Hacksaw notebook: Chargers running woes, Aztecs scandal and more

The Coach… There are first times for everything, including seeing Norv Turner smile on the sidelines.

After his playcalling on the game winning drive against the Giants, he hugged LaDanian Tomlinson. And for the first time in a long time, he showed emotion. He actually smiled.

Five straight completions in crunch time, coupled with five quarterback sacks in the game triggered the emotion. You almost felt a world of pressure had been lifted off his shoulders.

The running game… The raging debate continues. Is Tomlinson washed up, at the end of the road, hurt again? No. But in all likelihood, a study of all the Chargers play calls shows an ugly statistic. It is on the offensive line.

They cannot get push, cannot get out on the edge, cannot hold blocks. Read these numbers, and understand why San Diego is dead last running the ball. The Chargers have had 43 plays of zero or negative yards this year involving their running backs, fullbacks, wide receivers and tight ends.

That’s zero or negative yards on runs, screen passes and flare passes out in the flat. There have been an additional 32 plays of just one yard gained. Add into that 18 sacks, and the Bolts have 93 total plays where San Diego gained one yard or less at scrimmage through eight games.

That doesn’t include incompletions nor interceptions. For all their big plays, it still averages out to 11 plays per game where there was nowhere to run with the ball.

Lights out… Shawne Merriman does not rate himself like the fans grade him. For him it is not just about sacks, but about pressures, and tackles, and getting sideline to sideline to make plays. His last three games have been explosive and powerful. He says his comeback will be complete when he can make all the plays on all ends of the field. He is close to being complete.

Blind Side… Went to see the football movie about Michael Oher, the first round pick of the Baltimore Ravens, via Ole Miss, who was homeless as a youth, and adopted by a white family in Memphis. Moving story of education, direction, and growth of a person, not just the player. It was not about football, but about life. If the Chargers had drafted him, with what they already had in guard Louis Vasquez, they would have been set for years on the right side of the offensive line.

Still waiting, still counting… The Chargers have just two offensive touchdowns in the opening possession of their last 28 games. Not all the problems have been solved by their recent winning streak.

Right place, right now… After a search everywhere for a stadium location, the best idea this side of Qualcomm has surfaced — the Wonder Bread Factory parcels in the East Village adjacent to Petco Park. The infrastructure, parking, zoning and hotels are all there. Granted the parcel of land is much smaller, but then you won’t need to build office towers and shopping malls or restaurants. I cannot wait for the obstructionists to show up again trying to put up barricades. You know the ones who wanted to block the Convention Center expansion and Petco Park?

Bowl games… San Diego State has not been to a postseason game since 1999, and seems on the outside looking in. I cannotsee the Poinsettia Bowl bypassing a BYU or Utah to take a 6-6 Aztecs team, if Brady Hoke’s team gets to that mark. I predicted 6-6 in August and it is doable. Ryan Lindley returns, as do the running backs and offensive line next year when they should be a real bowl player.

In house, out in public… Aztecs athletic director Jeff Schemmel remains away from his job as SDSU completes an evaluation of the use of university credit cards as Schemmel allegedly became involved in an affair with an Alabama woman. Now caught in the middle of a lawsuit — if he charged things on that card, things yet to be paid back — his credibility has taken a hit.

Most of us in the media would never venture into a person’s private marital life, but now that it crossed the line into something resembling possible fraud, it has to be covered. A public apology, repayment of past bills, and forefeiting pay raises seems a reasonable sanction. Dismissing him does not seem just, for he has done too many positive things on the Hill. His personal choices are probably somewhere between Rick Pitino and Mike Price’s bad decisions.

Holiday happenings… Sitting and waiting for key late-season games to end, Bruce Binkowski’s Holiday Bowl will come out a winner again. Oregon does look like a Rose Bowl or BCS player right now. Stanford, with ex-USD coach Jim Harbaugh, and two brilliant players — quarterback Andrew Luck and running back Toby Gerhart — could come here and put on a show. So could Oregon State, triggered by Carlsbad quarterback Sean Canfield and popular coach Mike Riley. And though this is not a vintage USC team, they are the Trojans led by Pete Carroll, and Cardinal & Gold is scattered everywhere in Southern California. They would fill up the stadium too.

Busy offseason… New Padres GM Jed Hoyer is back in town after three days of meetings in Chicago with general managers, laying the ground work for possible deals next month at the winter baseball meetings. Rumors continue to swirl about Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox or Braves. My biggest question: if you deal the power hitter, who is going to hit home runs for you next year? Why worry about signability two years from now? You control him through 2011.

The economy will be better in 2012, you will be a better franchise by then, and there may be even be a salary cap too. No urgency to move him right now, and like I said. Who hits home runs if he leaves?

Robbery… The Gold Gloves were handed out this week, and Kevin Kouzmanoff did not get one. East Coast bias or just a lack of knowledge? Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals won the Glove, but he committed 17 errors. Kouzmanoff committed an all-time low three errors. Granted he had fewer chances, but the fact that Zimmerman was an All Star who hit nearly .300 and had 31 homers probably got him more recognition. But what do batting numbers have to do with the defensive award?

Hoops… Steve Fisher faces a bit of a rebuilding job at San Diego State, but that task is made easier by three transfers, 7-footer Bryan Carwell from Illinois State, and the Pepperdine shooters Malcom Thomas and Tyrone Shelley. Keeping Billy White and Tim Shelton healthy as his bookend forwards will be a key this year as there are few veterans on this team.

USD… Now it is truly his team with all his recruits, and Bill Grier is hoping this year is better than last year with the Torerors, a team best by injuries, suspensions and walkouts.

Welcome back… XX-1090 talkshow host John Kentera returns to the airwaves next Tuesday night, a month after having a minor heart attack prior to a Padres press conference. Quick action by his wife Kelly, to get him to the hospital, where double stent surgery was performed, saved him from a more serious situation.

So long… Longtime weekend TV anchor Jim Stone is no longer part of the NBC 7-39 sports team, with his contract running out. Too many good people have been let go in this market in the massive media cutbacks because of the economy. I haven’t seen very many Radio-TV execs losing their jobs in all this, but an awful lot of the workers down stairs.

Tell me… Your comments are invited below on any or all items in the notebook.

Lee Hamilton hosts “Sportswatch” (3-7pm) on XX–1090 radio, broadcasts NFL Games for the Compass-Media Network and was awarded by the San Diego Press Club for his SDNN columns.

Tags: Hacksaw Hamilton, Holiday Bowl, Jeff Schemmel, LaDainian Tomlinson, Norv Turner, Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego State, SDNN, SWRNN

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 4:17 pm and is filed under Aztecs, Padres, Sports, Sports News . 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.