DieBruderschaft.com

SAN DIEGO -- Its been a lost season for the San Diego Chargers, on the field, in the trainers room and at the ballot box.The Chargers have their bye this weekend, allowing them to rest up and perhaps ponder the train wreck of a year theyve had so far.Theres a lot to take in, even if 4-6 doesnt seem so terrible compared to San Franciscos 1-9 or Clevelands 0-10.Theyve blown fourth-quarter leads at a dizzying pace and lost numerous players to season-ending injuries, including wide receivers Keenan Allen and Stevie Johnson; running back Danny Woodhead; linebacker Manti Teo; cornerback Jason Verrett; and nose tackle Brandon Mebane.The Chargers were dispatched last Sunday by a winning 60-yard pick-6 with 61 seconds left by Miamis Kiko Alonso, the fourth interception of Philip Rivers in the fourth quarter.Safety Darrell Stuckey equated that loss with taking a shot under the chin.Has he ever seen a season like this?Yeah, Ive been here seven years. Of course I have, Stuckey said.Hes got a point.Barring a stunning turnaround, the Chargers will miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons under coach Mike McCoy and for the sixth time in seven seasons overall. Theyve lost 18 of their last 26 games. Their next game is at Houston on Nov. 27, daunting in the sense that the Chargers have lost 12 of their last 14 road games.Despite all that, McCoy gave the Chargers the whole week off. Then again, they probably needed to get away from it all.The Chargers are buried in last place in the AFC West, the NFLs toughest division. Theyve split with the Denver Broncos but lost on the road to Kansas City and Oakland. Theyll host the Raiders on Dec. 18 and the Chiefs on New Years Day, which could be their last-ever game in San Diego if chairman Dean Spanos decides to move to Los Angeles, still an option for the franchise.Well play them all, Rivers said. Were going to play all six of them and see what happens. Obviously, theres still a lot of football left.The Chargers had hoped to get back to .500 by the bye, but the 31-24 loss to Miami prevented that.Its already going to be a tough road and this makes it even tougher, Rivers said after that loss. But well heal up a bit, get a few guys back and fight like crazy down the stretch.Theres turmoil off the field, too.Voters rejected Spanos ballot measure for a new stadium by a resounding 57 percent to 43 percent. Spanos was asking voters to approve a $1.15 billion subsidy in the form of an increase in the hotel occupancy tax to help fund a stadium and convention center annex downtown to replace aging Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley. While campaigning for the stadium, Spanos surrogates werent shy about reminding voters about the teams option to move to L.A.Spanos said hell take his time deciding the teams future and wont announce any decisions before the season ends. His options include negotiating a new deal with Mayor Kevin Faulconer or moving to Los Angeles to join the Rams in a stadium in Inglewood scheduled to open in 2019. That was his consolation prize after fellow NFL owners defeated his plan to join with the Raiders to build a stadium in the L.A. suburb of Carson.One bright spot for the Chargers is running back Melvin Gordon, who has bounced back nicely from his miserable rookie season. Hes scored 11 touchdowns, nine rushing, and is third in the NFL with 838 yards. He had a career-high 196 yards rushing in a win against Tennessee two weeks ago, plus four catches for 65 yards.Rookie Joey Bosa had four sacks in his first four games. After missing all of training camp in a nasty contract squabble, he injured a hamstring and missed the first four games.---Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Stephon Gilmore Youth Jersey . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Tom Brady Patriots Jersey . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Elite-Tedy-Bruschi-Patriots-Jersey/ . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Sony Michel Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Andre Tippett Youth Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. CINCINNATI -- Tight end Tyler Eifert hasnt been cleared for practice heading into the Cincinnati Bengals opener on Sunday at the New York Jets, the first of several games hes expected to miss as he recovers from ankle surgery.Eifert and defensive tackle Brandon Thompson, who is still recovering from a knee injury last season, were the only players working out on a side field during practice on Monday. Eifert had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left ankle, an injury suffered at the Pro Bowl.Eifert set a club record for a tight end with 13 touchdown catches last season. The Bengals dont have another tight end that can catch the ball as dependably.The rest of the team suited up for practice on Monday. Coach Marvin Lewis said a couple of them might not be ready to play on Sunday. Cornerback Darqueze Dennard and tight end Tyler Kroft were among those who missed significant practice time during camp.Well push them through practice this week and see how they are, Lewis said. Maybe they wont quite be ready this week, but they should be ready for the (following) week.Right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi missed three preseason games with a toe injury. He said Monday that he could have played in more of the preseason, but the team held him out as a precaution. He expects to start against the Jets, replacing Andre Smith.Its real exciting, Ogbuehi said of his starting debut. Its New York, its a big deal, so Im ready for it.The Bengals are trying to get third-string quarterback Jeff Driskel up to speed as well.They waived Keith Wenning and claimed Driskel off waivers from San Francisco on Saturday. Driskel learned about the Bengals move from the internet, got a call from the team, and then headed to Cincinnati, arriving late Sunday night.There was no nameplate above his locker on Mondday.ddddddddddddIts crazy, Driskel said of the last 48 hours. Just in the past day, I was on the West Coast and now Im out here and getting ready to learn a playbook and see what the Jets are doing defensively. So theres definitely a lot on my plate this week.He had little contact with the Bengals during the scouting combine and didnt know that they had any interest in him.I think things have happened so fast and its a matter of worrying about the here and now and handling what I can do, which is get to work on that playbook and figuring out what Im doing, he said.Lewis said the team wont necessarily keep three quarterbacks on the roster for long. In the meantime, they get to see what Driskel can do.We thought he was a young, talented player who has a chance to continue to move upward, Lewis said. He can mature and grow and have an opportunity possibly to become an NFL quarterback. It gives us an opportunity to take a look at him.For now, hes the backup to Andy Dalton and AJ McCarron.Driskel played four seasons at Florida, starting 21 games, and spent last season at Louisiana Tech, where he threw for 4,033 yards with 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He went 15 for 31 for 132 yards with no touchdown and two interceptions for the 49ers during the preseason, including one especially bad throw in the final game.I was up and down, Driskel said. Obviously in my last game I didnt play so well. I made a bad throw -- tried to throw a ball out of bounds and didnt get it out of bounds, so I turned the ball over. Its tough to make a team turning the ball over.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '