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With the Chargers’ season officially over, the team has finally removed the tumor that had been plaguing its coach and general manager, He fired coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco. After another dismal showing, in the midst of a frustrating season capping off a stalled and woeful stretch, surely the Chargers’ fortunes are about to change, right?
Unfortunately, the organization will never be cancer-free until it gets rid of its owner, Dean Spanos.
It’s hard to say how many fans were shocked when Justin Herbert announced season-ending hand surgery this week, but if I had to rank the groups that were disappointed by the news, I’d say the No. 1 would be fantasy football players (despite Herbert’s season Low (by his standards). Coming in second place are Oregon Duck supporters, then casual football followers, and finally, so far behind that they are almost unseen, They are Charger fans.
The group that should be most upset that one of the league’s few QBs is languishing away in an organization no one cares about, in a city that can’t be bothered, is the NFL. There are at least 15 teams, some in the playoff hunt, who would trade quarterbacks to the Chargers right now, Herbert injured and all.
You knew Team Bolt was headed to a bad place when… Austin Ekeler called up his coaches and teammates after the team’s first week Season loss to the Dolphins. The 36-34 defeat was one of five defeats by one score this season. While watching Brandon Staley juggle a chainsaw is always entertaining because more often than not it ends up getting chopped up, this is the kind of franchise mismanagement that would spark a trade demand in most other professional sports leagues.
Thursday night’s 63-21 shellacking by the lowly Raiders was further proof that this team is Herbert, a young Ekeler (who requested a trade in the offseason before snatching a contract from Spanos) and not much else. The team’s top receiver is 31-year-old Keenan Allen, Mike Williams has a wing reserved on IR, and rookie Quentin Johnston was lucky to break a 50-yard run in one game.
I love Derwin James and Khalil Mack just as much He reportedly represented their head coachBut Staley’s defenses bled yards during his tenure, and that was supposed to be his area of expertise. The reason he didn’t get the hook after the team The breakdown of an epic playoff game against the Jaguars in January because Spanos didn’t want to pay the money needed to replace a bad coach.
So the team entered this season with just the changes needed for a coordinator as they try to save the head coaching job. Kellen Moore was brought in after being fired from the same position in Dallas, and Los Angeles promoted Derek Ansley from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator. Spoiler: This failed miserably.
Both units are average to poor, with neither of them having balance. They can’t run the ball or stop the pass, and Herbert wasn’t even in a good position before he went down. If you remove Denver’s starter who left early due to injury, the fourth-year QB still recorded the fewest passing yards per game of his career this season (about 250, which is good for middle of the pack).
Obviously, if the team is having a bad year, the QB probably will as well, and some of the loss falls on Herbert, but for Christ’s sake, that’s malpractice. I know I sound like every other analyst and I’m defending a guy who hasn’t won a playoff game, yet my level of respect for that organization is probably the lowest of any club in the NFL. Considering how many sad franchises there are in the NFL, this is really bad company.
The Chargers should be fun to watch, but not in a “What would Marmaduke do now?” Road type.
Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow and other young quarterback stars have shown that playoff runs can be made if they are given talent and coaching on par with their abilities. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Spano’s opinions compete with the lists with disdain. Actually, you know what, I would say so.
He disdains doing more than the bare minimum, which should be the antithesis of his strategy when other contenders are involved with franchise QBs of their own. Even notable cheap skater Michael Brown couldn’t convince his front office not to spend a little money to help Burrow.
The Giants, Steelers and Vikings have tried to uphold the typical traps for their quarterbacks for years now, and eventually Justin Herbert will notice, and ask: “Why can’t I have nice things too?” Brigadier General Spanos would reply, saying, “Shut up, or I will remove your left tackle.”
