Chargers' woes; star RB drought; backup QB grades

Donald Driver, Brett Favre's go-to receiver for three years, tallied six catches for 126 yards and one score in the Packers' win. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA -- Musings, observations and occasional insight on a wacky and offense-filled Week 3 in the NFL ...

• The San Diego Chargers went 14-2 last year, but in order to match that, they're going to have to rip off a 13-game winning streak to end the regular season. The knee-jerk reaction in San Diego will be to look in the direction of new head coach Norv Turner as the blame game cranks to life. But if I were a Chargers fan, I wouldn't be fixated on the issue of whether the switch from Marty Schottenheimer to Turner messed with the team's winning karma.

The more significant subtraction came when San Diego was forced to replace defensive coordinator Wade Phillips with Ted Cottrell. True, the Chargers' high-powered offense hasn't clicked yet like we know it can. But if you're trying to pinpoint the reason San Diego is 1-2 and on its first two-game losing streak since late in the 2005 season, you have to start with the fact that it has surrendered a combined 69 points at New England and Green Bay the past two weeks.

In Phillips' attacking-style defense, the Chargers wreaked havoc against most opponents last year. Only once all season did San Diego give up as many as 31 points in 2006. But under Cottrell, it lost 38-14 to the Patriots and 31-24 to the Packers after an opening-week 14-3 home defeat of Chicago.

Green Bay didn't run the ball much against the Chargers on Sunday -- 42 yards on just 13 carries, a 3.2 average -- but making the Packers one-dimensional didn't help. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre picked San Diego's pass defense apart, much like Tom Brady did last week en route to a 24-0 New England lead at halftime.

Favre finished 28-of-45 for 363 yards and three touchdowns, and Green Bay rolled to 405 yards of offense against a Chargers defense that appears to have lost its edge in terms of play-making. San Diego had no takeaways on defense, sacked Favre just twice, and forced the Packers into just three punts while giving up an average gain of 6.8 yards per play.

The Chargers' offense showed signs of life at Green Bay, scoring a season-high 24 points and getting a 306-yard, three-touchdown passing game from Philip Rivers. But until the defense starts resembling its 2006 form, Cottrell is the coach who deserves to be under the microscope, even more so than Turner. Cottrell has had success in his NFL coaching career, but he has also been replaced as the coordinator of three teams: Buffalo, the Jets and Minnesota. It's both fair and accurate to say his record is mixed.

Like Turner, Cottrell was given an extremely talented roster to work with in San Diego, and is replacing a coach whose track record for success is well-documented. So far, his Chargers defense has underachieved. Fortunately for him and San Diego, there are 13 more games to alter that perception.

• I'm picking this Wednesday in the Larry Johnson-loses-it pool. With his statistics at an embarrassing level, the Kansas City super-back is going to blow at some point very, very soon. Even though the Chiefs beat Minnesota on Sunday, the offensive frustration has to be close to reaching full boil in Kansas City. Johnson -- big new contract or not -- isn't going to stay quiet indefinitely while the Chiefs' offense sputters.

Johnson entered play Sunday with just 98 yards rushing this season, and added a paltry 42 yards on a whopping 24 carries to that total at home against Minnesota. Johnson's 140 yards rushing this season used to be what he produced in three quarters or so.

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