Charger Problems

If you have no interest in sports and the NFL, then I’d recommend you scroll down and skip today’s entry. My San Diego Chargers are uncharacteristically bad this season and I need to vent a little bit.
How could this football team possibly be this bad? They were 14-2 two years ago and got to the AFC championship game last year with mostly the same group they have right now. The answer can be summed up as follows: AJ Smith.
Smith was rightfully given credit for the juggernaut of a football team he built over his tenure with the Chargers. He has made some great draft picks (Shawne Merriman, Marcus Mcneil, Phillip Rivers) and locked up many solid contributors to long-term contracts (Jammer, Dielman). The good that Smith has done however should not overshadow the bad/stupid/illogical decisions he’s made.
I can’t blame AJ for the Merriman injury, and I’m willing to overlook the mistake of drafting Buster Davis (Anthony Gonzales was on the board, and he stays on the field for the Colts). But I can’t forgive the numerous other mistakes he’s made, none of which were individually catastrophic but collectively have chipped away at the greatness of this team. We Charger fans underestimated the impact of these decisions because we thought the strong nucleus of Tomlinson, Gates, and Rivers would be enough to overcome. I guess we were wrong. Here are some of AJ’s biggest mistakes:
1) The obvious one is the hiring of Norv Turner. I attribute the firing of Schottenheimer to AJ’s inflated ego and nothing else. To be fair, I am one of the fans that were screaming for Schottenheimer’s head after the loss to the Patriots in 2006. My rationale was simple: Over Schottenheimer’s last 3 years with the team, he had arguably the most talented team in football (definitely in the top 3 at the very least, go back and check the records and rosters if you don’t believe me). During those 3 years, the Chargers won exactly 0 playoff games. Completely inexcusable. He had to go.
That said, AJ was so full of himself that he gave no credit to Marty’s performance as a coach (a good regular season coach) and clearly believed that he had assembled a group of players that could perform under anybody. How else do you explain the hiring of Turner? I don’t blame Norv Turner. As Dennis Green might say, he is who we thought he was. It’s not a surprise when a coach with a crappy career record has crappy results. The mistake wasn’t firing Marty, it was in not finding a better replacement.
2) Big contracts and investments in Luis Castillo and Matt Wilhelm. Castillo is always hurt and when he is on the field, he's basically invisible. As for Wilhelm, is it really a good idea for the softest guy on your team to be a starting inside linebacker?
3) Pissing match with Donnie Edwards. You thought it was a bad idea to pay the man and give him a long term deal but giving one to Wilhelm wasn't? This one may not have been so bad if he had a competent replacement in grooming instead of Mary Wilhelm.
4) A slow and unathletic defense. Besides Cromartie and maybe Phillips (Merriman when healthy) is their a great athlete on this defense? Everybody knows that great athletes make great plays. Even defensive lineman can be great athletes for their relative size. But look at this group: Castillo, Olshansky, Wilhelm, Cooper, Tucker, Weddle, Hart. Is their a great athlete in this bunch? Smith didn't construct this defense with the necessary emphasis on speed and athleticism.
Those are the biggest, not the only mistakes AJ has made (Lo Neal isn't washed up afterall. Check out the Ravens rushing stats this year). Smith pays a lot lip service to things like responsibility and accountability. If he holds himself to the same standard than the Chargers might consider looking for a new general manager.