I Can't Feel A Thing.

I'm still processing that one, but I feel like I have to post something. So, I guess we'll start with the good. We finally won one of these games our coaches keep trying to give away. That's good. I mean, it's a freaking W, and we're above .500 for the first time this season and going into a much needed bye week. LaDainian Tomlinson went back to setting personal records and Antonio Gates continues to prove he probably did deserve the money he was asking for before the season started. Vincent Jackson made his first catch in the NFL, for 18 yards, and Quentin Jammer remembered to sort of look back at the ball and preserved the victory. All good things, no doubt.

Then there was the bad. I hope you've got a minute. Now, I tend to be a bit of a Marty Schottenheimer apologist. I have felt that, in the past, he has often been criticized for making "wrong" choices in "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situations. But seriously folks, if your defense suddenly takes three steps back and starts making Brooks Bollinger look like a phenom, you sure as hell better find a way to twist the knife with an offense rife with Pro Bowlers. And I have to question a management staff that gives away a talented young O-lineman like Toniu Fonoti for a sack of peanuts, and then turns around and starts letting guys run amock through the line, causing blocked field goals and nearly devastating fumbles with an alarming frequency. I definitely felt that old choking sensation this week, and I did not like it. Not one bit.

Ultimately, we look to be in a good position, with a couple of weeks to bring back a pretty large group of banged up players. We have four winnable looking games on the horizon, and we are poised to make a run at the playoffs. Things could certainly be a lot worse. But until this defense proves it can play two entire halves of football, the offense can not afford to stop. There just aren't enough points in the world to guarantee a victory.

I guess a win is a win, even if it feels like a loss. I'm sure I'll have more to say tomorrow. For now, go Bolts!