1-Man’s Opinion Column-Monday-11/23 “Chargers-Losers Everywhere”
The Chargers coach hasn’t lost his players. He’s lost just so many players, he can no longer compete.
The wolves are out, going after Coach Mike McCoy. It’s not his fault entirely, this disgraceful (2-8) record, the one with a 6-game losing steak attached to it.
Yesterday’s hammering at the hands of the Chiefs, was the worst home field beating since 1996, and the third worst dating all the way back to 1988.
Just think, there’s 6-more weeks of this to come too.
McCoy’s players may still appear to be playing hard, but they just don’t have much talent on the field.
Injuries have seen to be a chunk of that. So have bad investments in free agents, bad drafts, and maybe more critically, bad schemes.
You cannot run offensively what they did just a couple of years ago, when McCoy and Philip Rivers teamed together for a ball control, big strike offense.
They are struggling to pass protect. They can’t run block. And they cannot keep offensive lineman from getting hurt.
Ditto the same on the defensive side of the ball. They blitz all the time, occassionally get a sack, but give up monster big plays, way too many of them.
They cannot stuff the run, seldom get the quarterback, can’t cover in the secondary.
And of course, they are on a historic mission of incompeteenece returning kicks and preventing big yardage returns.
McCoy can remain stoic, can remain dedicated to the lockerroom, and remain loyal to his coaching staff. All fine and dandy if you are willing to go down with this ship.
This head coach, who inherited a pretty good team three years ago, now has a very bad team around the last remaining member of greatness, Philip Rivers.
This head coach needs to take over play-calling from the sidelines. He needs to swap out defensive coordinator, elevate Mike Nolan, release John Pagano.
And he better be willilng to admit, every member of the organization has failed the franchise, and it’s last remaining star, the quarterback.
Firing McCoy now makes no sense. I’m not even sure doing it at the end of the season is the right move. What needs to be done is a better evaluation of talent in the draft, and the right free agent acquisitions.
The Chargers appear to be bottoming out. There’s a sewage smell around its entire football operation now, probably as toxic as the smell if they every move to Carson (aka-Carcinogin).
Everybody at Chargers Park seems to be in denial. What is not to be doubted though is what the NFL standings say this morning. Last place, tied with two other teams for the first round pick in next April’s draft.
I guess we are waiting to see if owner Dean Spanos, who has failed as an owner, 22-losing seasons in 31-years, will have his spokesman Mark Fabiani blame the mayor’s office for the on-the-field product too.
The coach hasn’t lost his players. They’re just bad, complicated by bad leadership. But it’s not hard to imagine Mike McCoy having a bad ending in San Diego if they don’t get this turned around.