Since joining The National Football League in 1970, The San Diego
Chargers have been a tease at best. There was “Air Coryell” of the late
70’s and early 80’s that put up tremendous offensive numbers led by Hall
of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, but they always came up short in the
playoffs. The 1994 Chargers made the only Super Bowl appearance in
franchise history before they were dismantled by The San Francisco 49ers
by a score of 49-26 in Super Bowl 29. In 1998, The Chargers used the
second overall pick of The NFL Draft on Washington State Cougars
quarterback Ryan Leaf who became the epitome of the term “draft bust” in
The NFL. Things began to turn around in 2002 when Marty Schottenheimer
became the head coach of The Chargers. By his third season,
Schottenheimer had The Chargers in the playoffs as they won The AFC
West. The Chargers went 12-4 in 2004 and 14-2 in 2006, but they failed
to register a playoff victory. Schottenheimer and Chargers general
manager A.J. Smith had a falling out which ultimately led to
Schottenheimer’s departure after the 2006 season.
Since then Norv Turner has been the head coach to guide The
Chargers. In 2007, The Chargers reached The AFC Championship Game before
falling to The New England Patriots 21-12. In 2008, The Chargers
started the season with a record of 4-8 before they rallied to defeat
The Denver Broncos 52-21 in a Week 17 winner-take-all battle for The AFC
Western Division Title. The Chargers followed this up by shocking The
Indianapolis Colts for a 23-17 overtime victory in The Wild Card Round.
2009 saw The Chargers post a 13-3 record as they seemed poised to make a
Super Bowl appearance, but a shocking 17-14 loss to The New York Jets
sent The Bolts home scratching their heads once again. In 2010, San
Diego posted the top-ranked offense and defense in The NFL, but the
special teams did them in along with finishing the season minus-six in
turnover margin. These factors led The Chargers to a record of 9-7 which
saw them miss out on the postseason. After a record of 8-8 last season,
fans in San Diego called for Chargers owner Alex Spanos to fire both
Turner and Smith. Spanos has stuck by both men and the results in 2012
haven’t been appetizing so far.
After seven games, The Chargers have a record of 3-4 while they are
one game behind The Broncos for first place in The AFC West. After four
games, San Diego found themselves in first place with a record of 3-1 as
they finally appeared to shake the label of being slow starters. Since
then The Chargers have dropped three consecutive games with each outcome
being worse than the previous game. In Week 5, The Chargers were
leading The New Orleans Saints 24-14 in the third quarter before The
Saints scored 17-unanswered points to win the game 31-24. In Week 6, The
Chargers hosted The Broncos on Monday Night Football. The Chargers took
a 24-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Broncos stormed back
for 35-unanswered points in the second half to stun The Chargers 35-24.
Following a bye week in Week 7, The Chargers traveled to Cleveland to
take on The Browns in Week 8. San Diego was only able to muster a pair
of field goals as they lost to The Browns 7-6.
There are so many different directions that the blame can go in San
Diego which isn’t a good thing. Quarterback Philip Rivers threw 20
interceptions last season and he has not corrected the flaw in 2012.
Through seven games this season, Rivers has already thrown nine
interceptions. In the loss to The Broncos, Rivers was responsible for
six turnovers (five in the second half). Of his five second half
turnovers, two were returned for touchdowns. Rivers appears to be a man
that is trying to do too much and in the end it is causing his team to
lose ball games.
The Chargers used a first-round pick in 2010 on running back Ryan
Matthews. Despite making The Pro Bowl last season, Matthews has failed
to be the impact player that The Chargers envisioned him to be. Matthews
has never started all 16 games in a season as he has 12 career fumbles
including a lost fumble in the last game against The Browns.
The Chargers have failed to replace players that were primarily
brought into San Diego by Schottenheimer. Running back Darren Sproles
joined The Saints as a free-agent in 2011 after six productive seasons
with San Diego. LaDainian Tomlinson is the franchise’s all-time leading
rusher and after he left the team in 2009, Matthews was drafted and he
hasn’t come close to the production of the future Hall of Famer. After
being disgruntled by receiving the franchise tag, two-time Pro Bowl wide
receiver Vincent Jackson left The Chargers after last season to sign
with The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jackson was one of Rivers’ main targets.
To replace Jackson’s productivity, The Chargers signed wide receivers
Eddie Royal and Robert Meachem, but the duo has combined for 287
receiving yards so far this season while Jackson has 626 receiving yards
on the season with five touchdowns.
Charger veterans such as eight-time Pro Bowl tight end Antonio
Gates, outside linebacker Shaun Phillips, and strong safety Eric Weddle
are getting older and you wonder how much more that they will be able to
contribute to this team. For this time may have already run out.
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