Bleacher Report - Articles by Gerald Nicdao

San Diego Chargers Need Improved Offensive Line For Success

Gerald Nicdao — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:24:19 -0400

If there was a glaring weakness in the San Diego Chargers’ offensive unit last year, it was the offensive line.

The Chargers in 2008 went from one of the best rushing offenses to one that was mediocre. San Diego was ranked seventh in 2007 with 127.4 yards per game and dropped to 20th in 2008, with the production falling to 107.9 yards per game.

True, some of that was due to the departure of Michael Turner and the injuries sustained by LaDainian Tomlinson.

But most of the lack of production came from the offensive line’s lack of physicality. There was no push to move the pocket upfield. There were no holes opened. There were no lanes for LT and Darren Sproles to run through.

The offensive line was stuffed at the point of attack, and if a unit gets stopped at the point of attack, there is no marching forward.

Left tackle Marcus McNeill looked pedestrian after two Pro Bowl seasons. Right tackle Jeromey Clary was subpar, and it did not help that starting center Nick Hardwick spent time on the injured list.

So what did Chargers general manager A.J. Smith do?

He drafted guards Louis Vasquez out of Texas Tech and Auburn’s Tyronne Green. Both will probably compete to replace Mike Goff, who left for Kansas City.

But other than that, there were not real changes on this offensive line. Smith has gone with his usual mode of operation, building the team through the draft.

This is the same roster that many heralded as the most talented only a couple of years ago, and there hasn’t been that much change since then.

Smith is going to stick with his laurels and go with guys he knows have succeeded before.

Smith is hoping that the line, under the tutelage of Hal Hunter, will regain its physical form that made the Chargers one of the most productive offensive running teams in the league.

But if the offensive line fails again, then the Chargers won’t be so super charged.

It may not cost them a playoff spot or the AFC West crown, but a weak line—as evidenced in last year’s loss to Pittsburgh in the playoffs, where the much more physical Steelers dominated the game—may end San Diego’s playoff run short.

Five Questions for San Diego Chargers Long Snapper David Binn

Gerald Nicdao — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:32:18 -0400

David Binn has got a lot of perspective.

Binn, the San Diego Chargers long snapper, is the longest tenured member on the team. He was signed an undrafted free agent out of Cal in 1994 for San Diego and has been the Bolts’ long snapper ever since.

He’s seen the clichéd ups and downs of being on one of the most schizophrenic teams in the NFL in the last two decades.

Binn was on the one and only Chargers Super Bowl team his rookie year. He went through the Ryan Leaf-Moses Moreno-Craig Whelihan years. He saw the team hit bottom in a 1-15 season. Binn saw the highs of a franchise-best 14-2 year in 2006 and saw the team reach the AFC divisional round in the NFL playoffs the last three years.

Binn has seen it all. He was even romantically linked to Pamela Anderson, which makes Binn the most interesting member of the Chargers automatically—even without the franchise record for most games played with 239.

So what is there to ask Binn? A lot, and I’d start with these five questions:

1) Ryan Leaf was just indicted on drug allegations. How was he like as a teammate? Are you surprised that he failed in the NFL? Are you surprised that he’s gotten in so much trouble since he’s left the league?

2) Which team was better, that 1994 Super Bowl Chargers team or the 2006 club that won a franchise-best 14 games?

3) Of the quarterbacks the club has had between Drew Brees and Stan Humphries (Sean Salisbury, Craig Whelihan, Jim Everett, Ryan Leaf, Jim Harbaugh, Erik Kramer, Doug Flutie, or Moses Moreno), who would be best suited to lead the current version of the team to a Super Bowl?

4) Have you ever considered leaving the Chargers and why stay so long, especially during those down years in the middle of your career?

5) Who have you had a better relationship with, Pamela Anderson or the Chargers?

Bonus question: In becoming a long snapper, is that a skill that’s acquired through practice, or was it something you were born with?

Look For More Aggressive San Diego Chargers Defense Next Year

Gerald Nicdao — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:57:11 -0400

When the San Diego Chargers fired Ted Cotrell last year, it was a signal that the defense wasn’t doing enough—even without Shawne Merriman.

Through the first eight games, the Chargers were ranked dead last in the NFL in passing yards allowed and 23rd in points allowed per game.

San Diego’s defense had just six interceptions and 16 sacks through the first half of the year.

Cotrell had to go—and in stepped Ron Rivera, a defensive mind that many think could be an NFL head coach.

Rivera came to the Chargers after a three-year stint as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator. He was the guy in charge of the ferocious Bears’ defense when they went to the Super Bowl in 2005 season—the year the team ranked second in the NFL in total defense.

He brought an aggressive style—formed in his days as a Bears linebacker in the 1980s, when he won a Super Bowl.

Many were hoping for a miracle after Rivera took the helm—hoping to restore what was once one of the most feared defenses in 2006 and 2007.

San Diego did improve, finishing the year as the 26th best team against the pass. However, the defense still allowed the second-most points in the league at the regular season’s end.

But, Rivera was unable to completely change the mindset and put his stamp on the Chargers’ defense.

That should change with the defense getting a full offseason under Rivera—giving him the ability to instill his character and defensive acumen to the team.

What should happen? Look for this team to get more aggressive. Look for this team to get back to being a top 10 team against the pass and in sacks.

The year that Rivera led the Bears' defense in a Super Bowl run, they were the second-best team in the NFL against the pass, they sacked the quarterback 41 times, and were second in the NFL in interceptions.

But Rivera shouldn’t be alone in what could be a turnaround for the Chargers' defense this year.

Merriman does come back—and brings his fire, intensity and—most importantly—his 39.5 sacks back to the field.

Merriman is the type of game changer the Chargers missed on defense last year.

He commands double and triple teams, can often fight through those to get pressure on the quarterback, and has so much intensity that he still fired up the defense when he was injured the whole of last year.

In other words, San Diego was operating without its heart and soul on defense.

Place him back in the Chargers' lineup—hopefully with a more aggressive scheme—and it is a totally different defense from last year.

San Diego is also committed to putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Larry English—while he may be a backup plan if Merriman decides to leave after this year—gives the Chargers an extra rush specialist to spell either Merriman or Shaun Phillips.

English had 31.5 sacks in his tenure with Northern Illinois—a school record.

"We need to bring pressure and this is a guy that can bring the heat—physical, nasty, great presence," general manager A.J. Smith told the Union-Tribune in April. "We're going to put him in the mix, give him to coach Rivera and turn him loose."

San Diego should not be the same team it was last year. The defense should remind fans of the defenses put on the field by Wade Phillips.

With Rivera, the addition of English and Merriman’s return—opposing quarterbacks should be having nightmares on Sundays next season.

Clock Ticking on San Diego Chargers' Super Bowl Run

Gerald Nicdao — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:52:48 -0400

There is an air of despair in Southern California, and it isn’t all the smog that pollutes it that is the cause of concern.

The San Diego Chargers are a team that has not reached its potential. The Chargers are a team that has overachieved, underachieved, and choked their season away, and this has all happened in the last three seasons.

Ever since San Diego went 14-2 and then gave the New England Patriots the AFC Divisional round playoff win in 2006, the Chargers have been seen as an elite, should-win, Super Bowl contender.

But they have failed to ever get to Super Bowl Sunday the last two years.

And as Chargers fans hold their breath and wait on the clock to strike midnight on LaDainian Tomlinson’s career, those same fans also wonder how much longer can San Diego be considered an elite team.

Many consider this to be the Chargers’ last legitimate shot at the Super Bowl—at least for a while.

They look at a backfield led by an aging star in Tomlinson.

They look at a defense led by an enigmatic linebacker, who—when he takes the field in August—will not have played in almost two years.

They look at the receivers and not see any star power.

They look at a secondary full of holes.

They look at an offensive line that couldn’t open the rushing lanes.

And they look at an aging defensive line that has no real pass rush.

If anything, the Chargers are an enigma. They’re a puzzle—a fickle character in a larger play known as the NFL that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

Clearly, general manager A.J. Smith still believes his team can contend now, with the personnel that it has now. The only player drafted this year that can have any real impact will be the first rounder Larry English.

The rest of the draft seems to been have geared towards the far future and not the immediate future.

But even with all the questions, this team is still a contender. This year, more than ever, it is Super Bowl or bust.

Fans must hope that Tomlinson runs like a vintage Italian car, instead of a beat up old Ford. They must also hope that the offensive line remembers how to block for him.

Fans must hope that Shawn Merriman reverts back to his old form. Fans must hope that the secondary can find its hands again and that the defense can get a sack again.

If all goes well—if LT runs like LT, if Merriman gets his sacks, if the offensive line learns how to block, and if the secondary doesn’t play scared—then the Chargers can have a repeat performance of that 2006 or 2007 season.

If not, then the team will struggle like it did last year, only to find its stride late in the year.

And even with all the questions, the one true answer that anyone has about this team is at quarterback.

Philip Rivers alone makes the team a contender. The gunslinger was the most proficient quarterback in the NFL last year.

San Diego was able to ride his arm into the playoffs. They might have to do it again this year.

But if Rivers gets a little bit more help, this team will find itself in Miami—which is where the Chargers played their one and only Super Bowl.

LaDainian Tomlinson Is Back: San Diego Chargers Faithful Can Finally Breathe

Gerald Nicdao — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:33:42 -0400

The Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee's lead should be simple. Actually, it is.

"It is finished."

That is short and sweet. It is very concise.

It is all that is needed really to weigh the gravity of what so many associated with the San Diego Chargers' fans, players, and front office types alike are feeling right now.

LaDainian Tomlinson will be back in San Diego. General manager A.J. Smith averts a public relations disaster. Chargers' fans do not have to go out and buy Knowshon Moreno jerseys—at least not yet.

As a fan, I feel relief.

Relief for the franchise. Relief for LT, who really wanted to stay in San Diego. Relief that a whole contingent of fans will not spend the entire offseason in a backlash against what could have been a nuclear disaster for Smith.

I was one of those that was ready to move on. Tomlinson is getting up there in age. He has not been around when the Chargers have bolted into the playoffs the last two years. He just came off his worst season statistically.

I was ready to see Tomlinson out of a Chargers uniform come fall camp.

But that sigh you just heard, that was the sigh of millions in southern California holding their breath to see whether or not Tomlinson stays or if they start protesting in front of Smith's house.

It was a sigh of relief.

Statistically, this may not have been the most important thing for San Diego to do this offseason. Smith could have traded Tomlinson and gotten draft picks. He could have simply cut him and saved cap to resign more crucial players like quarterback Philip Rivers and linebacker Shawn Merriman.

But LT means more to the organization and to the community than just mere stats or wins and losses.

Tomlinson is the Chargers. The Chargers are Tomlinson. He is the franchise. He is the epitome of hard work and paying your dues, so that you can get to the level where you are now.

San Diego would not be where it is if it was not for Tomlinson, and the fans realized that. The fans felt that he earned a little more respect than just getting shipped out of San Diego.

And in a business where loyalty seems to be forgotten, Smith and LT were finally loyal to each other, to the franchise, and to the fans.

LT always wanted to be loyal. He always wanted to stay in San Diego. Tomlinson was so loyal that he will be taking pay cuts so that the franchise can try to keep Rivers and Merriman in town longer than his career will last.

If anything, Tomlinson staying in San Diego really should not have been in doubt. If Smith was willing to work with Tomlinson, which he apparently was, and try to keep him in San Diego, then he was all for it.

LT is not Terrell Owens. He is not a problem like Edgerrin James. He does not bring distractions like Tony Romo.

If anything, Tomlinson has shown that he cared about San Diego, the Chargers, and the community he played in. At the end of the day, that is why Chargers' fans would have cried foul if he was let go.

It is finished. Tomlinson will be back. Chargers' fans can rejoice.

Rulon Davis is Tough, Mean, and Not Ready to Give Up NFL Dream

Gerald Nicdao — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:25:55 -0500

Rulon Davis knows that he’s fortunate to have gotten an invite to the NFL Combine, which starts this week in Indianapolis. And it’s not just because he’s been oft-injured in his collegiate career playing defensive end for California.

Davis has probably seen more than the average person’s share of life-threatening situations. Before taking up football at Mount San Antonio College, Davis spent four years in the Marines—which included a six-month tour in Iraq.

Then, in the summer after his first full year at Mt. SAC—a year after he left the Marines—Davis was in a motorcycle accident. After being nudged by a car on a Los Angeles freeway, he crashed and was run over by a truck—an 18-wheeler. Even with no broken bones or torn ligaments or tendons, he missed the entire 2005 season recuperating from his injury.

The accident has helped him put things like the NFL combine—and most importantly life—in perspective.

“It’s a miracle,” says Davis about the accident, which happened on July day in 2005. “I should be dead.”

Davis was surprised to get a call from Cal after the 2005 season. He came to Berkeley out to prove that the accident would not hinder him on the field. It never did—but injuries would.

He missed the second half of the 2006 season—his first with the Golden Bears—due to illness and a bruised bone in his leg.

In 2007, a foot injury made Davis miss four games and then a knee injury forced him to sit out the rest of the regular season. Last year, a broken foot kept him sidelined for five games.

So Davis knows that the biggest challenge at the combine will be overcoming his injured past, showing that his rewards are higher than his risks, and that his injuries should not be a concern.

“That’s going to be the hardest part,” says Davis, who will have to take extra durability tests at the combine. “I tried to show that in my performance at the Texas versus Nation bowl game. That was when I tried to show that I was healthy.”

If Davis wasn’t on NFL teams’ radar after the end of the collegiate bowl season, he did pique some interest after the Texas versus Nation bowl game last month, where he performed well on his one-on-one drills and notched a sack and two tackles in the game.

That’s when suitors started calling and when Davis’ name began appearing on mock drafts.

“Throughout his all-star week, I started fielding questions and calls,” says Cal defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi. “Interest started sparking a lot. One of the consistent (comments) was how well he did in all of his one-on-ones—his one-on-one pass rush and playing the run. I think (his performance) answers it.

"He had his week to perform and he showed his skills against some of the competition up there. He showed that he definitely has the tools to go onto the next level.”

The skills and raw talent have always been there, if you asked Davis, Lupoi, or any other person associated with the Cal program. He’s a physical specimen, coming in at about 6’5” and weighing just over 280 pounds.

He also holds the Cal school record for a vertical jump by a defensive lineman with a leap of 33.5 inches.

And Lupoi would know what an NFL defensive lineman looks like in college—he played with a couple while he was on the defensive line with the Bears from 2001-2004.

“He fits the role of an NFL defensive lineman very well,” says Lupoi. “He’s a bigger guy, with very long limbs. He plays very aggressive.

“I think Rulon plays with a high motor, similar to Ryan Riddle. He plays with aggression and violence, and sometimes you see that with Lorenzo Alexander.”

Rulon is aggressive almost to a fault. It was his intense level of play on the field that at one point made him doubt his future in football.

His dream seemed to die early last fall, in a nonconference tilt against Colorado State. With one second left in the first half against the Rams, Davis was in his usual pass rush. He heard and felt something wrong in his foot. He called it an explosion.

He didn’t think anything of it at the time, but after he was checked by the Cal doctors, the emotional Davis thought that he may never get to play the sport he loved again.

“After the x-rays came back in the training room, they told me I broke my foot,” says Davis. “I thought that my season was over and that my football career was over. It was the second injury to my foot and I just thought that I couldn’t play this game.”

And the thing is that the play almost didn’t happen. The clock read zeros at Memorial Stadium, but Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild apparently called time out to give his team one more shot at the end zone, with one second added back onto the clock.

Davis went back out and played his usual reckless style of football, and that’s when the injury happened.

He admits that if he knew that he was going to break his foot, he probably would not have gone back out there. However, Davis has always regarded injuries as inevitable and unpredictable in the game of football. Nothing was going to keep him from playing that final second.

“Of course I would have gone out on the field,” says Davis, in a matter of fact way.

“Yeah, guys are going to go down, guys are going to get hurt. There is no type of training that you can do that is going to prevent you from getting injured. Injury is part of the sport.”

That’s the way Davis plays the game. He plays with raw emotion—almost an anger when he’s on the field.

This is what makes him different from others, he says.

“When I’m in a football game, sometimes I convince myself that I’m in a fight,” he says. “I start to take things personal. It makes games more interesting to me when I take it to that level, because that’s when I’m able to play at my best—with emotion. On defense, if you can’t play with emotion, then you can’t play defense—flat out.”

At no time was Davis more emotional than in last season’s win over Stanford in the Big Game. After the game, Davis ran over to the sideline and ripped the Stanford Axe—the trophy given to the winner of the annual Big Game—out of the Stanford Axe Committee’s hands.

Not even a police officer or Cal head coach Jeff Tedford could get Davis to relinquish the Axe, which the Bears had lost to the Cardinal the year before.

“When I ripped the Stanford Axe out of those cats’ hands—Stanford’s hands? That’s just how I feel,” says Davis when asked to recount that day. “They did that to us last year, when they took our Axe from us. And I just feel that I have to take it back. We have to take what’s ours. That’s how I feel about football and that’s the way that I play.”

Just as Davis clutched the Stanford Axe, never relinquishing it, he has always kept a grip on his NFL dream—even when he doubted himself.

“When Rulon is locked into something and commits to something, it’s really hard to alter that path,” says Lupoi. “This is something that he’s definitely locked into.”

Davis showed his resolve and toughness—two characteristics that he undoubtedly picked up in his stint as a Marine—when he returned in five games after his foot injury. His comeback coincided with Cal’s much-anticipated showdown with USC. Davis played hurt against the Trojans, and returned 100 percent shortly thereafter.

Normally, it would take a person twice as much time to recover from the type of fracture he suffered.

And if there was any silver lining to all of the injuries he’s had, it’s that those nicks and bruises aren’t the kind that will stick around and haunt a football player for a career.

“Most of his injuries have been an actual break or a crack, the kind of freak type of things that aren’t as nagging as weak ligaments or tissue that (has) more potential to tear,” says Lupoi. “His injuries haven’t come from the usual wear and tear of being a football player. They’ve come on things that have come sporadically.”

Essentially, that is what Davis has to do this week—show that the injuries of the past will not hurt or hinder his performance in the future. He must show that he is capable of taking his career to the next level, a dream he has had since he was a teenager.

Of course, there will be those who will doubt his health and will say that his injuries are too much of a risk.

And what would he say to these naysayers?

“I wouldn’t say a damn thing,” says Davis. “As long as they see me next year ballin’, and say ‘Aw damn, we should have drafted that guy.’ That to me is payback enough. If people are doubting me out there, that’s fine. Just wait and see what happens next year.”

With all of those injures, however, there may not be a next year and he knows that.

For Davis, his career hasn’t been a straight path. Though his end goal was always the same, he never really knew how he was going to get there.

But he’s almost there and that’s enough for the 25 year old.

“I feel so blessed to even be here,” he says two weeks before the combine. “To just be a draft prospect is great in my book. No matter how well I do.”

San Diego Chargers Faithful Need to Watch How Long the Rivers Flow

Gerald Nicdao — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:59:24 -0500

Most of the chatter around San Diego the last couple of weeks has been about the travesty it would be if Chargers general manager A.J. Smith got rid of LaDainian Tomlinson.

The comments on local newspaper message boards exploded with responses to stories about Tomlinson’s future. The radio sports talk shows’ phone boards lit up with angry callers.

But the drama surrounding Tomlinson is distracting Chargers fans from what they should really care about.

On Tuesday, Smith announced that the team will try to renegotiate and sign quarterback Philip Rivers to a long term contract. Rivers’ current deal ends after the 2009 NFL season. This is the contract situation that Chargers fans should be following with the most intensity.

The NFL, since the creation of the forward pass, has always been and always will be a quarterback’s league. Whether or not a team has a great quarterback directly correlates to how well that team will do.

And, in effect, after the Chargers' loss to the New England Patriots in last year’s AFC title game—a game that saw Rivers play with a torn ACL in his right knee and saw Tomlinson sit hopelessly on the bench—San Diego is now Rivers’ team. How Rivers goes, the team goes.

That holds true for any team in the league. The quarterback is the lifeblood of the team.

And as for winning a Super Bowl, more often than not, a team doesn’t need a great running back like Tomlinson to succeed.

Who did the New York Giants win with last year in the backfield? A trio of good backs. Joseph Addai isn’t the best running back in the NFL and probably isn’t in the top 10, but he still has a ring after piggy-backing on Peyton Manning’s success. Willie Parker is good, but he’s not a Hall of Famer—however, he’s got a shiny ring on his finger thanks to Ben Roethlisberger (and a really good defense).

On the flip side, there are many “greatest-of-all-time” running backs who have never won a championship. Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, O.J. Simpson, Thurman Thomas, Eric Dickerson and Barry Sanders, to name a few. All in the Hall of Fame. All with no rings.

And the great running backs that have won a championship have had a pretty good quarterback alongside with them. Tony Dorsett had Roger Staubach. Emmit Smith had Troy Aikman. Marcus Allen had Jim Plunkett. Terrell Davis had John Elway.

Whether or not the Chargers staff feels that Tomlinson is still a guy they want on their team is moot. The success of the Chargers now rides on the arm of Rivers.

Whether or not he’s back after 2009 should be the real concern with Chargers Nation. Because it wasn’t so long ago that guys named Moses Moreno, Craig Whelihan and Ryan Leaf were quarterbacking the team. And not even Tomlinson or Sayers or Sanders could lead a team to the Super Bowl with any of those guys handing the ball to them.