Photo image of the day

It's just bizarre. It doesn't feel right. Can't quite place our finger on it but Linda Cohn in red is not a good look for her.


In all seriousness, even Linda Cohn looks sad.

Forever Young

Running backs hold a special place in our hearts as growing up we imagined ourselves as Lawerence McCutcheon carrying the ball for the old Los Angeles Rams or Ricky Bell or Charles White doing the same for the USC Trojans.

Some 30-35 years on, some things never change.



Thanksgiving weekend, the year 2000, and we’re sitting in the Brigantine in La Mesa watching John Carney line up a 40 yard field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs which would give the hapless 0-11 San Diego Chargers their first victory of the season when without warning, CBS News interrupts the broadcast to go live to Florida and Florida’s Secretary of State, Kathleen Harris, certifying the Florida vote count for George W. Bush.

While the fate of western civilization hung in the balance, we missed Carney’s successful field goal which would result in the only win for the Chargers that season and which would also result in the young bar tender at the Brig’ scratching his head and wondering what all this irate talk of the “Heidi Game” was coming from the other side of the bar. Such was the fate and image of the San Diego franchise at the time, that their most glorious moment in that miserable 1-15 season was pre-empted by something as seemingly mundane as to who would be calling the pre-9/11 free-world shots for the better part of a decade.

That following spring, the Chargers would trade out of the top spot that the Atlanta Falcons would use to draft Michael Vick and would instead select LaDanian Tomlinson out of Texas Christian and Drew Brees out of Purdue.

LT was released by the Chargers yesterday and it proves just how fast that 9 years can blow by and how decisively the fate and direction of a franchise can change. From a 1-15 laughingstock the year before he arrived to the Chargers being perennially tabbed as Super Bowl contenders in the second half of his career, LT was the finest running back of the decade and for one unforgettable season in ’06, LT was the finest football player on the planet.

We’ve been blessed in being able to witness in-person 3 great running backs at different stages of development here in San Diego: Reggie Bush (Helix High), Marshal Faulk (San Diego St.) and LT as a Charger and can say with certainty that no running back possessed more of a sense of the moment than LT. Putting the ball in LT’s hands late in the 4th or in overtime was fait accompli… game over. His instincts around the goal line or in picking up needed yardage for a first down was unparalleled. And no one, repeat, no one owned a single team like LT owned the Raiders which in these parts is grounds for live canonization.

LT wants to continue playing and we wish him success wherever he goes though we really, really hope it’s somewhere in an NFC uniform.

Perhaps we were inspired by that Jim Brown-LT jump cut in that NFL Pepsi commercial but we thought of this song when reflecting on LT’s career.



This one goes out to the two chumps we and our boy Jerry were sitting next to at LT’s very first game for the Chargers back in 2001 against the Redskins who scoffed at the notion there could ever be more than one “LT”.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

The Charger 2x4 upside the head

On whether Norv Turner should put LT and Darren Sproles in the same backfield more often: “Norv Turner will do what he sees fit. What if he plays both of them and they don't do well? That's why coaches don't listen.”

That from Nick Canepa’s sitdown with former San Diego St. Aztec Marshall Faulk which appeared in Saturday’s U-T. And, yes, a fine question it is and pretty weak response by the Field Marshall. It remains baffling to us that a team possessing two dynamic and explosive talents would only play them one at a time. And this question is a long time coming because we were posing the very same proposition when it was Michael Turner who was Marshall’s backup before he signed with Atlanta.

Maybe there is some sort of gentlemen’s agreement between NFL offensive coordinators and their opposing defensive coordinators of which we were previously unaware whereby the OCs promise to not put too much pressure on the DCs by not putting their two best running threats on the field at the same time. And let’s be clear about something… it’s not like LT is exclusively a running threat. Tomlinson has over 500 hundred career receptions and over 3,800 receiving yards to his credit in his eventual Hall of Fame career. And Sproles is an absolute nightmare when he is set up on a screen utilizing his diminutive stature and quickness to dart his way downfield behind his much larger lineman.

We’re not asking for much. A package of 6 or 7 plays that utilizes both LT and Sproles in the backfield. Can you imagine being a D-Con and being tasked with – on the fly – a defensive scheme to contain LT, Sproles, Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers? What’s not to like about getting LT motioning out of the backfield and isolated on a linebacker one-on-one a half-dozen times a game?

Gimmicky? Whatever. Hardly as gimmicky as the Wildcat formation that paid big dividends for teams that used it judiciously. We’re looking at you, Miami Dophins.

It's been said that the NFL is a copy-cat league so maybe someone else will have to take the plunge before Norv sees the light. 'Til then, young lads like us can always dream.

Hey Charger Fan, Remember this Guy?

Yeah, didn't think so.

Add Marcellus Wiley to the list of media jack-asses who have questioned LaDainian Tomlinson’s decision to not play in the AFC Championship game after the first two offensive series. To bolster his argument, Wiley, who was on ESPN’s Mike’n’Mike radio show this morning noted that while he was with the Chargers between ’01 and ’03, LT was “protected by the organization” to a degree that he “had never seen before”. Wiley noted that physical contact with LT in contact drills during practice was forbidden and that L.T. rarely ever played in pre-season games (in fact, LT hasn't appeared in a pre-season game in 2-3 years now).

We wish to commend Charger management for their prescience and wisdom in this blatant coddling and enabling of LT so that he would grow into the finest running back of his generation.

But back to Wiley… the irony here is that we remember Wiley. We remember this guy receiving a huge free agent contract with the Chargers after some very fine Pro-Bowl seasons in Buffalo and then basically mailing it in..... shutting it down..... essentially “laying down on an organization” to a degree that we “had never seen before”. Stick it in your ear, Wiley, you hack.

An Unveiling of Sorts

We know what we said just a couple of weeks ago but we just couldn’t resist…. it’ll be short.

Chargers got a much-needed win against the Baltimore Ravens this afternoon out at the Murph, 32-14. LaDanian Tomlinson touched the ball 30 times, 24 carries and 6 receptions. This is a good thing. This is a very good thing.

We won’t even bother mentioning how many yards he gained… it wasn’t much… because it bolsters the point we’ve been trying to make for years now and which will serve as the unveiling of BwD’s first corollary of successful gameplan execution: Its not necessarily the rushing yards gained but the number of rushing attempts.

The B-more run defense continually stuffed LT at the line of scrimmage (take away his 36 yard scamper in the first half and he doesn’t even average 2 yards a carry for the balance of his rush attempts) but because of a steadfast commitment to keep feeding LT the rock, the Ravens continued to key on LT which opened up the passing game resulting 3 of most wide open touchdown passes Philip Rivers will ever have.

Defenses know that eventually LT will pop one so they have to remain committed…. as long as the Charger play-calling remains committed. Of course, all this is easier to do when the defense shows up and you are not playing from too far behind.

Regardless, the formula remains the same for these Chargers: Play strong defense, stay committed to the running game, and take selected shots downfield off play-action.

LaDanian Tomlinson: NOT a Team Player.

Late Sunday afternoon out at the old Murph, LaDanian Tomlinson’s plans differed slightly from Defensive Coordinator, Ted Cottrell’s. At least from our perspective it appeared that Cottrell was scheming to let the Raiders back into the ballgame by NOT putting pressure on Oakland Raider QB, Daunte Culpepper who is notorious for not taking care of the football. (With his gimpy knee, questionable decision-making and looseness with the rock, this guy is absolutely tailor-maid for blitzing).

With the Raiders down 21-7 early in the 4th quarter, they embarked on a 17 play touchdown scoring drive that involved several successful conversions of 3rd and 4th down plays. In every pass play of those 17, when the Chargers put heat on Culpepper the play resulted in an incompletion or a very short gain as Culpepper had to check down to his outlet receiver for a short gain. But in every instance when the Chargers did not put pressure on Culpepper, he was allowed to sit back and make plays down field. Just the appearance of the Chargers loading up to blitz appeared to rattle Culpepper as he made hurried decisions before the pressure even materialized.

Up to this point, we were very impressed with the sets the Chargers were showing on the defensive side of the ball. Linebackers Shawne Merriman and Shaun “O.G.” Phillips, in particular, were being moved around and lined up in different positions and yes… were allowed to go after the quarterback.

We liked what we saw but it was all a ruse. That sly old dog, Ted Cottrell lulled us into thinking that he was going to turn the hounds loose against Culpepper. We got set up for this moment when he would reveal his true colors and sit back in a soft zone in the most critical moments and allow Culpepper and the Raiders back into the ballgame… which they did by closing the gap to 21-14 with about 6 minutes to play.

A quick 3 and out by the Chargers in their subsequent possession would have the Raider offense back out on the field and give the devious Cottrell an opportunity to thrust the dagger even deeper into the hearts of Charger fans. But not so fast… Enter L.T.: The man took over the ballgame on that Charger possession picking up chunks of yardage AND staying inbounds to burn clock. The drive and any chances Ted Cottrell had of coaching- away the game ended with a 40 yard TD scamper by L.T. with about 2-1/2 minutes left (Jesus in cleats finished with 198 yards and 4 touchdowns. He really, really likes playing the Raiders. Its as if a bit of his old coach Marty Schottenheimer’s Raider-hating and beating soul has been imparted to him) It would be tough for even Ted Cottrell to overcome a 2 touchdown lead at that point and we wouldn't doubt if Coach Ted had a few choice words for L.T. on the sidelines afterwards.

We’ve suspected it for sometime now but at this point its pretty clear L.T. is just not the class act and team player that everyone thinks because this isn’t the first time this season even that it has appeared that L.T. has gone against the coaches’ wishes. Late in the first half of the K.C. game, the Chargers were content to just run out the clock and take their 10 point lead into the lockerroom. Their dives into the middle of the line and leisurely pace in between plays was proof of that. L.T., though, was having none of it as he broke off a 35 yard run and changed the entire complexion of how the remainder of the half was to be managed. We wished the camera would’ve shown head coach Norv Turner after that play. No way of ever knowing for sure but we imagine Turner wincing and muttering, “Damn that L.T. He’s actually going to force me to make some tough coaching decisions here”.

The secret’s out: You gotta keep your eye on a guy like L.T. All the soft-spoken sweet talk, the community service, the exemplary leadership on and off the field… fuhgedda-boutit. He’s a coach’s worst nightmare.