Pupunu_Platter
10-19-2009, 05:23 PM
Just found this:
A.J. Smith Speaks Out
parts of this article contributed by Associated Press
October, 16 2009
By William Billson
A.J. Smith has a lot going on these days. The embattled Chargers General Manager has recently been called into question regarding the talent level of his club. With his back against the wall, he came out last week on the offensive, saying "Everything is wrong with it right now. I'm not the least bit happy in a lot of areas. I've seen us be tough and physical to soft and bewildered." His Chargers are 2-2, his coach is on the hot-seat and now he must answer to his toughest critics.
The Chargers Message Board fans.
Long considered an astute judge of talent and a master draftsman, Smith is taking a new approach. On Friday, in a prepared statement, A.J. Smith sought to quell the growing uneasiness both in and outside of the club, saying “I don’t think our club has to make wholesale changes, but we are going to move forward in a new direction. With that said, I will be perusing the threads on the [The San Diego Chargers Message Boards] looking for ideas.”
That's right. The GM of a professional sports team will begin to listen to the fans.
This assembly of fanatics is unhappy with the current state of the team and are not afraid to show it. I steered pointed my web browser over to the Chargers Message Boards and was greeted by thread titles such as, "Defense is very fixable", "Norv Turner Worst Head Coach?" and "Activate Buster Davis".
If A.J. Smith was looking for bulletin board material, he came to the right place.
On Saturday, a new poll started by first-time poster “AJentSmith619” (Chargers PR office confirms this is Smith’s user name) added the poll, “How often should we blitz?” At press time, the results were “Every Play (56%)”, “On 1st and 2nd down (11%)”, “Trade for Shaun Rogers (15%)”, and “Fire Norv (18%)”.
One could say this is unprecedented, but that wouldn’t be accurate. In fact, it wouldn’t even be accurate in regards to the Chargers. San Diego players have long held the opinion of fans in high regard. Late last year, Kassim Osgood voiced displeasure with his playing time at WR on his twitter page, drawing widespread support from followers, like “Dude u r da bes” and “Boltz iz stupid if dey don't use u @ WR”.
It is unclear if this new direction is going to help the team, but Smith is accustomed to shaking things up and trying new things. Be it firing a 14-2 coach in Marty Schottenheimer or drafting Eli Manning despite assurances he’d sit out the entire year-Smith has stayed the course.
Some critics are quick to point out Smith could be tapping into a wealth of knowledge. With an average active user base of 2,500 on the Chargers Message Board, each of which watching at least 3 hours of game tape a week, the potential goldmine of information and analysis is hard to ignore.
“3 hours of game tape is as much, if not more, than the hosts of FOX NFL Sunday watch.” said Smith.
“And we don’t even have to pay them…” he added.
A.J. Smith Speaks Out
parts of this article contributed by Associated Press
October, 16 2009
By William Billson
A.J. Smith has a lot going on these days. The embattled Chargers General Manager has recently been called into question regarding the talent level of his club. With his back against the wall, he came out last week on the offensive, saying "Everything is wrong with it right now. I'm not the least bit happy in a lot of areas. I've seen us be tough and physical to soft and bewildered." His Chargers are 2-2, his coach is on the hot-seat and now he must answer to his toughest critics.
The Chargers Message Board fans.
Long considered an astute judge of talent and a master draftsman, Smith is taking a new approach. On Friday, in a prepared statement, A.J. Smith sought to quell the growing uneasiness both in and outside of the club, saying “I don’t think our club has to make wholesale changes, but we are going to move forward in a new direction. With that said, I will be perusing the threads on the [The San Diego Chargers Message Boards] looking for ideas.”
That's right. The GM of a professional sports team will begin to listen to the fans.
This assembly of fanatics is unhappy with the current state of the team and are not afraid to show it. I steered pointed my web browser over to the Chargers Message Boards and was greeted by thread titles such as, "Defense is very fixable", "Norv Turner Worst Head Coach?" and "Activate Buster Davis".
If A.J. Smith was looking for bulletin board material, he came to the right place.
On Saturday, a new poll started by first-time poster “AJentSmith619” (Chargers PR office confirms this is Smith’s user name) added the poll, “How often should we blitz?” At press time, the results were “Every Play (56%)”, “On 1st and 2nd down (11%)”, “Trade for Shaun Rogers (15%)”, and “Fire Norv (18%)”.
One could say this is unprecedented, but that wouldn’t be accurate. In fact, it wouldn’t even be accurate in regards to the Chargers. San Diego players have long held the opinion of fans in high regard. Late last year, Kassim Osgood voiced displeasure with his playing time at WR on his twitter page, drawing widespread support from followers, like “Dude u r da bes” and “Boltz iz stupid if dey don't use u @ WR”.
It is unclear if this new direction is going to help the team, but Smith is accustomed to shaking things up and trying new things. Be it firing a 14-2 coach in Marty Schottenheimer or drafting Eli Manning despite assurances he’d sit out the entire year-Smith has stayed the course.
Some critics are quick to point out Smith could be tapping into a wealth of knowledge. With an average active user base of 2,500 on the Chargers Message Board, each of which watching at least 3 hours of game tape a week, the potential goldmine of information and analysis is hard to ignore.
“3 hours of game tape is as much, if not more, than the hosts of FOX NFL Sunday watch.” said Smith.
“And we don’t even have to pay them…” he added.