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:”Franchise in Credibility Free Fall”

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Time out from covering a team with troubles, the Chargers, to won that is is real trouble.

It’s the Padres, on-and-off the field.

Fighting to stay out of last place, looking right ahead at a couple of 100-loss seasons, while they try to build the farm system, we have this mess.

It had been rumored coming for a couple of weeks. I had been told General Manager AJ Preller was in ‘real hot water’ with the Commissioner’s Office.

Preller has been suspended for 30-days without pay for witholding medical information from the Boston Red Sox on the trade that sent starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz to Boston.

This comes on the heels of the Padres with holding medical informaiton on the health of pitcher Colin Rea, who was part of the Andrew Cashner-to-Miami trade.

And now rumblings the White Sox have filed a complaint about the health of pitcher James Shields, shipped to Chicago in the beginning of a housecleaning by Preller.

And reports, a 4th incident may be under investigation.

The reports say Preller ordered his medical team to keep two separate data bases on injuries, one file that would remain in house for “Padres eyes only”, the other the data sent to MLB for use by other teams in trade talks, to give them a sense on player’s health issues.

The Commissioner’s office stepped in and voided the Rea portion of the Marlins-Padres deal, ordering him back to San Diego after he tore an elbow ligament. Rea told the Marlins he has been given anti-inflammatories for his elbow, while still in San Diego’s rotation, a fact that was never in the files sent to Miami.

In Boston, GM-Dave Dombrowksi did not have data on shoulder issues with Pomeranz, though he allowed the trade to stand, he is the one who decided to make a big issue of Preller’s tactics. Dombrowski is a mover and shaker in baseball, and Preller crossed him, something Boston and now other major league teams GMs will notice.

And now in Chicago, where Shields has a (5-17) record. revelations of back issues, and insinuations, that info was not in the data base either.

The fourth club has not yet been identified, but it will.

Preller had already been in hot water with MLB for illegal off season workouts with unsigned free agents.

And this followed his 3-month suspension and a 250,000 fine for illegally tampering and signing Latin prospects while with the Texas Rangers.

His reputation preceeded him before he arrived in Texas. Fanatical work ethic. Tremendous judge of talent. Brassy negotiator. Unyielding in talks.

But like his data bases, evidentally the other file on the Padres income should have merited some attention. Things like rogue, values, ethics, business sense.

By the way, the last baseball exec who tampered with rules, Cardinals scouting Director Chris Correa, tampering with EMails of the Houston Astros, and their website, not only got fired, but is serving 2-years in jail.

Preller goes to jail in the court of public opinion. The Padres were lucky they were not slaped with a frnchise fine themselves.

The Padres put out their response using words like “oversight…unintentional…inexcusable…and no intent to mislead”. All the catch phraes you’d find in a corporate press release.

Great for them they believe in the guy they let spend 89M to sign 66-draft picks and Latin free agents. But they make it seem this was an isolated incident of bad judgement.

Can you say pre-planned with purpose? Can you say stepping over the baseball lines of right-vs-wrong, again? This does not seem to be an exception to the rule, but rather an ‘MO” of how to bend the rules.

No one else believes it, not the 4-different baseball execs I spoke to over the last two weeks, after I had heard the ‘hot water’ comment from another baseball exec.

An Ameican League exec told me this is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ about this guy. Not good, to have that many enemies in lots of places.

Know this, the Padres believe in Preller’s talents. But also know this.

The next mistake, will be his last as Padres GM.

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“West Coast Bias-East Coast Idiocy”

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The Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot is out, and it contains 94-candidates up for consideration in the February vote at next year’s Super Bowl Festivities.

There’s a strong San Diego flavor to that list, highlited by running back LaDanian Tomlinson, eligible for the first time. If there ever was a slam dunk candidate, it has to be the Chargers running back, for all the yards, the touchdowns, the thrills he gave Chargers fans, and at the tail end Jets, fans.

The numbers are staggering, (13,684Y) rushing…145-touchdowns. Add in his playoff totals, he goes to Canton with (14,152Y-151TD) on the ground. Oh, by the way, when he wasn’t running around people, he was catching the balls too (624Rec-17TD), and with playoffs added, he finished with (649-Rec-18TD).

Just think of this 5’9 mighty mite, doing this with the Marty Schottenheimer playbook. He wound up with 14,801-all purpose yards, and 169-touchdowns. Can you say 1st time entrant, and maybe even near unanimous?.

John Lynch, the San Diego product, was a different type of safety. He was not the physical force presence of Ronnie Lott, or the roughhouse type of Steve Atwater. He was an intellect, trustworthy, tough, competitive. He gets votes, just don’t know if he gets in despite the fabulous run with Tampa Bay then Denver.

Don Coryell remains on the ballot, but competition is so tough in the coaching category. He’s linked up with people who won Super Bowls, like Mike Holmgren, Jimmy Johnson and Bill Cowher.

You’d wish Coryell was in the ‘contributors group’, only because his 100 plus wins in the NFL pale in comparison to others. And because despite having Dan Fouts, he never go tto a Super Bowl. Sadly the creativness and the 100 plus wins he had at small college San Diego State does not count either.

You’d wish he was in the other category, for he was to modern day passing attacks, what Bill Walsh became and was Sid Gillman was. An architect. A mad scientist. A student of the game. He changed offenses during the Air Coryell era, and he forced clubs to change defenses.

Alas he won’t get in nor will Bobby Beathard, the GM, who put the Chargers in the Super Bowl, but more importantly, designed Super Bowl teams too for the Redskins, Dolphins and Chiefs. He meant so much to so many people, but modern day voters don’t seem to recognize that, sadly.

The list of 94 will be cut to 25, and then discussions will take place come Super Bowl week. Fearful too many people with East Coast traits, haven’t paid attention to the West Coast greats we had the pleasure of watching here.

We know how special this San Diego contingent was in the NFL. Too bad they can’t get a plaque in Canton, but they will always have a place in our hearts.

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“Big Injury-Big Receiver-Leaves Big Void”

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They won’t say it, but I will.

This is a terrible setback the Chargers suffered in the 2nd quarter in Kansas City on Sunday. The loss of star young wide receiver Keenan Allen is a massive hit to the offense.

Aside from a season ending injury to quarterback Philip Rivers, this would be the worst type of loss to this Chargers offense.

Keenan Allen had become a critical go-to guy. A playmaker. A guy to make the tough catch in traffic. A receiver who gave you big yards after the catch.

He had 65-receptions in half a season last year, when he went down with that lacerated kidney. He had already caught 6-passes in a 20-minute span in the opening half against the Chiefs.

You don’t replace that type of productivity. It would be like the Steelers losing Antonio Brown, or the Cowboys having to go the distance without Dez Bryant.

Keenan Allen not only made plays for the Bolts, he changed the game.

Because of his explosiveness, his dynamic abilities on a wide variety of routes, he made everyone else around him even better, more dangerous. He would draw safety coverage over the top and the top cover corner on his side of the field.

It would allow the tight ends to beat linebackers. It would spread defenses sideline to sideline, opening spaces for Travis Benjami. It would allow Danny Woodhead and Melvin Gordon to became factors in the Rivers passing game.

Antonio Gates and the developing young tight end Hunter Henry will become bigger pieces in the passing game, along with ex-Chief and journeyman Sean McGrath.

The inside slot guy, Travis Benjamin, now becomes a primary target of the quarterback, and a target for DBs who want to knock his 5’9 frame into next week. He can fly, but will he get hurt.

Allen is out, just like veteran Stevie Johnson, the younger wide out Jevontee Herndon, plus pass catching backup tight end Jeff Cumberland. That’s alot of option receivers you had planned to be on the field, now not on the roster.

Yes, the Chargers have youth at the wide receiver spot, and hope-believe they have someone to step into that starting spot,who can be productive.

1st in line will by Tyrell Williams, the free agent, who in a cameo appearance last year, had an 81-yard TD catch vs Denver, and who is big and productive, but young.

Dontrelle Inman, the CFL import, has shown flashes of being a good route runner, and now will get more snaps, but he is rail thin and takes hits.

On the developmental squad is Dominic Williams, who played well in preseason, after a nice career at Washington State, but he has never played in an NFL regular season game.

Ex-Packers-Raiders veteran James Jones, with over 420-career receptions, is out on the street, but doesn’t seem able to blend into the route trees that the Chargers run for Rivers.

Of the street free agents out there, Wes Welker, is the biggest name, but he has had concussions, and is more a slot guy, the position Benjamin plays.

Other veterans include ex-Viking-Bills receiver Percy Harvin, who has a history of injury-attitude issues; Brian Hartline, a solid route running veterans from the Browns and Dolphins; Journeyman Hakeem Nicks, a once promising New York Giant; ex-Ram Brandon Gibson; and former Chief Jason Avant. Just released from other camps, are Chris Givens of the Eagles, and Giff Whalen of the Colts.

A wildcard could be Seyi Ajirotut, who has had a couple of tours of duty with the Chargers, and is good at special teams, who also bounced to the Carolina Panthers. Ex-Charger and Aztec Vincent Brown is out there also.

If they wait till week six, they could revisit with Jevontee Herndon, waived injured, who was productive last year as a reserve.

None of those on any GM’s list are difference makers, and that is a quandry.

The Chargers need big time catches, big yards after catches, a blocker down the field, and somebody trustworthy.

Yes Philip Rivers makes receivers better, just remember the short term success he had with an acquisition like Donnario Alexander, but those success stories are few and far between.

The Bolts staff spent the entire off season planning an offensive package around Allen, that would make every other component, pass and run, even more dangerous. They’re not going to junk the system because of that injury, but it takes away the explosiveness that Allen had, and that he allowed everyone else to have, in different coverages.

Tough challenges coming up to re-design the offensive to a degree.

As if Chargers head coach Mike McCoy did not have enough trouble in San Diego already.

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“Chargers Coach-Broken Record”

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When he was hired, I thought this was a pretty good get, as a head coaching candidate.

That was 2013, and Mike McCoy had just come off this playoff run with the Broncos, where he somehow managed to make Tim Tebow competitive, and helped drive a battered Broncos team into post season, with amazing play-calling and game planning around the shortcomings of the lefthanded thrower.

Prior to that, he was part of a staff that had gotten to the Super Bowl with quarterbacks like Steve Beurlein, Jake Delhomme and others. Again, he seemed to have found a way to make people better.

That was then, and this is now.

I found his demeanor on Monday, the day after the hideous give-away loss in Kansas City strange. He was optimistic all would be well. He expressed belief in his team. And he spent 20-minutes dishing out philosophies we had heard before, without any strong content to the probing questions about the horrible loss at Arrowhead Stadium.

Yes indeed it was just one game out of 16, but you don’t get a do-over on a blown opportunity within your division.

Maybe he has to keep up this stiff upper lip. Maybe he has to put a positive spin on everything. Maybe it’s designed to keep the spirit alive in a locker room that has known nothing but losing and bad times since his second season began in San Diego.

McCoy remained in a state of denial about how his team saw a (24-3) lead become a (33-27) defeat. It was as-if all was well, despite the outcome.

He couched everything he said about having ‘to close’ games and win at the end, something his side has not been able to do despite the superstar quarterback Philip Rivers.

He refused to critique nor analyze the burning of 4-timeouts, because of poor clock management and mistakes in groupings on the field.

There was never a comment about the fact his linebackers could not cover anyone in the nickel package, giving up 15-completions during the game to receivers, tight ends and running backs on crossing and underneath routes.

Not once a mention of a defense tht took their foot off the pedal, and wound up giving up 19-plays of 10-yards or more, to a non-explosive Chiefs team. Faint praise directed towards Andy Reid, whom he called a good play-caller, and who has a much better record than McCoy’s (23-28) career mark in San Diego.

He remained steadfast no one made a mistake about running back usage, limiting Melvin Gordon to 3-touches of the ball on the final 34-snaps in the game, covering 5-possessions, when the Chargers desperately needed first downs to stunt the momentum the Chiefs were in the process of seizing.

He heaped praise on Danny Woodhead and Gordon for the combined 155-yards rushing, most of it thru the first 35-minutes of the game, failing to comment on what happened in the final 25-minutes as the floor tilted and the lead slipped away.

He would only say Keenan Allen’s injury was an ACL, refusing to talk about the seriousness of the tear or the fact it’s now been revealed he has cartilage damage on top of the torn ligament.

There was a generic day-to-day report on Joey Bosa, whose holdout has haunted this team, but is finally active. But according to the coach, no-one knows if he will be ready to practice much less play.

It’s a never ending saga with a man, who inherited the best job available in 2013, when he deservedly landed the Chargers coaching post.

It’s been a downward spiral since then, and McCoy’s methodology of dealing with people, has become a cross of a bland Norv Turner, and a condescending Kevin Gilbride, both failures in San Diego.

His 3-plus years on the job have seen some horrible performances. This meltdown in Missouri may be the worst, considering it’s Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs, a bitter division rival, and the fact they had the game in their pocket, and it ended badly.

There have been bad losses before. The bludgeoning last year by the Chiefs in San Diego. That Raiders game where it was (30-3) at one point infront of the crowd at the Q. There was a (37-0) thrashing in Miami too.

For someone who accomplished so much other places, Mike McCoy is doing fewer and fewer positive things in San Diego.

One need not bring up his (5-15) record against teams in his own division now. That question would have been met with another philosophical discussion too.

A columnist wrote that the Chargers needed two-thirds vote on a stadium referendum downtown, they probably won’t get. But if they put it up for a vote this morning, they could get a two-thirds vote no-one likes the job McCoy is doing as head coach.

Mike McCoy-it’s like a broken record. His coaching philosophies, his press conferences, his losing. It goes on-and-on-and on.

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“Absolute Best-Absolute Worst-Outcome Chargers”

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It was as good as a team could play, the first half of yesterday’s Chargers-Chiefs game in Kansas City.

The Bolts won all three phases of the game, running and throwing on offense, blitzing and stuffing the Chiefs on defense, and making big kicks along the way.

And then it all ended.

A team dominating with a (24-3) lead saw it go away once WR-Keenan Allen went down with a season-ending knee injury.

They held KC to (105Y) in the first half. The Bolts defense stuffed the Chiefs, 12-plays of 1-yard or less. They stuffed the run, they banged around QB-Alex Smith.

On offense, it was vintage Chargers football, throwing down the field, running Melvin Gordon and Danny Woodhead. Almost scoring at will.

And then it was over.

Allen ran a hook pattern, and his right knee buckled without contact with anyone. You could tell it was bad, by how long he was on his back. You could tell how serious it was when he was crying on the cart taking him off the field.

And thus ended the Chargers bid to end this nasty AFC-West losing streak, which is now at 9-games, and a 5-game losing binge at Arrowhead Stadium.

Once Allen left, so did the offense. No game breakers. No Melvin Gordon sightings late in the third and 4th quarters. No Antonio Gates. Not much offense. And a poor kicking game.

The Chargers, on their final 5-possessions had a total of 104-yards in offense. Kansas City meanwhile reeled off 220-yards on their final 4-possessions, all that ended up in scoring drives.

Across the ball, the defense died too. Spencer Ware and Chand West ran roughshod over what appeared to be a fatigued defense. Alex Smith started running read options, and started hitting plays down the field.

And the special teams went sour too. Missed field goal. A horrible 17-yard punt. And an offside on a kickoff.

Somebody on that sideline forgot about Melvin Gordon. He had 4-touches in the final five possesions of the game, after a strong first half.

The young defense could not hold up. Blown off the ball at the line. A linebacking corps that could not cover. A disappearing act by the outside linebackers too.

What if Allen had not been hurt?

What if lst round pick Joey Bosa had not held out, and was game ready? Do you think he would have helped stuff the run? Put more pressure on Smith the quarterback? Helped shore up what became a leaky defense?

It only counts as one loss sure. But when you have the chance to win at Arrowhead, you must, for those chances come once in awhile, like an (8-19) record in KC since 1990.

The Chargers must regroup, but now they have lost their top 2-veteran receivers, and a tight end, so some of the weapons are gone from the arsenal. Now they are younger and younger at the skill receiving positions.

And the defense is really young, especially at the depth positions in the front seven.

It was as good as you could play in the opening half. It was the worst you could see happen the back half.

Thinking the Chargers are on their way back. Not seeing it right now with all the problems they are dealing with.

But that’s why they pay him the big money. Mike McCoy must now “coach’em up”, regardless of age-youth-experience-inexperience-draft status.” Need to see young guys become the best, so we don’t have to look at the worst.

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