Califan007 The Constipated Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 http://www.latimes.com/sports/football/nfl/la-sp-plaschke15jan15,1,3612855.column?coll=la-headlines-sports-nfl With a couple of minutes left in Schottenheimer's Last Stand, high in the chilly winds and darkening skies, the scoreboard at Qualcomm Stadium showed an old video of Marty Schottenheimer screaming some inspiration. Down below, with wide eyes and blank face, the real Marty was speechless. Up above, he was wildly gesturing in a single direction. Down below, the real Marty wandered around as if lost. Up above, he bowed his head and stuck out his chest. Down below, the real Marty cringed. With the San Diego Chargers trying to hold off the New England Patriots in the final moments of the AFC divisional playoff game Sunday, the fans wildly cheered the televised Marty. When the Chargers eventually blew a lead and lost, 24-21, on a last-minute field goal, those same fans quietly and pitifully stared at the real one. He had botched a fourth-down call, bungled two timeout calls and stood idly on the cold grass while watching his team disintegrate into serial stupidity that led to the surrendering of 11 points in the final five minutes. "I don't know if I can put it into words," said Charger LaDainian Tomlinson quietly. I can. Three words. January. Marty. Again. When it doesn't matter, Schottenheimer acts more like a powerful NFL leader than anyone in the league. When it does matter, he acts like he doesn't have a clue." Click link for rest of the article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 Best part of the article: "In his 21 years as an NFL coach, it may have never mattered more than on Sunday, when he walked into his home stadium at the head of a team with the best record in pro football, a team with 10 consecutive wins and nine Pro Bowl players and — shhhhh — Super Bowl reservations. Nearly four hours later, he walked out with his baseball cap twisted, his wire-rimmed glasses askew and his sorry reputation intact. Twenty-one years, 18 playoff games, and just five playoff victories. Twenty-one years, 200 overall victories and zero Super Bowl appearances. Schottenheimer left in front of one player, tackle Shane Olivea, who was so distraught he tore off his jersey and shoulder pads and attempted to throw the entire contraption 10 feet high into the stands. Schottenheimer also left in front of a file of Chargers cheerleaders who were loudly weeping and complaining, "This ruins our trip to Miami!" :laugh: Marty even has the cheerleaders pissed off lol... :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. S Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 i'd blame the defender who couldn't hold onto the ball after he picked it off. Not only did he fumble it and give it back to the Pats, it got them a first down as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 i'd blame the defender who couldn't hold onto the ball after he picked it off. Not only did he fumble it and give it back to the Pats, it got them a first down as well. Once a defender has possession, if he loses it and the 'offense' recovers, it's automatically a first down. Even if he had run 50 yards and fumbled, it's still 1st and 10 Pats (barring any penalties after the recovery on the offense.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 This article seems to be grasping at straws to place the blame on Marty. He had botched a fourth-down call, bungled two timeout calls and stood idly on the cold grass while watching his team disintegrate into serial stupidity that led to the surrendering of 11 points in the final five minutes.The fourth down call was in the first quarter on the thirty yard line in a scoreless game - not exactly a crazy situation to go for it.I'm not sure when he bungled two timeouts ... there was one before that fourth down call, but that was pretty inconsequential. He challenged the crazy interception-fumble, which was at least worth a shot. Then they called timeout before a big third down, which might have been a waste, but it was the biggest play of the game at that point. His last timeout was before the two-minute warning ... I can't really blame Marty for that. As for how he "stood idly on the cold grass," I don't know what Plaschke was looking for - tears? Marty may be the poster child of playoff failures, but it's hard to blame him for this loss ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 This article seems to be grasping at straws to place the blame on Marty.The fourth down call was in the first quarter on the thirty yard line in a scoreless game - not exactly a crazy situation to go for it.I'm not sure when he bungled two timeouts ... there was one before that fourth down call, but that was pretty inconsequential. He challenged the crazy interception-fumble, which was at least worth a shot. Then they called timeout before a big third down, which might have been a waste, but it was the biggest play of the game at that point. His last timeout was before the two-minute warning ... I can't really blame Marty for that. As for how he "stood idly on the cold grass," I don't know what Plaschke was looking for - tears? Marty may be the poster child of playoff failures, but it's hard to blame him for this loss ... I think the "stood idly on the cold grass" comment was meant as a way of showing that Marty could do nothing as he watched yet another playoff loss come to fruition... As for the blown 4th down call, that's a toss-up...seeing as the Chargers lost by 3 points--and seeing how the Pats went on to score a field goal after that "blown" 4th down call--I think it's reasonable to suggest that kicking a fieldgoal would have been the most logical and beneficial thing to do at that point. And as for yesterday's game not being Marty's fault, I think the point of the article is that when you're 5-13 in the playoffs, there comes a point where every loss is now your fault. It has to be, since the coach is the only common element in all those losses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seabee1973 Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Elway was responsible for 2 of those losses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Weirdo Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 My heart goes out to him. Come to Philadelphia, Marty. You belong here with the rest of us. And that isn't a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 As for the blown 4th down call, that's a toss-up...seeing as the Chargers lost by 3 points--and seeing how the Pats went on to score a field goal after that "blown" 4th down call--I think it's reasonable to suggest that kicking a fieldgoal would have been the most logical and beneficial thing to do at that point.eh, seeing how the last field goal went at the end of the game, it probably just would've given the Patriots the ball in even better field position ... in any case, I don't think it's that big a deal. Like the drive and the fumble, this game was more about bad luck than bad coaching.And as for yesterday's game not being Marty's fault, I think the point of the article is that when you're 5-13 in the playoffs, there comes a point where every loss is now your fault. It has to be, since the coach is the only common element in all those losses. Now some of the other 10 losses could be blamed on bad coaching - the common knock on Marty is that he plays not to lose ... but in this particular game he wasn't playing Marty-ball, and fluky plays really turned the game. I don't think it's fair to say that just because he lost games before, that every loss from now on is his fault. Cowher couldn't win the big one until he won the Super Bowl last year. It's football, and there is a lot of luck involved. Maybe it's true that Marty isn't the greatest coach in pressure situations, and you could find plenty of examples in his career, but I really don't think that this particular game can be blamed on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmchairRedskin Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I think Marty gets a lot of undeserved criticism. He can only do so much as a coach. At the end of the day it comes down to the players. They gotta make the plays. The Pats are the best playoff team I've ever seen. They are so consistently good it's just silly. His record is what? 12-1 in the playoffs? Brady is near impossible to force off his game. He always seems to come thru in the clutch. There was one exception this year, though, and it was INDY. Be interesting to see if they can repeat whataver it was to get him to throw 4 Int's and no TD's this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 Bottom line: a "very good" coach will NOT have a 5-13 postseason record. The two can not logically go hand in hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 In my opinion, Schott clearly squandered at least one time out. There was no reason in the world to challenge that double possession play. Video showed no discrepancies at all. It was a panic move from a coach who wasn't thinking clearly. The offense also mis-managed the clock in the final two minutes (not necessarily Schott's fault). When all is said and done, who's in charge? The HC is Schott. And so is the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Marty choked. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ax Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 If there's a "tough luck" coach in football, it's Marty. As head coach, he will always get the blame for so many "almost" seasons. Just like Andy Reid should. Both of them have coached differently in the playoffs than they do during the regular season. Except this year. Neither guy was calling plays this year, yet they both were failed by their players, yet again, in the playoffs. Earlier this year when Sean Peyton tried a similar challenge on a fumble that cost him a time out, he was hailed a genius for using it to give his team an opportunity to calm down and get refocused. Not Marty though. His reputation won't allow such nonsense as "luck" to have anything to do with it. Bottom line is, win you're a genius, lose you're an idiot. I'd lay the blame at Parker's feet for the muffed punt. How many, at least ten, dropped passes. Bozo's head butt that kept a Patriot drive alive. River's horrible interception on the lobbed screen pass while the defender was right there staring at him. "Lights Out" getting shut out. Troy Brown stripping the ball out after the interception was just a GREAT play. But Marty, the tough luck kid, will take the blame for all of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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