The State Of The Chargers...In My Mind

The NFL draft is this weekend and I think most every year I make sure to make an entry stating how I really am not that interested in the draft and how over hyped the draft is and this year is no exception.  As per usual...Let me know when the draft is over, who the Chargers have signed and are these new players going to be any good and help the team win a Super Bowl?

But this offseason is an offseason that reminds of what it is like to be a Charger fan...there really isn't much to look forward.  But what makes this offseason sting even just a little bit more for me is the fact that it has been validated that Dean Spanos is cheap (in the wrong areas) and not committed to winning a Super Bowl.  You see, this offseason is the aftermath of Dean's "gamble" and stay the course with two bozos that did nothing to earn their retention.  That move stunned and shocked me and when last season played out the way it did, most fans that share my sentiment simply sat back and could say that it should have been expected, because it was for me.  Norv Turner proved one thing and one thing only while he was the coach of the Chargers...and that was how inept he was at coaching.  Former GM AJ Smith, the "genuis" behind hiring Norv, followed Norv's inept coaching style with reckless draft picks, paying too much for unproven players and basically leaving the Chargers thin at almost every position and "hoping for the best".

So why is hope still very faint this offseason you ask?  While let's start at the top...again and as usual...and that means Dean Spanos.  It is clear that when he is hiring a GM and a coach, affordability is his number one criteria.  Going after anyone proven or "high dollar" (Parcells, Cowher, etc.) is not even an option in his personelle searches.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind grabbing some young "up and comer" but those people are usually already making some waves before they do ascend to those positions.  The Chargers hired, as their coach, someone who essentially held the clipboard for Peyton Manning last season.  Does anyone think that Mike McCoy was drawing up and calling the plays for the Broncos last season?  Of course not...when the Broncos got Manning they instantly sat him down and said what plays do you want to run Peyton?  And then during the game, Peyton essentially decides what play to run at the line of scrimmage...yep, the head coach of the Chargers is the guy that would pat Manning on the back and say good job after every score and that was about it.  I think hiring McCoy as the coach is Spanos' way of trying to get some cheap intel on the Broncos rather than improve his own team.

McCoy, along with new GM Tom Telesco, have a variety of interesting challenges coming up...the Chargers are essentially short a running back, the entire offensive line, 2 dlinemen, at least 2 db's, at least 3 lb's among other needs.  And, as per usual, the Chargers don't sign any high profile free agents to fill any of those needs so now its either up to trades or the draft to fill those spots.

Do I have much hope for the Chargers next season?  No, not really.  But like I tend to ALWAYS say...I hope to be proven wrong...unfortunately I went into last season expecting a 6-10 season and the Chargers surprised me (and everyone else) by winning a game in Pittsburgh - something they have never done in the regular season - and thus made it to 7 wins...but the signature of last season was the game against Denver when the Chargers were up 24-0 at halftime and then Phillip Rivers, and company, bumbled, fumbled and stumbled that game and the season away.  That was just one of several games the Chargers had a lead and then surrendered it in glorious, flame out fashion...proving that they were not a team made up of winners but quitters.

Every season, it seems, that a team that was horrible last season makes significant improvement and become relevant again.  The Chargers haven't been competitive in the NFL for the past 2 seasons...maybe Mike McCoy and Tom Telesco are just what this team needed and things begin to improve.  To their advantage, the Chargers are in one of the weakest divisions in football ... but not for much longer... the Broncos are a respectable team again, the Chiefs are young and I think they could be very good.  If the Chargers don't turn things around this season they could certainly be in contention, with the Raiders, for the doormat of the AFC West.