Raiders (4-4) at Chargers (4-4), Thursday, 8:20 p.m. Eastern, NFL Network
Line: Chargers by 6.
Norv Turner takes a lot of criticism from folks who expect a team to improve over the course of a coach’s tenure. Watching Hue Jackson go from a fashionable coach of the year candidate to the league’s latest petty autocrat in just a few weeks offers a new appreciation for Turner.
Jackson has used Jason Campbell’s injury as an excuse to relive his glory days as an assistant coach for the 2006 Bengals. Jackson scrapped a successful running game Sunday, leaving tight end Kevin Boss on the bench so Carson Palmer and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (both acquired in the last month) could try to re-create some pre-recession magic. Meanwhile, the Raiders’ run defense allowed 299 yards, in part because Aaron Curry (yet another late arrival) still does not know his gap responsibilities. By contrast, Turner’s happy tortoise approach to personnel decisions looks like patient wisdom.
Turner is dealing with a three-game losing streak of his own, and he is wrestling with two confounding questions. First, what in the world is wrong with Philip Rivers, who has thrown seven interceptions in the last three games? Rivers has no apparent injury; he is just missing receivers he connected with easily for the last three years. Second, why has San Diego been forced to play three games in 10 days? If someone in the Chargers’ organization angered the league office, it certainly was not Turner. Jackson will be on Plan C or D in a few weeks (Terrelle Pryor? Chad Ochocinco?). Turner will still be calmly, infuriatingly waiting for Rivers to come around.
Pick: Chargers
(Pick does not reflect the betting line)
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