BOLT ANALYSIS: SPECIAL PLAYOFF EDITION -A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Given this calm before the playoff storm, and the fact that I don’t want to overanalyze what will happen in the very near future, I started thinking about the past. I know this season is the 50^th anniversary of the Chargers and the American Football League (AFL). Recently, there have been “50 greatest moments in Charger history” and “50 greatest Charger Players” lists. It got me thinking about how few great playoff moments there have been. Sure, there have been great games, great plays, and great players, and plenty of great moments. But, the playoffs? Not really.

I must start with a disclaimer. The Chargers were the bomb in the old AFL. They won the AFL Championship in 1963 and made the finals a few additional times. But what have they done since the Super Bowl has been around (since 1966)? And what have they done in my lifetime (since 1970)?  As I looked into this stretch of the Chargers 50 years…uh, the last 43 of them anyway, the results are somewhat shocking and a bit sad. It also will put into perspective the last several years and how good they have been. If you have a few minutes, let’s walk down memory lane together.

PRIMER

The Chargers have never won a Super Bowl, you all know that. Since the Super Bowl began in 1966, they have been there once, you all know that. But how often have they been even close? Let’s take a look: In these 43 years the Chargers have FAILED to make the playoffs 31 times. They have made the playoffs 12 times…although once was a strike year so we won’t talk about that one.  Incredibly, these 11 appearances can be grouped neatly into three “eras”. Only three periods in our post-AFL history can we actually be considered a serious team. You will see how these three periods are sandwiched among years of futility.

1966 – 1978 THE SAD BEGINNINGS

Thirteen seasons of mediocrity or worse. That is how it began. Sure there were nice moments, but for the most part these teams never really scared the playoffs. They never made it…not in the first 13 years! A series of coaches and forgettable years, they were in a sports backwater and were not taken seriously by the big name teams of the League. I could run down lists of coaches and players from this era, but I won’t because most of my readers were in grade school. We were like the Clippers…an afterthought on the League’s schedule. Until late in this period, when Don Coryell and Dan Fouts took the League by storm…leading to….

1979 – 1982 AIR CORYELL

These are, for most Charger fans, the Glory Days. Fouts….Winslow…Joiner…Jefferson…Muncie. The offense to end all offenses. Scoring loads of points and winning a lot of fun games. Never did have a defense though, and this sad fact kept us from going all the way. In 1979…we had a great team that was the highest seeded team in the Playoffs. However, Fouts threw 5 interceptions against an outclassed Houston team and we lost in the first game. After the 1980 and 1981 seasons, we made the AFC Championship game both years..losing to that bastard Jim Plunkett and the hated Raiders after the ’80 season. The 1981 season (and subsequent 1982 playoff games) is the one we all remember. The GAME against Miami, still called by many the Greatest Game Ever. Leading 24-0…Miami coming back…the hook and ladder TD….blocked field goals…and the incredible Kellen Winslow. Then, the “Freezer Bowl”—going to Cincinnati in 50 below zero and losing our chance at the Super Bowl…Again. Three straight years with a big chance at the Bowl and nothing…..

1983 – 1991 THE ICE AGE

The Freezer Bowl proved to be the beginning of the end for Air Coryell. Without a defense, the Chargers played their way back into mediocrity or worse. Not making the playoffs for another 10 years. Once Don resigned and Dan retired the team fell into a terrible and miserable period. Take a listen to some of these illustrious names during this time:  Coaches Al Saunders and Dan Henning; how about quarterbacks like Mark Malone, Jim McMahon, Billy Joe Tolliver, and John Friez. Remember these guys? Yep, better to forget. A dark, cold  period. The highlight I think was Grad Night 1988 for Lance, Jeff, Darin, and Jason.

1992 – 1995 THE BEATHARD ERA

Bobby Beathard was hired as the GM fresh out of his success with the Redskins. There, he had developed a smash mouth style with tough runners, efficient quarterbacks, and good defense. This in no way resembled the Chargers. However, fairly quickly after he was hired, this is exactly what happened. His first notable action was to sign Junior Seau…the face of the Chargers throughout the ‘90s. He then proceeded to pick up a bunch of no name guys cast off from other teams or from obscure colleges. Names like Marion Butts, Natrone Means, Rodney Harrison, and Tony Martin should ring a bell. In the first pre-season game in 1992, starting QB John Friez blew out his knee and a nobody named Stan Humphries took over. Things looked bleak with a 0-4 start. But that team suddenly caught fire and won 10 straight..making the playoffs and winning their first playoff game since Fouts. After a down 1993 season, the Chargers put it all together in 1994 with an unforgettable playoff run that included a win over Miami by one point (missed Miami field goal with no time left) and then, of course the “Immaculate Deflection” against 15 point favorite Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game. Our only Super Bowl appearance….Natrone Means on the Jay Leno show…70,000 people meeting the team at the airport……John Kruckeberg high-fiving random people in the streets while jogging, claiming he was running on “Charger Power”….Jason throwing himself on the floor in front of stunned guests in Paul’s apartment in Eugene Oregon during the playoff win…it was nuts. Then, they had to play the game. Steve Young and the 49ers blew us so far out of the stadium the game was over as the 3^rd quarter began. But, even in defeat, hopes were high. We had the youngest team in the League, Beathard was a “genius”. We had the corps of players….Seau and Harrison were amazing. We were set.

Well, not really. The next year we started 4-7 and if not for a 5 game winning streak to end the year, we would have missed out on the playoffs. But, we did make it, only to be rocked in the first game by Indianapolis. And that was it…this young team of so much hope fell apart….the Beathard Era continued into what can only be called……

1996 – 2003  THE DARK AGES

After the playoff loss to Indy at the end of 1995, the wheels came off so quickly it was amazing. Popular coach Bobby “Boss” Ross was fired for disagreements with Beathard. Humphries had concussions and retired, Means got fat and was cut…Tony Martin was traded and did good work elsewhere, and ultimately, the team gave up on Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison too early. Seau was somewhat understandable because the team went to a different 3-4 defense….but Harrison was still in his prime, as evidenced by a couple of Super Bowls with New England. The game had passed Beathard by…and his “genius” was exposed as simply a guy who was not changing with the League. He continued to go to the same tired routine….trade away a first round draft pick to take an obscure player in the second round that he could have received for a fourth round pick (e.g. Bryan Still, Michael Ricks) AND bring in disgruntled stars from other teams who poisoned the field (e.g David Boston, Marcellus Wiley). But the move of all moves occurred in 1997 with the fire sale Beathard engineered to get Ryan Leaf. The move that set this team back perhaps 5 or 6 years. Clearly the biggest bust in NFL History, especially when put up against Peyton Manning. I cannot really blame Beathard for that at the time…everyone thought Leaf would be a star. I do not need to recount the horror of that period, let’s just say they were the lowest moments in Charger history. A couple of choice tidbits:  the 1-15 season, Leaf consistently beaten out at QB by Craig Whelihan, Jim Harbaugh and Doug Flutie at QB, the amazing play of Seau and Harrison despite being on the field all game every game, the miserable head coaching that included Kevin Gilbride and June Jones.

The bright spot of this horrible period was after Beathard had left. The team hired Marty Shottenheimer and new GM John Butler made the key decision in the last 20 years. He did not draft consensus number 1 pick and dog killer Michael Vick. Instead…he took a short kid from Texas Christian named Ladainian Tomlinson. Saying that he would be a great third down back and change of pace runner and receiver (in the mold of Ronnie Harmon) they had no idea he would change the face of the NFL. Also, in the second round, they picked up Drew Brees…again…little did they know. But, this combination of Shottenheimer’s steady hand…and LTs emergence led to….

2004 – 2009  THE MODERN ERA

The Chargers re-entered the playoffs in 2004 with Brees presiding over a very different team. LT was on his way to becoming a phenom and the new defense was creating mismatches. A home playoff game against the Jets at the end of the 04 season was a chance for Shotty to shake his image as a playoff choker. Unfortunately, after a frustrating game that reached overtime, Shotty turned to rookie kicker Nate Kaeding to kick a 40 yard field goal in the mud and drizzle for the win (after three runs by LT up the middle for zero yards). Nate missed, and the Jets won. Brutal. After a weak 2005 season cost Drew Brees his job, Phillip Rivers was installed as the starter in 2006. The team looked OK early..but then exploded to win 10 in a row and finish an incredible 14-2. LT was the MVP…31 touchdowns! League rushing leader….he was unstoppable. We had 10 guys voted to the Pro Bowl. We had been anointed as the “most talented team in football”. Then, on January 14, 2007…after all of the accolades, the #1 ranking, and the first round bye…we played what I would describe as the worst loss in Charger history. Losing 24-21 to the Patriots after that season, with SO many mistakes..mental and physical…was just a crusher. Nobody was free from blame, and the BOLT ANALYSIS counted at least 25 key mistakes from that game, but most will point at Marlon McCree…who intercepted a Brady pass that would have ended it and then was stripped of the ball…leading to the Pats’ win.

Marty was fired after that incredible year after both of his assistants were snapped up to be coaches elsewhere. Still…confidence was high. After all, like in 1994, we had a bright future ahead, right?. The 2007 team was hobbled by these great expectations early, but turned a 5-5 start into an 11-5 finish and won two great playoff games to make the AFC Championship Game against the undefeated Patriots. For only the third time in the Super Bowl era…we were there again…with a chance to get to the Super Bowl. And for the third time…we failed. This time it was due to the fact that we were missing LT and Gates, and Phillip played the game (somewhat famously) with no knee ligament. 21-12. So close yet so far.

The 2008 season was a bizarre affair…with the team limping to a 4-8 record. The toughness was gone…injuries played a part, as did overinflated egos and team unrest. In the end, however, the team made the playoffs again and produced one memorable playoff win against Indianapolis. But, the softness and lack of defensive leadership raised its ugly head in the next round, as Pittsburgh throttled us and went on to win the Super Bowl.

And 2009…what does it hold? A more mature team this year perhaps? I don’t think we have seen our team more focused than this. The 11 game winning streak, winning on the road against desperate teams, winning with backups, getting healthy. The signs are positive. Still, must go out and perform. This is the time.

SUMMARY

To conclude, when someone asks you…what would you consider the Charger glory days? ....the answer must be…right now. These are them people, the Halcyon Days. We are living through them. Since the Super Bowl began, and in my lifetime, this is the longest, most sustained period of Charger success ever. The Fouts era that so many hold onto? It only led to 3 years of playoff teams. The Beathard Era with our lone Super Bowl appearance? It only led to 3 years of playoff teams. This current era has led to 5 years of playoff teams..including the current year. So, as we struggle and are critical of our boys, just remember that this is as good as Charger football has ever been. We need to enjoy it. Who knows what next season will bring? Or the one beyond that? Live in the moment, because as they say in Sports…there is no tomorrow.