This is a time that I’m very glad not to be working in my old profession, sports talk radio. Oh, it’s an easy day to be a sports talk host, that’s to be sure. Open up the phone lines, throw out a couple of points, and then start punching buttons and listening to idiots wail. Grunt in semi-agreement and move on to the next caller.
Today’s the day when every jerk crawls out from under their couch to make a proclamation: I will NEVER go to a Chargers game again until…(fill in the blank). You must FIRE (usually the coach, but fill in the blank). We (meaning the Chargers) were UNPREPARED! We were OUTCOACHED! Get rid of (fill in half the roster’s names here) IMMEDIATELY!
Well, I’m not firing anyone in this column, or making any sweeping generalizations. Here’s what Sunday’s 17-14 loss to the Jets boils down to as far as I’m concerned:
Boys, you let us down. All of us. Fans, supporters, followers, season-ticket holders, coaches, other players, even those of us who chronicle your efforts in various media.
That’s all that happened on Sunday afternoon. The team was inspired defensively, their offense was hampered by an excellent Jets defense, but the loss came between the ears of the men wearing lightning bolts on their helmets.
You already know what happened by now. Ten penalties, all but one or two inexcusable. False starts and delays of game…at home. Four unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, each more mind-numbingly stupid than the last.
Special teams, a strength of the ‘09 Chargers, didn’t wear well in ‘10. Long returns were allowed on both punt and kick returns. Three missed field goals, two of them chippies that we’ve come to expect as automatic from Nate Kaeding.
Some of the stuff I’ve heard in the hours after the game remind me how emotion trumps reason. The Chargers are too undisciplined a team? Really? True on Sunday, but they were top-5 in the NFL in fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards for the season.
The Chargers are soft? Chokers? Posers? Pretenders to the crown? Through the prism of angry beer goggles, all of these can seem to have the sheen of truth. The reality is much simpler, and thus much more difficult to accept.
The Chargers of 2009-2010 were really well coached, really well prepared, a terrific football team that seemingly had everything going for it, and then they came out on their home field and gagged away a game against a stern but limited opponent.
All of those months of hard work, talk and preparation were rendered meaningless. San Diego fans were given yet another lightning-shaped scar to bear. And now we move on.
Is Norv Turner absolved of blame? Of course not, he’s the head coach. This black mark goes on his resume, to be sure. NorvWest Airlines stayed grounded too long.
As I said in last night’s podcast, Turner was brought in to win games just like this. The hallmark of his tenure up until yesterday was that Turner brought his Chargers teams as far as they were supposed to go. His previous two seasons, Norv lost in the playoffs to the AFC Champion. I don’t think that will happen this time.
But Norv’s coaching job this year was outstanding. Like his team, Turner didn’t have his best game on Sunday. The two timeouts misspent in the first half, combined with a tentative approach to the final drive of the second quarter, were the two flaws I would point to. A decision to use his last timeout after the two-minute warning instead of before could have cost the team 10 valuable seconds. Then the Jets got a first down and rendered the point moot.
Overall, for all the numbskulls who think they could don a headset and call a more creative game than Norv Turner, go try and win a Strat-o-Matic football game first and then come to me with your playcalling resume attached. You guys think choosing between 20 pre-conceived plays on Madden 2010 and out-thinking your dim-witted roommate qualifies you as an offensive innovator. Too funny.
There will be changes in store for the Chargers this offseason. Several of the jerseys I saw worn across the slumped shoulders of Chargers fans as they waited for the trolley yesterday (Merriman, LT, Cromartie?) will likely be stuffed in closets or handed down to foreign cousins after the players go to other teams.
The Chargers will need to spend a high draft pick on an explosive running back, someone to balance the offense. If San Diego is lucky, Ron Rivera will still be here next year, and the defense can take another step forward. If not, Rivera will be a head coach in another city and there will be a new coordinator and a new philosophy to learn.
Unquestionably, attention needs to be paid to the interior defensive line. Jamal Williams was going to break down eventually, and while the Chargers made do with a patchwork quilt of defensive lineman this year, they need to bring in someone who has a chance to grow into a regular in the trenches. Maybe Vaughn Martin or OG will turn into that player, but more likely it will be an addition via the draft or free agency.
That’s about it. Get a running back, build up the defensive line, and try to keep the defensive coordinator in town. Otherwise, have a good summer and let’s try again next year.
Sometimes, there isn’t a big, easy target to blame for what fails your sports team. Sometimes, it’s as simple as them failing. Letdowns happen. Chokes occur. The city of San Diego didn’t make the Chargers lose on Sunday. Our “soft”, “fair-weather” fans didn’t turn the Bolts into bozos. There is no curse or jinx attached to the sports fortunes of America’s Finest City.
We just had the misfortune this year of following a really good football team that played really poorly when it mattered the most. Chargers fans, see you next year. You’ll swear all spring that you won’t let them break your hearts again in the fall, but when it’s time for FanFest 2010, you’ll be there in your powder blues, ready to fall in love all over again.
And so will I.
Craig Elsten -
Chris Ello -
Chainsaw -
