Bleacher Report - Articles by Brian Smith

Norv Turner: Assessment Of the Chargers' Head Coach

Brian Smith — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:52:27 -0500

Fired twice as a head coach? Yes.

Vilified? Yes.

Fiery? No.

Motivational? No.

All those questions and answers apply to Norv Turner. Norv has even answered a couple of those questions himself.

Coming into a hostile environment is never an easy task regardless of what profession it may be. I can imagine it's even harder when that job is so easily put into the public eye.

However, that's just what Norv Turner did on February 19, 2007 when Turner became the head coach of the San Diego Chargers. He took over for highly popular Marty Schottenheimer after he was fired.

Turner brought in a 58-82-1 regular season head coaching record and only two playoff games to San Diego. However, as offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, he helped the Cowboys win back-to-back Super Bowls in '92 and '93.

His tenures with Washington and Oakland are a hard assessment. Oakland, never the same since their drubbing in Super Bowl 37 by Tampa Bay in San Diego. I don't think any coach could have turned that ship around.

He did have some success in Washington, leading them to the playoffs in the 1999 season. He could never seem to keep any winning momentum going while coaching the Redskins though.

Which leads us to the here and now in San Diego.

After two full seasons as the Chargers' head coach, Norv Turner has won the AFC West twice, reached the AFC Championship game once and reached the AFC Divisional round once. He's 3-2 in the post season as head coach for the Chargers.

His regular season record as San Diego's head coach is 19-13. Percentage wise, it's almost identical to his postseason record. 59.4% to 60% for those keeping track.

Turner was brought in to bring a NFL championship to San Diego. AJ Smith has said that he only cares about making the playoffs, regardless of how. Well, after the Chargers went 14-2 in Marty's last year as head coach, the Norv Turner version of the Chargers have gone 11-5 and 8-8, respectively, in the last two seasons.

There's a disturbing trend in all of this. Both teams that Turner coached prior to coming to San Diego, all regressed in regards to their win/loss records. He has continued that trend with the Chargers.

He was given the reigns to a highly talented team and has been successful in the postseason (to a degree) with those players. However, it is apparent that the Chargers players (as a team) are not self motivators. The Chargers players also seem to feed off of fiery individuals. Turner is neither a motivator or a fiery individual.

Therein lies the rub, in my opinion, regarding Norv Turner. He knows football. He knows how to manipulate an offense and he knows how to work with elite talent. However, it doesn't appear he can motivate the team and get them to get into a 'take no prisoners' mind set for games.

I think that is why the Chargers underperformed in 2008 and have come up short in the playoffs the last two seasons. You look at a coach like Bill Belichick and it is obvious that his players are ready and motivated to go out there and kick some tail.

Turner also tends to get into play calling ruts. Far too often calling the same play on the same down regardless of its previous failure rate. It did not seem until late in the 2008 season, that he was willing to change things up a bit. So, there does appear to be a willingness to change when things are not working.

For the 2007 season, I really give him credit for bringing the Chargers to the AFC Championship game and who knows what could have happened had LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers not have been hurt.

However successful you could call the 2007 season, there was a lot of frustration during the season as well, which I think can be fairly attributed to Norv Turner's coaching style. Players need time to adjust and it did seem to take longer than what was expected. Again, I think it's the motivational thing that Turner lacks that may have been the basis for San Diego's slow start in 2007.

Unfortunately, 2008 didn't start any better than the previous season for the Chargers and Norv Turner. Besides what happened in Denver with the officiating, the Chargers really did seem to lack the motivation to win games and they paid for it all season long.

Granted, due to injuries, he really didn't have LaDainian Tomlinson as much as he'd like for most of the season (and only for a few plays in the Playoffs) and was without Shawne Merriman for the rest of the season after he went on IR after the Chargers loss to the Panthers in week one.

Two big weapons that were no longer at his disposal, really hurt the Chargers of being able to gain any momentum during the regular season. You can't blame injuries on a head coach and I'm not going to either.

However, it's what you do as a head coach when those key players are not at 100 percent or gone for the season. You have to make adjustments and watching the games, it seems that the adjustments always came in the second half of games or not at all. A lot of times a little too late.

Giving Turner an assessment after his first two seasons in San Diego, I would have to give him a mixed review. I judge him poorly in motivational and player preparedness and some unimaginative play calling. However, I score him high for getting the Chargers to the postseason and having some moderate success.

To be fair to Norv, I think the 2009 (barring any key injuries or player departures) season should be when we all judge whether or not Norv should stay or go in San Diego. Three seasons is more than enough time to have a system in place with the talent of the Chargers.

San Diego has never had a championship of any kind and everyone (including Norv Turner) would like nothing more than to bring one to America's Finest City. I think he may be able to do that, despite my doubts, if he changes a couple of things about his coaching style.

Good luck in 2009 Norv.

San Diego Chargers: End of Season Grades and Review

Brian Smith — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:31:39 -0500

As the Doors once said, "This is the end." Well, for the 2008 season for the San Diego Chargers after losing to the Steelers 35-24 on a cold and snowy Sunday in Pittsburgh.

It was one heck of a ride for sure, and I'm sure I have a lot less hair now than what I did before the start of the season.

There were some shining points in the season (Rivers throwing for 34 touchdowns breaking Dan Fouts' team record) and some low points (Merriman gone for the year and Ted Cottrell's 'go easy on them' approach to defense).

The year started with a huge injury (Merriman's knee) and ended with another huge injury (Tomlinson's torn groin tendon...ouch), forming perfect bookends to a crazy season.

Before the start of the season, the Chargers were a Super Bowl favorite and true to Chargers form, they dashed those hopes by the mid point of the season and almost cemented their place as one of the sports' biggest disappointments when they were 4-8.

Then they went on a little run in the last four games of the regular season that brought hope back to the fans of the Chargers. As if the football gods lined it up for the Chargers, San Diego played the Raiders, Chiefs, Tampa Bay, and Denver to finish off the season.

All four of those teams not playing their best football when they faced the Chargers and not playing their best football when they were NOT playing the Chargers, helped San Diego reach the playoffs for the third year in a row and a third straight year as the AFC West Champions.

The Chargers then followed up their regular-season winning streak by beating the favored Indianapolis Colts and MVP Peyton Manning in the AFC Wild Card weekend in San Diego. This earned them a date with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately, Pittsburgh was too formidable of an opponent for San Diego to overcome after making a couple of mistakes in the second half of the game. Only seeing the ball for one snap in the third quarter pretty much sealed the Chargers' fate.

Pittsburgh was just a far superior team and much better coached than the Chargers on Sunday and it showed. The lack of being able to make a tackle by San Diego makes you think that Deon Sanders is a coach on the team.

The Steelers won the game fair and square and my hats goes off to them. I would not be surprised if they are lifting the Lombardi trophy here real soon.

Now for my end of the season report card.

Head Coaching: (D+) Way too many questionable play calls and playing not to lose is a sure fire way to ensure that your team has to come back late in games.

Offensive Coaching: (D) See above.

Defensive Coaching: (F) First half of the season, (C+) Second half of the season. Ted Cottrell really hurt the defense and they are still trying to recover from it. Ron Rivera made some huge strides in trying to get the defense back on track, but, lack of being able to tackle (yes, I'm looking at you Eric Weddle) really really hurt the defense time and time again.

Quarterback: (A) Great effort by Philip Rivers this year. There were a couple of games where he couldn't hold on to the ball that cost the team a win or two.

Running Backs: (B) L.T. playing hurt most of the year and still got over 1,000 yards rushing and Sproles filling in for him, made for a great tandem. Too bad their offensive line didn't always come to play.

Offensive Line: (D) The lack of getting a forward push when you're run block and letting far too many defenders in the backfield really hurt the team this year.

Special Teams: (C+) Scifers, Kaeding and Osgood I think are the cream of the crop in the NFL on special teams. Too bad the rest of their teammates did not perform as well as they did. Too many missed tackles and too many big gains on returns is not good.

Defensive Line: (C+) No Merriman is no excuse to not put pressure on the quarterback. Too much talent for that not to happen. It is time to look for Jamal Williams successor while Williams still has year or two left in him.

Linebackers: (D+) Definitely regressed this season compared to last season. Couldn't make stops on pass plays over the middle. Very poor tackling and the appearance of them forgetting that offenses have Tight-ends was horrible.

Defensive Backs: (F) I know not getting pressure on the quarterback does have an effect on coverage, but, way too many missed assignments, confusion on who to cover and trying to tackle opponents like they were covered in feces is not acceptable.

Every one of them needs to take a long and hard look at themselves in the mirror and really be honest and ask if they really gave 100 percent this year.

Overall Grade: (C) Not because of their 8-8 record, but, they under performed in almost every aspect of the game. However, a late season resurgence and going to the Divisional round of the playoffs, does count for something.

Now the Chargers can take it easy and heal their wounds and prepare for the 2009 season. Will they still be in San Diego? Will Norv Turner develop a killer instinct? How will L.T.'s injury heal? Will the Chargers be able to keep Ron Rivera? All questions will have to wait to be answered until the opening kickoff of the 2009 season.

Why Philip Rivers Is My MVP

Brian Smith — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:23:17 -0500

Yes, there's DeAngelo Williams, Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner, Kurt Warner, etc...

Let me explain why Philip Rivers is my pick for MVP this year.

From 4-8 to 8-8, resulting in the Chargers being the AFC West champs. The Chargers would not have won the west without Philip Rivers.

Rivers' numbers in those last four games are mighty impressive. 11 touchdowns, one interception, one fumble lost, six sacks, 1054 yards in the air, completed 66.1% of his passes and had a 120.3 quarterback rating.

He saddled up, put the Chargers on his back the last four games of the season and put them in a position to make the playoffs, all the while, playing nearly perfect (with the exception of one interception and losing one fumble) at quarterback.

All of this knowing that just one loss in any of those four games and the Chargers hopes for a postseason would be done. That's what I call playing very well under pressure.

If you really think about it, with LT being hurt most of the season and Gates not being 100 percent until about half way through the season, AND the defense a shell of its former self, Rivers carried the Chargers all year.

He didn't crumble under the pressure, in fact, it seemed as if he thrived under the pressure and he did it in a manner that is found in a MVP. To put it simply, he did exactly what an MVP does—put the team on his back and take his team to the postseason.

I'm sure the award will probably go to either Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner or DeAngelo Williams and maybe Kurt Warner.

All of them would be equally deserving of the award, however, they did not have nearly the pressure on them as Philip Rivers did and that is why Rivers gets my vote for MVP this year.

San Diego Chargers Play Grinch: Steal AFC West to Earn Playoff Berth

Brian Smith — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:57:37 -0500

Well, well, well. The Chargers are in the playoffs. A week ago, before they played Tampa Bay, I would have agreed with you that they would have to wait until 2009 to make a run for the Lombardi Trophy.

Who knew that the Broncos would allow the Bills to come back and beat them, and the Chargers would bloody up Jeff Garcia and the Buccaneers.

Because of the 8-8 season, many skeptics feel the Chargers don't deserve to be in the playoffs. They won their division, and last I checked, that's one way to qualify for the playoffs in the NFL.

Yes, the Patriots had a better record, and had they been in the AFC West they would be in the playoffs. However, they are not. So, I'm still trying to figure out what the big deal is regarding the complaints.

Moving along. The Chargers' four-game winning streak to end the season is more impressive than what most people will give them credit for. They played Oakland, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and Denver.

Oakland, well, is Oakland.

However, to the non-Chargers informed out there, the Chargers have historically had problems beating the Chiefs regardless of who is on the Chargers squad.

So, yes, the Kansas City game was a strong win for the Chargers.

The Chargers played another tough opponent against the Buccaneers. Jeff Garcia exposed the weakness of San Diego's defensive backs but couldn't survive the shootout in Tampa Bay.

Against Denver the other night, the Chargers did show that they could keep a strong armed quarterback in check, even without putting much pressure on him in the pocket.

Yes, Denver pretty much imploded during the second half of the season, but that doesn't mean the Chargers got off easy.

Putting up 52 points against any NFL team (yes, even the Lions) is no easy task, and what people saw Sunday night was probably the closest glimpse of what the "real" Chargers look like. San Diego is still a dangerous team, but they don't need to score 45 to 50 points a game to win.

Watching the game again, it's amazing how the Chargers running game explodes when the offensive line is actually making their blocks. No, LaDainian Tomlinson is not washed up nor has he lost a step. His performance on Sunday night looked no different than he did in 2006 and 2007.

Also, this game showed why I don't think Jay Cutler is an elite quarterback. He can't handle pressure and can't make accurate throws at critical times. He's fine as long as he doesn't have to hurry, doesn't have to move his feet, and doesn't have to throw to a different receiver than he planned on when the ball was snapped.

Cutler may claim his arm is stronger than John Elway's arm. Well, I've seen firsthand what Elway did to the Chargers. Young man, you are no John Elway.

Now, the Chargers have to face Peyton Manning and the rest of the Colts. The Chargers have played the Colts rather well in their last four meetings. Their last meeting ended up as a Colts win with a last second 51 yard field goal.

The last time these two teams met, it was obvious that the Chargers defense ignored the film and scouting reports that Manning loves to throw to his tight ends on third downs. The Chargers will need to correct that if they want to keep the Colts offense off the field.

Can Norv Turner get his team ready for the Colts, or will it be another loss for the Chargers in the playoffs?

One thing is for sure, there probably won't be a pass rush to put any pressure on Manning. So, the porous Chargers defensive backs will have a lot riding on them.

The Chargers defense will have to sustain Manning from long drives and force three and outs. The Chargers will have a good chance of winning if they can win the time of possession game.

Both the Colts and the Chargers are hot, no doubt about it. However, it's been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chargers team this year. There's no telling which Chargers team will show up this coming Saturday.

For Chargers fans, they hope it's the same team that played the Colts last year in the divisional round in Indy.

Chargers-Falcons: Norv Turner Gives an Early Christmas Gift to the Broncos

Brian Smith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:10:06 -0500

Christmas came early for Bronco fans and the Broncos with San Diego refusing to play with a killer instinct against the Falcons and Denver shredding the Jets in New Jersey.

Not even Ed Hochuli could have gift wrapped the AFC West better than the San Diego Chargers have. Despite some rather questionable calls that have gone against the Chargers this year, the greatest hurdles they could not over come were themselves and Norv Turner's offense.

Norv Turner's refusal to change an offensive scheme that isn't working and isn't fooling anyone contributed to an amazingly poor performance on Sunday. If not for some timely turnovers by the Falcons, the score probably would have been 3-22 instead of 16-22.

Eric Weddle continues to get burned and continues to play out of position time and time again. The only thing he did right was return a fumble 83 yards for a touchdown.

Jacob Hester looked more like a first year Pop Warner player than a NFL rookie, by continuing to block the wrong player over and over again on run plays. He would run practically in the wrong direction than where the play was going, leaving Tomlinson open to getting tackled in the backfield.

The offensive also gave up ANOTHER safety. Here's a hint Norv and the boys, if you are already having a hard time run blocking and you are on your one-yard line, don't run the ball. Try taking a play out of the Miami playbook back when Marino was the quarterback: quick three-step drops and fire.

I digress though. First play from scrimmage for the Chargers...anyone? Bueler? Yup, run play to the left to Tomlinson for no gain. In case you might think that Norv Turner was fooling anyone, the Falcons had eight men in the box waiting for L.T. Does Turner not let Rivers call audibles?

In the same opening series, the Chargers had 1st-and-10 at the Falcons' 41 with the Falcons on man to man. L.T. was the only one in the backfield and the Chargers had three wideouts. As soon as the ball was pitched back to L.T., the Falcons already had two defensive linemen in the back field pursuing L.T.

As L.T. is running to the left side, he has six Falcon defenders within three yards, forcing him out of bounds for a gain of one yard. Granted, it didn't help that Jackson and Manumaleuna both missed their blocks.

On the next play, Gates lets a pass slip through his hands that would have been close to first down. They came up short on 3rd-and-9 and then go for it on 4th-and-3, where Rivers' pass is knocked down, turning the ball over to Atlanta.

I can't blame Turner for dropped passes; Gates should have caught that ball on second down. However, there were times where Atlanta showed a defense that the Chargers and their tall receivers could have taken advantage of with a timely audible.

Fast-forward to the end of the second quarter, the Falcons have 1st-and-oal at the San Diego two-yard line with Atlanta up 15-7, the Chargers pull off another great goal-line stand after the Falcons go for it on fourth down.

The Chargers got the ball back with 58 seconds and two timeouts left, and they have to kick it off to Atlanta to start the second half, instead of trying to, at the very least, get into field-goal range, let the clock run out by running to run plays.

This is what happens when you have a head coach who plays not to lose instead of playing to win. Had the Chargers been able to get a field goal before the half, the Chargers would have only needed a field goal at the end of the game to tie it and send it into overtime.

Still playing the game of "if." If the Falcons had not blocked one of Nate Kaedings field-goal tries, the Chargers would have been trying to score the winning field goal instead of the tying field goal.

You cannot win football games if you consistently take away scoring opportunities from your team. Norv Turner has been doing that all season long.

It really makes me wonder what exactly is Norv Turner's strategy. The second play after the Chargers got the ball back before the end of the half, LT ran for a first down. If you were not trying to get into scoring position, why did you run that play instead of kneeling on the ball to end the half and risk injury to a player?

The defense, all in all, played well. They kept the game close enough to keep the Chargers in it. However, Norv's extremely suspect play calling kept victory just out of reach once again and presenting Denver with the task of representing the AFC West in the playoffs.

There you have it Bronco fans on how the Chargers gift wrapped the AFC West for the Broncos. I don't think Norv Turner could have coached the Patriots to the Super Bowl last year, he just does not know how to take advantage of his talent.

So, Broncos fans, send your thank you cards to:

Norv Turner c/o San Diego Chargers
P.O. Box 609609
San Diego, CA 92160-9609

The Real Problem with the San Diego Chargers

Brian Smith — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:47:25 -0500

The biggest problem this season with Chargers isn't the Chargers in my opinion. It isn't the defense minus Shawne Merriman. It isn't the offense with LaDainian Tomlinson's toe injury. The problem is AJ Smith and Norv Turner.

Why AJ Smith? AJ Smith hired Norv Turner, that's why. AJ Smith fired Marty Schottenheimer. He is the one ultimately responsible for the Chargers.

This isn't a "hate AJ Smith" article or a "hate-a-thon" against Norv Turner. What this is going to be is a statistical analysis of why AJ Smith made a huge mistake by firing Marty Schottenheimer and bringing in Norv Turner as his replacement.

Yes, we all know Schottenheimer's dismal playoff record (5-13) with no Super Bowl appearances. Minus a couple of untimely fumbles in the playoffs, his teams just couldn't seem to get over that hump to make it to the big game.

For this analysis, I will be comparing Marty's first 10 years as a head coach and Norv Turner's 10 years as a head coach (minus the '08 season).

I'll do the easy numbers first. Norv Turner's record as a head coach is 69-87-1 for a .439 winning percentage. Marty Schottenheimer's record as a head coach in his first 10 years is 94-56-1 for a .622 winning percentage.

AJ Smith's mantra is, "Just get to the playoffs." Well, that's just what Marty does. Norv on the other hand...well, he has not done such a good job at doing that.

Let's take a look at their playoff records. Marty, in his first 10 seasons with Cleveland and Kansas City, got his teams into the post season eight out of 10 seasons. Norv, with Washington, Oakland and San Diego has got his teams to the playoffs twice.

We know Marty's record in the post season over his career is 5-13. In his first 10 seasons, his record was 5-8. Norv's post season record is 3-2.

At this point in time, you're probably thinking, "Hey, Norv has the better record in the playoffs." and you are correct. However, when you throw in the AJ Smith mantra, Schottenheimer is clearly the better of the two.

Now, lets take a look at another very important factor in reaching the playoffs and that is your divisional record. After all, if you can't beat the teams in your division, odds are, you will not make it to the playoffs.

Marty's first year as a head coach was in 1984 with the Cleveland Browns when he took over for Sam Rutigliano half way through the season. Marty finished the year at 4-4. His next season, the Browns finished 8-8 and a playoff berth. Respectable. Norv Turner took over the Redskins before the start of the '94 season and finished 3-13. One less win than Schottenheimer, but, nine more loses. Norv's second year as head coach, the Redskins finished at 6-10

So, I said that if you can't win in your division, you will find it very difficult to make it to the playoffs. I truly believe that. Marty's divisional record in his first 10 years as head coach was 47-21 for a .691 winning percentage. That's a very good percentage. Norv's divisional record is 26-45-1 for a winning percentage of .361.

Schottenheimer, in his first 10 years as head coach, his teams finished at .500 or better, never having a losing season. Turner, in his 10 years, his teams finished at .500 or better five times. It wasn't until Schottenheimer's 15th season before one of his teams had a losing record.

Some may argue that if you can't win in the playoffs, what does it matter? I say what matters more is, you can't win or lose in the playoffs if you can't even get your team there. I'll take Marty over Norv as my coach when it comes to that, no hesitation at all.

Norv Turner has coached his teams to second place or better, only three times. Marty Schottenheimer has coached his teams to second place or better, nine times. Remember, this is comparing Marty's first 10 years and Norv's first 10 years. I say second place or better because, if your team is second in its division, you give your team a shot at a Wild Card berth in the playoffs.

It gets worse for Turner. Of the three times his teams finished second or better in their division, they only made the playoffs twice. Marty, on the other hand, when his teams finished second or better, made the playoffs eight times. AJ, are you listening to yourself? Just get to the playoffs.

Besides Turner not having much luck at getting his teams into the playoffs, another glaring problem is he has never had more than eleven wins in a season. Marty had only three seasons where his teams won less than 10 games and one of those years, he took over half way through the season.

Turner has taken over three teams in his career as a head coach. His record as a head coach after taking over a team is 19-29. One can say, it's an adjustment period the first year a new head coach comes in. Ok, I'll concede that point. Then what is Turner's record in his sophomore year as a head coach: 10-22. It's worse percentage wise.

When he took over the Redskins in 1994, Washington lost one more game than the previous year. When he took over the Raiders in 2004, they won one more game than the previous year and when he took over the Chargers in 2007 they lost three more games than the previous year. This shows that his teams regress or stagnate after he takes them over.

Schottenheimer has taken over two teams in his first 10 years as a head coach. His head coaching record after taking over a team is 12-11. That's an ok record, but, his first year as head coach in Cleveland was for eight games. Schottenheimer's record in his sophomore year as a head coach: 19-13, showing that his teams progressed after taking them over.

If you're curious, Schottenheimer's over all record as a head coach is 200-126-1 spread over 20 and a half seasons. Out of those 20 and a half seasons, his teams were in the playoffs 13 times. Even more impressive, in all of those seasons, he only had two losing seasons. Going 7-9 his last year in Kansas City in 1998 and 4-12 in 2003 with San Diego. Oh, his teams had 10 or more wins in a season eleven times. Just get to the playoffs is exactly what Marty Schottenheimer did.

If we project Norv Turner's numbers for another 10 years (including the current season), we see a much bleaker outlook for him as a head coach. 152-192 for a regular season record and only two more playoff appearances. He will have 10 losing seasons and four seasons with 10 wins or more and only six second place or better finishes.

You can argue that Norv Turner has been the victim of taking over bad teams. I don't believe that to be true. The Redskins were just in the Super Bowl three seasons prior and the Raiders were in the Super Bowl two seasons prior and the Chargers were coming off of a 14-2 season before he took over.

So what's my point? My point is, AJ Smith's mantra of "Just get to the playoffs" and using that mantra of his as a factor in all of this analysis, it clearly points to Norv Turner being the wrong person to be the head coach of the Chargers as opposed to keeping Marty Schottenheimer.

We all know that Smith and Schottenheimer did not get along. The unfortunate part of all that is, the team has suffered because of AJ Smith bowing to his ego and firing Marty to bring in his own man. AJ Smith also let Cam Cameron and Wade Philips leave to take head coaching jobs in Miami and Dallas respectively.

AJ Smith let the coaching staff be dismantled that brought consistent success for the Chargers. The finger can be pointed at Norv Turner for mismanaging the talent of the Chargers and AJ Smith is the catalyst of why the Chargers are where they are now.

Marty Schottenheimer will never be back as head coach of the Chargers, but, I just can't see Norv Turner being the head coach of the Chargers much longer if they continue to regress and don't make the playoffs.

After all, it has everything to do with, just making the playoffs. Right, AJ?

Norv Turner Out Coached Once Again in Loss to Colts

Brian Smith — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:11:10 -0500

Another Sunday, another loss for the San Diego Chargers.

After two very solid defensive performances by San Diego, one against Pittsburgh, where the Chargers only managed 10 points, and then tonight, where the Bolts scored 20, but, were held scoreless in the first and third quarters, just couldn't get it done once again.

Watching this lackluster performance by San Diego, one has to wonder if Norv Turner is coaching not to lose instead of coaching to win. This showed very prominently when the Chargers got the ball back with 34 seconds left in the half after the Colts scored the tying touchdown to make it 10 a piece.

Instead of, at the very least, trying to get into field goal range with two timeouts left, Turner calls L.T.'s number for a run up the middle for a seven-yard gain to get to the Chargers' 34 yard line.

Then, does NOT proceed to call a timeout. With the clock down to 16 seconds, Rivers spiked the ball to stop the clock. On the very next play, Turner calls a run play again. This time, Tomlinson runs to the left for a 12-yard gain with the clock now at seven seconds.

Not once taking a shot deep until the last play before the half where Rivers threw what looked a duck that had been shot in mid-flight, falling nowhere near anyone with a football uniform on.

For whatever reason, Norv Turner decided to play conservative with 34 seconds left on the clock before half. The Chargers had two timeouts left and only needed to get into field-goal range. Had the Chargers got within field goal range and Kaeding makes it, those three points could have come in handy at the end of the game. However, Turner does not coach to win, he coaches not to lose.

With play calling as predictable as Old Faithful, Turner is not surprising defenses one bit. In addition to being predictable, he also turns into the Cowardly Lion when the Chargers get into the Red Zone. Instead of throwing to Gates or Jackson or throwing a screen pass to Tomlinson, Turner can be counted on to run the ball over and over again and settling for the field goal.

Rivers, other than a fumble deep in Colts territory, played very well. He threw for two more touchdowns and 288 yards. However, that fumble of his could have been, at the very least, another three points that the Chargers' could have used at the end of the game.

Tomlinson, kept out of the end zone and under 100 yards again, looked pretty close to his old self against the Colts. He showed some very nice bursts of speed and made some good cuts during the game, showing that his toe must be close to being fully healed. L.T. finished the game with 84 yards on 21 carries and he also had three catches for 30 yards.

Watching games such as the one against the Chiefs and Steelers, it appears that Turner coaches down to the opposing team. There is just no killer instinct in Norv Turner's play calling, and he seems content with not trying to build upon whatever slim lead the Chargers may have at the time.

His play calling, in addition to the powder puff defensive play calling of Ted Cottrell for the first half of the season, has contributed greatly to the Chargers' 4-7 record. Luckily, there still may be a small glimmer of hope for making the postseason because Denver does not seem to really want to win the division.

The Chargers could end up being the AFC West champs with an 9-7 or 8-8 record, but, I highly doubt it, with Turner calling the offensive plays. With the loss to the Colts Sunday night, the season is pretty much over for the Chargers. Even if they do manage to make it into the postseason, Norv Turner's play calling will not take San Diego very deep in the playoffs.

Ron Rivera: New Chargers Defensive Era or Bust?

Brian Smith — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:35:11 -0400

Now that the management of the San Diego Chargers have decided to part ways with passer-friendly Defensive Coordinator Ted Cottrell, this may be the start of the turn around of their season.

I honestly believe that the 3-5 record of the Chargers can be attributed to the playcalling of the defense by Cottrell. With the exception of the Miami game, the Chargers should be 7-1 at this point.

The move was the most logical thing to do with the bye week this weekend for the Chargers. Had they waited, it may have caused more problems in the long run. Granted, the middle of the season isn't the best time to make any coaching changes, but, the situation with Ted Cottrell was just not something the Chargers could continue with.

The problems on defense were too obvious and too crippling for the Chargers to have any hopes of making it to the playoffs this year, had Cottrell stayed. Until the Chargers resume play, no one will know if the change will make any difference.

Inside linebackers coach Ron Rivera will now take over the reins of a highly talented, but lowly motivated Chargers defense. Rivera's job will not be easy. One of the hardest things for a coach to do is get rid of bad habits of players. The other difficult part will be getting the players to trust Rivera and buy into his scheme.

Let's look at some of the pluses of Ron Rivera.

1. Super Bowl XX with the Chicago Bears. He becomes the second former Bears defensive player, of that great great defense back in '84, that's been promoted in a week. He's been there, done that, and that's a lot of 'cred right there.

2. He's played for Buddy Ryan. Can you say "Smash Mouth"?

3. As linebackers coach for the Eagles, he helped form a solid defense for the Eagles, in which the Eagles made it to the NFC Championship game in three consecutive seasons.

4. While with the Bears as their Defensive Coordinator, he molded one of the best defensive teams in the league, and the Bears made it to their first Super Bowl since Rivera was a rookie.

There are downsides to Ron Rivera.

1. His experience is mainly with the 4-3 defense and San Diego's D is geared towards the 3-4.

2. At this point in the season, his impact may not be felt in time to turn the defense around.

Either way, the firing of Ted Cottrell was for the best, in my opinion. The defense had regressed so far compared to the last couple of years that the change had to be made. Ron Rivera should be able to restart the fire in the defense, and with the bye week, the turnaround may happen sooner than later.

A couple of things that Rivera should focus on: Getting linebacker Stephen Cooper and cornerback Antonio Cromartie back on track. Cooper was out for the first four games of the season for testing positive for a banned substance, and Cromartie has been listening too much to Deion "I don't tackle" Sanders.

The biggest task though, needs to be on reestablishing the pass rush. With the current roster of the Chargers, I see no reason why they should not be able to put plenty of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, but, also keep teams from maintaining long, sustained drives.

With Ron Rivera, the Chargers' defense can't get any worse, in my opinion. I think he will be someone the players will listen to and will want to perform for and that is never a bad thing.

This change could be just the right thing that the Chargers defense needs to get its swagger back. Yes, we all know Merriman isn't in there, and he is a huge presence, but, if the players look within themselves and trust in Rivera, they just may be able to salvage what's left of the season.

Breaking News: San Diego Chargers Fire Ted Cottrell

Brian Smith — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:11:49 -0400

The San Diego Chargers have finally shown the door to defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. Ron Rivera will assume the duties of the defensive coordinator and hopefully with better success.

The Chargers, at 3-5, felt that now was the time to make the change with the bye week. Ron Rivera came over from the Chicago Bears before the start of the 2007 season and was the linebackers coach.

So, Chargers' fans, rejoice and here's to a successful second half of the season.

Still Looking For Missing Defense: Chargers Expand Search To Europe

Brian Smith — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:52:57 -0400

If you smell something burning, you would be correct.

That's the San Diego Chargers' defense that is still smoldering after Drew Brees was finished with his fireworks show in London.

Turnovers aside, the Chargers D lost another game and the very Raider-like 14 penalties for 134 yards didn't help either. That's almost 10 yards a penalty.

It is very clear by the penalties that this Chargers team lacks discipline. Lack of discipline falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff.

Besides the penalties, the Chargers defense gave up long drives by the Saints of: 69, 89, 76, 87, and 77 yards. Just one three and out on one of those long drives, who knows, the Chargers may be 4-4 right now instead of the Saints.

As for the turnovers. Only one was really a killer and that was the Darren Sproles fumble on the kick return. The interception by Vilma was tipped by Chambers and I'm hard pressed to fault Rivers for that. Looking at it, it looked like it was designed to be a high throw.

The offense had their share of penalties too. The one penalty that I will NEVER understand is the Delay of Game penalty. How in the world do you get a delay of game penalty? Seriously.

You have a head set and a coach giving signals, there's no excuse not to have a play ready by the time the whistle blows. Other than personnel changes, 40 seconds is plenty of time to get a play in, make any changes and snap the ball.

Philip Rivers looked good too and actually threw for more yards (341) than Brees (339) did and matched him on touch downs with three a piece.

Rivers now has 19 TD passes and six interceptions on the season. He needs just four more touchdown passes to surpass his career mark of the 22 that he threw in 2006.

It was nice to see LT finally able to run the ball and he is still just as fast as he was when he broke the single season record for rushing touch downs back in '06.

However, those long runs of his were not time killers and I would have been more happy to see him get five or six yards here and there to take more time away from Drew Brees.

All in all, the Chargers offense is playing rather well. They just need to score about 45 points a game in order to win. Kind of reminds me of the Dan Fouts and Air Coryell days of the late 70s and early 80s.

Now the Chargers have a whole two weeks to brood over their latest short coming, one has to wonder, what will they do to tighten up the play of the defense?

The Chargers' next game is against the Chiefs and I'm sure Kansas City is looking forward to this game. For those not educated in Chargers history, there's a little known fact that the Chargers very rarely play well against the Chiefs.

Coupled with San Diego's defense making every QB they play against look like Hall of Fame candidates, this could be the end of the Chargers' hopes of making the playoffs. Every game from this point on is going to be a 'must win' game.

Football Friday: The Return...

Brian Smith — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:09:11 -0400

After a few months hiatus of my Football Friday Episodes....It's Back!

We are almost halfway through the '08 campaign and things definitely aren't what people thought they would be before the season started.

Some surprises are: Brady out for the year, an inconsistent Colts team, the Titans undefeated, the Browns have no wins, Miami actually has wins, and Ed Hochuli isn't perfect.

As for the 'not so surprising' moments so far this year in the NFL: Pac-Man suspended again, Raiders have a new coach, Jeremy Shockey is hurt, Drew Brees is still slinging it, coaches are still calling time outs right before a field goal try, and Brett Favre is still a pretty darn good quarterback.

There's a story starting to circulate that a good amount of players have been popped for testing positive for a banned substance. Only two names have been leaked so far, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith. Tsk Tsk...

Games to watch this weekend and Monday:

Colts vs. Titans–This may be where the Titans get their first loss of the season, but, that depends on the play of the Colts offense more than their defense. Yes, the Colts defense resembles a certain cheese of the Swiss variety when it comes to stopping the run, however, if Manning uses the clock wisely and can keep his defense off of the field for extended periods of time, the Colts will win this match. Final Score: 14-24 Colts

Tampa Bay vs. Dallas–What Dallas team is going to show up on Sunday? Not having Romo in there last week didn't go too well, so lets see how Johnson can do now that he has a had an extra week as the number one QB. I think this will be a close one with it coming down to a field goal. 14-17 Dallas

Oakland vs. Baltimore–All things being pretty much equal with these two teams, except for defense. Oakland's defense is ranked 26th and Baltimore's defense is ranked 7th. If I was a betting man, I'd go with the better defense. However, Baltimore's offense is ranked 26th versus Oakland's 23rd ranked defense. So, Baltimore wins 12-10 all on field goals.

Giants vs. Steelers–This is one of those 'gotcha' games. It's either going to be a shoot out or a flame out of a game. Last week, it took a while for the Steelers to figure out the Bengals' defense and scored 21 points with 8:17 left in the game. Yes, that's a lot of points with only 8 minutes left in the game, but, the Giants have the 4th ranked defense in the league. Giants win this one 27-21.

Chargers vs. Saints–The low voltage Chargers D is going to face the highly charged up Drew Brees. So lets see, the Saints have the number one offense and the Chargers defense is ranked 28th, coupled with the fact that Ted Cottrell is a passer friendly Defensive Coordinator and Drew Brees likes to throw the ball. Saints 963, Chargers 28. Just kidding. 34-31 Saints.

Those are my Games to Watch this weekend.

Now for my "5 things you can improve on to make you a winner" segment...

1. Jay Cutler: You won't be an elite QB until you can learn how to handle being pressured

2. Ted Cottrell: Resign

3. Wildcat Formation: Odds are, they ain't throwing it...

4. Browns: Sanitary conditions

5. Chargers: Fire Ted Cottrell

Well, that's it for this episode of Football Friday. I hope you enjoyed it.

Today's NFL: Who Has The Best "Football" Names?

Brian Smith — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:54:24 -0400

What's the NFL without NFL names? Names like Nagurski, Nitschke, Brown, Slater, Youngblood, Csonka, and any last name that has Van before it, all sound like football names. Names you should be scared of if you are playing against them. Names that bounce around a locker room during the week and in pre-game warm ups.

I think today, there are more "football" names in the league than there was before. Expansion and larger rosters are a contributing factor to that. However, I don't think the quality of the names has been diminished though.

My selections are based on the best combination of first and last name and of course, my own opinion. Some of the last names are so good, that no matter how bad the first name, it makes up for it.

So what are some of the names on current NFL rosters that have that "NFL" sound to them?

These are my top picks:

Scott Mruczkowski
Dre' Bly
John Engelberger
Dantrell Savage
Matt Turk
Melvin Bullitt
Alge Crumpler
Terrell Suggs
Travis Kirschke
Troy Polamalu
Jerricho Cotchery
Matthew Slater
Vince Wilfork
R.W. McQuarters
James Thrash
DeMarcus Ware
Dan Klecko
Jon Runyan
Rex Grossman
Olin Kreutz
Brian Urlacher
Cato June
Jeremy Trueblood
Na'il Diggs
Tully Banta-Cain
Takeo Spikes

The names I listed I feel all deserve to be in the category of the best "football" names in today's NFL. Unfortunately, some of the names do not match the play of the owner of said name. Rex Grossman (a very football name, like him or not) probably doesn't invoke a lot of fear in opposing defenses these days.

Then there's names like Troy Polamalu. Seriously, if your family's last name is Polamalu and no one is playing football in your family, that is a travesty of travesties. Even grandma Polamalu should be playing football.

Of course there are the classic Klecko and Slater names. Two great football names in my opinion.

Then there are the new generation of 'football' names; Urlacher, Runyan, Diggs, Spikes, etc. These names, in the future, will possibly bring people back to the late 20th and early 21st centuries, much like the names of Nitchske and Nagurski bring us back to the '50s and '60s era of professional football.

No scientific data or evidence was used or harmed in the writing of this article.

Uninspired Defense Contributes to Latest Chargers Loss

Brian Smith — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:34:04 -0400

The Chargers, due to their loss to the Bills on Sunday, have managed to pretty much need to win every single game left on their schedule if they hope to have a first round bye in the playoffs.

All jokes aside, the Chargers lack any power they may have thought they possessed on defense. Something is wrong with the Chargers' defense, and it isn't because Merriman isn't there.

This squarely falls on the shoulders of Defensive Coordinator, Ted Cottrell.

I fail to believe that with the talent that is on the defense that Ted has done everything he can to prepare them for any given Sunday, unless it's the Raiders or the Patriots they are playing.

Tepid, at best, is what I would call the defense's performance against the Bills—a pass rush as cold and lifeless as a body on a CSI episode. Hey there's an idea, maybe the entire Chargers defense could be murder victims on an episode of CSI where the top suspect is a guy who stands on the sidelines of football games with a hat and a headset.

It's pretty much the same defense that Wade Philips had, so, I'm not sure what the problem is.

Do you not believe in the blitz? Were you beaten up as a kid by another kid whose nickname was The Blitz?

In football, words like, kill, attack, blitz, and rush are words to be repeated and sunk into the heads of everyone wearing helmets and shoulder pads. Something tells me, that is not happening in Chargers land.

Ted, you have some serious talent on the Chargers Defense, use it. Don't use the loss of Merriman as an excuse for the under performance by the players. It is your job to prepare them and the way they have played has shown that you are not doing that.

There's a reason a team like the Patriots have won three Super Bowls. Preparation and not nailing it in on an opponent they think they should easily beat. You play with the same intensity as you do when you play your archrival, every game, not just some of the games.

You've been given the keys to drive the Ferrari; quit driving it like a 90-year old in a Pinto.

Football Friday: Episode I

Brian Smith — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:45:10 -0400

This is my first foray into the world of the NFL, and it shall be called, "Football Friday". Ok, let me go turn the booming voice off...

I'm not going to lie. I like the Chargers. No, I love the Chargers. I always have, and I always will. They could go 0-16 (almost did not too long ago) and I'll still love 'em.

And yes, I h-a-t-e the Raiders. I've yet to have a coherent conversation regarding Raiders/Chargers with a Raiders fan (except my step-dad) that hasn't devolved into being asked how many Super Bowls have the Chargers won.

That's a great question, had it actually been relevant to the discussion. It's kind of like how conspiracy nuts always seem to go back to the Nazi argument, regardless of what the conversation was about. Ugh!

Enough of that. The one thing I will do is give my honest opinion on the Raiders, the Chargers, and every other team in the NFL.

I'll probably be harsher on the Chargers than any other team. Why? Because that's my team, I want them to be the best, plus it's easy when you can see everything from a TV screen.

Ok, first off, can we stop talking about this Spygate thing? Yawn...I think the only good thing that came out of this whole mess was an extremely funny episode of South Park. Hey Arlen Specter, isn't there some messed up gas prices and a war to worry about?

What a Super Bowl! By not having a horse in that race, and not liking the Patriots to begin with, I thought this was one of the best Super Bowls I've ever seen. It was a highly entertaining game, and if you never saw a Super Bowl before, I can't see how you wouldn't want more.

I didn't care who won the thing; it was a good game, plain and simple. Does anyone else think the hype of the commercials and the commercials themselves have jumped the shark?

So, who has started the Doomsday Clock for when Pacman Jones has another brush with the law at some strip club in Dallas? Or is anyone giving odds on when the next NFL player is arrested for a DUI?

Hey, NFL players, hire a driver. Trust me, you can afford it! Heck, it's probably cheaper than posting your bail.

So, Michael 'the Burner' Turner went to the Falcons and the Bears recently released Cedric Benson. I think the Bears messed up by not trading for Turner last season before the trade deadline.

I'm glad Turner is going to get paid. He is an awesome running back, and if the Atlanta O-line can create some room for him, he should have a great year.

Come on city of San Diego; let's do something about getting the Chargers a new stadium. In today's real-estate market, and Mr. Spanos being a real estate kind of guy, I'm sure there is a compromise out there somewhere if everybody would put their egos back in their cages.

Now that my rants and ravings are over, lets get to the fun stuff. Here's my Episode I analysis (because you probably haven't read any already) of the AFC. I'll do the NFC next week.

AFC East

Patriots—I think they should change the name of that division and just call it The Patriot Division. Seriously, who is going to challenge them this year? They picked up a great linebacker (Mayo) in the draft, re-signed Randy Moss, and are probably a little miffed about that Super Bowl I mentioned earlier. If they don't suffer any major injuries, it's their division to lose.

Jets—At least they play in the same stadium as the Super Bowl champs. So, they got that going for them. How's the arm Chad?

Bills—They showed some heart towards the end of the season last year, but, they still don't have what it takes to push aside the Patriots. Plus, it helps to play the Dolphins twice every year. If they improve this year, it will probably be only by one win.

Dolphins—I just don't think the dancing combination of Taylor and the Tuna will really help this season. I'd be surprised if they win four games. On the Dolphins web site, it says something about breaking the code. How about just winning some games instead?

AFC North

Steelers—They really aren't that bad of a team if some of their players would leave the predictions to Nostradamus. If they stay healthy and can keep from imploding, they should win the division.

Browns—This team is just weird to me. If they can keep Kellen Winslow off of motorcycles and away from microphone, they may have a good year. Then again, they might not have a good year. I just can't figure this team out.

Bengals—This is going to be Chad Johnson's career year...the year his career is no longer with the Bengals. Chad, just shut up and play. The Bengals have a lot of guys named Johnson and Jones, which is funny. I don't think they are going to the playoffs this year unless the Steelers find ways to lose enough games.

Ravens—Bye-bye Billick doesn't mean hello wins. At best, I see this team going 8-8. They picked up Flacco in the draft, but it might be a couple of years for him to develop, so don't expect much this year from Baltimore.

AFC South

Colts—I think they might actually have a shot at NOT winning the division this year, and they may have to make the playoffs as a Wild Card. Having said that, I do think they will win the division again, but they are starting to look extremely mortal. Injuries really hurt (no pun intended) last year and it showed. Now they have their premier wideout allegedly shooting at people. What in the world?

Jaguars—Can Garrard step up his game from last year? I think he will have to in order to get the Jags back in the playoffs this season. I really like their defense, and hopefully their first three draft picks can shore up that shallow defense.

Texans—You had a 5-11 team play like an 8-8 team last year, and hey, they went 8-8. I don't think that's happening this year. Their defense isn't the worst in the league, but they aren't anything to write home about either. If they want to improve on last year's performance, they are going to have to put up some serious points. Good luck.

Titans—Talk about falling backwards into the playoffs. I don't think they are making it back this year, unless Young can get over his interception problem. The offense really isn't much to be scared of, and the other teams know that. Defense? It's a good defense, but when you have to be on the field time after time because your quarterback throws a bunch of interceptions, it will wear you down and make for a long, long season.

AFC West

Broncos—Nope, sorry, they are not going to the playoffs this year either. In the AFC West, you need a solid defense. Something the Broncos don't have. Cutler will have to put some serious points on the board to keep the Broncos in contention this year, but if he is constantly being pressured, that's not going to happen.

Chiefs—No playoffs for the Chiefs either. Their defense doesn't scare anyone and their quarterback is about as old as some of the shirts in my closet. Yes, they play at Arrowhead. The problem is, they only play eight games there. I do think they will win one or two more games than last year.

Raiders—Oh boy. It's kind of funny seeing the senility of Al Davis every offseason, especially the players that he signs. All I can say is, thank you Al Davis. Great pick in McFadden, maybe. Is this Russel's break out year? Nope.

See, you need this thing called an offensive line to protect your quarterback and open up holes for your running backs. Oh, and I don't think Fargas is going to have the year like he had last year. Even after saying all of that, they just might win a game or two more than they did last year.

Chargers—They should win the division this year. Hopefully they won't have the same start like they had last year. They play Carolina, Denver, NYJ, Raiders, Miami, Patriots, Bills, and the Saints for the first eight games of the season. They could easily be 7-1 or 8-0 at the midpoint of the season.

Provided that Rivers has recovered from his knee being ripped to shreds and Gates's toe being fully recovered, and oh, almost forgot, the Chargers get another offensive weapon back that they sorely missed last year by the name of Eric Parker. They should go deep in the playoffs again this year.

So that's it for my Episode I review of the AFC. Things can definitely change in an instant, even before the season starts. There are injuries during training camp and preseason games. Regardless, it should be a fun season, and hopefully there won't be any arrests, rogue camera operators, or tragic deaths that seem to have been running rampant the past few seasons.

Thanks, Dad, and Happy Father's Day

Brian Smith — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:02:04 -0400

I consider myself lucky on this up coming Father's Day. Why? Because of my dad.

He took me to my first baseball game, taught me how to throw, catch, hit, what to do in certain situations, just to name a few. He also coached and he did all of this while he was in the Navy.

He did what I think every father should do for their kids and that's encourage them to do better and try their hardest.

Oh yea, there were some times when he got frustrated with me and my teenage attitude, but, he never gave up on me or tuned me out. Looking back, it's almost like he had a Jedi's sense on when to let things go and when to reel me back in.

The love of baseball is one thing he handed down to me; it is that love that has stuck with me all these years.

Even with Interleague play (blech!), I still like to sit down and watch a game on TV or, when possible, actually go to a game, even if it's by myself. Something about the smell of the peanuts and popcorn and beer and nachos that bring me back to being a kid and going to Padres games with my dad. We always sat on the third base side, field level, in the row right next to the Padres bullpen at Jack Murphy (yes, I still call it Jack Murphy).

One year, 1987 to be exact, we even flew up to Oakland to see the A's so I could see Mark McGwire play. It was the game before the All-Star game that year and the A's were playing the Brewers. I got to see McGwire hit two home runs that day. One of them hit about 15-20 feet away from me.

Thanks to my dad, I will always have that memory.

In the late 70's, when he was in the Navy and stationed up in the San Francisco area, he took me to a Padres-Giants game at Candlestick Park. I think John Montefusco pitched that day. As a kid, it was just an amazing experience being in a different ball park up in San Francisco. I don't even remember who won, but I just know I had a great time being there with my dad.

Most of my baseball memories with my dad are in San Diego. We never had season tickets, but, with the way the Padres played in the 70's and early 80's, tickets weren't hard to come by.

One time, I even got to hang out at Gene Tenace's house around Christmas in '83 or '84 (can't quite remember exactly). My dad's girlfriend's neighbor happened to be Gene Tenace and we were all invited over to his place.

Man, that was awesome!

His '82 World Series trophy was sitting on top of his TV, which now that I think about it, is hilarious. He gave me a tour of his trophy room (which was incredible), where I got to see all the stuff from his days with the A's when they went to all those World Series in the 70's and then he gave me a ball signed by all of the Pirates. He answered any question I had and was a really nice person.

I never would have had that incredible experience if it wasn't for my dad.

All of those experiences are really just the tip of the iceberg for everything that my dad was willing to do for me when it came to baseball.

It wasn't always baseball though.

We had season tickets for the Chargers in '85, went to Clippers games before they moved to L.A., went to the movies every weekend, and he would sometimes sneak me into bars so I could see him play music.

Nothing can or ever will take those memories from me.

So, on this Father's Day, I say thank you to my dad for always being there for me and for handing off your love of baseball and sports in general, to me. I only hope that I can be half as good with my kids as you were to me.

I love you dad and don't worry, I will call this weekend.

San Diego Padres: Wanted...Catcher Who Can Throw and Hit

Brian Smith — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:04:06 -0400

Looks like the Padres are happy with giving away stolen bases to opposing teams this year. Last night's display by Mike Barrett was horrible—just horrible. The previous night was even worse, so I guess that was an improvement.

Last night, Chicago had Alfonso Soriano (still recovering from a leg injury) on first, and the Cubs decided to steal. Soriano did not have a great lead, or jump or anything like that—but it was the "throw" from Barrett that made the moment special.

As Barrett cocked his cannon back, Soriano was still a good 40-50 feet from second. Barrett released the missile, which proceeded to bounce about five feet behind the pitchers mound and slightly to the right. Total air distance for the ball—about 65 to 66 feet.

If you are wondering if Soriano made it—yup, he made it. I think he was already dusting himself off by the time Green scooped up the grounder from Barrett.

If I was managing against the Padres right now, I would have everyone steal. I mean, why not? I think Franklin Roosevelt could steal a base against any Padres catcher—last night, or any other night, for that matter.

I would think, as a catcher at the Major League level, you would want to be the best possible catcher. If you can't throw a baseball all the way to second base and you are a Major League catcher, something is wrong. Looking at Barrett's stats, it's clear he's not in the lineup because of his bat—that's for sure.

So, what have the Padres done to shore up one of the most important positions (in baseball? Luke Carlin. I hope he's either funny, or has the power of the Force to help the Padres get through this long season. He's had 41 at bats this year and is batting .171. Of the 12 runners who have attempted to steal a base with Carlin behind the plate, nine have made it safely.

That's not a great improvement over Barrett, to be honest—but it's not as bad as it could be. As for Barrett: 12 runners, 11 making it safely. Eight of those in one game. Ouch.

Those are the back-up catchers. As for the Padres' regular full time catcher whom I haven't discussed yet? That would be Josh Bard. Josh, Josh, Josh. 47 attempts, 41 made it. 41 out of 47. What in the world??? Thankfully, he's currently on the DL. I won't discuss his hitting.

You might be thinking I'm picking on the Padres' catchers, I'm not really (well, maybe a little). I'm really picking on Kevin Towers, GM of the Padres. Why? San Diego really hasn't had a decent catcher since Carlos Hernandez, in my opinion.

Hernandez didn't hurt too much at the plate, and he was a fairly solid catcher. For his career, he threw out almost half the runners that attempted to steal on him. That's pretty good—especially when compared to what the Padres have now.

Stolen bases puts players in scoring position. The Padres are giving up a lot of stolen bases and giving up a lot of runs. Funny how that works out.

So, to actually pick on Towers: Who is coming up in the Padres farm system? Anybody? Bueller, Bueller? No one, really. There is Nick Hundley—but I just don't think he's the answer. He could always surprise me when he does make it to the Padres' roster—but I'm not holding my breath.

Free agents? I'm sure there may be a couple, but Towers doesn't like to spend money—and when he does, it's on a 43-year-old, used-to-be All-Star. So, I just don't see that happening.

Mr. Towers, please—come to your senses and pay out a little extra cash to get a solid catcher for the 2009 season, or maybe before the trade deadline this year if the Padres have a chance at the Wild Card. By keeping the current catchers you have, you are killing your pitching staff, losing double-play opportunities, and tipping the favor of the game to your opponents.

Perhaps you could post a want ad in the local papers? Wanted: Catcher w/ability to throw runners out. Decent bat a plus...