
Brady, Tom QB NE	1	5	A	QB
Turner, Michael RB ATL	3	29	A	RB
Young, Selvin RB DEN	5	53	A	RB
Fitzgerald, Larry WR ARI	2	20	A	WR
Harrison, Marvin WR IND	4	44	A	WR
Clark, Dallas TE IND	6	68	A	TE
Taylor, Chester RB MIN	7	77	A	RB-WR
Akers, David K PHI	14	164	A	K
Titans DST	9	101	A	DST
Kitna, Jon QB DET	12	140	RS	QB
Crayton, Patrick WR DAL	10	116	RS	RB-WR
Jones, Felix RB DAL	8	92	RS	RB-WR
McAllister, Deuce RB NO	13	149	RS	RB-WR
Stallworth, Donte’ WR CLE	11	125	RS	RB-WR

LINKS

QB reminds fans Titans not showing all offense yet

Titans still have logjam at receiver

Absolut Vodka commercial Part 1

Parts 2 & 3 to come…

Chargers Lose Game, Rams Lose Fans

The St. Louis Rams beat the San Diego Chargers 7-6 in a really stellar… wait, who am I kidding? If you can believe it, the score doesn’t even touch how pathetically unwatchable the game was. Luckily plenty of Rams fans missed it, being the lowest attendance for a homegame since they left Los Angeles.

The Bolts trotted out three starters on offense. The Rams first team without Selfish Steven Jackson, who is holding his breath until a new contract is to his liking, still have not scored a preseason touchdown… for the past three years.

While Rams running back Travis Minor rolled in for a 3-yard run in the third quarter to cap this barn burner, it was still an abysmal effort by the erstwhile Greatest Show On Turf. Luckily the game was blacked out in St. Louis.

Keeping so many starters off the field tells me either Norv Turner is being very cautious, or legitimately felt his backups could handle the Rams. In hindsight, I think it’s both.

Defensive backups Antoine Cason and Cletus Gordon picked off Marc Bulger in the first quarter. Hard to say who’s good, bad or lucky in that one.

I left the game thinking about Trent Green. Last time he was on the Rams, the Chargers came to town in the preseason, ended his year, which paved the way for Kurt Warner. Suppose Rams fans might think that would be a fancy problem these days?

Train Like LT

If you’re going to train with anyone, might as well make it Kimbo Slice.

Videos That Will Make Broncos Fans Smile and Cringe

Video You Love To See

Broncos punter Sam Paulescu (#2) making a tackle on Cowboys return man Adam “Pacman” Jones:

Video You Hate To See

San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson getting ready for the season by leg pressing a car:

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