Maybe you can win it without a quarterback (see: Dilfer, Trent), and maybe you can win it without a passing game (see: Griese, Bob and his six pass completions in Super Bowl VIII). A running game is nice, but you can win a Super Bowl without that, too (of course, as the 49ers could tell you, it helps to have Joe Montana).
A great defense never hurt anybody, but nobody’s ever going to confuse the 2005 Colts defense with the Steel Curtain or the ‘85 Bears. Nevertheless, they won a Super Bowl, too. You can even win a Super Bowl without a coach. You may have never heard of Don McCafferty, but he owns a ring right along with the rest of them.
The point is, you don’t need to have the perfect team to win the championship of the National Football League. The ‘72 Dolphins may have had the league’s only perfect record, but they were hardly perfect (see: Yepremian, Garo).
Now…to see why the San Diego Chargers will never win a Super Bowl…see this: 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Chargers ball on the Baltimore Ravens five-yard line, 3rd-down and goal-to-go.
And now see Norv Turner, the Chargers Nutty Professor of a coach, send in Nate Kaeding to kick a chip-shot 22-yard field goal.
Now, try to see one last thing: Turner — in Miami at the end of this 2009 season — holding aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Yeah, I didn’t think so…I can’t see it, either.
And the reason I can’t see it is because Norv Turner coaches like a wimp. (see: opening line, this story).
Turns out you also can’t beat the Ravens in your home opener.
Sure, there were a lot of reason why the Chargers fell, 31-26, to Baltimore on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium. Among the most notable: a patchwork defensive line, an offensive line missing two starters, a couple of Philip Rivers interceptions, some (very) poor execution in the red zone, a few questionable calls by the officials, and one great Hall of Fame play by Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.
But the number one reason the Chargers awoke this morning with a record of 1-and-1 is that Norv Turner didn’t believe that his team could risk taking another shot at the end zone, despite the fact they had plenty of time to do so as the clock wound down before halftime.
Norv sent the message loud and clear to his offensive football team. And the message was this: I don’t believe in you. I don’t think you can do it. I can’t take the chance, because you might screw it up.
Champions, of course, never think that way. When was the last time Tiger Wood laid up on 18, needing a birdie to win? The last time Jimmy Johnson figured the hole was too tight to squeeze through on Turn Four at Daytona? The last time the Cardinals bunted with Albert Pujols up and the tying run at first in the ninth?
Did Jordan ever settle for the two-point shot in the final seconds with his team needing a three for the win? Did Gretzky ever drop the pass back to the point with time running out in overtime? Did Ali go to the rope-a-dope when Frazier was wobbly and hurting?
The Chargers had 10 full seconds remaining before the half, with the clock stopped, and trailed, 21-13. Baltimore had moved the ball at will, and it was obvious to anyone watching that this was going to be a game where you were going to need as many points as possible to win. Why in the world would a team like the Chargers, with more offensive weapons than any other team in the league, just give up a free chance to score seven points?
The wimpy Coach of the Bolts tried to explain: Well we didn’t have any time outs…and I was worried about Philip being sacked…or I was worried that we might pick up a holding call and the 10-second run-off rule would end the half…or I was worried we might throw a pick….or we might fumble…
Or maybe I just thought the timing was right to send a message to my team that I simply don’t have any faith in them.
If that’s the case, perhaps from now on…every time the Chargers get inside an opponent’s 25-yard line, they should just kneel down three times before going for the field goal. That way they’ll never have to worry about losing a chance to put three on the scoreboard.
I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t believe Norv passed up a chance for the TD. The crowd of over 65,000 booed lustily — and, for once, the fans were right. Kaeding did convert the boot to make it 21-16, but the Chargers left the field for the half to a chorus of more boos (and they needed more booze).
Nothing like taking some momentum in with you to the locker room.
Worst of all, they left something much more important out on the field. Thanks to the drive-with-two-hands-in-the-slow-lane tactics used by — just call him “Risky” — they left their dignity, their swagger and most of all, their belief.
When your own coach doesn’t believe you can do it…why should you?
– Ello –
Craig Elsten -
Chainsaw -
