Hacksaw: Criticism, exasperation replace hope for Chargers

Three words: Haunted by history.
Three words: Super Bowl team.

The San Diego Chargers season, which started with so much expectation, is now sinking with so much exasperation.

Hopes replaced by hurt players. Potential replaced by poor performance. Leadership replaced by lackluster accountability.

The criticism has overflowed, on sports talk radio, in letters to the editors, in blogs and comments on Web sites. No one is being spared — not Norv Turner, not A.J. Smith, not the players.

The scorecard does not read well. This 2-3 start has been a struggle. Compliments replaced by criticisms. Chants of “Lets Go Bolts” replaced by “Marty-Marty” and “Norv Must Go.” Columnists now refer to the general manager as the “Lord of No Rings.” And the three key words — once spoken with excitement — now have a negative connotation.

… Super Bowl Team…

The level of expectation has risen over the past four years. The final season of the Marty Schottenheimer run saw a young team finish on a fast track, only to be derailed in the playoffs. The onset of the Norv Turner regime has brought us less productive seasons, sometimes superb postseason play and exhilarating games — but never the trip to the Promised Land.

But the hour glass is running out. The greatness of Philip Rivers remains. The dynamics of receivers like Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd and Chris Chambers are still there. There are still flashes of the explosiveness of Darren Sproles. But that is all that is left.

The once proud Bolt Blitz is gone. Done in by injuries to the two most important people on that side of the ball — Jamal Williams and Shawne Merriman — the defense is a shell of itself. The toughness is gone. The bravado has disappeared. The big plays are extinct. Injuries are so cruel. The heart has been replaced by hurt.

Gone too are the grit and toughness of center Nick Hardwick, replaced by a young untested Scott Mruczkowski who gets overwhelmed. The right guard may be good down road, but rookie Louis Vasquez is finding this a rocky road. And right tackle Jeromey Clary is limited, meaning three of the five key players up front leave a lot to be desired.

Ever dangerous, Rivers is taking hit after hit. He has been sacked 20 times already in five weeks. That’s a pace to have him go down as many as 60 times before the season is done - if he makes it that far. Ever inept, there are no 100-yard rushing games coming from this ground attack.

It is hard to accept, for fans have not forgotten how good it used to be just a few seasons back. This team will score, but likely at the price of the health of the last star standing, Rivers.

…Haunted by history….

The scoreboard does not lie here. Norv Turner, a bright play-caller, has never won as a head coach. Heading to Kansas City this weekend, slow starts in the early season have become common place. The 2-3 start in each of his three campaigns is not some made-up figure. Neither is the fact that his team has gone 11-12 since the final playoff game in the 2007 postseason. And the Q — once an impossible place to play, once in full roar — is filled with boos because the home team has gone 6-5 since last season.

Turner, a nice guy not withstanding, dragged with him a 49-59-1 record out of Washington and a 9-23 effort from Oakland.

Yes, he may have been in impossible situations elsewhere, but not so much here. After inheriting a 14-2 team, he has turned the Chargers into a 21-16 franchise in two-plus seasons. Circumstances like injuries and bad luck may be part of the equation, but this is no longer the franchise it used to be. Its leadership is under question.

The questions also apply to general manager A.J. Smith, who pulled off three outstanding drafts, but who now must be held accountable for bad choices, bad contracts, bad relationships and bad decisions. His once-shining star has dimmed.

The 2004, ‘05 and ‘06 drafts were superb. The foundation of excellence and explosiveness was put in place. He delivered Rivers, Merriman, Hardwick, Sproles, Jackson, Marcus McNeil, Luis Castillo, Igor Olshansky, Nate Kaeding, Mike Scifres, Shaun Phillips, and Antonio Cromartie. Twelve quality choices.

But 2007 ‘08 and ‘09 have turned out to be less than luxurious. He dealt a boat load of picks to move up to get Eric Weddle and Jacob Hester and added Antoine Cason and Larry English. They’re the only impact players drafted in the last three years, and only one — Weddle — is starting today.

He blew picks on Buster Davis, Anthony Waters, Charlie Whitehurst, Paul Oliver and Scott Chandler. He also dealt away six other potential high picks in all his wheeling and dealing. Now he has holes in a roster where he needed depth. Injuries are taking too big of a toll.

Smith believed in talent and handed out five-year contracts to people no longer here, or those who don’t seem to play — the Matt Wilhelms and Jyles Tuckers of the world.

On top of that, Chargers fans have never forgiven Smith for how he handled the Schottenheimer firing. It led to the defection of key assistants Wade Phillips, Cam Cameron, Hudson Houck and others. The timing left the Chargers with few head coaching options, other teams having already snagged the top offseason coaching candidates.

Gone too was the creative juice that fueled the offense and brought the heat for sacks and turnovers. It hasn’t been close to the same over the last two seasons. And many believe Smith’s demand that certain assistants be hired has further saddled Turner’s staff.

And then there is the bitter taste of the decisions to move veteran players earlier rather than later — moves that have hurt his resume. Chargers fans understand the transition from veterans to younger players, but the dismissal of players like Rodney Harrison, Junior Seau, John Carney, Lorenzo Neal, Donnie Edwards and others, has left lingering resentment — especially as those players moved on and played well somewhere else.

With 11 weeks left in the season, the Chargers are still hoping for a postseason. But the Bolts are coming to the realization the best chance the team had might have been in years gone by, possibly with another coaching staff. Tomorrow does not look as good as yesteryear did.

Three words: Haunted by history. Two names: A.J. Smith and Norv Turner. One chilling thought. Era over. Window closing.

Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton hosts ‘Sportswatch’ on XX-1090 from 3-7 p.m., was the longtime voice of the Chargers, broadcasts NFL Games now for the Compass Media Network and is a San Diego Press Club award winning columnist for SDNN.

Tags: A.J. Smith, Chargers, Chris Chambers, Darren Sproles, Malcom Floyd, Marty Schottenheimer, Norv Turner, Philip Rivers, SDNN

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 5:48 pm and is filed under Chargers, Sports Opinion . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.