Listening to Mike and the Maddog and they made a good point. With the lead for almost the entire second half, LaDainian Tomlinson, who, may I remind you, just won the league's MVP award, got just EIGHT touches. That is ABYSMAL playcalling by Cam Cameron.
I didn't overlook it. He had something like 17 rushing attempts in the first half and finished the game with 23 carries.
I completely overlooked it, maybe because I didn't see any of the first half. Of course the INT was probably the biggest factor in the comeback, but this was one of many terrible moves that cost the Chargers...
I really think Shottenheimer tried to erase the Martyball tag in one game. Going for it on 4th and 11 instead of kicking a 48-yard field goal is stupid. Then he defends it by saying I thought we had a play that could get us the yardage. How the hell can you be so sure that you can get 11 yards on one plan against NE in the playoffs. If you are, why not run that play on 3rd down. LTs lack of touches in the 2nd half was just inexcusable.
This, of course, is the great misconception some people have about coaches that are "too conservative" (including a certain coach who coached here for 5 years recently). The problem isn't (only) that they get too conservative at the wrong time - they often get too daring at the wrong time too. Going for it on 4th and 11 was too daring, and not giving LT more touches in the second half was just plain stupid. Add to that the moronic challenge of the fumble (I guess that also qualifies as too daring) and the many senseless penalties (pointing to lack of control of the team), and one is inevitably drawn to the conclusion that this was a new variation, and new low, in Martyball.
the question remains...do you let a coach go that leads a team to 14-2 regular season in a tough conference, but is a complete failure in the playoffs? I think the answer is yes. The Chargers out-played the Patriots yesterday, but lost due to lack of discipline (penalities), lack of game awareness (Parker trying to pick-up the ball), questionable playcalling (although that partially on Cameron) and wasted time (ridiculous challenge).
I agree with everything you said (as I also said in the "Should Marty be fired?" thread). I guess there's no way of knowing for sure, but I suspect that another coach could have gotten a successful regular season out of a team with LT, Rivers, Merriman, etc., while also giving them a much better chance of winning in the postseason also.
He should be fired. With so much talent on that team, the main thing he had to focus on was how a playoff team conducts itself on the field; its discipline. The Chargers team he fielded yesterday had no discipline whatsoever vs. a Patriots team that is full of it that was instilled upon them by a good coach.
