San Diego Chargers Links: February 13, 2012

Tommie Harris's Wife Fighting For Her Life - Tim Sieck
Sad news out of Oklahoma today as Chicago Bears reporter Sean Jensen has reported that the wife of former Bear Tommie Harris is on life support.

Jason La Canfora Ruined my Week - LobShots
I really hope Jason La Canfora, a very connected guy, is wrong. I truly believe that Vincent Jackson is a top 5 WR in the NFL. Vincent Jackson and I have a storied past, and I really want him to stay in San Diego.

Tolbert, Hester would love to return - Christopher Smith
The two backfield mates entered the NFL together in 2007 and share a close friendship. Though not heralded as a marquee decision, the status of free agents Mike Tolbert and Jacob Hester is one of the important story lines for the next month.

Chargers leadership collaborates on plan - Chargers.com
The initial three-day group discussion marks the first serious decision-making regarding the 2012 roster. The Chargers develop a large chunk of their plan to improve the team in the draft and free agency and begin to determine whom they’d like to keep from last year’s team.

GM loves job despite pressure - Chargers.com
A.J. Smith explains what it feels like to sit in his office knowing the decisions he makes could affect the franchise and its hundreds of thousands of fans in a good or bad way. With a smile on his face, Smith gave a first-person account of why he loves the job despite the pressure.

Storer joins coaching staff - Chargers.com
The Chargers have added Byron Storer to the coaching staff as a special teams assistant.

Chat wrap: Mike Tolbert's value - Bill Williamson
Tolbert is special because he helps as a rusher, receiver, blocker and he’s good on special teams. He is a key role player and he needs to be kept.

Will Stanford Routt stay in the AFC West? - Bill Williamson
he Chargers have to get better in a lot of areas; cornerback could be one of those. If the Chargers thought Routt is a better option than No. 2 cornerback Antoine Cason, they could pursue him. Still, with the other issues San Diego needs to address, I’m not sure it’s a major priority.

Other fish in sea makes VJ likely castoff - Kevin Acee
Due to circumstances that include a free agent class of wide receivers that one team insider termed "extremely deep," there is little chance the Chargers will follow their Weddle blueprint in dealing with Vincent Jackson.

AFC West awards - Bill Williamson
Offensive player of the year: San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers It wasn’t Rivers’ greatest season of his career, but he straightened out toward the end of the season and ended up putting up solid numbers. If Oakland running back Darren McFadden didn’t get hurt in October, when he was on his way to this honor (or perhaps the division MVP), he would have been serious candidate. But it goes to Rivers, whom I still believe is the best overall player in the division.

Top offseason needs: AFC West - Tom Gower (Insider)
The Chargers' most inconsistent play came at cornerback. Antoine Cason had an up-and-down season; he gave up some big passes, but overall came out fairly well in our game-charting statistics. On the other side of the field, Quentin Jammer did not. The veteran was one of the few cornerbacks whom our game-charting project rated as giving up an average of at least 10 yards per play. Jammer has had an inconsistent career and probably is capable of a bounce-back season. Still, he will turn 33 before the 2012 season begins, and both he and the Chargers would be better off if he replaced Steve Gregory at strong safety.