Robin Miller
10-07-2008, 03:14 PM
There's no shame in admitting injuries are crucial in football
Tim Sullivan (Contact)
Monday, October 6, 2008
The football conceit is that injuries are irrelevant, and that to cite them
is to signify weakness, to indulge in alibis, to compromise the code, to ask
for directions.
Two questions: 1) Why does an explanation have to be an excuse? 2) Why do
football players wear helmets when their heads are already so hard?
The Chargers are probably going nowhere as they are presently constituted,
yet they continue to maintain the football facade that all that's missing is
a little more concerted effort. They are a team in denial and, increasingly,
in the trainer's room. As a consequence, they are a team with a 2-3 record.
"One guy goes down, the next guy's got to play, regardless of who's
injured," safety Eric Weddle said yesterday afternoon. "That's always been
a mind-set of mine, the way I've been coached.
"We've got talented guys on the team. ... We're not very far off. We've just
got to execute the little things, execute down the stretch."
Right. So maybe if we all clap our hands and shout, "I do believe in
fairies," Shawne Merriman will magically return to menace quarterbacks.
Maybe, if wishing could make it so, LaDainian Tomlinson's problem toe and
Antonio Gates' tender hip could heal on command.
Maybe injuries wouldn't matter if they didn't matter so much.
The Chargers' 17-10 shortfall Sunday in Miami might have been averted
through several scenarios, most obviously a better-blocked fourth-and-1 play
at the goal line. Yet the inconsistency that has been the Bolts' hallmark so
far this season is not likely to change unless and until some of their key
playmakers recuperate.
Tomlinson, Merriman and Gates ranked Nos. 3, 11 and 24 in a CBSsports.com
preseason ranking of the National Football League's 50 best players. If the
talent differences between NFL teams are as small as coaches claim, the loss
or limitation of three elite players would seem sufficient to reduce a
powerhouse to a punching bag.
Merriman, football's fiercest pass rusher, has been lost for the season.
Tomlinson, the two-time rushing champion, has lost a gear, much of his
agility and has gained 1 yard fewer per carry than he averaged last year.
Gates has been gimpy, his old burst a misty memory, and the Pro Bowl tight
end's production through five games has dropped from 40 catches (in 2007) to
16.
The basic problem here is not precision, but personnel. Every team has its
injuries, and every player has his aches, but no team has so much depth that
it could absorb the key injuries the Chargers have sustained without
consequences. You can blame Norv Turner's play-calling or Ted Cottrell's
defensive schemes or the ever-unpopular Ed Hochuli, but the Chargers are a
pretty average bunch when they are this depleted. They might still reach the
playoffs, but they could also be capable of a 7-9 finish.
"I don't think there's any question that we're banged up," Tomlinson said
yesterday. "Obviously, you just look at the injury report and you can see
that.
"But at the same time, we played through stretches like this last year when
we were banged up and we got the job done. So I don't want to make that
excuse. There's no excuse for us to come out the way we came out and played
early in games, in my mind."
What the Chargers were able to overcome in Indianapolis last January was a
testament to the players' toughness and their coaches' ingenuity. That they
nearly advanced to the Super Bowl with quarterback Philip Rivers fresh out
of surgery and without meaningful contributions from Tomlinson and Gates was
undeniably impressive.
Yet though Henry V's "happy few" speech is still stirring after 400 years,
playing short-handed is generally a good way to get beat. By the time
Chargers coach Norv Turner had run through his injury report yesterday,
adding Rivers (ribs), receiver Chris Chambers (ankle), guard Kris Dielman
(thigh) and safety Clinton Hart (shoulder) to the list of usual suspects,
Sunday's game against the New England Patriots seemed less like a grudge
match than a last stand.
Tomlinson called it a "must-win," which is not quite the same thing as a
"will-win." When asked if the Chargers' expectations should be adjusted to
reflect their injuries, though, Norv Turner replied, "absolutely not."
"We're not going to change our expectations," he said. "I said a week ago,
after the Raider game, I thought we made great strides and I thought we were
getting better and we had individuals getting better . . .
"We have some guys who aren't 100 percent. We have some guys who aren't
capable of doing what we're accustomed to seeing. But I think they're
getting closer and closer to doing it."
"Closer," of course, is not quite the same thing as "close." When it was
suggested that he might benefit from a week off, Tomlinson reacted as if he
had been offered an ointment of pixie dust.
"It's not a one-week injury," Tomlinson said. "You can't get better in one
week. There's no such thing. Nobody can. If you're injured, you're injured.
One week is not going to help. If you take one week off, you might as well
take three weeks off."
Three weeks off is not an option. Not now, at least. When the Chargers
started 2-3 a year ago, they were able to find comfort from a soft patch in
the schedule - consecutive home games against Oakland and Houston. This
time, there's 3-1 New England, followed by a trip to 4-1 Buffalo, followed
by a London rendezvous with the New Orleans Saints.
"Make no mistake, this is a critical time," Tomlinson said. "This is going
to determine what type of team we have this year."
Injuries, Tomlinson says, are no excuse, which is not quite the same thing
as saying they are not a problem.
Tim Sullivan: (619) 293-1033; tim.sullivan@uniontrib.com
Find this article at:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/oct/06/chargers-s7sullivan214343/?chargers
Tim Sullivan (Contact)
Monday, October 6, 2008
The football conceit is that injuries are irrelevant, and that to cite them
is to signify weakness, to indulge in alibis, to compromise the code, to ask
for directions.
Two questions: 1) Why does an explanation have to be an excuse? 2) Why do
football players wear helmets when their heads are already so hard?
The Chargers are probably going nowhere as they are presently constituted,
yet they continue to maintain the football facade that all that's missing is
a little more concerted effort. They are a team in denial and, increasingly,
in the trainer's room. As a consequence, they are a team with a 2-3 record.
"One guy goes down, the next guy's got to play, regardless of who's
injured," safety Eric Weddle said yesterday afternoon. "That's always been
a mind-set of mine, the way I've been coached.
"We've got talented guys on the team. ... We're not very far off. We've just
got to execute the little things, execute down the stretch."
Right. So maybe if we all clap our hands and shout, "I do believe in
fairies," Shawne Merriman will magically return to menace quarterbacks.
Maybe, if wishing could make it so, LaDainian Tomlinson's problem toe and
Antonio Gates' tender hip could heal on command.
Maybe injuries wouldn't matter if they didn't matter so much.
The Chargers' 17-10 shortfall Sunday in Miami might have been averted
through several scenarios, most obviously a better-blocked fourth-and-1 play
at the goal line. Yet the inconsistency that has been the Bolts' hallmark so
far this season is not likely to change unless and until some of their key
playmakers recuperate.
Tomlinson, Merriman and Gates ranked Nos. 3, 11 and 24 in a CBSsports.com
preseason ranking of the National Football League's 50 best players. If the
talent differences between NFL teams are as small as coaches claim, the loss
or limitation of three elite players would seem sufficient to reduce a
powerhouse to a punching bag.
Merriman, football's fiercest pass rusher, has been lost for the season.
Tomlinson, the two-time rushing champion, has lost a gear, much of his
agility and has gained 1 yard fewer per carry than he averaged last year.
Gates has been gimpy, his old burst a misty memory, and the Pro Bowl tight
end's production through five games has dropped from 40 catches (in 2007) to
16.
The basic problem here is not precision, but personnel. Every team has its
injuries, and every player has his aches, but no team has so much depth that
it could absorb the key injuries the Chargers have sustained without
consequences. You can blame Norv Turner's play-calling or Ted Cottrell's
defensive schemes or the ever-unpopular Ed Hochuli, but the Chargers are a
pretty average bunch when they are this depleted. They might still reach the
playoffs, but they could also be capable of a 7-9 finish.
"I don't think there's any question that we're banged up," Tomlinson said
yesterday. "Obviously, you just look at the injury report and you can see
that.
"But at the same time, we played through stretches like this last year when
we were banged up and we got the job done. So I don't want to make that
excuse. There's no excuse for us to come out the way we came out and played
early in games, in my mind."
What the Chargers were able to overcome in Indianapolis last January was a
testament to the players' toughness and their coaches' ingenuity. That they
nearly advanced to the Super Bowl with quarterback Philip Rivers fresh out
of surgery and without meaningful contributions from Tomlinson and Gates was
undeniably impressive.
Yet though Henry V's "happy few" speech is still stirring after 400 years,
playing short-handed is generally a good way to get beat. By the time
Chargers coach Norv Turner had run through his injury report yesterday,
adding Rivers (ribs), receiver Chris Chambers (ankle), guard Kris Dielman
(thigh) and safety Clinton Hart (shoulder) to the list of usual suspects,
Sunday's game against the New England Patriots seemed less like a grudge
match than a last stand.
Tomlinson called it a "must-win," which is not quite the same thing as a
"will-win." When asked if the Chargers' expectations should be adjusted to
reflect their injuries, though, Norv Turner replied, "absolutely not."
"We're not going to change our expectations," he said. "I said a week ago,
after the Raider game, I thought we made great strides and I thought we were
getting better and we had individuals getting better . . .
"We have some guys who aren't 100 percent. We have some guys who aren't
capable of doing what we're accustomed to seeing. But I think they're
getting closer and closer to doing it."
"Closer," of course, is not quite the same thing as "close." When it was
suggested that he might benefit from a week off, Tomlinson reacted as if he
had been offered an ointment of pixie dust.
"It's not a one-week injury," Tomlinson said. "You can't get better in one
week. There's no such thing. Nobody can. If you're injured, you're injured.
One week is not going to help. If you take one week off, you might as well
take three weeks off."
Three weeks off is not an option. Not now, at least. When the Chargers
started 2-3 a year ago, they were able to find comfort from a soft patch in
the schedule - consecutive home games against Oakland and Houston. This
time, there's 3-1 New England, followed by a trip to 4-1 Buffalo, followed
by a London rendezvous with the New Orleans Saints.
"Make no mistake, this is a critical time," Tomlinson said. "This is going
to determine what type of team we have this year."
Injuries, Tomlinson says, are no excuse, which is not quite the same thing
as saying they are not a problem.
Tim Sullivan: (619) 293-1033; tim.sullivan@uniontrib.com
Find this article at:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/oct/06/chargers-s7sullivan214343/?chargers