San Diego Chargers (4-3 SU, 5-1-1 ATS) vs. Washington Redskins (2-5 SU, 2-5 ATS)
Week 9 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday, November 3, 2013 at 1:00PM EST
Where: FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
TV: CBS
By Guest Handicapper Loot of Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: SD (pick'em)/WASH (pick'em)
Over/Under Total: 51
The San Diego Chargers march into FedEx Field on Sunday to face the Washington Redskins. After splitting games with AFC West teams Oakland and Denver, the Redskins will try their luck against the 4-3 Chargers, who are well-rested following a bye-week. Washington led Denver 21-7, before the Broncos scored 38 unanswered points to cruise to an easy victory. In addition to coming off a bye, the Chargers have some good momentum after winning two straight and 3 out of 4. Only once this season has San Diego failed to cover the spread.
At 2-5, the Skins are trying hard, but simply not getting it done after getting to the playoffs last season. Robert Griffin, III was drilled late against Denver, forcing Kirk Cousins to step in and play. His trials continue on the heels of major knee surgery. We have seen flashes of his 2012 form, but not consistently enough to allow this offense to take flight. And the Skins “D” hasn’t been helping matters much. Last year, different factors allowed the Redskins to camouflage their defensive deficiencies to an extent, but the shortcomings are coming through in living color this season.
The deteriorated play of RG3 is cited by most of the general public as the main culprit of the Redskins falling back down to earth. But they could have a prime Joe Montana in there and it would be hard to win with this defense. At times, the “D” has an almost Pop Warner vibe to it. The thing is there is a lot of individual talent on that side of the ball, but as of now, they rank towards the bottom in all relevant categories. They are 28th against the pass, 29th against the rush, and 31st in points allowed.
Griffin looked like he was moving well on the sidelines after Terrance Knighton and his 335 pounds landed directly on his leg. One should expect to see him in the game on Sunday. It’s just that they really seemed to hit rock-bottom on Sunday. Leading 21-7, their heads began to fill with thoughts of that game being a turnaround point in the season. Then they end up losing 45-21. It’s another morale-sagging experience for a team that really didn’t need it.
Now they have to turn around and face a rested Chargers team that seems to be peaking. The road component here is worth mentioning, as a trip from San Diego to this game is a long trip and out of conference against a team the Chargers never see. San Diego has been fairly inconsistent this year--sort of a feast-or-famine team. And they also have an almost-institutionalized knack for blowing it. In two of their first three games, they lost games that were downright difficult to blow. It’s just the way they are.
At their best, however, they’re a heck of a team--thriving under the stellar play of QB Philip Rivers. He has really improved off the past two seasons, completing nearly 75% of his throws and reducing his picks significantly from 2011 and 2012. And they’re putting together a nifty little offense. RB Ryan Mathews has been playing well in spots, new acquisition Danny Woodhead has become a major weapon, and a deep receiving crew has been bolstered by a healthy TE Antonio Gates and the breakout play of rookie receiver Keenan Allen.
But now San Diego is dealing with a problem that really led to a lot of issues in 2012, which is an offensive line that can’t seem to stay healthy. The patchwork line has done well in keeping it together, but the depletion has to resonate at some point. The lowly Jaguars couldn’t exploit it to much affect two weeks ago, but this issue may fester in coming weeks. But this line is certainly doing a better job of working through injuries than before, so who knows?
This isn’t the no-brainer it may seem to be. If the Redskins can manage to get Denver down 21-7 on the road, they could easily do that or better at home against the Chargers, a good team, but one capable of wide ranges of play. San Diego is a team that can look great in crushing Dallas and Indianapolis. But then they imploded against Houston with a 28-7 lead late in the third quarter, allowed an unlikely 90-plus yard final drive to Tennessee to lose that game, then get smoked by Oakland. That’s a wide range of form, so it’s difficult to gauge which Chargers team will show up from week-to-week.
The early line of pick-’em almost rings of a carrot being dangled. As bettors, we want to avoid traps like that. San Diego giving no points seems like an attractive option on the surface, until we realize that the bookie is not prone to giving out gifts to the betting public. That’s how they stay in business thriving year after year.
Loot's Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I’m not a big fan of west coast teams playing early games on the east coast. Yes, the Chargers are coming off of a bye and will probably be well rested. It won't be enough though as I'm not sold on this Chargers team on the road. They've played away from home four times beating a Philly team with a horrible defense, the lowly Jags and lost to both Tennessee and Oakland. I believe the Skins are better than both Ten/Oak hence why I'm betting Washington Sunday. It probably won't come easy though!
