Ok so we are all giddy over the Chargers trip to Pittsburgh. Let’s put the brakes on that for a second.
This is not the steel curtain Steelers of the 1970’s and 1980’s or even the recent Steelers; this was the current 7-6 Steelers.

I don’t mean to be negative because there is an abundant supply of that around town already, but come on we beat a 7-6 team. Granted it was in Pittsburgh in December, but again, come on they are 7-6. It seems like the only ones really impressed were the local sports writers and some diehard fans. The NFL just this week announced they were pulling their National Prime Time matchup between the Chargers and Jets; it will now be a 10am regionally televised event.

With that said, what’s left besides three more games against three opponents that are bigger disappointments this season than us? For one, a high draft choice – can we really afford another Larry English pick over Clay Mathews? No, and thankfully AJ won’t be our cruise director for another costa concordia draft cruise in April.

Obviously we are all looking forward to a change in leadership, and that will be here soon enough. So what do we really have to look forward to, and what are the Chargers’ needs?

Contrary to a lot of frustrated fans, a QB is not one of them.

2006 – Rivers led several 4th quarter comebacks in 2006, and posted the league’s highest 4th quarter quarterback rating. His performance over the season led to a selection to the 2007 Pro Bowl. This was Marty’s last year.

2007 – In the 2007 AFC Championship Game, Rivers was lauded by his teammates and the press for playing the entire game with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. (AFC Championship game – Norv’s first year).

2008 – Rivers led the NFL in multiple categories including touchdown passes (34), passer rating (105.5), yards per pass attempt (8.4), and adjusted yards per attempt (8.8).

2009 – Rivers was voted into his second career Pro Bowl on December 29. He ended the season with a passer rating of 104.4, the third highest in the entire NFL, after passing for 4,254 yards, 28 TD’s with only 9 interceptions.

2010 – Rivers led the league in passing yards, throwing for a career high 4,710 yards – 10 yards more than second-place finisher, Peyton Manning and a 102 QB rating.

2011-2012- These years held slips in Rivers numbers, but he still passed 4,000 yards and completed close to 65% of his passes.

It’s easy to see his numbers have faded as his Offensive line has aged and been unable to protect him.

Running Back- Ryan Mathews is not a featured back like LT. In his defense, he doesn’t have the offensive line LT had either.

LT was fortunate enough to have the best o-line in football as well as Sproles to share the load and keep defenses off balance, but the real issue is the o-line. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to see that. The Chargers have neglected that position in the draft for far too long, and it has caught up to them. But in reality, those are the smaller issues – the corn and peas. The lobster and prime rib on the plate is the impending coaching change.

This team needs a strong intense coach similar to Bobby Ross or Marty Schottenheimer. I was here under Bobby Ross and can tell you Bobby Beathard was a complete weasel and couldn’t make it happen before Bobby Ross got here and couldn’t make it happen after Bobby Ross left. It doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to look at Charger history or even around the NFL today to see you need a strict intense general on your sidelines to win consistently – not just win in Pittsburgh against a 7-6 Steeler team and then act like you just pitched a no hitter in game seven of the World Series.

I can’t wait until this season is over. Between the losses, the blackouts, the second half collapses, and all the other speculation, this season has been depressing as well as exhausting. And, there is still three meaningless games left against bigger losers than us. What kind of Christmas present is that? I’ll tell you what kind of present that is –It’s the kind that sucks – a fruit cake, sweater vest, Santa tie, or Justin Bieber t-shirt.

I suggest we all buy 49ers or Patriots jerseys and ride out the Holidays as fans of another team.

I can’t even watch these next three match-ups. I would rather DVR Celebrity Rehab, Shahs of Sunset, or The Ted Nugent Vanilla Ice Christmas Special on CMT if there is one.