vendetta07
11-25-2006, 10:41 PM
http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/projo_20061126_26jdcol.313b754.html
Interesting he said that he would have gone with Vick if he didn't get the package he wanted.
vendetta07
11-25-2006, 10:44 PM
It has been a week when San Diego Chargers fans gave special thanks for LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers.
The man they have to thank for both of those standouts is A.J. Smith, the Chargers' general manager, by way of Cranston.
Because it's not as if either Tomlinson, the fifth player taken in the 2001 draft, or Rivers, who was drafted fourth by the Giants in 2004, then traded to San Diego, fell into the Chargers' lap.
The fact that both of them are in San Diego, and have the Chargers atop the AFC West by two games in the loss column, is due as much to Smith's willingness to take a chance as it is his acumen in evaluating players.
There are some very bright personnel men in the NFL who lack intestinal fortitude, and so always make the "safe" move. There are some who have the guts, but lack brains, and make foolish moves. And then there the select few, who have both intelligence and nerve -- like Smith -- who make the best moves.
"You do all your research," he said in a recent phone conversation. "You weigh all the facts and figures. Then you have to make a decision. That's when you have to go with your instincts, based on years of football knowledge.
"If you make the popular one, the cautious one, the one that won't make waves, then you might not take the chances that will make you a champion.
"I'm willing to be aggressive because I'm not afraid to fail. If you're not afraid to fail, then you have a better chance to succeed. When the pressure's on, you have to decide whether you want to try to cover your butt, or try to win."
The Chargers are winning now because Smith was willing to take chances.
He and Tomlinson came to San Diego the same year, following a season in which the Chargers had gone 1-15 and, as a result, owned the first pick in the 2001 draft -- a selection just about everyone expected them to use on highly-regarded quarterback Michael Vick.
Vick was the obvious pick, the "safe" pick, the choice that no one would have second-guessed, or criticized. But, instead of taking him, Smith and the late John Butler, who had brought Smith along with him from Buffalo, where they'd assembled the Bills' AFC championship teams of the early }90s -- traded down.
A deal was made with Atlanta for the fifth pick overall, along with the Falcons' third-round choice that year, as well as a second-round pick in 2002, and Tim Dwight, who was coveted by the Chargers as a return specialist and wide receiver.
"We were committed to taking Vick," Smith said, "unless we got the package we wanted."
One player -- even one with Vick's potential -- clearly wasn't going to be enough to turn things around in San Diego.
"We didn't have any players," Smith said. "The (deal with Atlanta) was an opportunity to get multiple players."
The player they coveted most was Tomlinson.
"We had a lot of building to do," said Smith, "and we had to do it one brick at a time. The first brick was 'L.T.' He was going to be our Thurman Thomas -- a combination runner and receiver. And we knew he was a great person, too."
Thomas had played a major role in helping the Bills win four consecutive AFC titles. Tomlinson now is the key to the Chargers' bid to win a championship.
"He's turned out to be even greater than we thought he would be," Smith said.
Tomlinson is having a great season. He has scored at least three touchdowns in the Chargers' last three games, becoming the first player in NFL history to accomplish that feat. He had four in last Sunday's come-from-behind win at Denver, where the Chargers had lost six years in a row, and also had four TDs the previous week in Cincinnati, when San Diego racked up 42 points in the second half, wiping out a 28-7 halftime deficit on the way to a 49-45 victory. The week before that, L.T. scored three TDs against Cleveland, and now has 19 in the last six games, 22 for the season.
"He's not only a great player," Smith said, "but he's also a great 'team' guy, as well as a great person in the community. He believes in old-fashioned values. After he scores, he hands the ball to the official -- he doesn't dance, the way a lot of guys do. He's 'old school,' and that's refreshing."
Not only did the Chargers land Tomlinson after trading away the rights to Vick, but they also were able to acquire quarterback Drew Brees that same year with the first pick in the second round.
Brees became the starting QB in San Diego, and led the Chargers to a playoff berth last season. If coach Marty Schottenheimer had his way, Brees still would be the starter. But Smith felt it was time to play Rivers, and so allowed Brees, who was coming off shoulder surgery, to sign with the Saints as a free agent.
Rivers wound up in San Diego on Draft Day in 2004, after Eli Manning and his family disparaged the Chargers by declaring he'd never play for San Diego.
Smith drafted him anyway, with the first overall pick, and then traded him to the Giants for Rivers.
"I knew we had a player," Smith said of Rivers, the quarterback he claims to have coveted all along. "He's a special guy, a rare guy -- although he we didn't expect him to be as magnificent as he has been in his first 10 games. He's been awesome."
He has, indeed, throwing for 15 TDs, with only 5 interceptions, while completing more than 67 percent (201 of 300) of his passes.
"He's been awesome," Smith said. 'Our veterans stare at him in disbelief."
What Rivers and the Chargers have done the past two Sundays has bordered on the unbelievable. With those huge, back-to-back comebacks, San Diego became the first team in NFL history to win successive games after trailing by at least 17 points.
"It's very exciting, to say the least," Smith said.
boltbacker_ed
11-25-2006, 11:07 PM
great read verygood stuff thanks!
vendetta07
11-25-2006, 11:35 PM
also could be a reason he traded down for terrance kiel and sammy davis instead of troy palamalu?
Der_BlitzSchlag
11-26-2006, 12:04 AM
We will never know as to how much of that 2001 trade,i.e, our No. 1 for Atlanta's No. 1 + 3rd rounder + Tim Dwight + Atlanta's 2002 2nd rounder, was because of John Butler's influence, will, thinking and doing vs that of AJ's.
WinslowSr.
11-30-2006, 10:12 PM
it was all butler
aj is a *****moker
Rivers_owns
11-30-2006, 10:35 PM
it was all butler
aj is a *****moker
Booooooo.... Ban this guy.
Thunderstruck21
11-30-2006, 11:07 PM
the 2001 draft was butler
the 2004 draft was smith
benji929
11-30-2006, 11:33 PM
AJ was the assistant GM that year and the Director of Pro Personnel. I'm guessing he had more than a little say in the final decision. But yes, gotta give credit to Butler from pulling off the deal of the millennium so far, but 2004 may surpass it before the end of the season.
nvcharger
12-01-2006, 08:49 AM
said it before and ill say it again we are on the way to the superbowl,we have a special team finally the dream has come true
leftyinthepen
12-01-2006, 08:53 AM
wow, just imagne...our draft could have been so much better....
if our front office was really worth their electricity, we could have gotten vick, LT, eli, palamalu, and rivers....man, our draft history and trade history on draft day sucks.....we should just turn in our lightning bolts....
ChargersPhan
12-01-2006, 01:52 PM
if our front office was really worth their electricity, we could have gotten vick, LT, eli, palamalu, and rivers....man, our draft history and trade history on draft day sucks.....we should just turn in our lightning bolts....
Yeah drafting all 3 of the QB's makes alot of sense.
I hope that was a joke.
byteme202
12-02-2006, 07:51 PM
wow, just imagne...our draft could have been so much better....
if our front office was really worth their electricity, we could have gotten vick, LT, eli, palamalu, and rivers....man, our draft history and trade history on draft day sucks.....we should just turn in our lightning bolts....
Is this a joke or sarcasm. ???
leftyinthepen
12-03-2006, 10:55 AM
Is this a joke or sarcasm. ???
quite possibly....both