Serious Business: 5/28 Chargers Links

by Richard Wade on May 28, 2010 12:00 AM PDT in San Diego Chargers Daily Links

Gates in N.C. for foot checkup - Kevin Acee
"It’s nothing that’s long-term," head coach Norv Turner said after the team’s first practice of the three-day camp. "… We just want to be sure."

What, QB worry? Hey, it’s only May - Tim Sullivan
"It’s May," Rivers said, simply. "That’s my level of apprehension."

PFT Daily: Chargers' handling of Ellison hints at double standard
Meanwhile, the team has never taken action against receiver Vincent Jackson, who has twice pleaded guilty to DUI. So what gives? PFT Daily explores.

"Gates evidently OK, Buster still out" by Bolts Bulletin
Free agent receivers Ernest Smith and Jeremy Williams are having a great camp, making catches and showing flashes that reveal their pro potential. Seyi Ajirotutu, a big free agent receiver out of Fresno State is also clearly someone Norv Turner wants to make a push to make the roster, based on the fact Turner is riding him harder than any player on the field -- and has since the first rookie camp.

Chargers Minicamp Interview: Jeromey Clary
Clary joined 619 Sports’ Craig Elsten by phone this week to talk about the difficulty of being on the IR as the Chargers went into the playoffs, and how Nick Hardwick is helping consult him on returning from a lower joint injury to the offensive line.

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Ellison double standard

Sure there is a double standard. One of the privileges of success on the field, the rookie and sophomore V-Jax would not have received as much latitude. V-Jax paid some dues and has some collateral in the bank.

But also V-Jax didn’t have felony DUIs. If V-Jax had been unfortunate enough to hurt someone in his crimes the team might have had to take a harder line. Ellison’s crime is a felony. And Ellison is either a junky or a drug dealer behind that crime. Why shouldn’t the team cut bait?

Tweekers suck. Best way to deal with ‘em is to put ‘em in your wake.

by Trendsearcher on May 28, 2010 9:40 AM PDT reply actions

I think the only way Ellison survives this

is if the Chargers somehow enabled his addiction. If they provided him vicodin on the side then I think they work with him. If he did this on his own, I think he is gone.

by Stephen (shaynes41) on May 28, 2010 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions

And Ellison is either a junky or a drug dealer behind that crime.

That’s a little harsh. I doubt he was dealing, and to classify him as a junky is just wrong. He’s a professional football player who has had major surgery. It should come as no surprise that he and many, many other players turn to painkillers to get through the rigors of the NFL.

Personally I’m way more upset about a DUI than a guy with a bottle of painkillers. Yes, VJ never killed anyone, Thank God, but he easily could have. And the worst part about it is that he didn’t learn his lesson and then did it again!

by CABurrito on May 28, 2010 10:14 AM PDT up reply actions

…. He can still be an addict

He’s a professional football player

Chuck Muncie and Lawrence Taylor showed us that you can be both a football player and an addict.

Abuse is bad. V-Jax abused a legal drug. Ellision got caught with large quantities of an illegal drug. The both broke the law, but I think Ellision’s is the greater crime.

As far as the Junky – Dealer bit. It has to be one or the other. It’s not like the car came with a stash of Vicodin. He didn’t have a prescription. So he’s either buying them illegally for his own use or to sell.

by Trendsearcher on May 28, 2010 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions

You’re really going to compare a pair of coke heads to a guy who had some painkillers to help him deal with knee pain?

Ellison had 100 pills, which isn’t that much, and the drug itself is not illegal if you have a prescription, which he didn’t. They don’t give out prescriptions for cocaine.

Ellison’s drug use had the potential to hurt no one but himself, and even that is a stretch considering he was likely doing what a lot of athletes do just to deal with pain. VJ put himself in a situation multiple times where he could have literally killed innocent people. That has to be the worse crime.

by CABurrito on May 28, 2010 10:35 AM PDT up reply actions

Ellison was likely putting people at risk too

Ellison’s drug use had the potential to hurt no one but himself

Have you ever read the label on that bottle of Vicodin. "Do not operate heavy equipment" DUI on Vicodin just might be worse than alcohol DUI. And add a smidge of alcohol on top of the Vicodin and the "influence" goes off the charts.

Also Vocodin has a much longer residence time in the body than alcohol. So there is a far greater likelihood that Ellison has been DUI with a higher frequency than V-Jax.

I don’t know what V-Jax blew. But if he was under a 0.15, I’d take my chances with V-Jax on the road over Elision.

by Trendsearcher on May 28, 2010 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions

You’re assuming that he was using the pills and driving at the same time. No evidence of that has appeared. Just because they were in the car doesn’t mean he was using them at the same time.

By that logic, anyone who ever buys alcohol is a potential DUI threat, whether or not they actually drink and drive. Merely having possession is the same thing as actually doing it.

by CABurrito on May 28, 2010 10:49 AM PDT up reply actions

Not assuming Ellison was DUI at the time of arrest

Interestingly I don’t think COPs consider DUI for pills as much as they do for alcohol. You can’t smell the Vicodin on Ellison’s breath.

Just saying V-Jax drinks those cocktails; he’s probably sober in an hour – two hours tops.

Ellison’s Vicodin last for 4 to 6 hours. So the window of influence is larger for Vicodin than alcohol. If we are talking straight up DUI, I think Ellison has the greater probably for DUI. I think there is a very high probability that Ellison put you and me at risk by committing DUI, and probably did it more times than V-Jax.

by Trendsearcher on May 28, 2010 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions

Based on what? I’d think its more likely that Ellison would pop a vicodin when he got home after a long day of practice or a game and then sleep it off. I doubt he was just walking around popping them like candies in a pez dispenser. There’s no proof that he was ever DUI on vicodin.

As for VJ being sober in and hour or two, it doesn’t matter. He wasn’t sober when he got in his car, and then he wasn’t smart enough to learn from his mistake. And those were the only times he got caught.

by CABurrito on May 28, 2010 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions

VJ

Got nabbed at .17 blood/alcohol, at his weight I’m guessing that must be something like a 10-12 beers in a half-hour. The body metabolizes at .02/hour more or less so you are looking at a full five hours before he is under the max. What killed me about VJ was how he was claiming he was innocent and no charges would be filed; I thought the Chargers should have suspended him, particularly with it being his second offense.

"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 May 28, 2010 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions

As for the PFT story

Typical PFT, ignoring facts and making a big deal out of nothing.

Ellison was arrested this week and as a result the team asked him not to come in for the 3 days of minicamp. This makes sense given that both he and the team need to sort out what happened and what to do about it. Dealing with that now would have distracted from the limited time But he hasn’t been banned from the whole off season. He’ll be back for OTAs in a few weeks, and then for training camp. I suspect that if it had happened a few weeks ago they already would have figured things out and he would have been at minicamp. Just a timing issue.

As for Jackson and his DUIs, the legal issues were only recently resolved, so what exactly are the Chargers supposed to do about it? Suspend him for games that haven’t happened yet? Suspend him for the minicamp which he’s already not attending because of his contract situation? The league will deal out the discipline on this, and the Chargers will go along with it, so what else are they supposed to do? I have no doubt that the DUIs have played into the difficulty in getting VJ a new contract, so couldn’t it be said that they are punishing him in a way?

by CABurrito on May 28, 2010 10:21 AM PDT reply actions