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The A.J. Smith/Shawne Merriman Soap Opera

Boltmaster Written by Boltmaster, Friday October 09 2009
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“Soft and Disgraceful” were the choice words used by General Manager A.J. Smith to describe the Chargers’ play through the first four games of the 2009 season.

 

And after giving up a whopping 497 yards of offense to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, I’d say his assessment is fairly accurate. Although the Pittsburgh game didn’t turn out to be a complete and total humiliation on national TV, it was still pretty lopsided.

 

The Chargers came back to make it interesting near the end, but I figure most viewers had turned the game off by that point and the image of Rashard Mendenhall running wild was cemented in most minds. Slow starts are nothing new to the Chargers, I pretty much figured they would be 2-2 going into the bye week.

 

The victories against Oakland and Miami were a given, the loss to Baltimore was close and most people assumed the Steelers would win. The things I didn’t count on were the injuries to Jamal Williams and Nick Hardwick, the virtual disappearance of Shawne Merriman, Antonio Cromartie and Chris Chambers and the fact that the Broncos are 4-0 right now.

 

So is it time to panic yet? Was A.J. Smith justified in calling out his team? Can the Chargers come back and win the division? I would say no, of course and most definitely to those three questions.

 

First of all, we are only a quarter through the season and a lot of football is left to be played. The Chargers are a good team and despite those key injuries, they still have some depth. Last year was a textbook example of how this team can start off horrible and still salvage thing with a mid-season turnaround. Keep in mind that both the Ravens and Steelers were in the AFC Championship game last year, it’s not like the schedule has been a cake walk thus far.

 

Secondly, A.J. Smith had every right to call out his team as soft. Most fans in San Diego would readily agree with him. Is doing it through the media the best way to go about it? Perhaps not but what’s done is done. I know that Shawne Merriman took offense to those comments and that might actually be a good thing. Maybe if he had spent more of the preseason concentrating on football rather than clubbing around town with Tila Tequila we would have a better record. Who knows? If being called out in public gets him back to playing “lights out” then I have no problem with Smith airing his dirty laundry like that.

 

Finally – can the Chargers win another AFC West Championship? I think that goal is still totally within reach. Keep in mind that the Broncos tend to start strong and finish weak and the Chargers do the opposite.

 

Furthermore, Denver is entering the Murderer’s row part of their schedule whereas the opponents will get easier for the Chargers in the next few weeks.

 

Momentum is fickle and a few losses to one team and a few victories to another can change the whole landscape of a division. I predict a very different scenario by the time November rolls around.


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