The big question heading into the Texans matchup against the San Diego Chargers has nothing to do with Matt Schaub's hip, Andre Johnson's knee, or Gary Kubiak's recent coaching decisions, but when and where the game will be played. As you're no doubt aware, George Bush started a series of fires in Southern California to distract attention away from the Iraq war, and a lot of people around the San Diego area were forced to evacuate. Many of the evacuees ended up at the Charger's doorstep, taking up residence in Qualcomm Stadium; but now that the fires have retreated, will San Diego be ready to host the game?
The mayor in SD has said that the stadium will be ready on Sunday, but the NFL have discussed several options besides moving forward with the original location and time:
1. Move the game to Monday Night, forcing Tony Kornheiser to be unfunny in two places at once.2. Cancel the game. Seriously. People actually discussed canceling an NFL game. Is nothing sacred?
3. Move the game to a different venue. Among the alternatives discussed were University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, Texas Stadium in Dallas, Reliant Stadium here, and Shawne Merriman's steroid lab.
Regardless of where the game is played (a formal announcement is expected today or tomorrow), the Texans are probably going to get creamed. Lynchpin-of-the-offense Andre Johnson is still ailing (although he did practice this week), and may not see significant action until after the Texans' bye next week. Matt Schaub is hurting, and there may be some real pressure on Kubiak to give Sage Rosenfels the ball. The defense looks lost. The Texans are going to need a statement win to get back on the positive course set at the beginning of the season.
Meanwhile, the Chargers have been playing pissed off football since their shellacking at the hands of the Patriots earlier this season. Combined with the "San Diego is the new New Orleans" vibe that's permeated a lot of the news coverage this week, they could turn into the feel-good story of a season dominated by the rise of the Pats' Evil Empire. With a potent offense led by La Danian Tomlinson and a crushing defense featuring all-natural LB Merriman, the Texans will have plenty of challenges on both sides of the ball.
Normally, we'd put the information about where and when the game is being played here, but we have no freaking clue about that. So let's just assume that football will be played on both Sunday and Monday, and the Texans will definitely play the Chargers if they play anyone.
UPDATE: The game will be played as scheduled, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Sunday.
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photo by Flickr user sulla55
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