Should Chargers fire Norv Turner?

Should Norv Turner be fired as head coach of the San Diego Chargers?

Of course it’s not going to happen; not with his good buddy A.J. Smith as the general manager.

But should it happen in the wake of Sunday’s 17-14 stunning upset loss to the New York Jets in the AFC Divisional playoffs?

History says yes, at least according to Smith’s logic.

Three years ago, Marty Schottenheimer was fired after a 24-21 AFC Divisional loss (also at home) to the three-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

Schottenheimer went 14-2 that year, but it wasn’t good enough to keep his job.

Sure, Turner is 3-3 in the playoffs for San Diego; Schottenheimer was 0-2. But that’s what you expected with Schottenheimer, a guy who historically turned around bad teams and lost in the playoffs.

The Chargers were 23-57 in the five years preceding Schottenheimer. He then went 47-35 the next five years, including the playoffs. (Quite a turnaround, indeed.)

With Turner, the Chargers haven’t taken it to the next level. He took over a loaded team yet has only advanced past the Divisional round one more time than his predecessor.

And this season’s 17-14 loss to the Jets was reminiscent – and perhaps as bad – as what is perceived to be the worst playoff loss in Chargers history, a similar 17-14 defeat to the undermanned Houston Oilers in 1979. The Oilers were minus QB Dan Pastorini, RB Earl Campbell and WR Ken Burroughs due to injury but still won as Dan Fouts of San Diego threw five interceptions.

Jets coach Rex Ryan knew what he was talking about when he said the Chargers were "due" for a bad game this weekend. After all, Philip Rivers had his worst game in months (two interceptions, 76.9 passer rating) and Nate Keading, with the best field goal percentage in history, missed three kicks vs. New York.

Stupidity also played a part vs. the Jets. How else do you explain Shaun Phillips being penalized for a head butt or Vincent Jackson drawing a 15-yard flag for kicking a challenge flag thrown by Ryan?

Back to the original question: Will Turner be let go? Answer: Not likely.

Should he go? Let history do the talking.

Manning vs. Rivers: Who got the best of the trade?

Certainly, a majority of football fans in San Diego still remember the 2004 NFL Draft.

There was Eli Manning pouting after he was the first overall pick by the San Diego Chargers. (He didn’t want to come to what he thought was the worst team in football; a Chargers team that went 12-4 in 2004.)

Less than an hour after being drafted by the Chargers, Manning was a member of the New York Giants.

The Chargers wisely instituted a trade for Giants first-round pick Philip Rivers, adding some future draft picks along with Rivers.

As it turned out, those future selections included a couple of stars to be in linebacker Shawne Merriman and kicker Nate Kaeding.

Who got the better of the deal?

Without a doubt, you could argue that the Chargers did. After all, they received what turned out to be three quality players for Manning.

But on the other hand, Manning has won a Super Bowl. That’s more than Rivers, Merriman or Kaeding have ever accomplished.

Come Sunday at the Meadowlands, Rivers and Manning will start against each other for the first time.

No matter what happens, Manning still has a one-up on Rivers with a Super Bowl ring.

That fact alone makes the 2004 draft swap a good trade for the Giants.

Norv Turner: Downfall of the Chargers?

Let’s compare the head coaching careers of Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner.

The rap on Schottenheimer was that he could turn around a terrible team and win in the regular season, but never in the playoffs.

In contrast, Turner just flat-out has a history of not making the playoffs as a head coach (he’s only done it twice in 10 years.)

Two seasons very well justify the feelings about each coach, when you consider 2004 vs. 2008.

In 2004, Schottenheimer was coaching what was believed to be the least talented team in the NFL with the Chargers. (It was so bad that first-round draft pick Eli Manning refused to play for San Diego.)

So what happened?

The Chargers went 12-4, were the surprise team of the NFL and lost in the first round of the playoffs when Nate Kaeding couldn’t make a 40-yard field goal.

(Just what you would expect from Schottenheimer, who was 200-126 in the regular season and 5-13 in the playoffs.)

Fast forward to 2008:

The Chargers have what many consider the best talent in the NFL.

So what has Turner done for them lately? How about leading them to a 4-6 record and the distinction as the most disappointing team in the NFL thus far?

The Chargers got rid of Schottenheimer for not winning in the playoffs, only to hire someone who rarely makes the playoffs. What a shame it would be if this Turner-led team didn’t even make the postseason coming from a crummy AFC West division.

You want a head coach who at least make the playoffs, or one who makes the GM happy by being his buddy?

Unfortunately, you’re stuck with the latter.

Weekend predictions:
Indianapolis Colts 26, Chargers 24
UNLV 27, San Diego State 17

Draft makes the Chargers what they are

If you’re wondering why the Chargers have become the dominant team in the AFC West, opposing coaches will tell you it’s at least in part because of the NFL draft.

Here’s what each had to say to espn.com:

“You look how they drafted,” Kansas City coach Herman Edwards said. “They built their team through the draft. They are very talented.”

Denver’s Mike Shanahan: “San Diego, player per player, is probably as good as anybody in the National Football League and is probably one of the top-five teams. Personnel-wise, I would say they're right at the top, No. 1. That's saying a lot.”

Oakland’s Lane Kiffin: “It's no secret that San Diego is the team to catch.”
The Chargers have built themselves through the draft with such selections as:

2004: Philip Rivers (quarterback), Igor Olshansky (defensive end), Nate Kaeding (place-kicker), Nick Hardwick (center) and Shaun Phillips (linebacker).

2005: Linebacker Shawne Merriman, defensive lineman Luis Castillo, receiver Vincent Jackson and return man Darren Sproles.

2006: The Chargers' first two picks were cornerback Antonio Cromartie and left tackle Marcus McNeill.

2007: Receiver Buster Davis and safety Eric Weddle led the pack.

The Chargers now have holes to fill at running back (without Michael Turner), offensive line (without Shane Olivea), secondary (without Drayton Florence) and defensive line (with Jamal Williams and his knees aging.)

But with only five picks in this weekend’s draft, each one will have to be a premium in order to make the team better in 2008.

Projected First Round Pick: Offensive Tackle Gosder Cherilus, Boston College

Did Eli Manning one-up Chargers?

OK, Charger fans; does everybody still believe the Chargers got the better of the draft day trade with the New York Giants in 2004?

After all, the Giants did receive Eli Manning in the trade. And Manning was the MVP on Sunday when the Giants shocked the New England Patriots, 17-14, in the Super Bowl.

You can still make the contention that the Chargers did much better in the trade. In essence, by trading Manning to New York, the Chargers were able to get quarterback Philip Rivers, linebacker Shawne Merriman and kicker Nate Kaeding.

Certainly, a case can be made that the Chargers went from 4-12 in 2003 to the playoffs each of the last two years because of the Manning trade in April 2004.

But what about the Giants? They were also 4-12 in 2003 … and now they have won the Super Bowl with Manning.

There’s no question that the Chargers received plenty of overall talent by trading an unhappy Manning to the Giants within an hour of drafting him in 2004.

Yet until the Chargers win the Super Bowl like Manning and the Giants did, it will be difficult to say they got the best of the trade.

Chargers' injuries: Who can you believe?

If you think the New England Patriots have been less than honest concerning Tom Brady’s foot injury before Super Bowl XLII, then maybe it’s time to look in the mirror in San Diego.

Or have you not heard?

Kicker Nate Kaeding played the final four weeks of the season with a fractured fibula in his left leg (an injury never told on the official NFL injury report), according to the Associated Press.
QB Philip Rivers played the AFC Championship game after having arthroscopic surgery for a torn knee ligament, which the team had reported as a sprained knee ligament.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson wasn’t even on the injury report before the AFC title game in New England, yet had to leave after four plays with a lingering knee injury.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, which acts as an apologist for the Chargers, has already said the Chargers followed procedure according to an NFL vice president.

This same paper also said "most" NFL teams would have reported the injuries in the same manner as the Chargers; which is an interesting conclusion in that no actual poll of NFL teams was taken.

Certainly, NFL teams fudge with their injury reports. The Oakland Raiders and New England have long been considered among the top culprits.

But have the Chargers joined that group with their less than up-front reporting of injuries before the New England game?

A.J. Smith's new contract: Good! Bad!

The good news is the bad news for the Chargers.

The good news is that general manager A.J. Smith has been signed through 2014. And, yes, that’s the bad news.

On the good side, Smith seems to have a great ability to secure great players.

Trading Eli Manning on draft day 2004 for what turned out to be Philip Rivers, Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding was brilliant.

Bringing in Keenan McCardell in the middle of the 2004 season and Chris Chambers the middle of this season were both strokes of brilliance. Taking a chance on Antonio Cromartie in the first round of the 2006 draft looks superb right now.

Then there’s the personality.

Smith has run off such mainstays as Drew Brees, Donnie Edwards and Marty Schottenheimer with his piranha personality.

In the future, the Chargers can only hope Smith continues to make above average personality evaluations.

But on the other hand, he may even be more likely to run quality people off with his lack of people skills now that he has the longest-term contract in the organization.

We’ll see.

A.J. Smith: Genius or Not?

A.J. Smith is an absolute genius … or is he?

Smith is certainly given the most pats on the back for the San Diego Chargers’ impressive 35-13 record the past three regular seasons. But if that be the case, he’s also part of the team failing to win its playoff games in 2004 and 2006.

The team’s cornerstone players are LaDainian Tomlinson on offense and Jamal Williams on defense. Both players were with the Chargers before Smith became general manager.

Smith had a stellar draft in 2004.

Selecting quarterback Eli Manning in the first round and trading him to the New York Giants for QB Philip Rivers was a steal; considering the Chargers also received a third-round pick (kicker Nate Kaeding), and first-round selection in 2005 (linebacker Shawne Merriman).

San Diego’s 2004 draft was further bolstered by picking current starters Igor Olshansky (defensive end, second round), Nick Hardwick (center, third round) and Shaun Phillips (linebacker, fourth round.)

What about Smith’s other drafts? You might want to close your eyes on some.

2003: This draft yielded busts in two of the first three picks with defensive backs Sammy Davis and Terrence Kiel. However, it did yield current starters CB Drayton Florence (2nd), LB Matt Wilhelm (4th) and P Mike Scifres (5th).

2005: Besides Merriman, current starters DE Luis Castillo (1st) and WR Vincent Jackson (2nd) were also taken. Beyond that, none of the draftees figure to be starters this season.

2006: Starters were chosen in the first two rounds with CB Antonio Cromartie and OT Marcus McNeill. Once again, that’s where the starters stop among draft picks.

We’ll find out if Smith is a true architect in 2007. The Chargers did not sign any free agents from outside the organization, so they are certainly no stronger than the day they lost to New England in the playoffs with leading tackler Donnie Edwards (now a Kansas City Chief) at linebacker.

The Chargers fired Marty Schottenheimer, at least in part, because he cannot win in the playoffs despite being one of the best regular-season coaches in NFL history. They might not have to worry about a playoff loss with new boss Norv Turner, who has failed to make the postseason in eight of his nine seasons as a head coach.

A.J. Smith: Genius or overrated? This year’s NFL draft could tell a lot about that question.