Another Broken Bolt for the Chargers
By: Devin Radigan

Let me start off by saying for the most part I really love the changes the Bolts have made during the offseason. We had a great free agency and the draft went much better than I could have imagined. But there is one thing that really bugs me about the draft pick chosen in the fifth round. Now I know that Johnnie Troutman is a beast and that he is a tremendous football player. He was drafted as a project because the Chargers knew he recently had pectoral surgery. But there is still a lot of value that can be had in the fifth round. You can find value in every round in the draft. Tom Brady is one of the best players in the NFL and a future Hall of Famer (I don’t like him either) and he was drafted in the sixth round.

Recently I read an article written by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune. He quoted AJ Smith saying “You know what this all means? Wait and see,” Smith said. “But I look at this draft and believe that the only thing that can stop it from being one of our best is bad luck, or health”. By health AJ does that fall under the category of drafting a guy that had surgery a week ago and more than likely will miss the entire season? No offense AJ but I don’t think a “wait and see” attitude is what Bolts fans are looking for at this stage of the game. And with your job on the line (at least I thought it was) I don’t think you can afford to just “wait and see”.

This isn’t the first time the Chargers front office has wasted a draft pick. If you recall in the 2009 NFL Draft the Chargers selected LSU WR Demetrius Byrd with the 224th pick in the 7th round. I’m sure that while Byrd was lying in a hospital bed recovering from a horrible car accident he was pretty happy to find out he was drafted by the Chargers. Now this was no fender bender, the guy was in the Intensive Care Unit in critical but stable condition. You can read about this further if you need a memory refresher. Byrd eventually recovered just in time to get cut by the Chargers. He never played a snap in the NFL and in my opinion that is just another example of value that could have been found elsewhere.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not bashing the job the Bolts front office did in the draft. In fact I think they did a great job and I’m excited to see all our new guys perform and finally bring a championship to San Diego. But after missing the playoffs two years in a row and being the team that “always gets off to a slow start” and “always underachieves” and somehow always finds the craziest way to lose games, every draft pick should have the chance to make the team and contribute in September. Not next year! Now! Maybe I’m overreacting. What do you think? Let me know.

Jan 1, 2012, Oakland, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) gestures during the game against the Oakland Raiders at the O.co Coliseum. The Chargers defeated the Raiders 38-26. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

I’m sure I can speak for most Chargers fans when I say that I went into this off season a little nervous. The last few years have been depressing to say the least. The Chargers front office had not been making the best decisions in free agency and the draft. Darren Sproles, Buster Davis, Larry English and our best special teamer, huge crowd favorite, and San Diego beloved Kassim Osgood ring a bell when it comes to poor decisions. However, this year it had to change. This year the decisions made by the front office had greater consequences – jobs were on the line. The team has already undergone a ton of personnel changes. Dean Spanos had just about every Charger fan around the globe puzzled when he kept AJ Smith and Norv Turner around for another season. This was it right? This was their last chance to get it right…right? Well it would seem that the heat placed on the dynamic duo of Smith and Turner changed something in them.

This was the most active I have seen the Bolts in free agency since……..well it’s been a while. The Charger team we all saw in 2011 has changed drastically. From free agency, to the draft, to the undrafted free agency signings, this team has undergone a complete overhaul. This off season has been like Christmas for Philip Rivers. He has an arsenal of new and talented targets. Robert Meachum, Eddie Royal, Donte Rosario, and newly drafted rookie Ladarius Green are all fantastic targets and are going to be huge contributors. Not that you can tell but I’m super excited to see these guys in action.

Let’s not overlook the changes to our sieve like defense that couldn’t buy a third down stop last year. For this, enter the gift from the NFL god’s rookie Melvin Ingram. This kid can flat out play football. The fact that he was sitting in the green room undrafted at 18 must have had old AJ and Norv losing their minds! Jarret Johnson is also someone that I’m super excited to see in blue and gold. He will provide a veteran presence to the front seven that will fit in quite nicely with the leadership Takeo Spikes has already instilled.
Last but not least, special teams. This is one area that is going to be a dog fight during the off season. For a while it seemed like the Bolts were going to be on the next episode of Hoarders with all the wide receivers with kick return ability they were signing. But know this! Our special teamers will be lights out this year. We got special team’s captain Jacob Hester resigned and signed Roscoe Parrish and Michael Spurlock who can fly with the best of ‘em. I doubt that Eddie Royal will see too much action on special teams do to his “fragile” nature, but who knows.

When all is said and done I have to tip my hat to what the Chargers front office has done this offseason. They finally came out of their shell and made some great choices that in my opinion have made the team a legitimate contender. I’m not saying we are Super Bowl bound but if this new group of guys can gel into a team before September then stand by for the Bolts to put a hurtin’ on the teams they play in 2012. I know it’s April but I’m gonna go out on a limb right now and say they finish 11-5 and once again reclaim the AFC West! Peyton who?? Go Bolts!!!

Crystal LoGiudice-US PRESSWIRE

If you don’t know who Mr. Irrelevant is, it is the nickname that has been designated to the last person selected in the draft.

This year’s Mr. Irrelevant was QB Chandler Harnish of Northern Illinois selected with the 253rd pick in the draft. Apparently, Harnish had  a deal set up with the Chargers to sign as an undrafted free agent, but that went out the window when the Colts selected him:

“They wanted the decision 10 minutes after they could put the deal on the table, and this was still at pick 240,” Harnish says. “So there were still 13 picks to go. And they put the deal on the table that they wanted me to be a free agent and I had to say ‘yes’ to it. … We tell San Diego we want that deal. Well, my agent tells the Colts, ‘Hey, he’s going to San Diego if you guys don’t draft him with your last pick.’ So, because of that, the Colts were like, ‘We want him. We want to take him before he goes to free agency, and then he goes to San Diego.’” – NFL.com

Quiet down over there Chandler!!! We aren’t supposed to be negotiating contracts with pending free agents till the draft is over. Don’t all the teams reach out a little early to players?

Let’s just bring the attention back to those New Orleans Saints!