First Hurdle? Cleared

There is no way in Hell it should have taken this long, but even at a game behind KC, the Chargers look poised to snatch this awful division yet again from the clutches of teams that don't seem particularly interested in taking on the responsibility. Maybe they've seen us get whacked in the post season enough to know that there's no point in advancing anyway. That's certainly how it looks for us again this year, after once again stumbling blindly from the gate. We may well take this AFC West title again, but where do we stand against playoff calibre teams?

Well, we might find out this coming Sunday against the Colts. Personally, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say the Colts have come back down to Earth quite a bit this season. Most years they haven't lost a game yet, but this year they've already dropped 4. To call their defense suspect would be to compliment them and they are actually more riddled with injury than we are. However, as my cohort CJ pointed out to me, their quarterback is still Peyton Manning and this is still the regular season where he rules.

As for us, we get back Vincent Jackson, and hopefully Antonio Gates. My theory about the running game working better with either Ryan Mathews or Mike Tolbert on the bench appears to have been strengthened in validity last night. I still believe our defense is playing over it's head, but the results are the results and I have to go ahead and assume they can continue to do so until it's been proven otherwise.

Unless you count the Chiefs and the Raiders (and I suppose you sort of have to because they beat us this season, but I'm just not going to acknowledge it),the Colts are the last true contender I can find on the schedule. Frisco and Cincy might put up a fight, but they aren't any kind of indicators as to the kind of foes we'd meet in January. Only the Colts fit that bill, so while the horse stomping in Denver last night more or less legitimized us as a probable qualifier, only a win in Indy will make me believe we can truly be contenders for the whole shootin' match.

All that being said, that was the best game I've seen us play in quite a while. Go Bolts!!!