Wrong time for ‘Martyball’

By Robert Rousseau  |   Tuesday, October 03, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

San Diego Chargers
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Here's the thing. Everyone knows that San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer is known for being conservative. In fact, he's gotten a lot of slack for "Martyball" over the years.

Well, "Martyball" was in full effect over the weekend and played a major role in the Chargers' loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Sure, penalties didn't help, but Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron deserve a good measure of the blame for the 16-13 defeat.

In the past, Schottenheimer's conservative style made sense. During most of his time with the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins, Schottenheimer really didn't have much in the line of playmakers on offense, particularly when it came to the passing game; thus, when he got a lead, the best thing to do was to play good defense and try to run out the clock. On the flip side, when he had playmakers and a good quarterback (such as with Cleveland or when Joe Montana came to Kansas City), he was more open on offense. In other words, he seemed to change, at least to an extent, with the talent he had.

With the 2006 San Diego Chargers, Schottenheimer and Cameron have the ability to open things up. Yes, Philip Rivers is inexperienced, but he once again proved this weekend that he is capable of delivering (even if he hardly got a chance to show anything in the second half). Beyond Rivers, the Chargers have one of the most athletic tight ends in the game - Antonio Gates - and a likely Hall of Fame running back in LaDainian Tomlinson. There is even talent at receiver with Keenan McCardell and Eric Parker.

In other words, this is not a team that needs to play it close to the vest. Not to mention, playing like you're up 20 when, in reality, you're only up six has its downfall. What is that downfall, you ask?

A loss.

Forgetting the final drive of the game, the Chargers rushed the ball on 20 of 24 non-special teams plays in the second half. Further, there were some very conservative play calls.

For example, on a first-and-20 at 2:49 of the third quarter, the Chargers handed the ball off to Tomlinson from their own 18. That's not so bad, is it? Unfortunately, during that same possession they did the same thing on second- and-18 and third-and-12.

Then there was the fourth quarter. On a first-and-26 at the Baltimore 41, they ran Tomlinson. The next play, a second-and-20 at the Ravens 35, they did the same thing.

Yes, there was a pattern. And the aforementioned plays only tell a small part of it.

Schottenheimer is more than a good coach; he's a very good coach. In addition, much of the ridicule he's heard about his conservative approach in the past has been unfounded (the approach was necessary most of the time). However, this is a different team.

This Chargers offense isn't the 49ers of the '80s and '90s, but the unit doesn't have to play afraid, either.
Hopefully, he and Cam Cameron will learn from the mistakes of this game. Schottenheimer has some offensive guns on his team; he needs to use them.

The Chargers must play to win, not to "not lose."

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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or ...
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