Here we are, folks, on the cusp
of the playoffs...for the third straight year on the outside looking in. I held
off for a few days to write this final post for the 2012 season on the
off-chance that the Chargers would announce some quick hire to fill their gaping
holes at the top. Not yet. The rumor mill is swirling, although all of it to
date has really been focused on the General Manager/Personnel position. The
Monday after the season ended was quite a bloodbath for NFL coaches...7
firings. This, along with a handful of GMs, makes about ¼ of the League in
serious transition. The Bolts are one of these teams. As expected, Spanos fired
AJ Smith and Norv Turner on Monday, at the conclusion of a 7-9 season. Thus
ends one of the most hopeful, and ultimately most frustrating, periods in
Charger history. The ANALYSIS always takes a look back in order to better
analyze the future. Previous epic posts have included in-depth missives on Charger
playoff history and Draft history. I will not re-release those Dickensian posts...they
stand strong on their own as snapshots in time. But, I will take a minute to
discuss the Norv Turner era; I hope you will come along.
2007 – AJ had fired Marty
Schottenheimer after losing offensive and defensive coordinators to head
coaching jobs. The hiring of Norv was widely met with a “huh?”, but common
sentiment was that Koko the Monkey could have coached that particular Charger
team to the Promised Land. It almost happened in that first year. After an
unbalanced start, and a 5-5 record, with LT claiming he was “lost” in the new
offense, the team caught fire. They won their last 6 games and then beat
Tennessee and Indianapolis on their way to a Championship Showdown against the
undefeated Patriots. Problem was, Rivers had ripped a ligament, Gates had a
busted foot, and LT had a phantom injury that pulled him out of play. The Boyz
lost 21-12.
2008 – The loss of Shawne
Merriman to a big injury (and Steroids let’s not forget) and uninspired play
brought the team to a 4-8 record. However, they played in the Mild Mild West
and they won their last 4 games to beat the Broncos and win the division,
masking their poor play. However, they rallied again in the playoffs, beating
Indianapolis and taking a halftime lead against the mighty Steelers...before
succumbing in the cold. Again, with LT suffering a phantom injury.
2009 – The real headscratcher of
a year. A team that seemed only decent on paper was a powerhouse. Finishing
13-3, with all the momentum in the world. Rivers had really arrived, playing
incredibly all year long. Yet, the first round of the playoffs featured a hyped
up Jets team, four Nate Kaeding missed field goals, a Cromartie give-up on a
sure tackle, and a loss to the Jets. The headhunting for Norv had begun.
2010 – The team begins to be
taken apart by AJ Smith. Turner, LT, are gone. Long term standoffs and fights
with key players begin. Mathews is brought in...yet it is Sproles that still
shines. The defense is soft...worst in the League at getting people off the
field. The team misses the playoffs by one game
2011 – The team loses some of the
strangest, craziest games in recent memory. AJ’s drafts and offseason moves do
not help. The Quarterback has his worst year as a pro. It begins to be clear
that we are no longer “tweaking” the team. Big changes are needed. The team misses
the playoffs by one game.
2012 – Almost a carbon copy of
2011, despite big changes in free agency for the first time in years. This year
started solid and devolved into a series of mistakes and offensive failures.
Despite improved defense and special teams, the Quarterback remains in mighty
struggle-mode, the running back a huge failure, and the offensive line a
disgrace. Almost all the veterans brought in by AJ are bombs. The team misses
the playoffs.
In the final analysis, people
have been calling for Norv’s head since he got here. I don’t blame him for the
playoff defeat in 2007. For that, I blame the injuries they had to Rivers and
Gates, and I blame LT for not stepping up and realizing the team needed him to
lead. When I hear this year that ROOKIE running back Trent Richardson played
nearly the entire year with broken ribs, and I know Philip Rivers played that 2007
game with no ligament, it still makes me angry to picture sullen LT, sitting on
the bench in a blanket, not playing because he was not “100%” in a playoff
game. Norv got them there....and he coached them to a close game against an
undefeated team without his best players. I don’t blame Norv for 2008 or 2009
playoff losses either. The 2009 team was very solid...good enough to win.
Although he was out-coached by Rex Ryan that year, the team still would have
won had Nate hit one field goal out of 4. If you want to blame a coach for a
playoff loss...blame Schottenheimer for losing in 2006. That was the best team
we have ever had, and he muffed that game.
What I blame Norv for is just
this: he never was able to inspire his players to be better than they themselves
expected to be. Some coaches can get that out of players...Norv cannot. He
coaches in a steady, methodical way, he treats his players as men, he expects
them to be accountable, he expects the guys to all play their roles, and he
expects his best players to be their best. The problem with this is...NFL
players are rarely accountable, they don’t act as men, they don’t play their
best when they need to all the time. This is when these teams (and players)
need that coach that will find the button in them. Make them better...make them
play harder. Norv does not or cannot foster that as a coach. That being said,
if Norv had the on-field leadership that Mike Tomlin or Bill Belichick or Tom
Coughlin have had...would he have a ring by now? Don’t laugh...I think it is
very possible. Players buying in to someone on-field is huge. I think we have
not had a defensive identity since Merriman left. Rivers was our identity for a
while but he is struggling now. I blame that just as much as Norv.
So, then, it is AJ Smith’s fault?
Well, I think more of the blame certainly falls to him. Playing contract games
with Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeil, not re-signing Sproles and Mike Turner,
letting ego cloud judgment on players like Mathews and Jared Gaither. AJ has
let the air out of the balloon and he has failed. Just as he had built a really
good team, he has now broken that team down. Kudos to Norv for saying at his
farewell press conference that this team is not a playoff team, and fans should
not expect that in the next few years. I am not defending Norv here...he is
culpable too...but at least he is honest. He had nothing to work with the past
two years, face it. This was not a playoff team.
I must now look back to something
written in the ANALYSIS on January 7,
2010...three years ago.
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.
Well, we are now at that tomorrow.
That was written just before our crushing loss to the Jets after the 2009 season. We have not
been back since. We now know what that next season (and the last three) have
provided. Those “Halcyon Days?”......gone. That young and hopeful ANALYSIS....now
a grizzled veteran. So, what happens
now? We are done with blaming people..the ANALYSIS must carry on, grizzled or
otherwise.
For now, we will wait and wonder
about our new coach and our new GM. Don’t get excited folks...it will not be a
big name. Not a big NFL name...or even a big college name. Despite that, it may
just be someone who can rebuild...and who can find that bit of inspiration. See,
like I said, the 2012 ANALYSIS is all about HOPE.
Happy New Year!
