Where Do Chargers Go From Here?
By Dave Thomas
With their season seemingly going up in flames, the San Diego Chargers make the cross-country flight this week to Jacksonville, meeting an equally bad Jaguars' team.
After stabilizing their season at 2-2 back in early October, San Diego (2-8) has proceeded to drop six straight games, leaving it on the outside looking in when it comes to the 2015 playoffs. Now playing essentially for pride, the Bolts will look to finish off the season with a run, starting against Jacksonville.
Coming into the season, the Chargers looked on paper like they were a decent contender for the AFC West title. As it turns out, San Diego currently has a solid hold on last place, something that is not likely to change unless the team puts together a long winning streak to end the season, while the Raiders and/or Chiefs falter. So, where has it all gone so wrong?
McCoy And Co. Could Be Out
While it is very easy to point fingers at players or coaches, the Chargers have gone out of their way for the most part to not do that. That said some tensions boiled over during this past Sunday's ugly 33-3 loss at home to rival Kansas City. Quarterback Philip Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates had a brief "discussion" on the sidelines, leading many to believe that losing had finally gotten to two of the team's star players. According to Gates, the matter was resolved and he and Rivers are on the same page. The bottom line is both Gates and Rivers (not to mention their teammates) want to win and win badly.
As for that winning matter, how does San Diego turn a six-game losing streak into even one win at this point? For starters, playing a full 60 minutes of football is a necessity, not an option. In so many of their losses this season (and the two wins for that matter), the Chargers have been guilty of not playing four quarters of solid football. When that is the case, is that the fault of the players, the coaches or both?
According to head coach Mike McCoy, the Bolts put in a good week of practice leading up to the game with the Chiefs, but that obviously did not carry over onto the field. Whether it was the players not executing the plays, the coaching staff not putting the players in the best position, one could argue it was one or the other or both. Even though McCoy and his staff are only concerned about the Jaguars this Sunday in Florida, one would be naive to think that he and the other coaches on the team are not thinking about being on the hot seat.
Whether or not McCoy, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and others on the staff return for the 2016 campaign is up in the air at this point. What is known is that San Diego still has a chance to end this season on a high by going out and winning all or the majority of its remaining six games. Time will tell if that is enough to save some jobs.
Dave Thomas has been covering the sports world since his first job as a sports editor for a weekly newspaper in Pennsylvania back in 1989. He has covered a Super Bowl, college bowl games, MLB, NBA and more. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
