Norv vs Wade: Just One of the Many Reasons to Watch the Pro Bowlt

For some coaches, coaching the Pro Bowl sounds right. Jon Gruden in 2001. Tony Dungy in 2004. Bill Belichick in 2007. Bill Cowher in 2005. Mike Shanahan in 2006. Andy Reid almost every year.

But Wade Phillips and Norv Turner? Is this really the year pair those two in the Pro Bowl? Only two weeks after both of their teams crushed the hearts of their fans, Norv and Wade, perhaps the two most ridiculed head coaches of the past three seasons, will square off as the head coaches of the NFC and AFC Pro Bowl squads.

Perhaps that explains the record number of player withdrawals we're seeing this year.

Norv and Wade "earned" the right to coach the Pro Bowl by being the teams in the Divisional Round to lose with the best regular season record.

Ouch.

So instead of giving the Pro Bowl to the conference championship loser, the NFL, with it's new week-before-the-Super-Bowl format has decided to create inspiration for under performing workers everywhere by giving the Pro Bowl coaching duties to the two coaches who flopped in the divisional round.

Makes sense to me.

But look on the bright side for Wade and Norv; the two have managed to keep the jobs they were unqualified for when they were hired, continue to fail, but continue to keep their jobs. Heck, as long as the Chargers and Cowboys dangle in mediocrity it's going to be hard to get rid of either of them.

And maybe, just maybe, it we're very, very lucky, this Wade vs Norv thing can become an annual contest.

And more players will withdraw.

Nate Kaeding, Chargers, Choke: Join Eagles as Decades Biggest Choke Artists

For the fifth time this decade the Chargers have gotten into the playoffs with high expectations but will not have advanced to the Super Bowl.

But this year was different. This year the Chargers had a different feel. This was the year the Chargers were better than the Patriots, Ravens, and Steelers. This was the year that all the Chargers would have to do is beat a team they've made a living beating; the Indianapolis Colts.

But it wasn't to be. The Chargers, who were widely considered the weekends biggest favorites, came out Sunday and laid an egg. The game had the familiar feeling of Charger losses of the past. L.T was useless, Rivers got hot-headed, Nate Kaeding missed three field goals, and Merriman stood on the sideline gasping into an oxygen tank. Norv Turner ran out on the field to dispute a fumble that wasn't even under review, and Charger fans bailed on their team to the point where, in front of the biggest national audience Qualcomm has had in decades, a loud "J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!" chant could be heard.

The game solidified a lot of unfortunate things for the Chargers. First and foremost it solidified Norv Turner's butt back on the hot seat. The expectations this team had did not warrant a "one and done." Second, the pressure is on Philip Rivers. I think Philip Rivers is a great quarterback, easily top ten in the NFL, but if you really think about it he's been far from stellar in the playoffs. He has three playoff wins as a starter, two against the Colts, one against the Titans, and one win against the Colts came from the hot hand known as Billy Volek.

The pressure has also fallen onto LaDainian Tomlinson to leave San Diego. It's time. You've meant more to this franchise than any other player, at the very least you're on the same plain as Seau and Fouts. Unfortunately your playoff resume has sickened San Diego fans to the point where they booed every time you touched the ball on Sunday. I know it wasn't his fault, but that music video was released at a really unfortunate time for Tomlinson. But look at the bright side, if Ed Reed, Brett Favre, and Kurt Warner all retire this year, mixed with Seau, it could be a pretty stacked Hall of Fame class in 2014.

It's also time for Merriman to leave. That was obvious before this game, but he's useless now. Ever since the steroids thing in 2006 he's been a shell of his former self. Charger fans will not be the least bit upset if he's not on the roster entering 2010.

And then there's Nate Kaeding. What else is there to say about Kaeding besides stating the obvious, he is the new Mike Vanderjagt. When the pressure is off, or even in "big" kicks in the regular season, he can make them all. In the playoffs, I'd take anyone but Kaeding. He is the new Mike Vanderjagt, plain and simple.

The Chargers also become this decades AFC version of the Eagles. The team that always looked like a Super Bowl contender, but could never get it together. I suppose the Eagles will get more attention as the "Bills of the 00's" because they had more success overall than the Chargers (the Eagles at least got to five NFC title games to the Chargers one), but Chargers lack of success is worth noting. I often put them in the same sentence as New England, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis, but that may need to change until they win.

Don't get me wrong, the Chargers are a very good team, but like the Dallas Cowboys, talent doesn't equal wins. There is too much immaturity on this Chargers team (stemming from their leadership in Rivers and Tomlinson) and that needs to change. This is a team that faces adversity like the Raiders pass the ball: they don't. The Chargers gave up today.

The Chargers probably won't fire Norv, though they should. Rivers is their quarterback as long as he wants to be, he's that good. This is a team that cannot win a Super Bowl until they change something though, and it's more than a head coach, it's a culture.

Wade and Norv: Are Their Teams for Real?

After the 2006 season, legendary coaches in Dallas and San Diego lost their jobs. For Bill Parcells in Dallas, it was his own decision; he no longer wanted to be a head coach. Marty Schottenheimer on the other hand was fired because of a "one-and-done" in the playoffs after managing a 14-2 record with a first year starter at QB.

For some still unknown reason the Cowboys decided hire Wade Phillips and Chargers decided to hire Norv Turner.

For San Diego, the Chargers replaced a head coach known for getting his teams to the playoffs (although he was also known for losing in the playoffs), with a head coach who had nine seasons under his belt but only one playoff appearance (and only two winning seasons).

In Wade Phillips, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys hired the head coach known for taking over the "on-the-verge" Denver Broncos in 1993 and setting them back two years. As the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Phillips made the notorious call to bench Doug Flutie in favor of Rob Johnson heading into the 1999 playoffs. That decision lead to the Bills being unable to hold on to a lead against the Titans, and the Bills franchise has yet to get back to the playoffs.

Despite both San Diego and Dallas looking as if they gave up mansions for cardboard cut outs of mansions, the 2007 season was not that bad for either franchise. Dallas finished the season 13-3 and earned themselves the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs, a position they would use to host and lose to the eventual Super Bowl Champion NY Giants. After a 1-3 start, San Diego finished 11-5 and made it all the way to the AFC championship game, before losing to the (then) undefeated Patriots.

After what some teams would consider a successful 2007 season, both the Chargers and Cowboys fan communities still called for the respective heads of their coaches. Their cries were left unanswered.

In San Diego, most people probably wished that Norv was not only fired but exiled after a 4-8 start to the 2008 season. Miraculously, the team would get it together to win their final four games of the regular season, including a season ending showdown with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos collapse meant San Diego would host a home playoff game in the first round of the playoffs, despite having an 8-8 record.

Of course the 8-8 Chargers would go on to defeat the 12-4 Colts in overtime, before getting squashed by Pittsburghs run defense in the divisional round. For the second year in a row, in spite of being heavy AFC favorites heading into the season, the Chargers regular season woes would get in the way of playoff success. Still, the Chargers decided to keep Norv.

Dallas were even less successful in 2008. Though they entered the 2008 regular season as heavy favorites to not only win the NFC, but also to have a shot at winning the Super Bowl, the Cowboys would finish their season 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Somehow, despite an embarrassing 44-6 loss in a "winner goes to the playoffs" game with the Eagles, the Cowboys decided to stick with Phillips for 2009.

Now here we are in 2009. The Chargers are 5-3 and the Cowboys are 6-2. Both teams look as though they're ready to make another playoff run. Unfortunately for the Chargers, they'll once again likely have to play three games just to get to the Super Bowl; thanks in large part to another beatdown at the hands of the Steelers.

As for Dallas, they control their own playoff seeding. At 6-2, the Cowboys get a shot at New Orleans and can take control on the NFC with a win in that game.

Still, most people would be reserved to pick Dallas to get to the Super Bowl with Wade Phillips as head coach. There is nothing on his resume that would suggest he'll be able to do what it takes to beat the Vikings, Saints, or even the Cardinals when it matters most.

Norv on the other hand has once again crippled his teams Super Bowl aspirations by putting the team in an early season ditch. At 5-3, there's likely no chance the team catches the 8-0 Indianapolis Colts, and a head to head loss put the Chargers behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in seeding. Not to mention that the Chargers are still two games behind the Denver Broncos for the AFC West lead. As of now it looks as though if the Chargers have any real hope to make it the Super Bowl they're going to have to go through New England, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh consecutively. A task that even the greatest teams in NFL history probably couldn't pull off in 2009.

There's no doubt in my mind that both the Chargers and Cowboys are "for real." Both teams have been immensely talented since the middle of the decade. In fact, I'm one of the people who honestly believe that from 2007 to 2008 these were the two most talented teams in the NFL.

But there's a reason that the Giants, and Steelers won those three Super Bowls instead of the Cowboys and Chargers; because of their superior head coaching ability. Superior head coaching ability that quieted egos and players who would do nothing but complain (you know who I'm referring to there). The Cowboys and Chargers combined to win zero Super Bowls from 2007 to 2008 because Norv Turner and Wade Phillips couldn't keep a camp of fat kids focused in a Burger King, let alone keep the attention a team of twenty-somethings with a ton of wealth.

In 2009 it'd be hard to say that the Cowboys and Chargers are still the most talented teams in the league. That's what happens though; teams get older and players skill sets erode. LaDanian Tomlinson is no longer a serviceable back in the league and the Chargers running offense and running defense can't be considered in the top half of the league. Dallas still have to worry about their pass defense and running offense. Marion Barber is better served as a "closer," and Felix Jones is rapidly becoming the Bob Sanders of offensive football (and not in the good way). Still, both teams could beat any team in the league.

So it looks as though Phillips and Turner are doing what they have to do to keep their jobs; and in turn both are doing what they have to do to keep their franchises "window of opportunity" rapidly closing.

Norv Turner Has Got to Go

The Chargers are off to their third slow start in as many years; all on the heels of their 14-2 season where the team went from being as socially pertinent as the Minnesota Wild, to joining the ranks of the Giants, Packers, Eagles, Colts, Bears, Cowboys, Patriots, and Steelers as the leagues most viable franchises.

Time has proven that the 14-2 Chargers were more of a mirage, and the team, though a member of the AFC Elite, should not be expected to ever reach 14-2 again... not with this group at least. That being said this is still a playoff team.

The AFC West is bad. Although the Broncos are 4-0, the Chargers still have two games with their division rival Broncos, and if they can take care of those, will be in control of their division yet again. Last year a division title was enough to give them a home game against a team that had won four more regular season games; this year a home game in that first round will yet again be valuable given that if the Chargers can pull of a fourth straight division title they'd likely be hosting either the Steelers, Ravens, Patriots, or Jets. Four teams the Chargers will benefit greatly from having at home.

All of this being said, Charger fans should still not be happy with the state of their team. Sure, their two losses are against the two teams who played in last years AFC Championship game, but that's the point! The teams two losses are against the two teams who played in last years AFC Championship game! These are the two teams that San Diego needs to prove they can beat when the pressure is on. If the Chargers want to live up to their hype they're going to need to beat teams like the Steelers, Ravens, and Patriots; and they're probably not going to host more than one of them at home.

All of this falls down on their head coach. Sure (0verrated) GM AJ Smith has placed the blame on the players, and not head coach Norv Turner, but I'm going to take the other side on this one AJ.

In Sunday Night's game against the Steelers the Chargers had the opportunity to go 3-1 and send the Steelers to 1-3, crippling the defending Super Bowl champs hopes at home field throughout the playoffs. Stifling some of the playoff dreams of the team that embarrassed the Chargers last January. Heading into Sunday Night I expected to see the Chargers come out with the sense of fire we've grown used to seeing, the fire and urgency we saw last year against Tampa and Denver. The Chargers had all the momentum heading into Sunday and the Steelers had none.

That was until the opening drive where Big Ben and Rashard Mendenhall made these Chargers look like the 2003 Chargers. After that drive we saw another pair of beastly drives by the Steelers. We saw Complanian Tomlinson stand on the sidelines and pout. We saw Ron Rivera yell a bunch of curse words trying to motivate a bunch of kids wealthier than he is. But most importantly we saw Norv do nothing.

Then Norv comes out the tunnel for the second half and we hear a report saying Norv thinks the offense needs to do a better job... Seriously Norv? You're problem isn't your offense. Everyone in the NFL knows you have a great offense. The problem was your offense was never on the field because you couldn't stop someone named Mewelde. Even with Complainian declining at an equal rate to Edgerrin James your offense is still top tier. It's that Ron River lead defense that's the problem.

You can tell me that it's Jamal Williams injury that deserves some blame for the Chargers defensive decline but I say that's a load of crap. The Pats are missing Mayo, the Colts are missing Sanders, and the Steelers are missing Polamalu, and their units are still playing at a higher level than the Chargers D. And wasn't the Steelers run offense their weakness?

Pretty much the only thing the Sunday Night game proved is that the 09 Chargers, though talented and still a potential playoff team (by default), are not ready to compete with the big boys. Come January I'm not quite sure this team has what it takes to take out the Ravens, Patriots, or Steelers... and chances are they may have to take out all three if they want to live up to all the hype we've been forced to swallow every summer.

The Chargers need to get rid of Norv. I don't wanna hear he beat the Colts two years in a row. That doesn't matter, he hasn't won the big one. Every year he's handicapped this Chargers team by starting slow and preventing his team from getting that first round bye. It looks like he's going to do it again for the third year straight. AJ has drafted poorly. Norv has coached poorly. If AJ wants to cover his tracks and get this team on the right one, he'll fire Norv and give John Gruden whatever it takes to come out of the booth and onto to the field back in the AFC West.

If not AJ may end up like the other (more talented) GM in San Diego sports... unemployed.