MARTY GONE?
Now that the Chargers have parlayed a 14-2 season and the No. 1 seed in the AFC field into a one-and-out against the Pats, it remains to be seen whether the recent report from John Czarnecki of FOXSports.com that coach Marty Schottenheimer will be fired comes to fruition.
But Czarnecki's report was only that Marty was out if the team lost. Given the manner in which the game unraveled, we think the outcome becomes even more likely.
Seven times that the Chargers were on the 50 or in Patriots territory, San Diego scored no points.
After Marlon McCree's boneheaded decision to intercept a pass on fourth down late in the game rather than knock it down, he fumbled the ball, giving the Pats the mulligan they needed to tie the game up. Yeah, McCree screwed up. But the coaching staff is responsible for making sure that the guys on the field know what to do under specific game circumstances.
Then, Schottenheimer made it worse by wasting a time out, which might have come in handy down the stretch, on a replay challenge of the play that had no chance of succeeding.
Other things happened that weren't the result of coaching decisions. But they were the result of mistakes that NFL players shouldn't make. Individually, it's hard to blame coaching; collectively, coaching is the common thread.
So we think it's time. Marty must go. And, as Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported on Sunday morning, it could be father and son vying for the same job in Miami. -PFT
Now that the Chargers have parlayed a 14-2 season and the No. 1 seed in the AFC field into a one-and-out against the Pats, it remains to be seen whether the recent report from John Czarnecki of FOXSports.com that coach Marty Schottenheimer will be fired comes to fruition.
But Czarnecki's report was only that Marty was out if the team lost. Given the manner in which the game unraveled, we think the outcome becomes even more likely.
Seven times that the Chargers were on the 50 or in Patriots territory, San Diego scored no points.
After Marlon McCree's boneheaded decision to intercept a pass on fourth down late in the game rather than knock it down, he fumbled the ball, giving the Pats the mulligan they needed to tie the game up. Yeah, McCree screwed up. But the coaching staff is responsible for making sure that the guys on the field know what to do under specific game circumstances.
Then, Schottenheimer made it worse by wasting a time out, which might have come in handy down the stretch, on a replay challenge of the play that had no chance of succeeding.
Other things happened that weren't the result of coaching decisions. But they were the result of mistakes that NFL players shouldn't make. Individually, it's hard to blame coaching; collectively, coaching is the common thread.
So we think it's time. Marty must go. And, as Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported on Sunday morning, it could be father and son vying for the same job in Miami. -PFT
