Does What Happen in San Diego Stay in San Diego?
Does what happens in San Diego stay in San Diego? In the case of the Chargers the grass may not have always been greener on the other side. The stench of past mistakes made by The San Diego Chargers stil rings true in Los Angles. The team faces a pivotal point; With the franchise quarterback in place, the time is now to look in the mirror and say “how do we change the narrative.” In this article their will be no praise for the Chargers, but instead criticism on how past mediocrity has trickled into today.
Lets wind the clocks back to 2004 - which may have become the start of this mess if you really think about it. The Chargers were in the thick of one of the most contentious draft day controversies of all time when Eli Manning refused to play for them; forcing a trade with the Giants to which brought them Philip Rivers - the future franchise QB to the city of San Diego. What’s really funny about this whole thing is how misguided you could say they were at the time. Future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees was the starter at the time and although he wasn’t what he became in New Orleans, was it really worth picking Rivers? With guys like Larry Fitzgerald & Sean Taylor on the board they could have preached patience, but instead they took Rivers. In 2006, after sitting two years behind Brees and due to the uncertainty around Brees recent shoulder injury, the Chargers finally pulled the trigger. Brees went on to sign a 6 year 60 million dollar deal with the Saints, which ended up being one of the best free agent signings in football history. Brees became one of the greatest quaterbacks of all-time, winning one Super Bowl while Rivers stewed in medicoricy for most of his career, only reaching the divisonal round....twice. This is where we find ourselves with the Chargers today, and quite frankly, history is starting to repeat itself.
In 2017, the Chargers moved to Los Angeles in one of the more controversial team relocations that’s happened in recent memory. Rams owner Stan Kroenke, owner of SoFi Stadium, entered a 20 year 1$ a month lease agreement with the Chargers on the new stadium. In 2018, the Chargers made the playoffs as one of the best teams in football. Almost like a swan song you could say for Philip Rivers and a nice christening to a new stadium with possibly a Super Bowl in arms reach. The Chargers would lose to the Patriots (like they did for most of the 2000s) 41-28. The following year the Chargers would bottom out; they went 5-11 in Rivers’ final season in a Chargers uniform and they would secure a top 6 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Before I go any further, let me explain how rare it is for a team to go from one franchise QB to the next. I think you can only really look at the 49ers and the Colts as true examples of just how good the Chargers had it in 2020. While those teams went from Joe Montana and Peyton Manning to Steve Young and Andrew Luck respectively, it truly is rare to find your guy after the assuming franchise quarterback leaves. The Chargers would go onto take Oregon Quarterback phenom Justin Herbert. Herbert was an absolute revelation for what at the time was a loaded Chargers team. Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were the tops names on the offense when Herbert arrived. Herbert would go onto win the offensive ROTY and have one of the greatest rookie quarterback seasons that we've ever seen. However, the team went 6-10 and changes were on the horizon.
2021 ushered a new era for the Chargers; The second year of Herbert after ROTY campaign brought hope to the team - the belief that the team, the fans, and the city finally had their guy who can compete with the top dogs in the NFL, and possibly topple the juggernaut Chiefs. Brandon Staley, one of the more saught after names in that years coaching cycle, was hired by the team to lead the way. The Defensive brain trust of Sean Mcvay finally had a team of his own. One with a ton of weapons on the defensive side. In Staley’s first year, LA would go 9-8, a three game improvement on 2020, while losing multiple one score games. The thing that were cemented in people’s minds that entire off-season was Staley’s decision making in last week of the season against the then Oakland Raiders. The Chargers found themselves in a situation where a tie would net them a playoff berth, but Staley opted to play for the win, which eventually backfired and cost the Chargers a playoff spot.
The following season things did get a little better; the team traded for Khalil Mack from Chicago to bolster what should have already been a lights out defense. However, this is where the Staley era started to rear its ugly head. LA finished 10-7 and actually made the playoffs for the first time with Justin Herbert at the helm. He had one of his best seasons as pro yet and was going to face a Jaguars team that was hot coming into the playoffs. The Chargers got on Lawrence and jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the first half. Then, the unthinkable happened. Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars outscored LA 31-3 the rest of the game to pull off the third largest comeback in NFL history. The Chargers were part of one of the biggest collapses in playoff history. After this, the Staley firing chants got louder; how much longer could this team go on with a loaded roster and just stew in mediocrity. That brings us to today - The Chargers currently sit at 4-6 and are on the outside looking in for the playoffs yet again. What needs to change? Should Staley still be calling defensive plays? Leading up to today, the Chargers have never ranked any higher than 23rd in total defense under his tootelege. The team is riddled with injury prone players all over the place. Joey Bosa and Mike Williams can’t stay on the field, they’ve made HORRIBLE draft selections - drafting for luxury as opposed to need; Free Agent signings like JC Jackson have blown up in their face… and its all lead to a 4-6 record and on and on the wheel goes. In the famous words of Danerys Targaryen, the Chargers need to break the wheel. The problems of yesteryear with Marty Schottenheimer, Drew Brees, Philip River and company have seemingly followed them into Los Angeles. The famous saying is “The Chargers are going to Charger” and until that narrative is broken, that will forever be their fate. Is Justin Herbert the answer? With each passing week, it looks like this roster will be gutted and re-tooled as players are getting older every year. There will certainly be a new head coach in place as the rumors of Bill Belichick coming to LA are front and center. The Chargers and their fans need a lifeline - they need hope, and more importantly, faith. The ghosts of San Diego have certainly followed the franchise to sunny Los Angeles. Someone tell them “Whatever happened in San Diego, needs to stay in San Diego.”