RANDOM OBSERVATIONS : COLTS @ CHARGERS, FIRST HALF EDITION

by Davey, Blown Coverage

Is it me or do the Sunday Night games make the Monday Night games look stupid? If the Colts-Chargers game is the equivalent of Jessica Simpson, then the 49ers-Seahawks is Olympia Dukakis. Olympia Dukakis wrapped in Tony Kornheiser.

Either way, tonight we see what the Colts are made of. They lost a tough game against New England, they have to go to San Diego and play a pissed off Chargers team and they're without Marvin Harrison, Dallas Clark, Tony Ugoh and Anthony Gonzalez. Sounds like a loss to me.

When I made my picks midweek, I picked Indy but right now I'm pretty sure that the Chargers will win this one. But what do I know, I had Tennessee, the Giants and the Ravens picked today also. Oh well, Al & John are here to "entertain" us so let's roll....

• Hot damn. Darren Sproles takes the opening kick-off 89 yards to the house for a touchdown. Adam Vinatieri had the best shot at tackling Sproles and that's never a good sign for your special teams unit. You really don't want the kicker to be a factor in the tackling process over there. Chargers lead 7-0.

• The Colts introduce themselves on offense and Aaron Moorehead has eyes the size of North Dakota. If I'm the Chargers defense, I'd put 4 defensive backs on Reggie Wayne and I'd let Aaron Moorehead and Brian Fletcher try to beat me.

• And apparently, Aaron Moorehead and Brian Fletcher don't really scare anyone. Antonio Cromartie picks off Peyton Manning in the endzone and Cromartie has been on a good streak here over the last 3 games.

• NBC shows the San Diego chicken going through the Colts locker room and he proceeds to put some itching powder in Peyton Manning's jockstrap. Kenny Chesney must be very upset right now. Either upset or really, really aroused...

• The itching powder was effective by the looks of it. Shaun Phillips intercepts Manning as he tries to find Fletcher and that was the 2nd pick Manning has thrown here in the first quarter. To say that I'm enjoying this is an understatement.

• The Chargers turn the pick into 3 points as Nate Kaeding adds a short field goal and San Diego leads 10-0. Moorehead, Fletcher and Craphonso Thorpe are clearly not intimidating anyone here.

• And Darren Sproles returns another one for a touchdown. This time it's a 45 yard punt return and again, the punter was the only one with a decent shot at tackling Sproles. Really, whoever is coaching special teams for the Colts needs to be beaten with a stick. Two touchdowns for Sproles and the kicker and punter were both times the only guys that had shots at tackling him. Chargers lead 16-0 as the extra point was botched.

• The Charger defenders are just taking turns now. Marcus Harris sacks Manning and celebrates that by doing some sort of back flip combination. That back flip was probably the most athletic thing I've seen in a long time.

• Weird play here. Philip Rivers takes a shot into the endzone, the ball gets tipped, bobbles around a bit on Gary Brackett's ass and was finally intercepted by Clinton Session. The play gets reviewed but the interception stands and sadly I got to see a bit too much of Gary Brackett's ass there.

• Antonio Cromartie has his jockstrap firmly wrapped around Peyton Manning's head. Cromartie makes an amazing one handed pick and apparently it's his 3rd pick of this first half. I must have missed one while I made a trip to the kitchen. Cromartie now has 3 touchdowns, 1 NFL record and 4 picks going back over his last 3 games. Your testicles need to be pretty big to accomplish that...

• The Chargers are just piling it on now. LT adds a rushing touchdown and the Colts can blame this beating on Adrian Peterson. And on the trio of Aaron Moorehead, Brian Fletcher and Craphonso Thorpe. Yeah, I'll keep picking on them all game long.
  

• The Colts finally answer back. Manning finds Reggie Wayne for a touchdown and that was the first time this half that the Colts offense has looked somewhat close to decent. San Diego 23, Indy 7 and I'm really not surprised here.

• John Madden on Antonio Gates : "If I was the Colts defense, I would just jam him and ride him." There's something about Antonio Gates that just brings out the worst in people.

• The Colts had one more shot before the end of the half to add a few points but Adam Vinatieri could not channel his inner Jason Elam. Indy rushed out its special teams unit but Vinatieri shanked the hasty kick. I'm sure that Indy's special teams coach will be looking for a job tomorrow...

We go to halftime with San Diego on top 23-7.