Not in my lifetime

There are a lot of things that I don't think that I will ever see in my lifetime. And I'm not just talking about that Jennifer Aniston-Angelina Jolie buddy flick.

I know that you're never supposed to say never, but, I have a hard time buying that any of the following will happen during my lifetime...

Al Davis put together another Super Bowl contender.

The Ford family will make the Lions a contender, or that the Lions will bring a Lombardi trophy to Ford Field, even as a loaner from another team.

A Chiefs-Lions Super Bowl.

A Super Bowl in a cold weather non-domed stadium (anyone else notice that football is the only sport in which home field/court advantage goes out the window in the championship game).

Mike Vick as a success in the NFL.

Norv Turner coach a team to the Super Bowl as The Man.

AJ Smith GM a Super Bowl winner.

Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, or Mark McGwire get into the Hall of Fame.

Mike Shanahan win a Super Bowl without John Elway (why is it that the so-called offensive geniuses have struggled to put quality QB's in place...see Brian Billick, Ravens).

Just a few things that popped into my head today.

Exposed

AJ Smith has been exposed.

He has been exposed as arrogant and conceited. He has been exposed as nothing more than a glorified scout that should not be allowed to make personnel decisions in regards to coaching staffs. He has been exposed as a man who obviously believes that HE is the most important cog in constructing a winning NFL franchise.

He is not.

Worse - he probably still doesn't get it.

Because he couldn't stand his Hall of Fame Coach or the thought that his HOF Coach wanted to hire his own brother as the defensive coordinator. So, he fired him.

Smith replaced Marty Shottenheimer with the man Shottenheimer replaced in Washington DC - Norv Turner. Somehow Smith missed that Shottenheimer was successful with the same roster that Turner couldn't win with.

Now, Turner is showing how he can once again fail to win with the same personnel that Shottenheimer had.

Ted Cottrell has coached the Chargers once aggressive, attacking defense into a mess that gave up 23 of 30 points to a team that had scored a record low 26 points in the first three weeks of the season. Turner has presided over a team that looked barely ready for prime time in their one win against the Bears, and has given up over 30 points per game during their three game slide.

Turner, the so-called offensive genius has managed to turn one the best teams from last season to one of the worst in the AFC...only quarter of the way through the season. They are last in their division and only one team, the 0-4 Dolphins have a worse record in the AFC. In their own division the Raiders have outscored them by over 40 points, and in the entire conference only three teams have given up more - Jets (103), Browns (118), and Dolphins (109).

The Chargers today lost to a rebuilding Chiefs team that has struggled to move the ball...well, until they met the Chargers.

And the bottom line is that AJ Smith is responsible for this mess. If Chargers owner Alex Spanos is smart, he gives Turner and Smith until the bye on October 21. If the team blows games to either Denver or Oakland, both divisional foes, it is likely done for the season unless a radical change is made. That change needs to be both Smith and Turner, because if there is one thing that has become painfully obvious, it's that the Chargers weren't amongst the most talented last season - but they were among the best coached.

For those who dispute that. Other than Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson, who on that offense instills fear in opponents? And right now, no one on that defense is instilling any fear either. So maybe Smith, as opposed to him being the great talent evaluator, and his players were a product of Shottenheimer's coaching.

A quick look at the first two weeks...

But first...is it just me, or are the Sons of Tito trying their hardest to make this feel a lot like 1978?

Now...on to pigskin matters...

I'll comment only on what I have seen enough of to be able to comment on...

The Jets have played precisely a quarter and a half of good football out of eight total quarters played. They might want to consider worrying about playing football rather than what's happening on an opponent's sideline, or what an opponent's snap count is - as it seems that simulating Baltimore's snap count didn't help NY win.

Don't be surprised if other coaches through the course of this season accuse Mangini's team of cheating. There are things that all coaches do that are against the rules, but it's an unwritten rule as a coach that you don't talk about these things. Mangini crossed a line that may even make it difficult, not impossible, just difficult for him to garner another coaching position in the league. Don't believe it, check out Peter King -

"If he wasn't before, Mangini's dead to Belichick now," says one head coach.
"What Mangini did is a disgrace. He wouldn't be a coach in this league without
Bill, and this is how he repays him."...It's widely believed that New England
has stolen signals in this manner for years, but officials from various clubs
acknowledge that the Pats are not the only team that does it - PK, Sports
Illustrated

This weekend they'll have a chance to climb out of the AFC East's cellar...as long as they can manage to beat the Dolphins.

I feel bad for Joey Harrington. I've seen chunks of the Falcons games and that offensive line would make Peyton Manning look bad, yet Bobby Petrino is blaming Harrington for the team's offensive woes. So instead of trying to fix the line for a reasonably mobile QB like Harrington, Petrino goes out and gets his old college QB, the less than sterling Byron Leftwich.

If Leftwich had issues behind the Jaguars line, he'll be toast in Atlanta. Hope you have your cemetery plot picked out Byron, it'll save time for your next of kin.

The Chargers are looking very mortal right now. They struggled against the Bears, really having to work to beat an offensively challenged Chicago squad, and then were absolutely thrashed by the Patriots. If there's anyone out there other than AJ Smith that believes Norv Turner can lead a team to a championship, please raise your hand. Anybody?

I've watched a fair amount of every team in the NFC East, and the only one that looks good is Dallas...and I don't really buy that they're going to do this consistently.

Other quick observations -

The Steelers look good, the Seahawks do not, nor do the Saints.

I think the jury is still out on the Colts. The Defense looks better than expected, but I want to see it against a real powerhouse before I really make a determination about how good Indy is on that side of the ball.

That first question has been answered...partially

Today the Chargers announced that Norv Turner will replace Marty Shottenheimer as the head coach. Is it just me, or is that like announcing that you just replaced your Mustang with a Gremlin?