Bolts' D tries to regain swagger without Merriman

SAN DIEGO – They were still scattered and dazed and a little shocked by the time Ted Cottrell got his hands on them. The San Diego Chargers had lost to the Miami Dolphins only hours before, and the defensive coordinator saw everything he needed to on film: players looking lethargic and detached, hoping for an emotional lightning strike that would never come.

They looked like they were waiting for something. Maybe for linebacker Shawne Merriman, who they knew wasn't coming.

"Some of the spark was missing," Cottrell said. "When Shawne went out earlier this season, it was missing – that fire he brings."

So Cottrell gathered his players, showed them their lack of passion, and asked for one thing against the Patriots on Sunday.

"When you go out there," Cottrell said, "at least act like you are enjoying yourself."

The Chargers miss Merriman's spark and big plays.

(AP Photo/Chris Park)

This was the dimension that was hard to prepare for with the loss of Merriman, who had season-ending knee surgery after Week 1. Take away Merriman's playmaking and multiple sack games and the talent that sends a shiver down the spine of offensive coordinators, and what the Chargers had left was an emotional compass that spun without direction. If anything, that's what San Diego has learned in its 3-3 start. That until Sunday's 30-10 win over New England, this was a defense capable of drifting mentally at the worst times, whether during Carolina's final drive in a season-opening defeat, or in a crushing loss to Denver that – officiating aside – saw an absent pass rush and a secondary that couldn't solve Broncos wideout Brandon Marshall.

Chargers general manager A.J. Smith entertains a theory that football teams essentially reveal themselves in 12 games – that every team is settled at that point and must begin building momentum into the playoffs in the final quarter of the regular season. If that's the case, then the Chargers may have identified their biggest issue just in time, with six games remaining to redefine themselves emotionally on defense. Undoubtedly, San Diego still fields one of the most impressive defensive rosters in the NFL.

"The pieces are still there, but with the 0-2 start and losing Shawne, I think we forgot what it was like to have an attitude as a defense," Chargers safety Clinton Hart said. "We had to dig that up again. Somebody sent me a text (before playing the Patriots) telling me to play like I played in high school. I think we forgot that feeling. … Either we were going to start getting it done, or we were just going to be those guys coming in to pick up a paycheck."

San Diego's win over New England was easily its most complete and impressive defensive showing of the season: holding the Patriots to three points late into the fourth quarter, notching four sacks and an interception, and finishing off a brute force goal-line stand at the one-yard line.

But if anything, that win was just a foothold in a long climb back for a team that is still adjusting from injuries and offseason losses. When the Chargers are at their best, they are running the ball well and winning time of possession. But injuries to offensive tackle Marcus McNeill and running back LaDainian Tomlinson, as well as poor execution, have slowed the running game. And that in turn has impacted third downs and time of possession, which the Chargers are losing through three games, 27:57 to 32:02.

Add in the loss of Drayton Florence in the offseason, which robbed them of a veteran playmaker at the nickel spot, and you have a defense that isn't quite as opportunistic. San Diego also was without linebacker Stephen Cooper until Week 5 because of a four-game suspension for a banned stimulant. And it has been without Merriman's replacement, young and talented pass-rushing specialist Jyles Tucker, who injured his hamstring in Week 4. Those injuries, particularly Tucker's, stunted a pass rush that would typically rank amongst the best in the NFL.

"A lot of things have been off, so it's been hard to just put your finger on one thing," said Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo. "But I think the one thing you could say for sure is that it all played a part in the intensity out there. We haven't really been one group consistently. Now we're getting back to that and you can see it in the way we're playing."

Weddle (bottom) and Hart converge to take down a Patriots player on Sunday.

(US Presswire/ Christopher Hanewinckel)

"When we're feeding off one another you just feel it," said quarterback Philip Rivers. "When our guys get it going and get things stirred up, it can be chaos. I've seen it firsthand out here in practice in training camp. You go through the blitz period and they're going nuts and it's kind of like, 'When can this practice be over? I'm tired of listening to them over there.' That was the case (Sunday night) it looked like for the most part. (The Patriots) were reeling and it was kind of like you didn't want to put your helmet down on the sideline. The ball was flying all over the place and it was good. That was a big win for us, a big step. Now we've just got to keep it going."

While the Chargers did a good job limiting big passing plays against the Patriots, San Diego's four starting defensive backs – corners Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie and safeties Hart and Eric Weddle – have a combined 136 tackles in only six games. Along with the league's 31st-ranked pass defense, that's a screaming red flag. Part of the problem is San Diego's ability to deal with intermediate routes, while the pass rush has struggled to force veteran quarterbacks like Jake Delhomme, Brett Favre and Chad Pennington into mistakes.

The result has been an increase in blitz packages, which produced sacks for linebackers Cooper and Marques Harris against the Patriots, as well as a number of timing issues for quarterback Matt Cassel.

"You could see that we were getting some of that swagger back up front and pressuring the quarterback," said Chargers linebacker Shaun Philips. "It's a group thing now. Without feeding off Shawne, we have to collectively go out there and make our swagger. We can't just wait on it. That's what we were doing – waiting and waiting and waiting and expecting someone to do something to get it popping. And I think we stopped waiting against the Patriots."

It couldn't come at a better time, with Denver still struggling and other potential AFC wild-card teams like Indianapolis, Jacksonville and the Jets beginning to straighten themselves out. In the larger picture, the Chargers' defensive struggles may have only masked what is potentially a sleeping giant with the best-scoring offense in the NFL. But it's the newfound defensive balance that has the potential to swing the season this month, with road games against Buffalo and then in London against former quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints. It's this portion of the schedule where San Diego makes or breaks itself, starting with the momentum of the New England win.

"I think people will see us come out on the other side being who we all thought we would be," Hart said. "We've got that emotion back, we know why we're out there playing, we're getting healthy – really, things are coming together again for the first time."