If football fans want to know when things began to go south for the Chargers, a good starting point would be this time a year ago. At this point of the 2006 season, the Bolts had scored scintillating comeback victories over the Bengals and Broncos to move to 8-2 and claim sole possession of first place in the AFC West. They would not lose again until that infamous playoff loss to New England.
A year ago. Close to Thanksgiving. That's when we realized just how good the Chargers were, began thinking about a deep playoff run, if not the Super Bowl, and began figuring out just how many players would make it into the Pro Bowl. Turned out it was a lot.
Just before Turkey Day 2007, things are much different. The Bolts are lucky to be 5-5 and tied for first in the division with those same Broncos. If not for two missed field goals by Adam Venitieri of the Colts, they would be a game behind and a long shot for the playoffs that we assumed to be our birthright.
What's gone wrong? After much contemplation I've decided that while there is plenty of blame to be shared, the largest portion belongs to us. That's right, you and me. The fans who wear the powder blue jerseys on weekends. We're joined by fans of teams that lost to the Chargers last year but were impressed. And, of course, the national sports media, which in near-unison proclaimed our team the most-talented in the league. By far.
You know what? We're wrong. All of us. Really wrong. The Chargers are pretty good. Just not that good.
Philip Rivers is pretty good, but doesn't make good decisions under pressure. This is the NFL, so no matter how good your offensive line, you will face pressure when trying to pass. The line, however, is missing a pretty good center in Nick Hardwick. Cory Withrow, his replacement, was much like a statue in Jacksonville on Sunday. Shane Olivea was hurt earlier. I wonder if he is fully recovered. In Minnesota, I saw Marcus McNeil beaten off the edge like I hadn't before. As a unit, they've been unable to open holes for LT. The receiving corps is missing Eric Parker, who was a reliable possession receiver who could keep drives going. Vincent Jackson has not risen to stardom. Buster Davis was a ghost until the second half last week.
The defense has been hit with injuries in two of the three positions on the line. The linebackers terribly miss Donnie Edwards -- a victim of AJ Smith's hubris -- and other recent veterans whom have not been adequately replaced. I don't think anyone envisioned Shaun Phillips as anything other than a situational pass rusher when he was drafted. Now he's a full-time linebacker. The secondary is well, the secondary.
Finally, the coaching. Individual people love Norv Turner. He's been a very successful coach of quarterbacks because of that. A good offensive coordinator, too. If you get close to him and take his message to heart, you'll play quite well. Turner had Alex Smith of all people on the verge of stardom last year and look at him now.
Groups don't respond well to Turner, however. The record is they respond quite poorly to him. As a head coach, you deal with the group far more than you do with individuals. The lack of inspiration from the top is clearly affecting this team.
We fans need to ratchet back our expectations to something more reasonable. This season is not turning in opportunity lost. The opportunity may have been much slimmer in the first place than we realized.
The division could come down to a Christmas Eve night battle at Qualcomm Stadium with the Broncos. The Chargers already have a win against them, and another win would give them the the tiebreaker if they finish with the same record. Otherwise, the team's schedules from here out look comparable.
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