Yardbarker
x
The San Diego Chargers and their perpetual choke
Quarterback Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers blew a lead to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The San Diego Chargers and their perpetual choke

San Diego. It’s a magical place teeming with wonderful beaches, fantastic tacos, beautiful people and an awful football team.

There are two things the Chargers excel at in a way few teams in the history of the NFL have been able to replicate. Firstly, they wear the hell out of those powder blue jerseys. The powder blues are the best jerseys in the NFL, and it’s not close. (Don’t @ me.)

Secondly, and most impressively, they are exceptional at choking. Playing in the first Super Bowl in team history? Oh. Good thing they were wearing Depends because they must have crapped their pants as they stood on the sidelines. They certainly didn’t play football. 14-2 in 2006? No worries — it’s the Chargers. They’ll blow it. They won four straight AFC West titles and five of six? Meh. That’s no big deal. The Chargers can’t finish anything! Up 21 points in Week 1 against an AFC West division rival in the Kansas City Chiefs? Ain’t no thang. The Chargers will just let Alex Smith lead the Chiefs to 23 unanswered points and an overtime win. The last drive being a 10-play, 70-yarder that culminated in Smith rushing in for a game-winning touchdown.

From Dan Fouts and LaDanian Tomlinson to Antonio Gates and the late Junior Seau, the Chargers have put together some special teams with some incredible players, but they have never been able to push themselves over the hump.

The Chargers have been to one Super Bowl in their 57-year history, where they were trounced by the San Francisco 49ers, and haven’t been much more than an afterthought outside of the 1994 season.

Sure, the Chargers had some spirited seasons filled with hopes and dreams, but take a look in their trophy case and see what hopes and dreams and lots of almosts put in there. (Hint: Just the Lamar Hunt Trophy.)

The Chargers have a total of 12 double-digit win seasons in their 57-year history. There is a stretch where Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner led the Chargers to six playoff appearances in 10 years, but the closest they got to the Lombardi Trophy was in 2007 when they lost to the then-18-0 New England Patriots. If only the Chargers had drafted David Tyree in the sixth round of the 2003 draft instead of drafting safety Hanik Milligan out of Houston, right? Right? Probably not, given the turns some of their personnel moves have taken.

Eli Manning stated publicly that he would not play for the Chargers. General Manager A.J. Smith orchestrated a trade that sent Manning to the New York Giants and brought Philip Rivers to San Diego. The trade looked good at the time with the Chargers drafting Nate Kaeding and Shawne Merriman with two of the picks they received, but how many Super Bowls have the Chargers been to since the trade? Zero. Eli and the Giants only have two Super Bowl wins and two Super Bowl MVPs in that time frame.

Then there's the case of the starting quarterback who preceded Rivers' run under center in San Diego. Drew Brees chose to walk away from the Chargers due to feeling slighted by the team by the offer extended to him when he was a free agent, which makes sense from both parties. Brees had begun to establish himself as a strong quarterback and wanted some stability, but the Chargers already drafted his heir apparent and Brees was coming off a major shoulder injury. Of course, this was the sensible move, and of course, because it's the Chargers, the sensible move doesn't look quite as sensible anymore.

Brees has gone on to be one of the leagues best QBs, winning a Super Bowl just four years after leaving the Chargers for the New Orleans Saints. Granted, Rivers had to sit behind Brees for a couple seasons while Brees started his odyssey to becoming one of the most prolific quarterbacks of his generation and setting passing records across the board, but you know, Rivers has been OK too! Still, it's hard to see all that Brees has done and not wonder what if.

San Diego let Tomlinson, one of the best running backs of all time, leave the team over a contract dispute. He was hurt by some of the comments that A.J. Smith had said in the past and chose to sign with the New York Jets to play along side Shonn Greene. He led the Jets in rushing and added six touchdowns to his already ridiculous career total

The Spanos and A.J. Smith have a history of running talent out of the building from a player and personnel perspective — chasing out good coaches, letting pivotal players walk away and just having poor relations with the players who play for the Bolts. Players like Tomlinson, Seau and Brees were allowed to leave or forced to leave because the thought was they wouldn’t have enough left in the tank to help contribute, like whatever the Chargers had in their back pocket was better.

In addition, players like Eric Weddle, team leaders who wanted to be there, were left out to dry. Players like Joey Bosa, effectively the first overall pick who doesn't play quarterback with the knowledge that Jared Goff and Carson Wentz were to be drafted first and second, were not negotiated with, and thus, the entire process became a bad joke that shined a spotlight on the ineptitude of the organization from top to bottom.

It has to be tough being a fan of the Bolts. It certainly can’t be easy. The team is stacked with potential talent from coaches to players, but for one reason or another, it just can’t seem to piece it all together. The Chargers should team up with San Diego City College and make learning CPR and the Heimlich maneuver required learning for anyone who chooses to root for the Chargers. After all, the Chargers aren’t good for anything except giving people false hope and heartaches. Maybe the fans could help Mike McCoy and his staff when they choke away another victory later this season.

Can you name the San Diego Chargers' Super Bowl XXIX starting lineup?

The Chargers (back in their San Diego days) have appeared in only one Super Bowl (XXIX). They lost that game to the San Francisco 49ers, 49-26.

SCORE:
0/25
TIME:
6:00
QB
Stan Humphries
RB
Natrone Means
WR
Mark Seay
WR
Shawn Jefferson
TE
Duane Young
TE
Alfred Pupunu
LT
Harry Swayne
LG
Isaac Davis
C
Courtney Hall
RG
Joe Cocozzo
RT
Stan Brock
DE
Chris Mims
DT
Shawn Lee
DT
Reuben Davis
DE
Leslie O'Neal
LB
David Griggs
LB
Dennis Gibson
LB
Junior Seau
CB/PR
Darrien Gordon
CB
Dwayne Harper
SS
Darren Carrington
FS
Stanley Richard
K
John Carney
P
Bryan Wagner
KR
Andre Coleman

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.