Organized Musings Revisited

A while back I wrote some "organized random musings," and since I've nothing better to muse about, well, I'm doing it again.

Television

I've previously mentioned that Jay Leno will kill NBC. Sure, so did many other people, but since I said it irrespective of them, I'm going to go ahead and claim that I was right.

AMC's remake of The Prisoner is, so far, quite a bit better than their absolutely crap remake of The Andromeda Strain.

Speaking of Leno... thanks for killing Southland prematurely. Here's hoping TNT (who picked it up) does the show some justice.

Sports

The Chargers are now tied for first in the AFC West after a bad start... they had to catch up to the Broncos (who had a great start), who they play next week. Go Bolts! And congrats to LaDainian Tomlinson for passing for passing Marcus Allen on the all-time touchdown list (Tomlinson is now in 3rd on that list) and Franco Harris on the all-time rushing yardage list.

Nice, Bill Belichick. Your supreme arrogance caused you to go for it on 4th down and 2 yards to go... against a streaking Colts team. You were winning 34 to 28 with two minutes left in the game. And you lost. I laugh in your general direction.

Speaking of LaDainian Tomlinson... New York Giants fans seem to take offense that Tomlinson is called "LT," which, as we all know, is the moniker of Giants great Lawrence Taylor. I don't really see what the big deal is, but I guess I tend to agree. Why not use "LDT" for Tomlinson?

Music

Tulsa's song, "Mass," is one of the best rock n' roll songs of all time.

Some recommendations for you adult rockers: Tea Leaf Green, Carlon (whose song, "Cantaloupe," is fucking phenomenal), Bert Susanka, and Au Revoir Simone.

Dance/techno/trance/whatever listeners: Radioactive Sandwich kicks ass. Magnum .38 isn't too bad, either.

Animals

If you have a dog that won't stop digging holes in your yard, fill the holes with his shit. He'll stop, trust me.

Conclusion

That's all I got... I'm sleepy.

2009 Chargers Season Opener: A Raider Scare

And we're off! And what a way to start the season... the butt-of-all-jokes Oakland Raiders almost (almost) upset the San Diego Chargers. In fact, the Raiders opened up the game with a 7-0 lead, continued with a 10-7 lead, wound up with a 13-10 lead in the 4th quarter. The Chargers, however, went ahead 17-13, only to fall behind Oakland 20-17, and pulled off a 24-20 victory with 18 seconds left in the game.

Here it comes: Hey, Oakland fans, YOU SUCK!

Okay, not really. I, for one, am a huge fan of parity in the NFL, and feel that the Raiders have been in the league's basement long enough... so, well played Raiders. That stated, I do prefer for the Chargers to always kick some serious ass. I endured enough losing seasons, you know?

Go Chargers!

Game One Heroes

- Congratulations to LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles for each scoring a rushing touchdown.

- Congratulations to Quentin Jammer (who just might be my favorite Charger) for getting an interception (those who are in the know realize just how rare a QJ INT actually is, despite him being one of the best cover corners in the game).

- Congratulations to new Charger Ogemdi Nwagbuo for recording the first sack of the season.

Former Charger Musings

 - Michael Turner didn't fare so well with the Falcons in their game opener, but he did enough to keep Atlanta in the win column (22 rushes for 65 yards). I don't really like the Atlanta Falcons, but I like Turner, so kudos.

- Drew Brees, are you kidding me? 26 of 34 for 358 yards and SIX (SIX? SIX?) touchdowns??? I've come around on Philip Rivers, yes, but Brees is still the better quarterback. Six touchdown passes in one game???

- Ben Leber, currently a linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings, was second on his team with 5 tackles and 1 assist. I'm still trying to figure out why the Chargers let him go following the 2005 season, but I can't really complain about the linebackers San Diego has now, so... whatever.

- For the first time in a very long time, neither Rodney Harrison nor Junior Seau suited up for a football game this weekend. Both are retired, and both belong in the Hall of Fame (wearing Chargers jerseys, I hope, but I've a feeling Harrison will opt for a Patriots jersey).

Super Bowl XLII: Whom to Root For?

Well, my Chargers lost in the early game last Sunday. It sucks, but they put up a good game, and Mr. Cool (Tom Brady) was clearly upset at how much the Chargers defense was fucking with him. But, the Chargers still lost, so my attention had to shift to the Green Bay Packers, my new favorite for the Super Bowl.

Only... the Packers lost, too.

So here I am, wondering which team to root for in the upcoming Super Bowl. I don't have any special dislike for the Patriots, I just really don't want to see them go 19-0 on the season. But I really don't want to see Eli Manning win a Super Bowl. Ever.

For the record, the only teams I truly dislike are the Oakland Raiders, and the San Francisco 49ers. I used to hate the Dallas Cowboys, but as a fan of Wade Phillips and an admirer of Bill Parcells, my hatred for them has waned as of late. I don't even dislike the New York Giants, I just really, really hate Eli Manning.

So, who do I root for? Only the Giants stand in the way of the Patriots' perfect season. Which means Eli Manning stands in the Patriots' way. That sucks. Maybe I'll get lucky and the Patriots defense will end Eli's career à la Joe Theismann; then I'll feel content with rooting for the Giants.

Then again, I'm an AFC/AFL fan, and I would rather see the AFC win the Super Bowl every year. Ugh... Not to mention that I would love to see Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison finally receive those Super Bowl Rings that they've long deserved. Double ugh...

Ah, fuck it. Go Patriots.

Chargers Ain’t Disappointin’ No Mo'

Earlier this season I wrote that I would be disappointed in the Chargers if they didn't finish with at least 12 wins. They started horribly at 1-3, stumbled to 5-5, and then pulled away to 11-5. An awesome feat, obviously, but still disappointing. 11 wins are not 12.

And then they won their twelfth last week, in their first playoff victory since their AFC Championship season when I was still in high school. Another awesome feat, granted, but it didn't count. They were, after all, 0-4 in the playoffs since they won that AFC title.

But, today, they beat the Indianapolis Colts (again) 28-24, taking their overall record this season to 13-5, and their playoff record since the aforementioned title to 2-4.

They are, quite simply, no longer a disappointment. Hell, they even emphasized their versatility today by playing Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson's backups for extended periods.

Of course I'm rooting for the Chargers all the way to the Lombardi Trophy, but even if they lose next week to the Patriots, they've earned their berth in the pantheon of the NFL's elite.

Now, if only Eli Manning will lose today... that'll cap a perfect evening.

The San Diego Chargers: Warning Signs

I'm writing this during the fourth quarter of a proper ass-kicking by the New England Patriots. Seriously, there is no question who the better team is. All complaints from last year's divisional playoff game must cease (and stay ceased unless somehow the Patriots and the Chargers meet in the playoffs this year).

I was worried this offseason that the Chargers had shot themselves in the foot with the whole coach-GM debacle. I remained worried about it during the game with the Bears, which, despite being a win, was as sloppy as a win could be. And now... I'm absolutely terrified.

Watching tonight's game it's crystal clear now that the Chargers are not the disciplined team they were last year, or any year under their previous head coach, the oft-maligned Marty Schottenheimer. Say what you will, the man was a disciplinarian, and A.J. Smith, the Chargers' general manager, never gave the man the credit he deserved.

Well, here it is (and no, my tune's not changing... just read my Chargers blog from last year):

The Chargers owe their resurgence as an elite team to four people. Two of them are players, one is a coach, and, yes, the other is A.J. Smith.

The coach, in case you're wondering, is obviously not Norv Turner (who has historically stunk as a head coach), but Marty Schottenheimer himself. The players are LaDainian Tomlinson (naturally) and Drew Brees. Notice something? Yes, that's right, two of these people are no longer with the Chargers... they were forced out by A.J. Smith.

Smith is, to give proper due, a player-personnel genius. You can't argue with his draft picks. You just can't. Even Philip Rivers, who this year seems lost in the NFL so far. But, the man is a dictator, and it's his way or the highway. If you don't do things his way, you're gone. The problem here is that Mr. Smith is not a coach. Marty Schottenheimer was a coach.

I've never been a huge Schottenheimer fan. I'm on the "he's too conservative" bandwagon, and despite the leaps and bounds he made last year to shed that perception, he's still too conservative. That being stated, I've never been a Norv Turner-as-head coach fan at all. Great offensive coordinator? Yes. Good head coach? Hardly. He's been handed the keys to what is probably the most talented team in football, and he couldn't even make the Patriots break a sweat.

Schottenheimer, and let me make this perfectly transparent, SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO COACH ONE MORE SEASON. With one season of "Marty-ball is dead" under his belt, who knows what he would have done with the team this year? Not only that, with both Cam Cameron and Wade Phillips gone to their own head coaching gigs, Marty could have proven to A.J. that he is, after all, a great coach (perhaps that's one reason A.J. didn't let him stay... A.J. didn't want to afford someone he can't stand the chance to prove himself).

Smith, to this point, has been hailed as a genius. This year, however, I think he's about to be brought back down to just being hailed as a good general manager.

Brees is gone, replaced by Rivers. Brees managed to excel with a new team and a new system last year. Rivers managed to excel with a team built around its running back. Both QBs are struggling so far, but Brees is the one who has already shown that he can overcome adversity. Rivers has done no such thing.

Schottenheimer is gone, replaced by Rivers. Marty managed to turn around a crap team and turn it into an elite one. Not only that, he's done it before. Turner has run every team he's ever had into the ground.

Is Smith the problem? Probably, but even I have to admit that I'd hate to see him go. What Smith needs to do is find a head coach that inspires players to work hard and not make mistakes. Norv Turner is not that man.

If the Chargers aren't 6-2 by the midpoint of the season, I'm going to start crying every Sunday, because that would be enough evidence that the Chargers, who were thought to be in their Super Bowl window, are now simply, in fact, rebuilding once again.

Vote for Clint Eastwood. Even though he directed that Boston-based movie, Mystic River, I'm sure he wants a California team to take the Lombardi trophy this year.

The San Diego Chargers: Heartbreak

Once again, the San Diego Chargers are going home early after a missed Nate Kaeding field goal. Two years ago in San Diego, while playing the New York Jets in an AFC Wild Card, Kaeding missed wide on a kick that would have won the game in sudden death overtime. Tonight, Kaeding missed short on a 54-yard attempt that would have put the game into overtime, in a match that clearly favored the Chargers.

That being said, Kaeding deserves little to none of the blame for the loss. The blame, instead, should fall on the shoulders of a wide receiver, and two members of the Chargers secondary.

In the third quarter, the Chargers forced a punt from the New England 18. Eric Parker muffed it, and instead of falling on it (which he could have quite clearly have done), Parker tried to pick it up. The Patriots recovered.

Worry.

That same drive, on a 3rd and 13, Shaun Phillips sacked Tom Brady and forced a fumble, which would have forced a New England punt or 40+ yard field goal attempt. Instead, Chargers cornerback Drayton Florence attempted to head-butt a Patriot, resulting in a personal foul. The drive ended with a 34-yard field goal by the Patriots' rookie kicker.

Splinter.

In the fourth quarter, on a 4th and 5, Marlon McCree intercepted Tom Brady, then fumbled it. The Patriots recovered and marched down the field for the game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion.

Crack.

Then, on the last play of the Chargers' last possession, Kaeding's game-tying 54-yard field goal attempt fell short.

Break.

The really sad part? The Patriots barely played well enough to stay in the game. Yes, Brady had his moments, as usual, but their run game was nonexistent, and their passing game was disrupted effectively. Still, when a team screws up as many times as the Chargers did today, allowing one of the greatest quarterbacks of the young 21st Century time to do his thing, he's going to do it. And he did.

Heartbreak.