lawyers
WHAT’S HAPPENED TO MY CHARGERS?
As a lifelong Chargers fan, having several pre-season “experts” pick my team to win the big one, I figured it would be a long, difficult season. But 4 and 7 and looking more like my home town Arizona Cardinals, who would have figured? I’ve hesitated from blaming the team’s struggles on Coach Turner, not wanting to take the easy route and assail the new Coach when things don’t go right. It is pro football after all, a team is made up of lots of parts, and there’s plenty of talent in the league to make consistent winning something few teams figure out. But enough already, where’s Marty-ball when you need it?
After bemoaning Marty’s rather conservative approach, I now find myself yearning for the days where 2nd and short was a freebie down and 3rd and short was automatic. Where’s the run, where’s the grit, where’s the discipline, where’s the fire? Yeah, we lost Michael Turner and one of the league’s best blocking and short yardage backs in Lorenzo Neal. But they didn’t help LT turn a corner for a big pick-up; they didn’t help the short passing game and the dumps LT used to turn into back breakers; and they certainly didn’t help the defense pressure the quarterback. This team has lost its way and doesn’t seem too interested in finding it.
During the Colts’ game, I heard an announcer comment to the effect that the Chargers’ offense didn’t look very enthusiastic. What an understatement! Despite the defense’s overall ineffectiveness, at least they show fire when they make a play. The offense looks dull, uninspired – like they don’t enjoy what they’re doing and aren’t too confident about their plan. This isn’t the way it was supposed to turn out. Turner was the offensive guru, remember? He would open up the offense, use all its weapons and spread the ball, develop Rivers and be a players’ coach. Now, LT can’t get going, the line isn’t giving Rivers much time to throw, and the passing game has made crucial mistakes in key situations on a regular basis. Each time LT has a decent first down carry, he predictably is sent diving into the line to set up a third down passing situation. No one is being fooled guys.
Speaking of defense, if Steve Nash can win an NBA MVP namely by what happens to his team when he DOESN’T PLAY (they fall apart), how many league MVPs should Shawne Merriman have by now? One guy goes down, and suddenly every quarterback in the league can’t wait to play the Bolts? Have some pride fellas and pick up the slack. And coaches, are you defined by 1 player, or can you make adjustments and use the remaining talent you have? Isn’t adversity to be expected in an NFL Season, not the surprise?
Good teams make adjustments, they win with discipline and toughness in the trenches, they have back ups ready to step in when starters are injured (which is always the case). Good teams also manage game clock and take risks based on situations (like going for it on 4thand short with a game on the line instead of hoping for a tie and lots of other breaks as you give the ball to the best quarterback in the league, or like going for 2 when you don’t trust the momentum but can win it at the end of regulation and go home). No guts, no glory guys. I know it’s in there, I just don’t know if Coach Norv can get it out of you. 5 games to go. What’s it going to be?
Arizonan John McCain Endorses Obama
In a surprise announcement, John D. McCain, native Arizonan, has publicly endorsed Barack Obama for President. In a statement over a game of blocks, the three year old Phoenician explained his endorsement to surprised family members when he said:
“I really really like the man’s name, but a person’s name doesn’t really matter, at least they tell me that in preschool. But me and my buddies have talked about it and don’t get a lot of things Mr. McCain and his fans are saying and doing. Like when they talk a lot about winning wars when we don’t even know who we are fighting. We keep hearing about all these people with different names we’re supposed to not like just because, but in our school, they teach us to like everyone no matter what they look like or what their name is.
Also, someone told me that John McCain doesn’t want all people to have the right to go to a good doctor. I know my mom and dad argue a lot with insurance people about money and stuff I don’t get, but it seems like the new insurance doesn’t help with lots of stuff if you’ve already been to a doctor about it. I just don’t know how a person can get better if he gets sick and can’t pay a lot of money to see a doctor. Anyway, it doesn’t seem to affect John McCain because I heard he’s been sick a lot but that he gets to go to a good doctor. Maybe it’s not the same for some people. But it sure would be unfair to one of my sisters or friends or even a stranger if they couldn’t pay to go to a doctor and had to stay sick.
Also, I keep hearing people say that Mr. Obama is not smart because he wants to talk to people that we have arguments with. But they tell us in school that if someone does something you don’t like, you should tell them how you feel about it. My mom and dad tell me all the time to talk about what is bothering me. So I don’t get how we’re supposed to fix things if we don’t talk to other people. We don’t have to be super nice to them when we talk. Anyway, I thought Mr. McCain was the straight talk express guy. How come he can’t talk straight to people he doesn’t like? Mr. Obama is not afraid to.
Also, John McCain keeps saying that my family’s taxes are going up if you vote for Mr. Obama. But my sister read me the facts off lots of different sites and it just isn’t true unless you already have lots of stuff and even then, they only want to make taxes what they were when Mr. Clinton was in charge. I hear we were in pretty good shape when he was president, so I don’t get what all the fuss is about. Anyway, the tax thing seems kinda like when we give toys and gifts to kids who don’t have many things– we have lots so we give up a few of ours to help out someone else that needs it more. That’s not so bad, we actually kinda like it.
So even though I can’t vote yet, me and my buddies are telling everyone to vote for Mr. Obama. We think he is really smart and wants to be nicer to other people and to try harder to make things better for more people, not just people that already have lots of stuff. That sounds a lot better than talk about wars and people that don’t look a certain way.”