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by Brian (DaBolts) on Jan 27, 2009 8:10 AM PST Comment 15 comments

The kerfuffle of 2009 continues. Kevin Acee who actually heard the comment first hand says AJ's comment wasn't mocking in tone. Tim Sullivan notes that if LT wants to stay; he could put his money where his blog is and take a pay cut. It seems to me they could just alter the contract so it is more performance based. If LT can stay on the field and perform, then he gets paid like he did.

Merriman busts out and says "that shit needs to stop, period. It needs to stop now." (HT to Lenny Suckerpunch who also posted a good comment on the topic). Finally, AJ rediscovers that most miraculous of devices the phone and indicates they will offer LT a restructured contract.

The Chargers hire Rod Chudzinski away from Cleveland to replace the tight ends coach that went to Denver. He will be the assistant head coach too; hopefully freeing up some of Norv's time from playcalling. The Chargers are also hiring Mike Sullivan to be line coach. The Chargers seem to be giving Norv & Rivera their heads in reforming the coaching staff, anything other than a deep playoff run will be considered a failure.

The Chargers claim not to be playing footsy with LA in their new marketing contract. (HT to Axion, nice find).

Michael Vick has to listen to goofballs from PETA, isn't cruel & unusual punishment unconstitutional? The 49ers might be clearing the decks for Vick. He's done his time, I'm OK with that, even though I wouldn't be crazy about seeing him on the Chargers.

TO gets his own TV show, I keep thinking it must be a cartoon. Speaking of which, one of the funnier miked up players exchanges is TO discussing his favorite cartoons. That also has some more Shaun Phillips in the regular season game against the Colts.

SI weighs in on the Senior Bowl. Here is the view from Fox.

It may just be sour grapes, but I find it hard to get worked up about the Super Bowl this year. I'm mildly rooting for the underdog Cards.

I guess it was the fans that got tired of Chucky in Tampa. Here are the coaches wired for sound; Chucky is mostly a bunch of bleeping bleeps.

Shanahan is not going to the Chiefs. If I could collect 7 mill for sitting around I think I would too.

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Chudzinski

just because you didn’t mention it: Chudzinski is regarded as the key coach in turning Gates into the league’s best TE. I don’t think he’ll do much playcalling, at least in his first year, because his playcalling in Cleveland was pretty bad. Hopefully his return means a return-to-form for Gates and maybe he could help our O-line a bit as well.

by John (obviousman) on Jan 27, 2009 9:11 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Just read the Fox Senior Bowl report

-It’s interesting that one of the highest rated safeties (William Moore from Mizz) is rumored to make the transition to WLB in the NFL. I think since it’s just a rumor at this point he could end up like Thomas Davis. a SS or WLB depending upon who drafts him and what their needs are.

-Not that we’re low on WR talent, but Ramses Barden sounds a lot like Vincent Jackson. Tons of size and speed, dominating in I-AA but teams are suspicious if he can do it in the NFL. I have no idea where he’s ranked, but if we could get him with a late pick it would be a nice backup plan in negotiations with VJ. It would also be a backup plan for a year or two from now if VJ cannot keep himself out of the police blotter.

-Seems like Pat White stayed in the pocket to try and impress as a QB. I get the feeling his agent wants him in the draft as a WR, but Pat still wants to play QB. I wouldn’t write him off completely because Troy Smith has turned into a damn good pro QB and they’re similar players in terms of size and technique. If the Chargers draft White, it’ll be as a replacement for Whitehurst instead of as a potential slot receiver.

-I think Maualuga is the pick for us in the first round. As I said before, he’s a big marketing draw for a large Samoan population in San Diego county and we can even get stories of Seau coming to camp as a special assistant and teaching Maualuga the tricks of the trade (same nationality, same position, same school…it’s a perfect fit). My only fear is that he’ll climb higher than our 16th pick, but with a slew of good LBs in the draft I think we have a good shot.

-As an add-on to my support for the Maualuga pick, Bill Williamson on ESPN has been doing a “veteran draft” for AFC West teams. He’s basically looking through the league and figuring out which player, on any team with any contract, would most benefit the four AFC West teams. The Chargers got Patrick Willis . The easy answer here would’ve been Ed Reed, or whoever the best RT in football is, or even Adrian Peterson. But I think a really good ILB that has an instinct for pass coverage and for getting 150+ tackles a year would have just as good of an impact. Does Maualuga have Patrick Willis potential? Absolutely.

by John (obviousman) on Jan 28, 2009 6:56 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I think Maualuga is the pick for us in the first round.

I agree, but right now the buzz on him is huge. He may go top ten.

"Football is a physical sport, sometimes you have a disagreement on what's going on, and you have a discussion about it." Kris Dielman

by Brian (DaBolts) on Jan 28, 2009 8:20 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I dont think there is any way Maualuga will be there at 16.

It would be huge if he falls to the chargers though.

by Steve (Grey Suit) on Jan 28, 2009 8:27 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Buzz can die

A lot of draft “buzz” is done at the combine. People with bad senior bowls can still make huge splashes at the combines (Vernon Davis, Kyle Boller) and players with good senior bowls can take a dive with mediocre combine showings (Aaron Rodgers).

by John (obviousman) on Jan 28, 2009 9:23 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

On top of that

The Juniors and Sophomores will finally get to show their stuff at the combine, which tends to drive down the stock of Seniors who have been overexposed at that point.

1-10-DEN 18 (9:52) (Shotgun) 6-J.Cutler pass short right intended for 19-E.Royal INTERCEPTED by 93-L.Castillo (95-S.Phillips) at DEN 18. 93-L.Castillo to DEN 14 for 4 yards (62-C.Wiegmann). 6-J.Cutler pouts ob to DEN 25 for 11 yards.

by Wonko on Jan 28, 2009 11:02 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I went to Cal Poly

and my old college roommate was a coach on their football team, so I have seen quite a bit of Ramses Barden. There was hope on Ramses’s part that he would be able to sneak into the second round, but he struggled at the Senior Bowl practices, and seems to have fallen to the 4th or 5th round now. He still has the combine where he can show off some of his skills, mainly his speed. Dude is very tall, and has a very good vert leap as well (played volleyball in high school). He was able to get away with some sloppy route running in college mostly because he was usually 4 to 6 inches taller than anyone who tried to cover him. He does have really soft hands though. Comparing him to VJ is pretty accurate, but I think VJ has a little more speed than Ramses. The biggest knock I keep hearing about Ramses is that he doesn’t create separation very well.
Having said all this, I highly doubt he will fall far enough for the Chargers to be able to think about taking him. I know Miami is very interested, and a couple other teams have already contacted him as well (their names are slipping my mind right now). The Chargers have way too many other needs, and should fill those first. If Ramses is still on the board after that, then by all means they should take a good look at him and consider him. I am sure the Chargers are at least somewhat familiar with him. Cal Poly has played SDSU twice in the past 3 years at the Q, with Cal Poly winning BOTH matchups. I am positive the Chargers had someone there scouting a game in their own back yard.

by Clip Show on Jan 28, 2009 9:18 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Hmmm

Sounds more like Malcolm Floyd. Tall guy, big leap, soft hands and mediocre speed. Floyd couldn’t get away with that until he got better with his routes. As I said, we don’t really need him, but if he was gonna be there in the 6th or 7th I thought he might be worth it. If he goes in the 4th or 5th or higher we definitely have other holes to fill.

Thanks for the insight.

by John (obviousman) on Jan 28, 2009 9:21 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Remember

Jackson had the talent coming out of I-AA to be a 2nd round pick. If a I-AA guy gets picked in the 5th or later, then the Jackson comparisons stop making sense because the guy must be way less polished or way less talented than Jackson was coming out.

by Wonko on Jan 28, 2009 11:08 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

He's both.

He is less polished than Jackson was and I dont think he has the same speed, but the guy is still a beast and can go up for balls like Jackson does.

by Steve (Grey Suit) on Jan 28, 2009 11:47 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Unfortunately I saw Barden make the SDSU secondary look like Pop Warner players this year.

I think the Jackson comparison is a good one but like Jackson he will take 2 to 3 years to adjust to the pro game.

by Steve (Grey Suit) on Jan 28, 2009 9:32 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Agree...

He will take a couple of years to develop and can improve on his route running and speed. At this point he does look more like Floyd than VJ, but I think his potential is more than Floyd’s at this point. it will interesting to see where he ends up going.

by Clip Show on Jan 28, 2009 12:08 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I was on

the sidelines for that game….and he made the SDSU guys look like little children. Fun to watch from my end since I am a Cal Poly Alumn.

by Clip Show on Jan 28, 2009 12:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

That's not saying much

The SDSU secondary couldn’t stop an actual Pop Warner team.

Brady Hoke, Al Borges, and Rocky Long. Aztec football is back!

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Jan 29, 2009 4:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I'd rather get Polamalu than Ed Reed

Reed is more like the cherry on top for a good defense sundae. He’s not a particular big hitter or a great helper in run support. He’s just a guy that seems to be in the right place at the right time and make a big play out of it. Polamalu is that plus the hitting and run support, which makes him more of a building block on a good defense. There’s not a doubt in mind that if Reed was on a mediocre defense, he wouldn’t be half the star that he is.

by Wonko on Jan 28, 2009 11:06 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs