is that norv, as the head coach, does not have the time to sit in on offensive meetings and therefore never goes into a game with a firm grasp on what the defense’s weaknesses are. he also doesn’t have time to come up with creative gameplans and typically goes into a game with “what works” or with a “go by feel” approach.

i think this is why in the first half our offense typically does nothing and also why in the second half we’re typically an offensive machine. you give him some time to stare at a defense and see how they react to certain things, he’s going to figure it out. however, he really should be figuring this stuff out in the film room instead of during the game. because….

our offensive putridity in the first half leads to an unbelievable unbalance in time of possession. which leads to a second half where our defense is exhausted. obviously our “bend but don’t break” defense works much, much better with a great pass rush and we haven’t had that this year. but since rivera has taken over i’ve seen that this defense can work even without a passrush, because it creates a lot of 3rd downs, where 1 thing could go wrong and end the drive. the thing this defense needs, since it winds up playing a lot of downs, is REST. it also needs a consistent offense that is putting some points on the board.

basically, that’s what i think. norv is a brilliant offensive mind and knows that’s his meal ticket so he doesn’t want to hand the playcalling to somebody else. but he doesn’t have enough time to come up with a proper offensive gameplan or at least be involved in coming up with it (important for the playcaller), so we spend the first half doing 3 and outs and tiring out our defense. and THAT is the main reason we keep losing at the end of games. not scheming, just flat out exhaustion.

and some people will say “but we’re so close to turning it around!” yeah right. we’re 4-8. the last time i saw a team lose the time of possession battle this dramatically and consistently it was the 1-15 season that got mike riley fired. i would love an opportunity to bring in someone else to be the head coach and move norv to offensive coordinator, but that’s not happening. unless norv creates more hours in the day for him to be involved in the offensive during the week, this problem will not go away.

I’ll tell you why i like Norv’s Chargers more than Marttys Chargers in one word: “Watchability”.

Marttys Chargers were a consistent team that valued the run game, clock management, and had an overall conservative approach to its offense. Boring. Yes it did result in a 14-2 record (which really only built me up for the worst fall I’ve had as a San Diego fan) but it made for a predictable, almost chesslike feel. Martty utilized the best running back in history and for that i cannot fault him. It just created a one dimensional team that management felt wasn’t exploiting the other talent it had acquired. Plus Martty was kinda a dick to them.

Norv’s Chargers are the opposite. They are inconsistent, multidimensional and creative. Yet, Norv accomplished in his first year, what Martty could not. A PLAYOFF WIN! His quarterback is maturing to be a top 5 QB and his receiving core is getting a lot of recognition.

Look, this year has been freakish to say the least. I think it would be fair to say that the Chargers record could have easily been better if the cosmos had been aligned differently. We’ve lost 4 games in the last 20 seconds, thats just bad luck. Win even 2 of those and we are not having this conversation.

The bottom line for me is that i feel like Norv uses our talent very effectively. I think he is a perfect fit for our team.

Oh and as far as penalties go, maybe you should rewatch the last 15 minutes of the Chargers-Patriots playoff game from 06 under Martty. That season was pretty bad with penalties if i remember correctly.

captioned

plan your work. work your plan. correct me if I’m wrong but I believe the Steelers committed 13 penalties for 115 yards. We had something like 2 for 5 yards. I think you still make a good argument, DaBalts, because it’s not necesarily what penalty but when and we do them at inopportune times.

That being said, Marty may not have been well liked, but he was respected and our team was disciplined. I remember the faders at chargers game in Marty’s last year. This was the same game where VJ spiked the ball after he caught it and wasn’t touched. It was fourth down near then end of the 4th quarter and the faders had to go for it. Aaron Brooks threw an interception to Drayton Florence and instead of batting it down he caught it. I was sitting plaza for that game and Marty was livid on the sidelines when Florence started to run it back. He came to his senses after about 5 seconds and layed down to seal the turn over. When Florence came back to the sidelines Marty was all in his face. No showboating!! It was a stupid play by Florence and Marty reminded his in a very strong manner. Florence learned his lesson that day, too bad it wasn’t Marlon Mcree learning his.

“Forget about the head coach. Norv Turner is not going away.”

You are reaping what you sowed for firing Marty. It will be a long time before San Diego enjoys another AFC West title.

You have way too much tallent to be where you’re at.