Unreal - Where the Lack of Respect for the Chargers Comes From

There's a certain stigma that is carried into the playoffs as an 8 and 8 NFL team. There is good precedent for this, as no team had won a playoff game prior to 2004. In those five attempts, the closest a team came to winning was the first one - the 1985 Cleveland Browns, who came within a field goal of Miami. The only two teams to actually win a playoff game as an 8-8 team were both in 2004. Both Minnesota and St Louis made the NFC playoffs in a terrible year for that conference. Both won their first round game (vs. Green Bay and Seattle, respectively) and both were spanked in the second round. Thank you ESPN for keeping this updated.

Now the Chargers have made it. The San Diego Chargers, who were likely everyone's favorite to win it all once Tom Brady went Carson Palmer on us, are now in the playoffs[sorry about the link Pattie Fans, but this is what sports does to us]. So why should we show any respect to a team that is 8-8 and only in the playoffs because they play in a weak division? Well first, we should take a look at who they beat, and who they lost to. Perhaps we should think about how they lost the games they did lose.

1. To the second seeded Carolina 26-24 on a last second TD pass.
2. On the road to the Broncos (not quite a playoff team!) 39-38, which should have been a win. In Baseball, they would have played the remainder of the game under protest.
3. On the road to the third seeded Dolphins 17-10.
4. On the road to the MIGHTY BUFFALO BILLS!!! 23-14.
   
5. In England to the Saints 37-32 after which they fired their defensive coordinator for not getting pressure on quarterbacks (17 sacks in 8 games).
6. On the road to the second seeded Steelers 11-10 in the last minute.
7. To the fifth seeded Colts 23-20 in the last minute.
8. To the fifth seeded Atlanta Falcons 22-16

The Chargers were 3-5 at on the road this year, with two of those losses coming against playoff teams. One of those games was a farce (the Broncos) and should not have counted as a loss. One of those games was played over 11,000 miles from home. Two of those losses came with a combined 35 seconds to play for a total difference of two points. Their only loss more than seven points (on the road or at home) came against the MIGHTY BUFFALO BILLS!!!

There's an old(?) saying that bad teams lose close games. The Chargers were 2-7 in games decided by a touchdown or less (both wins vs. Kansas City). This is indeed disturbing. However, there is also a saying that good teams don't lose to bad teams. The Chargers are 8-3 against non-playoff teams (9-2 if you fix that stupid Bronco game!). The average score in these games was 33-23 Chargers.

The scariest stat for the AFC (besides Phillip Rivers, who I'll get to) is that the Chargers are only allowing 18.5 points per game (including three playoff teams - ATL, IND, PIT) since changing D coordinators. This is down from 24.9 in the first 8 games. This is also better than their first opponent's (Colts) 20.9/game in their last 8 meaningful games (games 7-15) against only two playoff teams (Tenn and SD).

Really, considering their record and their past history, I was not terribly surprised this morning by John Clayton's article Here. Mr. Clayton presents ten questions in which he rarely mentions the Chargers. He highlights their major injury (LT's abdominal strain), there rematch with the Colts (week 12) and their ineffectiveness at the running game, stating that LT "has had one of the worst seasons of his career." This is because he only rushed for 1,110 yards and 11 touchdowns whilst not fumbling once. This was fourth among AFC backs!! Oh, and second among playoff bound AFC backs (Johnson, TEN - 1,228). Are you kidding me John?! Note that Darren Sproles ran for an additional 330 yards on only 61 carries. Actually the Chargers' 4.1 yards per rush is third among AFC playoff teams (Tenn 4.3, Mia 4.2). Great analysis John. That must be because of their O-line's "shaky run-blocking". Laugh-Out-Loud John, Laugh-Out-Loud.

Maybe the Charger's are a threat because of their passing game then. This is what Mr. Clayton says:

"6. Which quarterbacks hold the edge?

Manning, Roethlisberger and -- believe it or not -- Collins have the edge. Manning is the most experienced playoff quarterback. He's been in 14 playoff games, winning seven and losing seven. He has 21 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions in those 14 games, and he's completed 61 percent of his passes. He's won three of his past four playoff games, and he has a Super Bowl ring.

Roethlisberger is next. In the postseason, he's 5-2 with 12 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, and he has the league's highest completion percentage (62.4) [he's at a whopping 59.9 this year John, 21st in the NFL]. Collins is the sleeper. He's been to two conference championship games and a Super Bowl. Pennington is a solid playoff quarterback. He took three Jets teams to the playoffs and is 2-3 in the postseason with seven touchdown passes and a 60.4 completion percentage. Rivers is just starting to learn how to be a successful playoff quarterback. He is 2-2 in the postseason, thanks to last year's run to the AFC title game."

So not only has Phillip Rivers been stiffed out of a trip to the Pro Bowl, now he's doesn't even hold an edge in playoff passing. The Chargers' 241.1 passing yards per game is seventh in the NFL and second among AFC playoff teams (Indy with 255.9). Phillip is getting an astounding 8.4 yards per pass attempt! Wait a second. That means that the Chargers are getting 6.0 yards per play! That's tied for tops among NFL playoff teams (Car).

Rivers completed this season with a QB rating of 105.5. His previous highest in a full season was 92.0 in '06. How does this compete with other QB's? Well in 2007, Tom Brady had a QB rating of 117.2. In 2004, Peyton Manning set the single season record of 121.1 while Daunte Culpepper (yes, him) had 110.9. That places Rivers fourth on the list for this decade. Among active QB's? Kurt Warner in '99 had a 109.2, and that's it! We're talking about the fifth best performance by an active QB, and he's not a great threat in the playoffs. Thanks John. Great job, John.

What does all of this mean? Watch out AFC. Their's a fierce storm on the horizon and it wears a giant bolt of lightning. Go Chargers! Set 'em straight!

On Christmas Eve the girls got a crack at their first gifts. Their first gifts were some classic children's stories DVDs. Then the moved on to the classic Christmas PJs gift.



After some more running around Mary set up a few nice shots of the girls and the tree. I thought they were great photos. Mary and I went to bed relatively early - we were both wiped out from a full evening that saw a couple of our favorite families over for dinner.

Christmas Day was relaxing. The kids got up way too late and started in on their Santa Loot.


Anna's hair was in an exceptionally good mood that day. It was great to observe her reactions to the different stimulus that this great holiday provides. Her faces are priceless; I'm not sure where she gets it from. After a pot of coffee and breakfast I broke into the gifts under the tree.


The gifts were a hoot. Everyone really enjoyed them. Except for Audrey's Lego's. I guess she "liked" them, she just didn't like that they were Coast Guard themed.






















We also got Abby a desk that wouldn't quite fit under the tree. That was about the only work I did all day. It was nice.

Out of Order

I know I said that many pictures were coming, and that’s still the case. I am on leave through the New Year, and I am expecting to be much more motivated tomorrow. Actually, I feel like that every day. :) By the way, my kids are broken - the wind woke me up on Christmas morning when they should have. I didn’t even have to roll out of bed until 7:30. Even then, it was at my wife’s insistence at the first hint that the kids were awake. I'm pretty sure that she was excited.

My Internet was also broken on Christmas Day. That is also the wind's fault. It also serves as my official excuse for not blogging with a ton of photos today. However I did manage to upload one photo. Here’s a pic of all of us gathered around the tree. Enjoy!

'Tis

Santa’s in Belarus [http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.html] and the air here in Rockport is electric. The three girls are helping their mother set the table for our guests - they can smell Christmas coming (and so can the cats). We’re having Justin’s and Jason’s families over for Christmas Eve. Justin is my Poker protégé (that is so much better than me now) while Jason is my Rummy-Work-Spouse. Yet we will have to relinquish our competitive natures in order to celebrate Christmas a day early. Maybe we’ll be able to sneak a game of Mad Gab in after dinner! In any case, I hope everyone is having a spectacular Christmas season, whether you celebrate it or not. Expect loads of pictures and a blog about tomorrow sometime in the future! Go Chargers!

New Blog

I just wanted to announce that I have another blog that I have started. I will be keeping most of my poker thoughts here: http://cgcook38.blogspot.com/

Top Ten Tips for Avoiding Seasickness

I work on a boat for a living. This has been the case for nearly seven years of my life. By the time I am retired from the Coast Guard I will have spent a large percentage of my life at sea. In my years on the ocean I’ve had a quite the bout with sea sickness a time or two. I’ve started making a mental list of the techniques I use to combat the worst feeling in the world. There are ten tips I recommend to help you the next time you’re rocking and rolling on the high seas.

Tip #1: Don’t get seasick –
- I know, I know. “Thanks Brandon. That’s bleeping brilliant!” Honestly, my biggest problem with seasickness is avoiding it. I find that when I get seasick I don’t ever feel right again until I am on solid land. That being said I am doing everything imaginable to stay feeling well. I psyche myself out well before the trip, convincing myself that it will take an act of God to get me sick. I also plan out what I will be doing during the rough weather so I don’t ever have to think about how sick I am feeling.

Tip #2: Don’t let the boat tell you how sick you are –
- I have a large mixer in the corner of my galley. Right next to it are 5 cutting boards. When the seas are rough enough these cutting boards flop back and forth between the mixer and the bulkhead. Right underneath it is a large rolling pin on the shelf. Across the way 5 ladles and 8 spoons hang from a bar above the counter. The resulting noise is deafening and coordinated. I know that as soon as I hear the cutting boards and rolling pin I will start getting squeamish. These things remind me of the war that the sea is waging against the floating hunk of steel that is my boat. I do my best to mitigate these things. Visual cues also throw my inner-ear for a loop. On my first boat I looked out of the galley through portals on the Starboard side of the boat. Ocean – sky – ocean – sky – ocean – sky. Yuck.

Tip #3: Attempt to leave nothing to do –
- Mise en Place – Have everything in its place. In the cooking world it means that I do as much prep work as possible ahead of time. The last thing I want to do in rough seas is pipe manicotti shells full of ricotta. Actually, I’ve already done that once. ONCE. If I am feeling well and I run out of things to do, I sit and relax. Others may find it useful to stay busy and keep their mind off of the sea state. If I want to stay busy and I’ve already prepped a meal to the max, I set off prepping the following meal. Or I may decide to do extra cleaning.

Tips #4 and 5: Eat healthy before and during bad weather – Stay hydrated –
- I’m not sure how far I can go into this without being redundant. Eat well so you are full of energy. Being tired doesn’t improve your odds of avoiding seasickness. And staying hydrated is a double bonus – it keeps you feeling well longer AND gives you something to do once you aren’t feeling well. Yuck.

Tip #6: Burping is good –
- The number one sign that I am getting sick is this constant pressure in my upper chest that feels like it’s restricting my esophagus. The number one relief of that feeling is a good belch! So I like to break open a can of soda early on in rough weather. Please note that this technique DOES NOT work for me when I am already queasy.

Tip #7: Wake up with drugs in your system to beat drowsiness –
- I once woke up somewhere near the Cape Cod Canal. We were on our way up from Baltimore and it was about 3am. The seas were awful and it felt like they were driving us around in the trough. I had a couple hours before I was required to be up to cook breakfast, so I jumped up and went to the medicine cabinet. I grabbed some Dramamine and went back to the rack. I woke up nice and refreshed from my power nap with none of the ill side effects of the motion sickness pills. Now if only I could have been ninja enough to avoid the side effects of the pot of boiling water that got underway – that’d be awesome!

Tip #8 - 10: I got lazy, so you get ‘em all at once! –
- The more I can stay horizontal when the seas are rough, the better. Sleep and you may wake up sick, but you won’t actually BE sick while you’re sleeping. Besides, who doesn’t like sleep?
- Stay well below the water line. My galley rolls a lot less than the bridge does. The engineering spaces hardly roll at all compared to the bridge. At times I don’t feel a thing in the galley while the bridge will make me sick.
- Keep cool! Being overheated will lead to puking!! Another great reason to stay hydrated!

And that’s it! These are all of the things that I do to keep from getting sick! Well – besides my typical behavior of doing as little as possible for as long as possible! Everyone is different and it’s important to pay attention to what keeps you well. Good luck!

Sunday Warm Up

I am playing in a big poker tournament on Sunday the 14th. The $200+15 buy-in Sunday Warm-up offers a guaranteed prize pool of $750,000. Last week the tournament brought in 4,066 players bringing the pool to $874,190. 586 players made the minimum pay-out of $406.61. First place was set to receive $105,716. Wish me luck. If you have PokerStars software and you want to cheer me on, search for CgCook38. The tourney kicks off at 12:45pm ET and hopefully I’ll be at the table for a good long ten hours!

Back to Basics

With coaching football over for the year I am back to having some spare time. I dove back into programming yesterday. I am messing around with creating tournament director software.

My Little Timer

So far I've figured out how to create a timer that counts down to zero. I'm using Visual C++. I forgot how addicting this stuff is.

Update II - The Season

In my "Tower"

Our football season was quite a lot of work. It’s always a good experience to come to a small school as a new coach. There is often a lot of responsibility out there for the taking. The coaching staff consisted of five coaches – The head coach acted as offensive coordinator and backs/linebackers coach. We had an assistant head coach who acted as the receivers/defensive backs coach with me as an assistant. Finally we had our defensive coordinator who took on the offensive and defensive lines with one assistant coach.


Two well trained freshmen standing behind "My Line"Our team was the very definition of a young team. Of thirty-some-odd players we had three seniors and two juniors. Our largest class was the freshmen who made up over half of the team. Generally freshmen are assigned to a Junior Varsity or even a freshman team when they show up on a high school practice field. We had no option but to play them at the Varsity level. We actually had quite a few freshmen starters, especially on our special teams.

All of this youth told me a few things before the season started. Even though my heart (and the football fan inside of me) told me we would win every game by a lot, I knew that we would be losing a lot of games. Also, we would have quite a few players who would stop showing up to practice once the losing started. There is just no way that every freshman out there wants to be pounded on by people twice there size and lose every game.The Snow Bowl: One of the most beautiful places to lose four games

I turned out to be partially wrong in the best possible way. We had very few, if any freshmen quit the team. We had two seniors show up late only to quit when they were sure that we were in for it. The freshmen stuck it out through the entire year and I was very proud of them. We ended up losing every game we played against class B varsity teams. We won our first game, a scrimmage against a class C team. After that everything was a terrible loss. The scoreboard always showed a blowout no matter how the game actually went. The problem with young teams is the “big play”. We gave up so many special teams touchdowns, third and fourth down conversions, and long runs for touchdowns. We couldn’t sustain drives on offense due to a series of problems dealing with execution of basic fundamentals – a clear sign of our youth and inexperience. If only I could be here for next year’s team!

Update I - Coaching Again

I imagine that seven months after my previous post it’s time for an update. I did in fact meet with the Coach back in February. We talked a bit about me, a bit about him, and a lot about Five Town Football and the high school team. I met his son Collin, our sophomore quarterback/free safety. It’s impressive to meet a freshman in high school (at the time) that is bigger than me.

A full six months before the season started, Coach stuck to the basics of our team structure. We were expecting a good number of returning upperclassmen to the mixed varsity/junior varsity squad along with about 15 new freshmen from the feeder middle school team. Our numbers would be near 45 to start the season.

We planned on running a spread offense out of the pistol formation. The pistol is basically a short shotgun. That is, the ball is snapped to the quarterback about 3 yards behind the center instead of 5 yards like the traditional shotgun. Nevada made it famous in college football and you can read up on it on the infamous Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football_formations#Pistol

The spread offense refers to the scheme that spreads the players out, utilizing the width of the playing field to create seams in the defense. We planned on utilizing both the run and the pass to exploit these seams. Generally a team will use their best athlete that can throw as their spread quarterback (in our case Collin) in order to create an additional running threat. Our defense was going to be a three man front utilizing our returning upperclassmen talent to free up our four linebackers.

Coach and I talked about having me coach the linebackers and quarterbacks/running backs. I have a genuine interest in influencing our linebackers, as they tend to set the tone for the attitude a defensive squad carries into a game. Alas, it was not to be - as the season approached, another coach was unable to commit for the season. I was more needed as a receivers and defensive backs coach.

That’s not the only thing that changed as the season approached. Our athletic director managed to schedule us 8 exhibition games as a class B varsity squad in a trial status. In their final season of play our returning seniors would see games under Friday Night Lights for the first time. This reminds me… much of the expected “returning upperclassmen talent” didn’t return when we started camp on August 18th. We had our work cut out for us.

Coaching Again

This week I will be meeting with the head coach of the Camden Hills Regional High School football team. I am volunteering to assist the team as a coach. I am extremely excited about this opportunity. My expectation coming in is to learn a lot more about how a high school program is organized. While I am definitely seeking the learning experience, it is important to remember that I will be a coach, and the kids will be seeking to learn from me.

There are some goals that I established for the time that I am helping out, including the off-season.

• Better myself at home, at work, and as a coach everyday
This is something that I’ve already implemented as a daily objective. If you’re not moving up, you’re losing (oh wait, that’s poker).

• Learn the system front and back and never stray from it

From reading books on coaching I have come to two conclusions. The first is that it is possible to win with less talent if you are fundamentally sound, prepared mentally and physically, and you work hard every day. The second is that you won’t win squat with all the talent in the world if your players and coaches don’t buy-in to the system in place (or if you don’t have a system).

• Allow each player to experience success daily

This is probably the best thing that any leader can do - and probably the most neglected approach by leaders. The players need to see that their actions can be successful, that the system can work, and that they can trust the coaches to communicate their shortcomings AND successes to them.

• Seek solutions and not excuses or rationalizations

This has always been my biggest problem in life. I don’t like to deal with problems I am not comfortable with. I tend to latch onto any rationalization and drown myself with it. In situations where I have stepped around excuses I have excelled at life. Also, I don’t want my procrastination or laziness to been seen by those I am trying to influence.

• Show patience and understanding in dealing with all others

If I had a dollar for every boss that failed to show me this, I’d have a lot more debt.

• Always anticipate a win, never accept a loss – expect more

This is nearly hand-in-hand with rationalizing, but slightly different. There is also a big difference between this thought and, say, walking off the field with :01 left in your Super Bowl loss.