SB Nation User Blog: Stephen (shaynes41)

"I would beat Shawne’s head in right now," said Ochocinco yesterday, asked about his feud with the C...

Stephen (shaynes41) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:31:21 -0000

"I would beat Shawne’s head in right now," said Ochocinco yesterday, asked about his feud with the Chargers linebacker. "This is not in fun. This is not in fun. It’s personal, you know? It is what it is. I think he might be one of the only people I don’t really get along with. I wanna fight. I’m not sure how to get the fight on with him without him suing me.

SDUT - Ochocinco calls out Merriman
I can't tell if this is serious or not... I suspect it is a bit like the pre-fight posturing that goes on in boxing. I guess we'll find out on Sunday.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune with his typical insightful post game analysis and sharp...

Stephen (shaynes41) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:25:08 -0000

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune with his typical insightful post game analysis and sharp looking suit.

Downtown S.D. site set for stadium site

Stephen (shaynes41) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:18:15 -0000

Downtown S.D. site set for stadium site

The city of San Diego’s downtown redevelopment agency is poised to hire a New York consultant for $160,000 to study how to pay for a downtown football stadium.

The hiring of sports finance consultant Mitchell Ziets and Evolution Media Capital LLC is a sign San Diego is moving quickly three weeks after a rare private meeting between Mayor Jerry Sanders and Chargers president Dean Spanos to discuss the team’s desire for a new stadium.

Revolving door on defense

Stephen (shaynes41) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:46:22 -0000

Revolving door on defense

Rotating linemen keeps Bolts fresh
- Acee

great article about how the defensive front 7 are switching things up and the DL are keeping fresh.

Chargers, S.D. discussing downtown stadium

Stephen (shaynes41) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:34:06 -0000

Chargers, S.D. discussing downtown stadium

Outside of staying at the Q, I think the downtown site makes the most sense.

Sounds like there is some momentum here. Escondido has broken off talks because they see Downtown as a more likely destination. The mayor sounds optimistic and they are getting creative on the financing front.

Let's get this thing done!

Norv Turner Compared to His Peers

Stephen (shaynes41) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:07:10 -0000

With all the hubub about the Chargers under-performing, and how poorly Norv Turner is coaching, I thought it would be interesting to see how Norv's record thus far in his career matches up against some of his contemporaries. I've put together each of the coach's records as a head coach and kept a running tally of the cumulative win percentage in the regular season and post season.

I've put Norv up against the four of the SB winning coaches who are currently not coaching and will be looking for work soon (I don't think Dungy will be). I've thrown in Jeff Fisher and Bill Belichek just for some additional perspective.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I was putting together these numbers. I had a vague belief in my mind that Norv's early career failures might match up with other top coach's slow starts and that perhaps history would show us we should just be patient. So, let's take a look.

Norv Turner								Playoffs
Year	Tm	G	W	L	T	%	Cumulative %	G	W	L	%	Cumulative %	Notes
1	Washington Redskins	16	3	13	0	0.188	0.188
2	Washington Redskins	16	6	10	0	0.375	0.281
3	Washington Redskins	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.375
4	Washington Redskins	16	8	7	1	0.533	0.406
5	Washington Redskins	16	6	10	0	0.375	0.400
6	Washington Redskins	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.438	2	1	1	0.5	0.500
7	Washington Redskins	13	7	6	0	0.538	0.450					0.500
8	Oakland Raiders	16	5	11	0	0.313	0.432					0.500
9	Oakland Raiders	16	4	12	0	0.25	0.411					0.500
10	San Diego Chargers	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.439	3	2	1	0.667	0.600
11	San Diego Chargers	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.445	2	1	1	0.5	0.571
12	San Diego Chargers	6	3	3	0	0.5	0.447					0.571

Bill Cowher								Playoffs
Year	Tm	G	W	L	T	W-L%	Cumulative %	G	W	L	%	Cumulative %	Notes
1	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.688	1	0	1	0	0.000
2	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.625	1	0	1	0	0.000
3	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	12	4	0	0.75	0.667	2	1	1	0.5	0.250
4	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.672	3	2	1	0.667	0.429	AFC Champions
5	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.663	2	1	1	0.5	0.444
6	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.667	2	1	1	0.5	0.455
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.634					0.455
8	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	6	10	0	0.375	0.602					0.455
9	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.597					0.455
10	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.619	2	1	1	0.5	0.462
11	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	10	5	1	0.667	0.619	2	1	1	0.5	0.467
12	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	6	10	0	0.375	0.599					0.467
13	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	15	1	0	0.938	0.625	2	1	1	0.5	0.471
14	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.629	4	4	0	1	0.571	Super Bowl Champions
15	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.621					0.571

Mike Shanahan								Playoffs
Year	Tm	G	W	L	T	W-L%	Cumulative %	G	W	L	%	Cumulative %	Notes
1	Los Angeles Raiders	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.438
2	Los Angeles Raiders	4	1	3	0	0.25	0.400
3	Denver Broncos	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.444
4	Denver Broncos	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.558	1	0	1	0	0.000
5	Denver Broncos	16	12	4	0	0.75	0.603	4	4	0	1	0.800	Super Bowl Champions
6	Denver Broncos	16	14	2	0	0.875	0.655	3	3	0	1	0.875	Super Bowl Champions
7	Denver Broncos	16	6	10	0	0.375	0.610					0.875
8	Denver Broncos	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.621	1	0	1	0	0.778
9	Denver Broncos	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.606					0.778
10	Denver Broncos	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.601					0.778
11	Denver Broncos	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.604	1	0	1	0	0.700
12	Denver Broncos	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.606	1	0	1	0	0.636
13	Denver Broncos	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.622	2	1	1	0.5	0.615
14	Denver Broncos	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.618					0.615
15	Denver Broncos	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.605					0.615
16	Denver Broncos	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.598					0.615

John Gruden								Playoffs
Year	Tm	G	W	L	T	W-L%	Cumulative %	G	W	L	%	Cumulative %	Notes
1	Oakland Raiders	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.500
2	Oakland Raiders	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.500
3	Oakland Raiders	16	12	4	0	0.75	0.583	2	1	1	0.5	0.500
4	Oakland Raiders	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.594	2	1	1	0.5	0.500
5	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	12	4	0	0.75	0.625	3	3	0	1	0.714	Super Bowl Champions
6	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.594					0.714
7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	5	11	0	0.313	0.554					0.714
8	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.570	1	0	1	0	0.625
9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	4	12	0	0.25	0.535					0.625
10	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.538	1	0	1	0	0.556
11	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.540					0.556

Mike Holmgren								Playoffs
Year	Tm	G	W	L	T	W-L%	Cumulative %	G	W	L	%	Cumulative %	Notes
1	Green Bay Packers	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.563
2	Green Bay Packers	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.563	2	1	1	0.5	0.500
3	Green Bay Packers	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.563	2	1	1	0.5	0.500
4	Green Bay Packers	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.594	3	2	1	0.667	0.571
5	Green Bay Packers	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.638	3	3	0	1	0.700	Super Bowl Champions
6	Green Bay Packers	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.667	3	2	1	0.667	0.692	NFC Champions
7	Green Bay Packers	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.670	1	0	1	0	0.643
8	Seattle Seahawks	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.656	1	0	1	0	0.600
9	Seattle Seahawks	16	6	10	0	0.375	0.625					0.600
10	Seattle Seahawks	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.619					0.600
11	Seattle Seahawks	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.602					0.600
12	Seattle Seahawks	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.604	1	0	1	0	0.563
13	Seattle Seahawks	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.601	1	0	1	0	0.529
14	Seattle Seahawks	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.616	3	2	1	0.667	0.550	NFC Champions
15	Seattle Seahawks	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.613	2	1	1	0.5	0.545
16	Seattle Seahawks	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.613	2	1	1	0.5	0.542
17	Seattle Seahawks	16	4	12	0	0.25	0.592

Jeff Fisher								Playoffs
Year	Tm	G	W	L	T	W-L%	Cumulative %	G	W	L	%	Cumulative %	Notes
1	Houston Oilers	6	1	5	0	0.167	0.167
2	Houston Oilers	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.364
3	Houston Oilers	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.421
4	Tennessee Oilers	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.444
5	Tennessee Oilers	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.457
6	Tennessee Titans	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.523	4	3	1	0.75	0.750	AFC Champions
7	Tennessee Titans	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.569	1	0	1	0	0.600
8	Tennessee Titans	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.551					0.600
9	Tennessee Titans	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.567	2	1	1	0.5	0.571
10	Tennessee Titans	16	12	4	0	0.75	0.587	2	1	1	0.5	0.556
11	Tennessee Titans	16	5	11	0	0.313	0.560					0.556
12	Tennessee Titans	16	4	12	0	0.25	0.533					0.556
13	Tennessee Titans	16	8	8	0	0.5	0.530					0.556
14	Tennessee Titans	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.537	1	0	1	0	0.500
15	Tennessee Titans	16	13	3	0	0.813	0.557	1	0	1	0	0.455
16	Tennessee Titans	6	0	6	0	0	0.542

Bill Belichek								Playoffs
Year	Tm	G	W	L	T	W-L%	Cumulative %	G	W	L	%	Cumulative %	Notes
1	Cleveland Browns	16	6	10	0	0.375	0.375
2	Cleveland Browns	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.406
3	Cleveland Browns	16	7	9	0	0.438	0.417
4	Cleveland Browns	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.484	2	1	1	0.5	0.500
5	Cleveland Browns	16	5	11	0	0.313	0.450					0.500
6	New England Patriots	16	5	11	0	0.313	0.427					0.500
7	New England Patriots	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.464	3	3	0	1	0.800	Super Bowl Champions
8	New England Patriots	16	9	7	0	0.563	0.477					0.800
9	New England Patriots	16	14	2	0	0.875	0.521	3	3	0	1	0.875	Super Bowl Champions
10	New England Patriots	16	14	2	0	0.875	0.556	3	3	0	1	0.909	Super Bowl Champions
11	New England Patriots	16	10	6	0	0.625	0.563	2	1	1	0.5	0.846
12	New England Patriots	16	12	4	0	0.75	0.578	3	2	1	0.667	0.813
13	New England Patriots	16	16	0	0	1	0.611	3	2	1	0.667	0.789	AFC Champions
14	New England Patriots	16	11	5	0	0.688	0.616					0.789
15	New England Patriots	7	5	2	0	0.714	0.619					0.789

So, I was a little surprised at how well most of these coaches did right off the bat. Of course, only one of them (Shanahan) was saddled with either Snyder or Davis as owners. One thing that these records do tell me is that some of the coaches in waiting (and soon to be coach in waiting Fisher) are not as wonderful as their big superbowl rings make them look.

Victor Conte Radio Interview

Stephen (shaynes41) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:48:56 -0000

via thesportsaddict.files.wordpress.com

View full size photo »

Victor Conte was on XTRA 1360 with Josh Rosenberg and Mark Ziegler (SDUT) a few weeks back. I had it on my iPod but hadn't gotten around to listening to it. Being sick of listening to people talk about the Chargers, I thought it might make an interesting listen. If you don't know, Victor Conte was the CEO of BALCO and was responsible for supplying world class level athletes such as Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Jason Giambi, and Bill Romanowski with Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). BALCO was busted by the feds a few years back and the grand jury testimonies and other fall out from that investigation has led to a lot of the current fervor about PEDs, especially in baseball.

I don't know what you think about Conte, I personally figured him to be a a bit of a money hungry mad scientist who was willing to sacrifice the purity of sport for a few bucks and some glory. The interview with the XTRA guys shed a bit of a different light on him. The interview itself is about 20 minutes long, and I've summarized it below.

Josh and Mark interview Victor Conte on XTRA 1360 (mp3)

If we go back to the early days of BALCO, what was the initial incentive for distributing steroids? I had worked with world class athletes since 1984 and was not involved in PEDs at all. In 1990 I learned that there were some positive drug cover ups in the Seoul Olympics. I was also working with an American Olympic shot putter who had tested positive at the 1992 Olympic trials and I was told by an Official with US track and field that the tests were covered up. It lead me to realize that this behavior was being condone and promoted and harbored by the Olympics and baseball and football and other professional sports.
At that time I made the decision, which I want to clarify was a mistake, to participate in the culture and not be a by-stander. (see here for a quick history of the BALCO scandal)
Every time you are quoted in one of my stories, I always get feedback from people asking me why am I talking to this ex-con who did time. I always say that Victor Conte is the one guy who is always 100% candid and is a straight shooter. What has compelled you to be as candid as you have been, why campaign for clean sport? In 2004 when the grand jury testimonies were being leaked, I made the decision to tell the truth and to do it for the right reasons. Not in exchange for leniency or anything like that. If I wanted credibility, I needed to do it for the right reasons. If my message was to be heard, I needed credibility. My message then and now to the parents of young athletes is that this culture exists and is being harbored by those who make money off these sports. I have seen too many kids who have invested 10 years of their life in trying to make an Olympic team or get a scholarship and they are informed that in order to get to the next level, they need to take these little blue pills in order to be competitive. I have lots of regrets and feel very sorry for what I did and want to move forward with making positive change.
Are you now skeptical whenever you see some of the amazing times on the track or pool or in any other sport? Absolutely, and it starts with the ineptness of the anti-doping policies and procedures. If you don't test repeatedly in the off-season and have transparency it can't be effective. We know this: anabolic steroids work, it will make a female sprinter 4-5 meters faster and a male sprinter 2-3 meters faster. You can't compete at that level without it. Once you get to that point, the overwhelming majority Olympic level athletes in the finals of their event used some sort of PED or Performance Enhancing method during their preparation.
How big a problem do you think PEDs are in the NFL today? It is a massive problem. During the congressional hearings, the NFL executives pulled the wool over the congressmen's eyes. They essentially got a free pass. They don't do sufficient testing in the off-season when the players really use the drugs. There are 60 stimulants on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list, the NFL has 10. So that means you have a list of 50 effective stimulants you can take and you won't have any issues. The front door to the barn might be closed, but the side doors and back doors are wide open.
You have a book coming about about BALCO, Bonds, Marion Jones and what can be done to save sports. Are you optimistic that we actually save sport? There are lots of things you can do, from focused testing on the elite athletes more often. Test the top 50 twice a year and the top 20 5 times, and go to the athlete's home soil, like in the Caribbean, then you might have a chance at reducing the use. Right now track and field athletes are really only tested while the European track circuit is going and they are not being tested at all during the October thru February time frames, you're going to have athletes using drugs because they can.
What do you think about forgiveness for athletes who are caught? Forgiveness is very important. I've tried to lead the way by asking for forgiveness myself. When a guy like Giambi comes out and admits to it, it allows him to move past it. On the other hand, take someone like Marion Jones, she lies and eventually after years and years has to admit to it. Right now I'm going to give a deposition in a defamation lawsuit Shane Mosley has against me. This is no more than Marion Jones part 2. She sued me for $25 million, we now know who is telling the truth. I think America and the world at large will forgive if you come completely clean.
Give me the top 5 dirtiest sports. #1 Cycling, #2 Track and Field , #3 Football, #4 Baseball, #5 Hockey.
Cleanest Sports? It would have to be a sport that doesn't rely on brute strength and isn't a grind. It is hard for baseball players to hold up over a 162 games. Maybe Rowing?
How accurate was the book, The Game of Shadows? I've said before that that those authors have fabrication-itis. If anyone followed up some of the references you would see that they don't actually support the statements.
How do you spend a typical day now? I continue to work with world class athletes. Boxers and baseball players. I'm working with some MMA and track and field athletes.
Is it harder trying to do it clean? What people fail to understand is that steroids don't really enhance performance. You still have to put in the work. Steroids are really just recovery drugs. You still have to put in the work, but you can recover more quickly and work out more often. Is there a steroid alternative that is as effective? No. But through the use of sophisticated nutrition you can get maybe 25% of the effectiveness of steroids.
How about longevity? Romanowski said he took steroids for the longevity. Sure, you can extend a NFL career 2-3 years.

A Quick Look at the AFC West

Stephen (shaynes41) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:40:07 -0000

I saw a fanpost by jman on the what the AFC West looks like at the quarter pole. Since we are 4 games into the season, it is probably a good time to look at how things are stacking up. jman's analysis was his view of how each team is doing. I thought I would take it from a different angle and get some more "objective" views on how things are going. Once we go through that, I'll give you some thoughts on how things might shake out.

	wins	losses	points for	points against	team overall DVOA rank	team offense DVOA rank	team defense DVOA rank
Denver Broncos	4	0	79	26	7	11	3
San Diego Chargers	2	2	101	102	23	15	30
Oakland Raiders	1	3	42	86	29	32	14
Kansas City Chiefs	0	4	64	112	26	26	25

All right, so first, let's explain quickly some of the numbers, specifically the DVOA numbers. You can click on the headings to see the complete rankings and get details on exactly how they are generated. In summary, the DVOA stands for Defense Adjusted Value Over Average. That is, how much better is this team than the average NFL team if we adjust for who they are playing. Theoretically, this should normalize for an offense that gets to play a really bad defense vs. an offense that plays a really good defense. Now, there is some controversy on how accurately the DVOA numbers represent reality, but they are as good as anything else out there. In addition, since the season is still fairly young, they don't really have the sample size they need to generate really accurate numbers.

After the last game against Pittsburg, none of us are surprised that our defense should rank #30 out of 32 teams. Sounds about right. I think what is a little surprising is that our offense is ranked middle of the pack. We are #9 in points scored, but #15 overall. A good part of this has to do with how the offense is really good in spurts, but then stinks it up. Or more accurate, how our offense sucks the first half, is mediocre the third quarter and then becomes the '94 49ers in the 4th quarter.

Everyone has probably noticed this, but how about the Denver defense? 26 points given up over 4 games? 6.5 points per game average? Now, they have played some bad teams, but they also have played the Cowboys with a decent offense, and the surprisingly good Bengals. This area that was a major weakness and a big reason behind the Bronco collapse last year is surprising good, and may even be a strength of this team. We will get an up close view of this in a few weeks and will be able to tell for ourselves if they are as good as they seem to be at this time.

One of my good friends is a Raider fan and we used to go pretty crazy during Raider week. He is a snapshot of the Raider team. The loss to the Bucs in the SB earlier this decade ripped his heart out and he has been in descent ever since. He barely even wants to talk about his team any more. Looking at them, I think that if they had a decent QB, they could be competitive. JaMarcus Russell has a completion percentage of under 40%. That is ridiculous. They have a good crew of RBs and a good enough OL, there is no reason why their offense should be ranked #32. It''s too bad. Keep this between us, but I secretly wish the Raiders were good and Raider week meant something again.

The Chiefs are still a conundrum to me. They definitely were not as bad as their record was last year. They definitely aren't as bad as their record is this year. But at some point you have to say, as AJ likes to say, "You are what your record says your are." I'm still worried about this team and I feel they could beat just about any team on any given Sunday. They have the offensive weapons. They have some holes on the OL, and their defense is a little weak, but they have just been completely run over so far this year. Is Haley in over his head? Perhaps. Did Belichek not let Pioli take the magic beans with him when he left NE? Probably. The jury is still out, they may still be in recovery mode from ditching their offensive coordinator right after the last preseason game. Offensively they have some weapons and should be serviceable. Defensively, they have a lot of young talent. Like I said, this is a scary team in that they might only win 4 or 5 games, but those 4 or 5 wins might be against playoff teams.

Ed White, Chargers Offensive Guard, 1978-1985

Stephen (shaynes41) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:28:53 -0000

View full size photo »

I'm sure we all know that the Charger's 50th anniversary team is up for a vote right now. You can go to the Charger's web site and look through the list and vote here.

There are a lot of guys on that list who you haven't heard of and maybe a lot of your votes tended to favor some of the more recent guys. I thought I would take a second to promote one of my favorite Chargers and a guy who is up for the 50th anniversary team as an offensive guard. Ed White played in the Air Coryell days. He was in the NFL from 1969 to 1985, playing the final 8 of those years with the Chargers. When he retired, he had played in more games than any other offensive lineman (241). That is a lot of time to play in the NFL.

Ed was an all-american defensive lineman at Cal before being drafted by the Vikings and converted to offensive guard. He was a starter by his second year in the league and made the pro-bowl 4 times over his 17 year career. He also played in 4 super bowls with that Vikings team. He came to the Chargers in 1978 and his arrival coincided with the accendancy of the Chargers in the Don Coryell/Dan Fouts era. Ed is one of the one or two guys from those teams who guys in the know wonder why he isn't in the hall of fame.

No less authority than Dan Fouts says Ed should be in the Hall. "No question about it," Fouts said. "When he retired, nobody had played in more games as an offensive lineman than Ed White. They don’t have any statistics for offensive linemen other than Pro Bowls and Super Bowls, and those are things Ed has done. He was one of the most feared offensive linemen in the game. You talk to guys like Howie Long and Matt Millen who had to go against Big Ed. They hated it."

Dennis McNight, former Charger lineman and owner of a fine car wash down the street from me had this to say about Ed: "Big Ed was probably the best all-around offensive lineman in the league in terms of run blocking and pass blocking"

After his playing career was over he coached at a variety of different levels. He spent some time coaching the Chargers and the Rams. He was the line coach at SDSU when Kyle Turley came through. Ed was instrumental in converting Kyle from a defensive lineman into one of the best offensive lineman around. To this day Turley will claim Ed is the best coach he has ever had.

So why do I care about a guard who played a quarter century ago? Well, I grew up where he lived when he played for the Chargers. I played high school football with his sons. He was my defensive coordinator (he never really got over being converted from defense to offense). He is one of the biggest contributors to my love of football. I remember my dad talking to him the week after the famous ice bowl. It was two or three days later and Big Ed was saying that he still couldn't totally feel his fingers. And this was from a guy who spent the first half of his career playing in Minnesota, pre-dome.

So, go check out the 50th anniversary voting here, learn a little Charger History, and cast a vote for my man Big Ed.

Is it Time to Panic or Not?

Stephen (shaynes41) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:28:17 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

3 months ago: San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, right, fumbles the ball and is brought down by Oakland Raiders defensive end Greg Ellis (99) during the first quarter of their NFL football game Monday, Sept. 14, 2009 in Oakland, Calif. The Raiders recovered the ball. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Browse more photos »

All right, so on Monday I was a big proponent of panicking. I have had a few days to cool off and I thought I should take a look at this a little more methodically. After all, if we're going to start panicking, at least we should have a reasonable justification for it.

We began the season with high hopes, but we did have some areas of concern after the off season and through the preseason. I figured I'd start by looking at each one of those areas of concern after two real games against a decent opponent and a very good opponent.

Area of Concern #1 - The right side of the Offensive Line

Jeromey Clary had received his fair share of lumps, and the unknown of the RG position was a little concerning. We all agreed that losing Mike Goff was going to help a bit, but were we not sure how much. Was Kynan Forney an upgrade? Could the rookie Louis Vasquez learn the ropes in time to contribute? How much of Clary's problems last year were due to Goff's inadequacies and how much were due to his own abilities and ceiling?

Turns out Vasquez did come along quick enough to earn the starting job in week 1. Vasquez's ability, Forney's average play, and some injury problems in camp actually lead to Forney surprisingly not making the 53 man roster. Unfortunately Vasquez didn't last past the 1st half of the first game and we have seen Mruczkowski and Dombrowski in that spot since them. Surprisingly, the right side of the line has held up pretty well. Clary has done pretty well against some decent pass rushers. He had a little trouble in the Raider game, but overall has done well. It will be interesting to see him against the Steelers in a few weeks to compare his play to his lackluster playoff game last year. Dombrowski has taken the majority of the snaps at RG and has looked really good, especially considering he is a second year guy who was on the practice squad all last year. All in all, I'd say this area of concern isn't worrying me too much right now. I may change my might after the Steelers game (even the Dolphins have Joey Porter and Jason Taylor and will present a good challenge)

more after the jump...

Area of Concern #2 - Running Game

Last year we couldn't run the ball if our life depended on it. Despite a moderately successful season from LT, we were in the bottom half of the league in rushing. A lot of reasons contributed to that including a relative shortage of offensive plays, playing from behind, the emergence of the passing game, etc., We were hoping some improvements along the offensive line, a healthy LT, and another year under the belt of Hester would contribute to a reemergence of the vaunted Charger running game.

It hasn't quite worked out like that. LT is injured again, and didn't look that good for the 1.5 quarters he was healthy. It is still early and we have faced two relatively strong teams against the run, but I think this is still an area of major concern. We are all happy to see Rivers have 400+ games, but more often than not, you end up losing those games. Without a strong rushing attack, you will have trouble in the red zone and in short yardage situations (like 4th and 2, for example). I know the offense as a whole is explosive, but I'm afraid that we are going to have an easier time scoring from the 40 yard line than we will from the 10 yard line.

Area of Concern #3 - Pass Rush

We all hoped The Return of Shawne Merriman would solve all our pass rush woes. Plus, the evil genius of Ron Rivera would employ Larry English in new and exotic packages that would bring wreak havoc on opposing QBs. Perhaps we were a bit ahead of ourselves.

Well, Shawne has yet to get a sack and English's motor has been apparent even if his rudder has not been as he has appeared somewhat lost at times. However, there has been good pressure if not a lot of sacks to show for it. There has been lots of blitzing and exotic blitzes at that. Last year we rarely saw the ILBs involved in blitzes. This year (and especially last week against Baltimore) the inside guys were blitzing a lot. Lot's of twist and 6 man rushes. I feel that this area of concern is not so concerning anymore. Aside from the lack of actual sacks, I think it has been going pretty well, and I think one week soon, we are going to get a bunch of sacks.

One surprising development has been Luis Castillo getting pressure from the LDE spot. I think part of it has to be due to the flurry of activity around him. With all the twists and blitzes from different angles, it has been easier to Luis to get some pressure. He has 1 sack so far and I've seen him chasing QBs from the pocket on several occasions.

Area of Concern #4 - Safety Play

Clinton Hart should be shipped out of town. Steve Gregory is too slow to play safety. We should start Kevin Ellison, the rookie 6th round pick simply because he has not yet disproven himself. Eric Weddle is a bust. Or so the preseason talk went. An interesting development in the preseason was Hart playing SS on the running downs and Gregory playing SS on the passing downs. Same as at the end of last season, but it seemed to work much better. Weddle's role was able to change because we had an ILB who can cover people (Kevin Burnett), so Weddle can play more of a "center field" position, rather than the "in the box" safety position he played last year on passing downs.

So far, this seems to have worked. It's a little hard to tell if our improved pass defense is truly because of improved safety play, combined with a little more pressure, or if it's simply because other teams find it easier to run on us. I will say that I have seen Hart making plays in the running game that I haven't seen him make in a few years. And I think Gregory has played a decent coverage SS. I am going to tentatively say that this area of concern has been addressed. I don't think it will really get tested anytime soon by the Dolphins or Steelers so I'm not going to worry about it until it actually shows itself as a problem.

Area of Concern #5 - We can't cover TEs

Stupid TEs. Last year I was offended at first when the fantasy football experts told you to start any TE facing the Chargers. Then I came to the realization that it was actually sound advice. We all loved to blame Wilhelm for the TEs having career days against us, but I wasn't so sure. Burnett is a clear upgrade, plus an improved pass rush and improved safety play was how to improve this.

Did it work? Well, Oakland's TEs put up over 100 yards on us in week 1. Todd Heap had one catch for 9 yards and 1 TD, plus a 30 yard PI call that put the Ravens at the 1 and lead to a walk in TD. Overall, I'd say this is still a concern. If we make Anthony Fasano look like Tony Gonzalez this week, I am officially going to be picking up/trading for the TEs going against the Chargers in fantasy football every week from here on out.

Area of Concern #6 - the Defense can't get off the field

Last year the Chargers were 29th in total offensive plays. This is partly because our offense was explosive and scored quickly, and partly because our defense gave up a lot of long drawn out drives. It is really way too early to judge here. I think in general we've looked pretty good, but we've face two offenses that were not highly regarded before the season began and they have looked pretty good against us, which is not a good sign. As far as plays from scrimmage so far this year, we are middle of the pack, so that is an improvement. I'm still going to worry about this, especially when we pick up dumb running into the kicker penalties that give the opponents a fresh set of downs (I don't care if it was a blown call by the refs, if you aren't close to blocking the punt, you need to never touch the kicker... period).

Area of Concern #7 - Cromartie of 2008 or of 2007

Cromartie was hottest thing ever after 10 picks in just over 1/2 a season of starting in 2007. Expectations were off the charts for 2008 and he proceeded to stink the joint up. Who is the real Cromartie? Well, so far the jury is still out, although by this time last year, Cromartie had already been exposed twice, and so far this year we haven't heard his name much (although there was that Raider TD where he and Hart decided not to cover Murphy). I'm going to go on record as saying a good CB is the one who you never hear of. I will gladly live with 3-6 picks and 16 solid games from Cromartie, as opposed to him making SportsCenter highlights with a few athletic interceptions and a bunch of spectacularly bad outings.

Places we thought were not a concern, but actually are a concern... Go Figure

The left side of the offensive line... What happened here? Last year we had Hardwick's and McNeill's injury excuses. This year, between our healthy offensive line and LTs healthy toes, we were going to run the ball again! Everyone take LT high in your fantasy drafts, he is a man on a mission... I'm beginning to think it's not LT degrading as much as it is the left side of the offensive line not being as good as advertised. Even for the 2 quarters where everyone was healthy, these guys were getting pushed around. They single handedly made Al Davis look like a genius with the Richard Seymour trade (and that is saying something). And listen, I can understand that McNeill is never going to be a dominant run blocker, he is a pass blocker, a 350lb man with the feet of a ballerina who is able to go an entire season without giving up a sack to the league's elite, so I don't really blame him. But Kris Dielman is playing like a very mediocre player. Such is not what we expected from our all-pro. Honestly, I think it has been going on for longer than just this year. I think last year he was little soft too. He gets beat too often on pass rushes and isn't the dominant LG you need for a dominant rushing attack. I'm not sure why... Did he get figured out? Has his technique slipped? Some injury we aren't aware of? Half a dozen baby-mamas demanding his time and financial support? I don't know, but he hasn't been the same since signing that big contract (there... I said it).

Places we thought we were strong, but we are actually much stronger...

We knew our passing game was nails; Rivers, Jackson, Gates, etc. But it has been even better than I thought it was going to be. As expected, Rivers has kept up his game. But somehow Vincent Jackson has picked his up to another level. His game against Baltimore was ridiculous. RIDICULOUS. How many times did he have three guys around him and he came down with the ball anyways? I'm reminded of that old NFL films clip of the Chargers' OC talking to Fouts about his pass progressions and what to look out for on a third down play. Don Coryell steps in, interrupts, and yells, "Just throw it to JJ!!" (John Jefferson). That is exactly how I feel with Jackson, just throw it to VJ!

And Antonio Gates. I do believe he is back from his injuries and is as good as ever. I had almost forgotten what is was like to have a dominant TE. The only thing that is going to keep him from putting up all-world numbers are the other options around him.

So, that's about all I can think of. I think there are only two things that really concern me: 1) complete and utter lack of a running game, and 2) inability to get off the field on defense. I can't seem to muster up a lot of concern about other areas and even the injuries don't strike me as an insurmountable problem. Those two concerns are the things that are going to keep this team from going deep into the playoffs, and of those two, the running game is the biggest problem. I know some of us were calling for more passes and shootouts, but those won't take you far once the playoffs come around. We need a balanced offense, and by that I don't mean we need to have equal run and pass plays, but that we need the threat of a run, and we need to be able to get 2 yards when we absolutely have to have 2 yards. If that doesn't get fixed, we can go ahead and panic.