A Look Ahead to Week 15
The essence of making good decisions in organizational football comes down to answering one basic question depending on the outcome: Why? Why did we win? Why did we lose?
For Chargers owner Dean Spanos, finding the answer from last night isn’t hard. His team didn’t try. They didn’t care. They didn’t want to be there and had no interest in competing. It was painful for America to watch a team with no motivation, no desire, no willingness to accept the challenge. America saw what most Charger fans know, they have zero toughness as a team, which explains why they will fall short of their win total, set at 8.5. It also explains their inability to win close games while Brandon Staley has been the coach.
Analytics are an important tool in any head coach’s toolbox. They just are not as important as motivation, leading, inspiring, and getting the players to rise above their level of play. Last night, beyond the obvious, the Chargers have never been a team that plays above their level.
They have never been a tough-minded team, willing to accept the challenges. They have always been a team that has great talent yet doesn’t play great. They have a generational talent at quarterback but can’t win games. Justin Herbert is 30-32 in his 62 career starts as a Charger which falls well below his talent.