Well, this isn't the same front office that took Ryan Leaf, so maybe they'll make the right decision.

In SD's defense....passing up on Michael Vick doesn't seem so stupid now, does it?

I have all the faith in the world in AJ Smith and the rest of the front office! :)

And yes, passing on Vick doesn't seem stupid at all (even though the Falcons beat us this year :p)

it will be tough to trade a $44 million contract attached to dubious mechanics and zero live-game NFL experience.

Brees is gone at the end of the year, barring some sort of one-year, "prove it ain't a fluke" deal - they simply can't cap 2 QB contracts for an extended period of time. It would be smarter to let him go, most likely, than to overpay for one good year following seasons of mediocrity.

But is this year the fluke, or was the mediocrity?

I don't think the Brees had all the mechanics of Schottenheimer's (sp?) gameplan down last year, and the team suffered for it. The entire team, with Brees leading them, have it down this year, and I think that they could "prove it ain't a fluke" easily next year - no one gave the Chargers a chance this year to even compete with the teams in their division. What have they accomplished?
* Swept the Raiders in their season series (which they haven't done in a while)
* Split the season series with Denver (which since Plummer joined the Broncos, they hadn't won a game until this past Sunday, and the earlier game in Denver was a winnable game for the Chargers)
* Defeated Kansas City IN Kansas City (which they haven't done since 1996)
* Defeated teams that they had to defeat (and should have defeated) - which isn't something they've done in the past

All I'm saying is that Brees has shown this year that he has the mechanics in him, and after being touted as the QB for the future of the Chargers, it's insane and dumb to place Rivers as the new QB next year. AJ Smith (and the rest of the organization) have a "Win Now" philosophy - they won't be satisfied with having to wait for Rivers to mature enough to be a premier QB in the NFL.

Uh, the mediocrity lasted for four years, this has lasted for 12 games against the worst schedule in football - you tell me what the 'fluke' is.

Also, not to nitpick, but the Chargers were a chic pick to 'surprise' given their returning cast . . . and this assumed Rivers would start!




-The Raiders . . . suck
-Denver . . . is decidedly mediocre
-KC . . . sucks
-The teams they 'had to beat' . . . mostly suck

I'm just pointing out how light the SD schedule has been. It's still a massive step forward, but it hasn't required a herculean effort on the part of Brees and his considerable supporting cast.

If AJ Smith decides not to wait on Rivers, and goes for the "win now" mentality, the Chargers will be the 49ers within 3 seasons. You should better hope, as a diehard bolts fan, that he's smarter than what you just described . . . giving Brees a long-term deal at market value will cripple the team, you just can't carry $70-80 million in QB contracts. It's not feasible, is it?

So I think it's 'insane and dumb', as you put it, to retain a guy with only one good season under his belt. Especially when you put so much time, effort, and money into getting the right guy for your system in Rivers . . . unless Mr. Smith made a less-than-stellar pick there?

Okay, well I don't remember ever hearing that during the preseason, so thank you for pointing that out to me. :)

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All right, true - but they have beaten both the Broncos and Tampa Bay (who the Chargers play this week), so they can't be ALL bad ;)

Surprisingly, I don't think that they're that mediocre - they beat some very strong teams (again, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego) but also suffered some big losses (Atlanta, Oakland, San Diego, Jacksonville)

Now, their record may not be the greatest, but they have defeated Indy this year (one of three teams to do so thus far), so I wouldn't say they suck - maybe they're misdirected? :D

All right, but that's also the case completely in the NFC (c'mon, teams that are below .500 in the hunt for the playoffs?)

Maybe that's the perception outside of San Diego, but the media reports here keep highlighting the huge effort and teamwork that the Chargers (and Brees in particiular) have been putting out week in and week out. Even in the first few weeks when the team had lost to the Jets and the Broncos, the media was calling for Rivers to be put in to the starting role, and forget about the playoffs for this year. But Marty and his coaches kept with Brees, and it's paid off well for them. I also don't think that the schedule (last place parity or not) has been that easy for them. They went and played at Houston, at Atlanta, at Jacksonville, and will be playing at Cleveland and at Indy in the final weeks of the season. For me, a "light" schedule, if Indy was included on it, would put Indy playing here in San Diego during the regular season (rather than preseason, where the Chargers could've beaten them then - preseason or not, it's a win! :cool: )

Well, that's potentially possible, but then again, maybe not :)

And that's another judgment call....I wonder if part of the reason we wanted to get Rivers was as a response to the Eli Manning debacle? I *personally* think that Brees has had more than one good season. :)

But, feel free to disagree with me. This is just my personal, uneducated thoughts of the situation. :)

haha, fair enough - regardless, it's awesome for the Chargers, and I hope they can build off it juuuust enough to lose to the Steelers. Past that, all is well.

Drew is gone after this year, although I'd be interested to see if they franchise him and give him a 1 year deal. It would surprise me for Rivers to get no time next year with the contract, but they can't just completely cut ties with Drew. I wouldn't go much past that for a guy who's numbers haven't been all that great up to this year (a contract year). His rating has never been higher than the mid-70s, and he'd thrown for more picks than TD's until this year. Maybe it's the start of something good, but again I wouldn't count on him being the longterm answer with all that money going to Rivers.

They have taken advantage of the weak schedule, which not every team does. However, I'm not sure how far they'll go in the playoffs in a strong conference.

I give the Chargers credit for a very good turnaround though. To go from getting the #1 pick to challenging for a division title is worth some kudos. Certainly better than my G-men are doing.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!

THANK YOU to the Jets (The Patriots' whipping boy BTW) for ending this aberration!!!!!

BYE BYE DREW!!! It was nice knowing ya! Have fun wherever they trade you. Don't worry, Phillip and Doug can handle it....hahahahahaha

This was as close as it was ever going to come....don't let the door hit your ass on the way out....

Nate Kaeding looks like he's the son of that monster from the goonies.

Kudos, Stan - the Chargers are out of the playoffs. The two biggest mistakes? Marty's penalty in the first half and running three times to set up Kaeding's missed field goal. I'm royally pissed, but I still support my team, and Drew will be back next year - I don't know if Doug will or not.

Next year, Stan, next year :D

It's ok...I kinda feel bad for all those San Diegans that have to get off the bandwagon now....

Hey, we still have my team in the playoffs, and I'll fully prepared for the amount of shit I'm going to take from here, myspace, my fraternity, and my family in the event that they lose.....and it's probable as well as possible.....

But then again....to be the man...wooooo...you gotta beat the man....

At least I'm not one of those bandwagon fans - I've had my seat reserved since before 1994! :)

If the Patriots lose, can we change the name of this thread??? ;) (It's okay, I can still laugh at them off GC!)

We'll beat the man next time - I still think the overtime rules are retarded (though it wouldn't have made a difference in this game).

To quote the reporter on KGTV who was LIVE at THE Gaslamp Quarter:

"Everyone's being mean....it seems everyone here is a Jets fan, when 30 seconds ago there were Charger fans..."

She couldn't even FIND one as the segment went on....

Yeah, she did - right at the end there was a group of them :) (I'm watching Channel 10 right now :D)

To START the segment...I mean....DAMN

I know, my mom and I have been saying ever since the Chargers started getting attention - let's see where these fans all are if they don't go all the way :p

Either way, they have made a HUGE turn around (and many of the commentators I've heard talk about them gave them NO chance to do well this season, Brees was written off before training camp, etc) and I think they'll contend again next year, though it'll definitely be a tougher road.

What a game!

I just have to say....
J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

Totally nervewracking. Not a fan of sudden death overtime. Why not just make it another full quarter in the playoffs?

Here in NY, it seems like all of a sudden Jets fans are everywhere. The past month everyone hated them and now they're the pride of NY. jeez! :rolleyes:

Great game though the Chargers def. showed amazing improvement since last season.

Well, I know that I'm NOT a bandwagon fan! You all can go back and search my posts and see that I've been taking slack for being a Chargers fan for a really long time now. :p

Stan, I don't get why you have to be a big jerk about things. One day, the Pats won't be so great and what will you be saying then?? Why can't you jusy say "Well done to the Chargers for a big improvement this year"? I mean, with ProBowl picks, NFL Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year and a winning season, why do you have to hate?
http://www.otib.co.uk/style_emoticons/default/dunno.gif

Ah well, my boyfriend and my friend (both Englishmen!!) support the Atlanta Falcons. Sooo.... looks like that's the team I get to support for the rest of the way. After that, I don't really care about any others who make it to the Superbowl.

.....Kelly :)

Ok ok ok, I'll say five positive things about the Chargers:

1) They were able to get over last season and the Eli Manning deal. Instead of giving it up before starting, they decided to prove everyone wrong.

2) Their offensive line went from being a complete joke to being one of the tops in the AFC. The Chargers were the #1 scoring team in the league for a good while, and they were a huge reason Drew Brees was allowed to come up big.

3) Drew Brees is finally shaping into the player he was anticipated to be. If they keep him, he can learn from this year and possibly get farther next yr. If not, they can attempt to mold Phillip Rivers and also get some quality talent with trading Brees.

4) LaDamien Tomlinson is phenomenal, and as he does his thing and becomes a veteran leader, it'll resonate throughout the team.

5) Their D provided what was the most laughable, what-was-he-thinking play from Saints QB Aaron Brooks.

I'll admit, they COULD contend in today's NFL should they obtain certain intangibles....COULD....