PickSix 11.20.08

San Diego, Sans Domination
by Vince Darcangelo

For starters, we’d like to apologize for there being no column last week. We had intended to write one, and in fact columns were penned, but Internet issues prevented us from accessing the PickSix.biz files.

Alas, Technology, you confound us again!!!

We were going to preview the Steelers/Chargers match-up. Instead, we’ll review. Actually, this isn’t so much about the game itself, but rather an issue that has been eating at the P-6 all year.

A lot has been made about the AFC’s fall from grace this year. The two conferences are at least standing on the same ground, and the NFC may even have the higher ground right now. But here’s our issue. When discussing the AFC’s decade of dominance, sheepish sportswriters refer to the trio of teams that has been responsible for this as Indy, New England . . . and San Diego.

WHAT!?!?

San Diego?

First of all, full disclosure, the P-6 bleeds black and gold. We live and die for the Steelers, and the outcome of each week’s game dictates our mood for the rest of the week. So, as a Steelers fan, this offends the P-6. To put San Diego ahead of Pittsburgh, who has won a Super Bowl and been to four conference championships during this decade-long run of AFC dominance (1997-2007), is infuriating.

What have the Chargers done? They’ve had two good seasons and a few OK seasons, not to mention some pretty crappy seasons (1-15 in 2000, 4-12 in 2003). We can think of two signature games they’ve played in the past decade: Beating the Colts to spoil their unbeaten season in 2005 and making a game of it against the Patriots in last year’s title game. Otherwise?

But anyway, enough of the vitriol (possibly). The P-6 is an objective football analyst (sort of). For this week’s Front Seven, we’re going to offer an unbiased (mostly) look at why this undeserved praise for the Chargers is ridiculous and insulting to all football fans, and in particular to fans of teams that have actually contributed something to this AFC run.


Front Seven

1. Super Bowls. To be included in this discussion, shouldn’t you have at least been to the Big Game? San Diego has not in the ’00s. The team’s lone Super Bowl appearance was in the latter days of the NFC era, in which the Chargers were humiliated 49-26. That team, led by Stan Humphries and Natrone Means, was far inferior to some of the teams San Diego has fielded in recent years, but they were able to at least make it to the Super Bowl.

2. Playoffs. OK, well, plenty of great teams haven’t made the Super Bowl but were still a dominant team in their era. The Chargers themselves, for example, in the early 1980s. How does this incarnation stack up? The Chargers have only made the playoffs three times since 1997, and have only two postseason wins to their credit in that time. You call that domination? Here’s some perspective. Since 2000, the Steelers have won seven postseason games. The Chargers, in their entire 48-year history, have nine.

Here’s some more perspective, to be a top three team of the decade, shouldn’t that team have at least the third most postseason wins? Here’s a breakdown of postseason wins by AFC teams since 2000:

New England Patriots: 14

Pittsburgh Steelers: 7

Indianapolis Colts: 6

Baltimore Ravens: 5

Oakland Raiders: 3

San Diego Chargers, Tennessee Titans: 2

Four teams tied with: 1

That’s right, tied for sixth place with the Titans, who are more likely to win a playoff game this year than the Chargers.


3. Steelers. By comparison, the Steelers have been to the playoffs in five of the eight seasons played this decade (and seem poised to make it six of nine). They have won seven postseason games in this stretch, have played in three AFC Championship games and won a Super Bowl. (They played in a fourth championship game in 1997.) Their 2005 playoff match-up against the Colts was one of the greatest postseason games in NFL history, and only the Patriots’ dominance prevented them from making it to more Super Bowls.

4. Ravens. The Ravens, too, should be insulted. The Steelers are obviously third on this list, and Baltimore is most worthy of fourth. Unlike the Chargers, the Ravens have gone to a Super Bowl this decade. In fact, they won it. Their 2003 defensive unit was one of the best to ever take the field, their running game was unstoppable and as recently as 2006 was a premier team. The emergence of Joe Flacco gives this team a shot at the Wild Card this year, and we guarantee you that if they play San Diego they’ll crush them.

5. Broncos. The Chargers have only recently dominated their own division, never mind the AFC. Since the AFC rose to dominance in 1997, the Broncos have won two Super Bowls and been to three championship games, and have been to the playoffs twice as many times.

6. History. The AFC ruled the 1970s. Who were the big three? Pittsburgh-Oakland-Miami. You don’t see the Houston Oilers on that list. The NFC ruled the 1980s. The big guns? San Francisco-Washington-New York Giants. You don’t see the Philadelphia Eagles on that list. The NFC ruled most of the 1990s. Because of? Dallas-San Francisco-Washington. You don’t see the Atlanta Falcons on that list. Don’t insult the 2000s triumvirate of New England-Indy-Pittsburgh by putting San Diego on that list.

7. Uniforms. For some reason the Chargers keep busting out those ugly powder-blue throwback uniforms. And for some reason the media eat it up. We feel they should be disqualified just on fashion alone.


Hot Reads

WTF??: We at the P-6 love Donnie Mac. He’s one of the best players of the past decade, leading his team to four consecutive NFC Championship Games and nearly winning the Super Bowl in 2004 (a game they likely would have won had the Patriots not been cheating). And he is one of the league’s classiest acts. He’s a symbol of what’s right about football, and he receives an undue amount of criticism.

That said, Mac-5, are you serious? You didn’t know the overtime rules? There have been regular-season ties and postseason double overtimes during your playing career!

To say that the P-6 throws like a 12-year-old girl is an insult to 12-year-old girls. We can occasionally make a sweet catch in a backyard game, but the average high-school cornerback could likely outplay us in man coverage. And the handful of times the P-6 has made a tackle, either in midget or backyard football, it has typically been when we didn’t get out of the way quick enough and the runner tripped over our scrawny, flailing body.

But D-Mac, we damn well know the overtime rules in professional football — and we don’t even play!

As a writer, we understand the rules of sentence structure. We know the formatting rules of our editors. And, to equate this with your situation, we know what happens when we don’t finish our articles before deadline. How could you not know that the game could end in a tie?

However . . . : That said, Donnie Mac’s comments should not be blown out of proportion. He didn’t try to win any less just because he thought there would be a second overtime. This is not indicative of the internal struggles of the Philly franchise. The world didn’t come to an end (that won’t happen until 2012). Neither Andy Reid nor D-Mac should lose their job over this. Perspective, people.

Pacman, really?: Did someone slip some Ecstasy into Goodell’s coffee? That’s the only explanation for the reinstatement of Pacman Jones. We suspect Goodell is in the corporate penthouse right now dancing half-naked to some Z-Trip and sucking on a pacifier.

Worthless Bills: The Buffalo Bills are worth about as much as a U.S. bill right now. What a garbage team. They deserved to lose on Monday night. The P-6 doesn’t get angry at teams that simply suck. But when a team is good and not trying its hardest to win, we get angry. Our next Front Seven will likely be about teams that we’re angry at for not trying to win. Here are two other members of that club: the Tampa Bay Bucs and Washington Redskins. Both teams had the Cowboys on the ropes in recent weeks, and willingly handed the games away. For shame.

FYI: PickSix.biz will be off for the holidays. See you in December.

Douchebag of the Week: Perhaps someone has slipped some Ecstasy in the P-6’s herbal tea (thank you, whomever that was), but we didn’t notice much douchebaggery taking place this week and are leaving the title unclaimed. We will hear arguments from anyone who would like to nominate someone.

A Decade of Domination: The P-6’s performance has been far from dominating this year. But with a 5-1 showing with our last round of picks, we have improved our season record to 32-22. We hope to improve it further by picking around the theme of the dominant teams of the past decade.


Six Pack

Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh
This game is like the P-6’s clothes closet. No ties.
P-6 picks: Pittsburgh

Philly vs. Baltimore
Both teams have played strong in their respective conferences. But Philly has got something to prove after last week’s debacle against the Bungles.
P-6 picks: Philly

New England vs. Miami
Could the Dolphins pull it off twice in a year? We doubt it, but we like to think so.
P-6 picks: Miami

Indianapolis vs. San Diego
Like Stella before, Indy has gotten its groove back.
P-6 picks: Indy

San Francisco vs. Dallas
OK, this is a throwback to the game referred to as the “Real Super Bowl” in the 1990s, kind of like Indy-New England in the early 2000s. Let’s just hope that Singletary keeps it in his pants.
P-6 picks: Dallas

N.Y. Giants vs. Arizona
This is a new-school match-up between what is likely the best team in the NFL and what could be the P-6’s Super Bowl pick, the Cards. Right now the G-men have the upper hand, which makes this game the P-6’s Upset Special of the Week.
P-6 picks: Arizona