The Chiefs were dead and buried. Right? Right??? Did you realize that if they beat the Chargers Monday night there suddenly be a three-way tie for first in the AFC West?

Reeling from last week’s disappointment, the Bolts need a bounce-back.  They shot themselves repeatedly in the feet in New jersey and ultimately got beaten by a guy who famously shot himself in the leg.  Plaxico Burress caught only four passes last Sunday for the Jets but three of them went for touchdowns, all against Antoine Cason.

Speculation is rampant that rookie Marcus Gilchrist will get his chance to start Monday night, sending Cason to the bench after a string of 27 consecutive assignments.  I feel bad for Cason, truly a great dude, but with Dwayne Bowe and Matt Cassel beginning to rediscover their rhythm, I can see where a change may come in handy.

Speaking of rhythm, it’s high time Philip Rivers rediscovered his. Nine picks already – as many as he had all of last year.  Hopefully the Chiefs will be the tonic for what’s been ailing him; he has 5 TD’s against them in his last two games.

The Chiefs – so horrid for the season’s first two weeks – have gotten fat the last three weeks against three teams in disarray.  Now they have a chance to become the first team since the 2000 Steelers to reverse an 0-3 start with four straight wins.  Coach Todd Haley – who hasn’t shaved since the 0-3 start and now looks like he’s auditioning for a ZZ Top tribute band – has a Steelers pedigree from which to draw; his dad worked for the team for a long time as their director of player personnel.  And not for nothing, back in 1989, Dick Haley’s Steelers lost their first two games 51-0 (at home!) and 41-10. (Remember, Sonny Boy’s Chiefs got waxed by a combined score of 89-10 through two games this year as opposed to dad’s 92-10. Pretty close.)

Well, the moral to this story is the ’89 Steelers rallied from that awful start to finish 9-7 and make the post-season as a wild card. They actually won a first quarter playoff game before succumbing by a single point to John Elway and a patented fourth quarter comeback in Denver.  The message is clear, especially since Bearded Todd Haley has lived it: The Chiefs are not yet dead.

This past week, on the first day of full practice for each team, the Chargers’ injury report was ten-deep, while the Chiefs listed only Kendrick Lewis (limited participation, sore ankle.)  That can’t be good.  Also the Chiefs have found running back lightning in a bottle with the unheralded Jackie Battle, replacing the injured Jamal Charles.

However, the Chiefs have been crummy at stopping the run.  Ryan Mathews was held in check last week at the Jets, but could this be a bounce-back week for the second year dynamo from Fresno State?  Neutralize KC’s outstanding LB Derrick Johnson and he’s got a chance.  Johnson’s not the tazmanian devil sack monster that Tamba Hali is.. but what Johnson does is tackle you, and tackle you hard.  He had 12 solos and 16 total at Oakland last week, helping the Chiefs to their first shutout win on the road in about thirty years.  If Mathews slips past Johnson consistently Monday night, I like the Chargers, 27-20.  If he can’t, we could be looking at three 4-3 teams in the AFC West.

So Rex Ryan opened his mouth and stuck his, um… foot in it. Yeahhhh… um, foot.  That’s’ okay. Really. I had the pleasure of emceeing a Super Bowl function this past February, headlined by the Jets’ coach and his GQ cover-model quarterback.  Much as I’d enjoy fanning flames by reporting both men were high 8’s on the 1-to-10 Nincompoop Scale, I really can’t. I left so impressed by both men, and know full well that Coach Ryan didn’t mean to slam the Chargers or Norv Turner with his recent comments.  To the contrary, I think in his own odd way, he was simply trying to let everyone (including his own players) know what al of us in San Diego know already – that the Chargers roster is stacked with skill players Rex can only dream of having. 

Case in point – Mark Sanchez’s career quarterback rating is currently 26th among players. Philip Rivers’ is second.  The Jets haven’t had a quarterback throw for 400 yards in a game in nearly 12 years. Rivers did it three times last September alone.

Also, despite the Jets’ famous “Ground and Pound” run game, the man with the hot pair of spikes is the Chargers’ Ryan Mathews (on pace to gain an LT-in-’06-like 2157 yards from scrimmage.  In fact, the Jets’ run game has been a non-starter this year. LT, love him as we do, has gained all of 96 yards on 29 carries.  That was a typical Week One for LT back in the day.. this year its taken him six games, of which his team has won just three.

I like the Chargers ground game, air attack, and even their linebackers more on Sunday. But the Jets get the nod on a few things, too… and they are enough to give you pause.

1). Cornerbacks.  Our old friend Antonio Cromartie may have sold his soul for that 10pick season in ’07. Remember when he picked off Peyton Manning three times in one HALF?  Well, in his next (and final) season in San Diego, he didn’t have that many picks for the YEAR. (And that was the year he predicted he’d grabbed 15. He missed by only 13.)  That stated, Cro is playing at a high level so far in ’11 and Darelle Revis is legendarily unbelievable.  His two picks against the Dolphins last weekend were the difference in a game the Jets absolutely had to have.

2). The Jets’ defensive line.  Sacks aren’t just what the mafia uses to throw guys into the Hudson river, ya know, The two Jersey football teams stand number 1 and 3 in quarterback bringdowns so far – Gang Green has averaged about five per game, and remember, last time out, Philip Rivers got nailed that many times himself.

3). Special teams. While the Bolts have cleaned things up decently compared to last year, that’s damning with faint praise, is it not?  If a .117 hitter in baseball suddenly starts hitting .200, that’s still not exactly All-Star game material, capisce?  The Jets block punts and kicks (an average of one per year the last dozen years – the Chargers, in that time, have blocked two total.)  They return punts and kicks for scores.  (Leon Washington took one back 94 yards on the Chargers the last regular season game in ’09, then resurfaced with the Seahawks and scored twice on ‘em last year too.)  They blow up your guys on returns.  Their field goal kicker hasn’t missed yet. Nick Folk staved off Nick Novak to retain the kicking job for the Jets this past August… Novak careened to the Chargers after Nate Keading got hurt, and all he did was go 9-for-9 in his last nine quarters.  (Its’ a new 9-9-9 plan the political candidates can debate.)

So as you load up and get ready for the early kick on Sunday, beware of those three aforementioned items. But also, remember what Coach Ryan said, and try and take it as a compliment.  The Chargers are, indeed, a team loaded with talent.  A win at MetLife Stadium would be a loud statement to make with the Chiefs, Packers and Raiders waiting in the wings.

So. What if there were billboards up all over San Diego that said things like "Start Volek!"  This week the Chargers go to Denver, where they'll face a Broncos team that is out to a 1-3 start, and with a fan base all but chanting for the backup quarterback to don a cape, take the field, and save them all.

Whether or not Tim Tebow ever becomes anything of the note is only of nominal concern to Charger fans, especially this weekend, where it's still all about Kyle Orton.  Orton is workmanlike, maybe even pedestrian, but not nearly as bad as Denver's billboard-erecting citizenry would lead you to believe.

In the red zone, Orton has attempted 274 career passes and has had only three intercepted. 57 TD, three picks.  His career passer rating is a middling 80.0, yes, but he can certainly steer the Broncos downfield against a Chargers' secondary that may or may not have Quentin Jammer. I'm not saying Orton is Philip Rivers, but neither is he Philip Seymour Hoffman. Steve Decker has emerged as a serious downfield threat (who knew!) and Brandon Lloyd has quietly put up more receiving yards than Roddy White, Greg Jennings, Larry Fitzgerald and Reggie Wayne since the start of last season.  Of Lloyd's 77 catches last year, 72 went for first downs, a staggering 94 percent. (The alltime record, if you care, is Henry Ellard for Norv Turner's Redskns. One year he was at 96%, 71 of 74. You know who may challenge that record this year? A current Norv-coached player: Vincent Jackson. Just sayin'.)

The Broncos are getting ground production from Willis McGahee, who's had more rushing touchdowns than all other NFL players since 2004, other than our old friend LT.  Then again, the Broncos have always been able to run. I have every confidence Andy Dick or Jonah Hill could rush for a thousand yards if given the opportnity back there. (By the way, what's up with Jonah Hill's Jared-esque weight loss? It looks like he's been washed at the wrong laundromat setting.)  Actually, it's a fun exercise to try and name all the Broncos who have logged 100-yard rushing games over the last 15 years. Besides Mcgahee, there's obviously, Terrell Davis and Clinton Portis who spring to mind, but then there's Mike Anderson, Tatum Bell,Ruben Droughns, Olandis Gary, Travis Henry, Correll Buckhalter, Selvin Young, Mile Bell, Aaron Craver, Peyton Hillis, Glyn Millburn, Michael Pittman, and Selvin Young. Wow.

Didn't see Knowshon Moreno on there. eh? Well, actually he has rushed for a hundred yards a couple times.. but only two. This is now his third year, and he ws supposed to be something awfully special by now. Instead, McGahee has been the bellcow in 2011, and Moreno has been a non-factor. Makes you appreciate the ascent of Ryan Matthews.  Healthy in this his second NFL season, he's currently among the top five NFL running backs in yards from scrimmage. Really, it all started with his spot-on three-touchdown game in denver the last game of 2010... and with every game, the Fresno State flash gains more and more confidence.

Anyway, the point of this blog is simple-- Denver's not as bad as all that, even though the villagers are assembling with torches and pitchforks regarding their starting quarterback. Orton's okay. McGahee's damn good. Lloyd and Decker can stretch the field.  BUT -- Rivers is better than Orton. Give me Jackson and Floyd over Decker and Lloyd.  And finally, the current version of Matthews is better tha anyone who will line up behind Orton in the Bronco backfield.  Chargers 27, Broncos 19.

The Story Heading Into the Dolphins Game: Can the Chargers survive this recent run of injuries and finally get this high-octane offense running without sludge in the system? Philip Rivers is still the guy you want and trust out there, and will be for a long time… but six picks in three games is very un-Philip-like.  He won last week with a passer rating of 62, something that hadn’t happened since September, 2008. A passer rating lower than the gametime temperature won’t cut it for too much longer, so I’m eager to see if today’s the day #17 reasserts himself against an opportunistic Dolphin defense. Philip needs to stick it in the end zone a few times Sunday just to get that feel-good groove back. (Hey, at least the Bolts are getting INTO the red zone. Anyone notice how many times Jacksonville's been inside the 20 through three games? One. ONE!  That's almost impossible. Then again, so was Kansas City being outscored 99-10 through its first 10 quarters... and the Vikings blowing third quarter leads of 17, 17 and 20 so far... and Tom Brady throwing more picks in three quarters in Buffalo than he did all year in 2010...)

One other thing that will help the Chargers get this thing done: Taking take the ball away.  Eric Weddle did it to save the game last weekend, and Shaun Phillips did it to avert disaster back in Week 1.  In between those two unlikely interceptions, the Chargers went 11 ¾ quarters without forcing a turnover, which is an eternity. Greg Manusky promised us a ballhawking, downhill defense, and if that organism can poke its head out from under the sand today, that bodes well. With Bob Sanders now packed away for the year, a guy like Steve Gregory (and to a lesser extent, the recently-resigned Paul Oliver) can make a difference.

Chad Henne is the opposing quarterback, and as the league's 31st rated passer, he's a far cry from the other former-Michigan Wolverine QB the Chargers have faced this year.  I worry more about the rookie running back they've started to feature.  With 95 yards at Cleveland, Daniel Thomas has now rushed for 220 yards in his first two games… that’s the third highest by a Dolphins rookie rusher over a two game period.  (Ronnie Brown amassed 229 in two straight games in 2005, and Karim Abdul-Jabbar produced 228 in two games of the 1996 season.)  A young, versatile back is everything Miami needs if indeed Reggie Bush is going to stay stuck in neutral.  Can the former San Diego prep star break out for his new team in his homecoming today?  That’s a little scary to ponder.  Bush's replacement in New Orleans, former Charger fan favorite Darren Sproles, has already won the hearts of Saints fans. Reggie, having taken his talents to South Beach so to speak, has it in him to team with Thomas and give the Charger defense twin headaches this afternoon.  Step up, D... and step back to your normal self, Philip... and we'll see everybody on Victory Monday.