10 to Remember

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Monday, Jan 28, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

How could someone possibly take 20 weeks, 13 victories and countless milestones and boil them down into the top 10 most memorable moments? It wasn’t easy and several worthy candidates were omitted. Argue if you will, but here is one man’s list of the 2007 season’s most memorable moments from a unforgettable season.

10. Special contributions The Chargers scored five special teams touchdowns on the season, and their first of the year proved to be a big one. With the Bolts trying to snap a three-game losing streak, they made a trip to Denver in Week 5 with hopes of jumping on the Broncos early. That’s exactly what they did.

On the kickoff that followed Philip Rivers’ touchdown on the Bolts’ opening drive of the game, Carlos Polk met Broncos return man Brian Clark head on and forced him to fumble. The loose ball landed in the hands of linebacker Brandon Siler, who sprinted 23 yards for his first-career touchdown. That gave the Chargers a 14-0 lead and sucked the momentum away from Denver. The Bolts went on to win 41-3 and sparked a three-game winning streak that put them back in first place in the AFC West by the midpoint of the season.

9. Gates swings open Rushing yards were hard to come by in the Bolts’ 2007 opener, but that didn’t keep LaDainian Tomlinson from having a huge impact. With the Bears leading 3-0 late in the third quarter, Tomlinson took a pitch from Philip Rivers, pulled the ball up and tossed a strike to Antonio Gates. The Pro Bowl tight end caught the ball at the two-yard line and tiptoed into the end zone for the Chargers’ first score. It was LT’s seventh touchdown pass of his career.

The Chargers went on to win 14-3. The score came after the Bolts caught a break on special teams. After the offense stalled near midfield, Mike Scifres’ short punt bounced into Bears unsuspecting cover man Brandon McGowan and Matt Wilhelm pounced on the loose ball. Four plays later, LT connected with Gates for the touchdown.

8. Access denied On the stat sheet, it went down as a simple solo tackle by Quentin Jammer. In the grand scheme of things, it was so much more. With the Chargers leading 14-7 in the final minutes of the opening half of their Week 6 game against Oakland, Ronald Curry caught a pass from Daunte Culpepper and raced 31 yards down field in hopes of tying the contest before halftime. Just as Curry was about to extend the ball across the goal line, Jammer came and pushed him out of bounds at the one yard line.

On the next play, Shawne Merriman sacked Culpepper. Then Shaun Phillips got to Culpepper and forced a fumble that Jamal Williams recovered to end the threat. Had Jammer not hustled to make the play, the Chargers would have gone into the locker room tied at 14. Instead, they held the lead and delivered a stop on Oakland’s first possession of the third quarter. The Chargers responded with LT’s third touchdown of the day to make it a 21-7 game. The Bolts went on to win 28-14.

7. Unbreakable Antonio Cromartie provided several memorable moments, perhaps none more spectacular than his 109-yard return of a missed field goal in Week 9. On the final play of the first half of the Chargers game at Minnesota, Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell lined up to attempt a 57-yard field goal. As the kick fell just short of the crossbar, Cromartie toed the back of the end zone to make an over the shoulder catch while carefully staying in bounds.

After securing the ball, Cromartie turned up the field and hit full stride in a hurry. With a little help on blocks from Luis Castillo and Shawne Merriman, Cromartie found the end zone and delivered the longest play in NFL history, a record that can be tied but never broken.

6. Prepare to win When the wildfires ravaged San Diego County in late October, the Chargers had to find a way to eliminate distractions and prepare for their Week 8 contest against the Houston Texans. Thanks to the generosity of Arizona Cardinals Owner Bill Bidwill, the Bolts packed up their gear and headed to Phoenix for the week where they used the Cardinals’ practice facility to get ready for a key AFC contest.

Head Coach Norv Turner lauded the professionalism with which his men approached the difficult week, and all their hard work paid off. The Bolts delivered a 35-10 victory over Houston and brought bundles of joy to San Diego after what had been a difficult week for the city. The Chargers used the game to honor police officers, firefighters and the hundreds of servicemen who made sacrifices to ensure the wellbeing of all San Diegans.

In addition to a great week of practice, the Chargers had a significant opportunity to bond during the whole ordeal. Following practice, players went to dinner with each other and had a chance to gain valuable camaraderie with their teammates. That chemistry proved to pay off as the Bolts ended the season on a six-game winning streak.

5. Little man, big impact On a night when the Chargers could find a rhythm offensively, the Bolts beat the defending Super Bowl champs thanks to a stellar evening from their defense and a very special performance by Darren Sproles.

Before either offense took the field, the Chargers had a 7-0 lead thanks to Sproles’ first-career touchdown, an 89-yard score on the opening kickoff. Later in the first quarter, Sproles returned a punt 45 yards for a score. He accounted for more than half the Bolts’ points in a 23-21 win.

4. Comeback RouteThe Chargers traded for Chris Chambers because they felt like they needed another playmaker to give the offense a boost. That’s what the veteran continually delivered, particularly on an afternoon when the Bolts needed him the most.

With 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter of a tight contest in Nashville, the Chargers were down to their last out. On 4^th-and-5 from their own 25 yard line, Philip Rivers dropped back and fired a bullet over the middle. The ball was thrown a bit behind him, but Chambers went to the ground, reached back and hauled it in for a 19-yard gain. Moments later, Antonio Gates’ two-yard touchdown catch sent the game to overtime, where LT’s 16-yard run gave the Bolts a victory.

3. Nice grab On a night when Antonio Cromartie became the first player to intercept Peyton Manning three times in one game, one grab stood out above the rest. With the Chargers maintaining a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, Cromartie delivered a catch for the ages.

On 3^rd-and-3 from the Colts’ 27 yard line, Shawne Merriman pressured Manning and forced him to under throw a pass intended for Reggie Wayne. Cromartie leaped in the air and stuck out his massive right hand. He initially tried to simply bat the ball away, but when it clung to his hand, Cromartie pulled it to his body and came away with a grab that will be replayed on highlight shows for years.

2. The drive With a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line, Billy Volek led the Chargers on an eight, play 78-yard drive against the Colts to give the Chargers a 28-24 lead that the defense would preserve. Indianapolis had taken a 24-21 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, but Volek responded with a little magic. With Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson on the sideline with knee injuries and Antonio Gates slowed by a dislocated toe, Volek used 15-yard pass to Chris Chambers, a 27-yard catch and run by Legedu Naanee and three Michael Turner carries to set up his one-yard quarterback sneak.

The Chargers defense held twice in the closing minutes of the contest to give the Bolts a victory and allow them to advance to the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.

1. Fourth and GO! With the Chargers holding a 10-6 lead over the Tennessee Titans late in the fourth quarter of their Wild Card game, Head Coach Norv Turner faced a difficult decision. Should he send out the field goal unit and make it a seven-point game or should he take a risk and try to put the game away?

With LaDainian Tomlinson running behind one of the game’s best offensive lines, Turner decided to roll the dice. He figured the worst thing that could happen was forcing Tennessee to drive the entire length of the field against a Bolts defense that wasn’t budging.

Turner’s decision paid off as LT dove over the pile, landed on his feet and extended the ball across the goal line on his second effort. Tomlinson raced to midfield in elation as the Bolts had all but wrapped up their first playoff victory in 13 years by taking an 11-point lead with 8:45 left.

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