atlamit
11-22-2006, 12:37 AM
Good piece which talks about Kremer's interviews w/the team before the game at Denver and impressions afterwards.
http://www.nbcsports.com/kremerscorner/blog/2006/11/notes_from_san_diego_1.html
Notes from Week 12
There's a reason I can't get the melodic ditty out of my head this morning: "San Diego Sooooper Chargers---" In a league where the best is definitely week to week (just ask any Eagle or Colt player now), I am here to proclaim the Chargers the best in the land.....a moniker they hold for this week if not longer.
In LaDainian Tomlinson, they have the game's most electrifying back, and more importantly, productive FOOTBALL PLAYER, as anointed by none other than Hall of Famer Jim Brown. They have an ascending quarterback who proves you can have equal parts poise, guile and emotion, in Philip Rivers. Arguably the league's best tight end, especially if they actually choose to throw him the ball, in Antonio Gates. A dependable, large yet athletic offensive line. No "go-to" receiver but an eclectic group ranging from the reliable veteran Keenan McCardell to the emerging tower, Vincent Jackson, who scored the go ahead touchdown in Denver.
Michael Turner could start at running back for a number of teams and spells Tomlinson when he needs a blow and returns a mean kickoff.
Nate Kaeding continues to prove his worth as "the other" acquisition in the Eli Manning trade.
And then there's the defense which is holding on just long enough to get back, arguably, its two best players, and definitively, its two best pass rushers, Luis Castillo, still nursing a dreaded high ankle sprain and reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, Shawne Merriman, who has one more game to go to fulfill his suspension for steroid use.
At halftime, Marty Schottenheimer told me he just hoped he had enough bodies to line up on defense, they were so depleted by injury. And Tomlinson's awe inspiring four touchdown performance not withstanding, the true MVP of the Denver win may have been trainer James Collins who managed to get both Shaun Phillips and Marlon McCree back on the field the second half despite gimpy calves. (McCree was actually carted off in the second quarter) I watched them work over Phillips for much of the second quarter. At one juncture, I was wondering how they would clone Collins. He was on the bench manipulating Phillips' calf, while Jacques Cesaire was on the table behind the bench having his ankle attended to, when Carlos Polk was helped off and Clinton Hart was being looked at as well.
Castillo, who stood on the sideline in a boot, after he told Schottenheimer that he wasn't being left behind in San Diego this week as he was last week against Cincinnati, told me he hopes to be back next week but he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself as much as me. He said he's never had a high ankle sprain before and was feeling frustrated by the prolonged healing time.
Merriman's world
As for Merriman, I spoke to him upon his return from his daily workout, Sunday afternoon in San Diego. He emphasized to me that he didn't want to be a distraction to the team. And while I respect that, I would have been more impressed if he expressed relief that his actions had not cost the team a win yet. Merriman said he's been working out twice a day, including the boxing that had been part of last offseason's regimen. He said he is in excellent shape. He's been splitting his time between San Diego, his home state of Maryland (where he planned to be for Thanksgiving) and New Orleans, where he was participating in a program to help rebuild the community. Sounds like he certainly hasn't been slacking off during his time off.
In the two years I've worked with Merriman, I genuinely like and respect him. He has lived up to his "Lights Out" billing and without any doubt, the defense misses his presence and intimidation factor, as Donnie Edwards calls it, immensely. He is the one guy opposing coordinators must gameplan for and without him, the Chargers are an average defense. He's been in contact with his teammates - in fact, he told me that he spoke to some before the game reminding them he was with them, albeit not physically. But if he really doesn't want to be a distraction, he should come back after the next game to practice, prepare for the Dec. 3 Buffalo game and go out and let his proverbial actions speak for the themselves. And if he does continue taking supplements, as he says he will, I hope he learned his lesson to become an amateur pharmacologist and do his due diligence to assure he knows what he's ingesting or turn to the league for its approved supplements.
By the way, one team president who sports a Super Bowl ring told me prior to the Denver game that he felt the Chargers were the best team in the AFC and likely the entire league and he felt they were the team that could best challenge the (then undefeated) Colts on the road to the Super Bowl.
So as the Chargers get healthy (defense), stay clean (Shawne), keep out of the courtroom (Terrence Kiel), continue to gain valuable experience (Mr. Rivers) and eviscerate the record books (LT), just remember that this is the most fun team to watch in the NFL today.
LEFT ON THE SIDELINES THIS WEEK:
Marty Schottenheimer said that one reason he felt he needed to coddle Philip Rivers the early part of the season was because he was not just breaking in a quarterback who had thrown a total of 30 passes in the NFL prior to this season but because he was also bringing along a rookie left tackle in Marcus McNeill. And McNeill has been the team's Rookie of the Year to date. He is a mammoth presence at 6'7", but even more impressive is that he's developing and dominating while playing with broken bones in both hands. In training camp and again in October, he broke the metacarpal bone (top of the hand) in each hand and had subsequent surgery. The scars are still omnipresent and moreso on the right hand, swollen. He's down to wearing primarily extra padding and told me he still can't punch as hard as he used to or steer his man with his hands. But even Coach Madden was hard pressed to see that on film!
I asked McNeill if he has a history of breaking bones and he said these were the first two he's ever had. He said his teammates give him grief about needing to drink more milk, which he said he actually does. Perhaps he's got one of those "milk moustache" ads in his future!
At halftime, Marty Schottenheimer reiterated the obvious. They had to get the ball to Antonio Gates, who was not only held without a reception, but wasn't even a Rivers' target. Gates finished the game with a team high five catches for a modest 48 yards, numbers that epitomize the relatively (for him) quiet season he's having. Prior to the game I spoke with Gates about his attitude and found him to be refreshingly mature about it. He said he has the full understanding that they want to score points and win and he can't get caught up in the number of balls that he catches. He said, if Brandon Manumaleuna scores, I score. The scoreboard doesn't say Brandon or Antonio, it says "Chargers." He said this is where he's grown as a player: "Most guys don't understand the big picture. If we distribute the ball, it expands us as a team. If I have the chance to make things better on offense, I can sacrifice."
I asked him why he feels this way. "I've done everything a tight end can do stat-wise," said Gates, "But now, we haven't won it, so I realize I have this emptiness about me."
LaDainian Tomlinson was prescient when he talked to me about Philip Rivers, the night before the Denver game. I asked him what impressed him most about his quarterback who was making only his 10th career start in the NFL:
"He has such poise. To me, that means in the face of adversity, in a hostile environment, during a critical drive, he keeps a peace and calm about himself. That really surprised me. Rivers exhibited those characteristics perfectly after a two-interception start that might have unraveled other signal callers, especially in a stadium where his team hadn't won since 1999.
For more on Rivers, check out my interview with him, excerpts of which aired on Football Night in America.
Posted by Kremer on November 21, 2006 05:04 AM | Permalink (http://www.nbcsports.com/kremerscorner/blog/2006/11/notes_from_san_diego_1.html)
http://www.nbcsports.com/kremerscorner/blog/2006/11/notes_from_san_diego_1.html
Notes from Week 12
There's a reason I can't get the melodic ditty out of my head this morning: "San Diego Sooooper Chargers---" In a league where the best is definitely week to week (just ask any Eagle or Colt player now), I am here to proclaim the Chargers the best in the land.....a moniker they hold for this week if not longer.
In LaDainian Tomlinson, they have the game's most electrifying back, and more importantly, productive FOOTBALL PLAYER, as anointed by none other than Hall of Famer Jim Brown. They have an ascending quarterback who proves you can have equal parts poise, guile and emotion, in Philip Rivers. Arguably the league's best tight end, especially if they actually choose to throw him the ball, in Antonio Gates. A dependable, large yet athletic offensive line. No "go-to" receiver but an eclectic group ranging from the reliable veteran Keenan McCardell to the emerging tower, Vincent Jackson, who scored the go ahead touchdown in Denver.
Michael Turner could start at running back for a number of teams and spells Tomlinson when he needs a blow and returns a mean kickoff.
Nate Kaeding continues to prove his worth as "the other" acquisition in the Eli Manning trade.
And then there's the defense which is holding on just long enough to get back, arguably, its two best players, and definitively, its two best pass rushers, Luis Castillo, still nursing a dreaded high ankle sprain and reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, Shawne Merriman, who has one more game to go to fulfill his suspension for steroid use.
At halftime, Marty Schottenheimer told me he just hoped he had enough bodies to line up on defense, they were so depleted by injury. And Tomlinson's awe inspiring four touchdown performance not withstanding, the true MVP of the Denver win may have been trainer James Collins who managed to get both Shaun Phillips and Marlon McCree back on the field the second half despite gimpy calves. (McCree was actually carted off in the second quarter) I watched them work over Phillips for much of the second quarter. At one juncture, I was wondering how they would clone Collins. He was on the bench manipulating Phillips' calf, while Jacques Cesaire was on the table behind the bench having his ankle attended to, when Carlos Polk was helped off and Clinton Hart was being looked at as well.
Castillo, who stood on the sideline in a boot, after he told Schottenheimer that he wasn't being left behind in San Diego this week as he was last week against Cincinnati, told me he hopes to be back next week but he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself as much as me. He said he's never had a high ankle sprain before and was feeling frustrated by the prolonged healing time.
Merriman's world
As for Merriman, I spoke to him upon his return from his daily workout, Sunday afternoon in San Diego. He emphasized to me that he didn't want to be a distraction to the team. And while I respect that, I would have been more impressed if he expressed relief that his actions had not cost the team a win yet. Merriman said he's been working out twice a day, including the boxing that had been part of last offseason's regimen. He said he is in excellent shape. He's been splitting his time between San Diego, his home state of Maryland (where he planned to be for Thanksgiving) and New Orleans, where he was participating in a program to help rebuild the community. Sounds like he certainly hasn't been slacking off during his time off.
In the two years I've worked with Merriman, I genuinely like and respect him. He has lived up to his "Lights Out" billing and without any doubt, the defense misses his presence and intimidation factor, as Donnie Edwards calls it, immensely. He is the one guy opposing coordinators must gameplan for and without him, the Chargers are an average defense. He's been in contact with his teammates - in fact, he told me that he spoke to some before the game reminding them he was with them, albeit not physically. But if he really doesn't want to be a distraction, he should come back after the next game to practice, prepare for the Dec. 3 Buffalo game and go out and let his proverbial actions speak for the themselves. And if he does continue taking supplements, as he says he will, I hope he learned his lesson to become an amateur pharmacologist and do his due diligence to assure he knows what he's ingesting or turn to the league for its approved supplements.
By the way, one team president who sports a Super Bowl ring told me prior to the Denver game that he felt the Chargers were the best team in the AFC and likely the entire league and he felt they were the team that could best challenge the (then undefeated) Colts on the road to the Super Bowl.
So as the Chargers get healthy (defense), stay clean (Shawne), keep out of the courtroom (Terrence Kiel), continue to gain valuable experience (Mr. Rivers) and eviscerate the record books (LT), just remember that this is the most fun team to watch in the NFL today.
LEFT ON THE SIDELINES THIS WEEK:
Marty Schottenheimer said that one reason he felt he needed to coddle Philip Rivers the early part of the season was because he was not just breaking in a quarterback who had thrown a total of 30 passes in the NFL prior to this season but because he was also bringing along a rookie left tackle in Marcus McNeill. And McNeill has been the team's Rookie of the Year to date. He is a mammoth presence at 6'7", but even more impressive is that he's developing and dominating while playing with broken bones in both hands. In training camp and again in October, he broke the metacarpal bone (top of the hand) in each hand and had subsequent surgery. The scars are still omnipresent and moreso on the right hand, swollen. He's down to wearing primarily extra padding and told me he still can't punch as hard as he used to or steer his man with his hands. But even Coach Madden was hard pressed to see that on film!
I asked McNeill if he has a history of breaking bones and he said these were the first two he's ever had. He said his teammates give him grief about needing to drink more milk, which he said he actually does. Perhaps he's got one of those "milk moustache" ads in his future!
At halftime, Marty Schottenheimer reiterated the obvious. They had to get the ball to Antonio Gates, who was not only held without a reception, but wasn't even a Rivers' target. Gates finished the game with a team high five catches for a modest 48 yards, numbers that epitomize the relatively (for him) quiet season he's having. Prior to the game I spoke with Gates about his attitude and found him to be refreshingly mature about it. He said he has the full understanding that they want to score points and win and he can't get caught up in the number of balls that he catches. He said, if Brandon Manumaleuna scores, I score. The scoreboard doesn't say Brandon or Antonio, it says "Chargers." He said this is where he's grown as a player: "Most guys don't understand the big picture. If we distribute the ball, it expands us as a team. If I have the chance to make things better on offense, I can sacrifice."
I asked him why he feels this way. "I've done everything a tight end can do stat-wise," said Gates, "But now, we haven't won it, so I realize I have this emptiness about me."
LaDainian Tomlinson was prescient when he talked to me about Philip Rivers, the night before the Denver game. I asked him what impressed him most about his quarterback who was making only his 10th career start in the NFL:
"He has such poise. To me, that means in the face of adversity, in a hostile environment, during a critical drive, he keeps a peace and calm about himself. That really surprised me. Rivers exhibited those characteristics perfectly after a two-interception start that might have unraveled other signal callers, especially in a stadium where his team hadn't won since 1999.
For more on Rivers, check out my interview with him, excerpts of which aired on Football Night in America.
Posted by Kremer on November 21, 2006 05:04 AM | Permalink (http://www.nbcsports.com/kremerscorner/blog/2006/11/notes_from_san_diego_1.html)