That's the best way to describe this season. I'm not referring to the quote from Jamal Adams when he was asked about going after that reporters wife on line. The reality with the Chargers is the entire AFC has been middling. I don't think I thought we would win the division this year, but seeing how KC has been vulnerable is just more salt in the wound. The conference is "in chaos" due to so many teams being around .500 and yet we're not even that. I could say at least Herbert didn't get injured during a decent season but I think the reason he got hurt is the same reason we're having that bad a season. As I saw Matt "Money" Smith say to Lorenzo Neal on this week's "Bleav In Chargers," the inability to pick up any of Denver's blitzes is what got Herbert injured and what has been happening all year.
The team looked awful before Herbert went down. He was sailing passes as he has been for a lot of the year. Is that because he's been getting the shit knocked out of him? Is he getting skittish as a result?
I have been one of those who agreed that previous offensive coordinators weren't getting enough out of his talent. Yet Joe Lombardi seems to be doing OK in Denver. We all know that Sean Payton wanted to coach the Chargers. Terry Bradshaw let it slip in January that the Chargers made it known they weren't interested. If Staley was fired, I still don't think they would have been interested. It truly seems to be because Dean doesn't want to give up the power. I don't know if John Spanos is the cause or the result of that. I do know that they continue to hire coaches with no experience and that Telesco has been in his job for a decade. I don't know if it's because he is okay with this fucked up arrangement, but I can't see it being because of results.
Obviously, I have written ad nauseam that once Staley played the starters in Denver that he fucked everything up. That was the last straw. Blowing a 27-0 lead swept that decision away from discussion on the outside. Moore has been an awful playcaller, but who's to say he won't be good in his next stop since every other coordinator we've let go has been.
It's appropriate that Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, and Sean Payton have all played a part in ending this season. Even when I was in Green Bay, I never felt like this was a team we could be proud of. They play stupid and soft. Asante Samuel seems like a great kid and maybe it's another case of Staley not putting these guys in the right spots. However, the penalty against the Packers isn't entirely out of character. No one looks worse right now than Derwin James and that was the player Staley hyped himself up by saying he would use with such expertise.
I could go on and on, but it's depressing. I will keep the games on in the background each week. I can't not watch. I also know it doesn't matter if I root for a win or a tank job. We won a bunch of games at the end of 2020. The first game in Vegas seemed like the beginning of something. Lynn was still fired, thankfully and Herbert got some confidence. We drafted Slater, even though those late wins gave us a worse pick. By our next trip to Vegas, we had a shot at the playoffs we rightfully should have pissed away. Storm Norton practically got Herbert killed in that game. Yet, he didn't look nearly as bad with the Saints. I know Linsley is crucial to the line, but he was out for a bunch of games before this season. Zion Johnson and Pipkins have been awful. I do believe Staley will be fired next month. I understand that he has a year on his contract. However, there is no way they can attract any talent or motivate what little they have with him as coach at this point. Firing him is the bare minimum ownership needs to do and the bare minimum seems to be what they are willing to do. Telesco needs to be fired, if only for the fact he's hired the last 3 coaches. I have read that he wanted Daboll more than Staley, but who knows. I read that he also was less interested in Johnston as a draft pick. I know Drue Tranquill isn't a Charger because Staley didn't value you him. I don't understand how a coach with no authority has more pull than the GM you've had forever. I even read a comment on Bleacher Report today that a fan saw Dean Spanos at the hotel before the playoff game and he was blaming Rivers for the 5-11 record in 2019. I don't know if I don't agree, but Phil looked fine once he got to Indy.
From VP and COO Jim Steeg even posted on Twitter how odd it is that ownership wasn't involved in the Ring of Honor ceremony for Gates. Obviously, he worked for him so he's hinting at major dysfunction. It was great to see Rivers come back, but odd that he and Herbert didn't interact at all. Stick apparently did since there was a photo of them hugging. What does all this mean? Are we truly fucked as long as Spanos owns the team? It certainly feels like it.
This was the season I truly wanted to make an effort to not let something I have no control over have such an impact on me. I've made some progress, but wish I didn't have so much opportunity to practice it. Did we have to be this shitty?
Anyway, there will be plenty to complain about and even more time to do it. You can expect that much from me, FAITHFUL READER. I don't think we'll learn much of anything over the next four games. I'll just keep my long rambling going.
Happy Night 8 of Hanukkah, by the way.
JIC,
RLW
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