A.J. Smith Discussion Thread; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Doesn't AJ Smith deserve his own thread, debating his moves..... positive and negative regarding the Chargers?

I'd say it's overdue, don't you? Let's get the ball rolling......

It's common knowledge that AJ has repeatedly missed on 1st round picks in recent years, and that lack of impact players has finally reached a critical point with this team. No team hits on all their high picks, but you can't repeatedly miss year after year without it eventually catching up with you.

The Chargers have built the team with more middle and later round picks, as well as UDFAs. When there are injury problems, like there was last season (and again this year) the lack of quality depth becomes clear. Even when fully healthy, our O-line is just good enough to get the job done. Lose Dielman (our best lineman), and things start going downhill. When a second guy goes down, like McNeill, then the wheels come off completely. The O-line depth just doesn't measure up.

The defensive line doesn't scare anybody either. They play decently at times, but lose a key starter like Phillips, and the lack of quality depth exposes them. Garay is a good player, but he'll never be the dominant NT that Jamal Williams was..... he's just not built like that. To have a truly stout 3-4 defense, the NT must be a guy that can't be handled one-on-one. Garay only occasionally splits a double-team. Jamal used to demand that extra attention every snap, Garay doesn't. Without a dominant pass rusher to compliment Phillips (what English was supposed to be), it's too easy for offenses to handle our rush. Merriman has been gone awhile now. Phillips is the only guy on the line that teams scheme for...... we must have another.

Instead of drafting a OLB this year, AJ Smith went for a DE instead. He figured that they could bring more pressure from the inside, and English would be good enough rotating with LaBoy. Obviously, that didn't work with English going on IR, but it was always a risk to expect English to suddenly emerge as a player. It's the Buster Davis scenario all over again. It's also a lot to expect a lot of pressure from the DE position. Liuget is clearly a work in progress.

There's been too much hope in AJ's planning........ you need quality depth more than good fortune. Sanders would've been a valuable player if he could've stayed healthy, but it wasn't prudent to put much hope in him lasting the season. If your plan requires not having injuries to succeed, then you're playing a fool's game. To be successful, a GM must prepare for the worst, not just hope for the best.

If you adhere to a plan like AJ's: build through the draft and eschew big ticket FA's, then you better hit with those top draft picks..... that's the part of the draft where the impact players are usually found.

Even if the Chargers fall flat on their faces this season, it is still highly unlikely that Dean Spanos will fire AJ Smith. He's got too much money remaining on his contract, and Dean's sons are being groomed to take over the team in 2014. There may be one casualty at the end of the year, and that's Norv Turner. I know that news would please many Chargers fans. That joy may be short-lived, however, since the architect of the Chargers downfall will still be ensconced in his lofty perch.... sowing his seeds of destruction.

Well said in a nut shell. The question is will he see his own mistakes as what they are or will he continue to be the stubborn fool? I will say that maybe his scouting "team" need some help as well. I highly doubt he's the only one searching and looking at talent during the off season. His handling of player contracts and showing the guys that suit up who's boss, has got to end. The way he handled VJ was an absolute mess.

Losing Buddy Nix was terminal. Another AJ ego win. Now we have AJ and John Spanos for chrissakes. Heaven help us.

The question is .... will AJ be GM in LA?

I'll follow the team to that city - but not with AJ in that seat.

AJ needs to be booted. This guy has built his reputation on one draft. After that his overall record is less than stellar. Especially putting his ego before the success of the team. The hiring of Norv a case in point.

Amen brother!

Great post. AJ has always wanted to do things his way and his way has proven to be unsuccessful. I have learned quite abit on how not to build a team AJ style. I get frustrated because I don't think he ever evaluates his strengths and weakness are. The Lord of NO Rings.

I've been thinking about this line of logic since Acee started talking about it a couple of weeks ago. At first I bought into it, now I'm gonna say it depends. On what? $$$. Simply put, the Spanoses run this team to optimize net take, not to win a Super Bowl. Part of that equation though is keeping fans on the hook enough to keep buying tickets. If the Bolts finish a couple games below .500, watch ticket sales plummet. If the Spanoses aren't making money, and if it looks like AJs team building is going to keep it that way until 2014, he'll be gone fast, contract or no.

If, on the other hand, we win the division and hope springs again cause we 'made the tournament,' or we finish 8-8 and are 'just a couple draft picks away,' it could fans coming back.

Point is, once the Spanos Bros start taking it in the pocketbook on ticket sales, AJ is gone.

So, you're saying that the John Spanos GM era is just around the corner?!?!?

Holy F where did u get that?. What the hell is this about!!?. AJ has the final decision on the pick right?. I'd love to know what players are being discussed when we are on the clock, would love to know who was in the mix when we picked English, Buster and Cason (even though I am not ready to write Cason off just yet).

Please just sell the team when it gets to this point.

20014 isn't that far away........ #imjustsaying

Damn..... fat fingers!!!

Pink?...... that is fuchsia...... screaming neon fuchsia for ****'s sake!

With socks like that, how could he blow a first round draft pick?

Put some damn clothes on for crying out loud, would you?

I thought everyone in southern California wore pink socks...

Why? He's been pretty bad the last few years. It's a myth that a GM needs some magical innate talent to manage a draft. They just need to figure out who their best scouts are and listen to them.

If the Spanoses were actually looking for a GM, I'm sure they could find better.

I'm guessing the assumption is that John Spanos is going to replace AJ, and John Spanos will be worse than AJ.
If both assumptions are true, then it necessarily follows that the Spanos family isn't going to prioritize winning.

If I catch a thalmon that color, I'm throwing it back.

Yes, but they will give that $2 million+ a year salary to a family member. Keep the profits in house, whenever possible.

Frankly, I think AJ vs John Spanos is a wash, at worst. Whatever AJ was doing in the past, he's not doing it anymore. I seriously doubt his ability to bring this team back.

Spanos is an unknown, but the assumption is that he's gonna suck. I'm actually not so sure about that. I'm not saying he's going to light the world on fire like Ted Thompson. But he's going to follow the Spanos Family Way, which is to make money. And you don't do that by fielding a shite team. Dean will promote him out of that job if he doesn't produce.

Unless A.G. overrules him........ that's what happens when you pass control to your children.

Just ask Alex Spanos about that.

Dean had everything handed to him so why wouldn't Deans son by any different. Since Dean didn't work hard to 'buy' the Chargers he has no idea what it means to take pride in ownership. And that is probably the main reason why Dean cant stand up to Beathard nor AJ. Poppa Spanos bought the team because he had the money not because he is football fanatic. Regardless of the business poppa bought Dean was going to get it anyway.