The Norv Watch is ON! (1 Viewer)

[tech]

This guy is awful, awful, awful. LT went off in the first half. Norv wasn't taking KC seriously and decided to get cute. Thought it would be a good time to work on some plays that don't involve LT.

Next thing you know, Norv renders LT useless, and KC wins the game.

Norv's gone. Question is - will he make it to the end of the season?

 

[mt99808]

I have to agree. What a #%@^ing joke of a coaching job in the 2nd half. What did he have? 2 or 3 rush attempts in the 3rd quarter?

 

[Arnold. S]

Chargers front office effed up, how u fire a coach that went 14-2 is beyond me. then you hire Norv Turner???

 

[madviking10]

I sure hope not.

 

[John Black]

I miss Marty ball.

 

[Brutis]

I liked the playcalling when the chargers had 1st down on the 5 yard line, 4 straight incompletions. Thats gold

 

[otb_lifer]

BRING BACK SID GILLMAN !!!!!

 

[Air Coryell]

I have to agree. What a #%@^ing joke of a coaching job in the 2nd half. What did he have? 2 or 3 rush attempts in the 3rd quarter?

LT had 3 rushes 5 yardsTurner 1 rush -2 yardsRivers attempted 10 passes that quarter.

 

[Wadsworth]

Norv will not be fired as long as he does what the front office says. He can lose every other game this season and he'll keep his job because obviously in San Diego being a good little soldier and bowing down to the mighty front office if more important than winning.

 

[jcuadrado]

I thought I was blind when I saw the Chargers threw 4 times in a row on 1st and 5....that's pretty piss poor coaching...

but it was Turner so I could understand his thinking....

 

[BassNBrew]

Serves the Chargers right for firing Marty

 

[EdwardCat]

I've never before had a nauseous feeling as the result of watching a football game (except when MIN played ATL in the 1998 playoffs). The play-calling is beyond baffling. I really don't see how the Charges can justify keeping Norv Turner on staff. It is clearly not a case where the offense isn't gelling. That excuse can no longer be used. When a RB gets 100 yards in one half, you give him the ball in the second half to get his second 100 yards.

 

[Yenrub]

That Charger defense isn't looking too hot either. They are giving up about 30 points per game.

 

[prymetyme25]

Looks like Principal Skinner is in trouble.

 

[fatness]

Having watched Norv for years with the Redskins, there's a reason I use this signature link.

 

[FavreCo]

Norv has destroyed 2 teams in a blink of an eye and a signature on the dotted line.

 

[Tom Baker]

The Watch should be on the guy who fired a 14-2 coach.

 

[Workhorse]

Can we put a hold on AJ Smith's bust in Canton? One offseason's work to dismantle a Super Bowl contender.

 

[King of the Wolfies]

karma is killing them for treating marty badly

 

[cliffhuxtible]

Norv has destroyed 2 teams in a blink of an eye and a signature on the dotted line.

 

[Big Daddy Kane]

karma is killing them for treating marty badly

Somewhere Marty is chuckling right now.

 

[champ24]

Having watched Norv for years with the Redskins, there's a reason I use this signature link.

Then there's the all-time classic: "What we do works"I want that seven years of my life back Norv...

 

[faulkfan]

The Watch should be on the guy who fired a 14-2 coach.

Bingo!For as much as I think Norv is a crap coach, his piss poor leadership can't match an egomaniac who dumps a successful coach over a difference of opinion on how to use a 1st rounder.If AJ Smith is around next year then San Diego fans should be looking to lynch Spanos.

 

[Couch Potato]

I agree with pretty much all of this thread.

Why a guy who is a proven failure in more than one place at the HC level continues to get these jobs is beyond me.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Can we put a hold on AJ Smith's bust in Canton? One offseason's work to dismantle a Super Bowl contender.

 

[Tom Servo]

The Marty chants at the end of the game was nice.

Where's MoP's thoughts on this? Wasn't he the one clamoring for Marty to be fired after last season's embarassing playoff loss?

 

[Moe Green]

karma is killing them for treating marty badly

Somewhere Marty is chuckling right now.

Sadly, he's probably not. He's probably crying his heart out. He loved coaching that team.

 

[The Moz]

A coach that leads his team to the best season in football ( regular season ) and he gets fored for a coach that has always been horrible everywhere.

 

[massraider]

Way too early to give up on Norv. I think he needs at least 3 more seasons in San Diego before we can make an accurate judgement.

 

[The Kansas Comet]

Way too early to give up on Norv. I think he needs at least 3 more seasons in San Diego before we can make an accurate judgement.

I think you echo the sentiments of every Raider, Bronco, and Chief fan out there. As well as every non-LT owner.

 

[mad sweeney]

The Watch should be on the guy who fired a 14-2 coach.

Bingo!For as much as I think Norv is a crap coach, his piss poor leadership can't match an egomaniac who dumps a successful coach over a difference of opinion on how to use a 1st rounder.If AJ Smith is around next year then San Diego fans should be looking to lynch Spanos.

I think Smith is doing EXACTLY what Spanos wants him to do. Drive the attendance down so he can move the team to LA.

 

[North]

To me the only one to blame is the owner. I can't get over some of these owners and their egos. Do they care that little that they would fire someone who went 14-2 just b/c they can't get along with them?

I've had to live through this before in Baltimore with the Orioles. Back in the early 90's they had a great team and a good manager but the owner just couldn't get along with Davey Johnson and he fired him after taking them to the divisional playoffs, they haven't been back since and all b/c Johnson wouldn't just lay down for Angelos.

The situation in San Diego reminds me of this. Sure the Chargers lost in the 1st round but they still went 14-2 and made the playooffs. It's looking like this year they will be sitting at home watching and Norv will again be searching for an Offensive Co. job.

Way to go San Diego management!

 

[Ministry of Pain]

The Marty chants at the end of the game was nice. Where's MoP's thoughts on this? Wasn't he the one clamoring for Marty to be fired after last season's embarassing playoff loss?

I bumped a couple of threads about this. I did in detail talk about him being fired, thread was deleted because it turned into a pissing contest. However, once the window to keep Cam and Wade closed, then to turn around and fire Marty at that point was absolutely ridiculous!!! I don't care who MS was going to bring in as his OC/DC, you had to let him do it. I felt AJ should have gone to Cam and said he was going to likely fire Marty and offer him the Head Coaching job...if he didn't want it then you do the same with Wade...Phillips is showing he can take over a talented team and make it work. I don't think he has done a real lick of coaching in Dallas but he looks like he is having a good time as are the players. He did a great job of putting together the assistant coaches though and those are the glue of any team really.

 

[Chase Stuart]

I wouldn't be shocked at this point if Turner does not last this season. That seemed crazy just a month ago, but if the Chargers are 2-6? Can't keep him forever.

 

[TankRizzo]

Two questions will forever plague me....why does Michael Bay keep getting to direct movies and why does Norv Turner keep getting HC jobs???

 

[Bri]

He did a great job of putting together the assistant coaches though and those are the glue of any team really.

Garrett and some others were there before him IIRC

 

[redman]

I don't get the "Norv is a bad head coach" sentiment. I know that sounds crazy, and I'm sure some will say I'm nuts but I just think we can't universally claim that he "can't" coach.

He took over a Washington team that was 4-12 in 1993. In his first two years, they were 3-13 and 6-10. After that point, he was 40-36-1 with them. Not great, but not awful considering the amount of turnover he had (especially at the QB position). His successors in Washington (Schottenheimer and Spurrier) weren't able to improve upon Norv's track record there at all, and Washington failed to make the playoffs any subsequent season until Joe Gibbs was back in town. Norv then goes to Oakland where his teams are, by all accounts, miserable. He goes 9-23 and his reputation as a HC is shot. So what happens when he leaves? The team proves they're even worse than everyone thought, as they drop to 2-14 and are one of the biggest jokes in NFL history. Norv's Oakland teams were terrible, but at least competed for the most part.

I know there's a lot that goes into being a coach that isn't present as a coordinator, but it's not like he has been in situations to excel. He may have coached under the two most meddling owners in all of sports, not to mention the guys who succeeded him weren't able to do anything with the same group of guys either. Norv's a phenomenal coordinator and won't break the offense, and that may be his biggest attribute here. I like the hire, not just because I'm a Norv fan but also because I would do just about anything to prevent Mora or Mooch from getting the job.

You've painted with a very broad brush here. Norv's high water mark with the 'Skins was arguably week 8 in 1996 when he'd gotten the team to a 6-1 record. They then collapsed to finish 7-9 that year. The remaining years, save for 1999 when they won a division championship and a playoff game, were marked by undisciplined teams that seemed to change little from year to year as reflected by their record. Norv started 0-7 in 1998, his 5th season with the team, and would have been fired by any other team in the league but managed to keep his job because by the time that Snyder took over it was summer 1999 and too late to hire a replacement. Bottom line: head coaching is far more about leadership than about scheme or football smarts. Norv is not a leader, and the players know it and walk all over him. I'll be interested to see whether the Chargers - already an undisciplined team in many respects, have enough on-field leaders and talent to overcome Norv because, rest assured, thats precisely what they'll have to do to win a championship with him.

Good talent = winning = great leadership. I am not disagreeing about the leadership importance, but I am saying that sometimes winning creates that respect and losing exacerbates the lack of leadership. Sometimes the key players need to be part of that leadership. Look at the Giants and Coughlin, he doesn't allow people to walk in him (I know this is not a leadership quality), yet his key players in Strahan and Tiki thought he worked the team too hard and basically threw him under the bus. Get me guys who want to live, work and sleep football.

I would think being able to manage the game and not let the usually incorrect fans dictate whether you should be going for 4th and 1 from the 22 yard line (the worst place to do so) is very important. You also need to understand clock management. Lovie Smith just made the SB and he makes some of the dumbest decisions from a game management standpoint I have ever seen. Is that good leadership, luck, or what? Just 2 quick examples from just the Seattle playoff game that were dumb decisions by Lovie.

1) Seattle at the end of the 1st half with 4th and 1 from the 8 yard line with 18 seconds left and 1 time out he goes for it. Dumb and very low % decision, but he got a TD and it worked out.

2) At the end of the game with Seattle in possession on the Bears roughly 44 yard line and the 3rd down play ends leaving it 4th and about 15 with 45 seconds left. Instead of calling an immediate timeout to force Seattle to punt, he lets the clock run down and then (Holmgren must have been sleeping here as well) calls a timeout with 2 seconds left to give Seattle a chance to throw a hail Mary??? Holmgren should have called the timeout; it is almost mind boggling how stupid it was for Lovie to call the timeout and give Seattle a chance to win; even if small. Imagine if the hail Mary worked?

there were more but just o give you some flavor

I've seen some stupefyingly dumb decisions and play-calls by Norv too. In 1999, that playoff year when he was coaching the 'Skins, one that sticks with me was their regular season game at Detroit. Detroit was a pretty good team and that was back when their quick DE's on the Silverdome's fast surface could terrorize your o-line. They'd worried all week about that. The solution was pretty simple: pound Stephen Davis, who had emerged as one of the best feature backs in the NFL that year on his way to a 290/1405/17 season. At halftime, they're down by I think four points. So what does Norv do in the 2nd half? He hands the ball to Davis four times. Four times! I think the o-line false started more times in the 2nd half. They lost 35-17.

I'm not trying to dredge up 7-year old memories just to bash him, but this stood out at the time and has always stuck with me as an example of how Norv gets overrated as a play-caller. There were certainly times he could be brilliant, but there were many other times when Redskins fans were left scratching their heads over his play calls.

One of the most mystifying things to me in the NFL in recent years has been how Norv has been Mr. Teflon. Whenever he's failed it's somehow not Norv's responsibility, it's always someone else's fault. Dan Snyder, Al Davis, the Redskins' lack of talent, the Raiders' lack of talent, bad luck, etc., etc., etc. At some point people need to realize that, whatever other factors were at work, the one constant in all of those prior failures was Norv himself.

 

[mad sweeney]

Two questions will forever plague me....why does Michael Bay keep getting to direct movies and why does Norv Turner keep getting HC jobs???

Because he's lulled you with horrible movies so you go see The Island and Transformers with no expectations. Then when it doesn't suck, you think it's actually good.One of the worst people to work for as well. Complete ### from top to bottom. My friend dosed his water/coffee daily with all sorts of nasty stuff he was such a #####.

 

[Bri]

Parcells would win the Supe with this team if they replaced Norv with him, this year too.

They have each and every piece to the puzzle he craves-smart QB, RB to run all day long and a backup to pound too..right behind a T that dominates, good blocking WRs, top TE, pass rushing "demon", big bodies up the middle of the DL, top K.......on and on, it's uncanny how well that team would suit him.

 

[TankRizzo]

Two questions will forever plague me....why does Michael Bay keep getting to direct movies and why does Norv Turner keep getting HC jobs???

Because he's lulled you with horrible movies so you go see The Island and Transformers with no expectations. Then when it doesn't suck, you think it's actually good.One of the worst people to work for as well. Complete ### from top to bottom. My friend dosed his water/coffee daily with all sorts of nasty stuff he was such a #####.

I can't begin to tell you how much this post warms my heart.

 

[Iron_Far]

..right behind a T that dominates

Didn't see this today. In fact, saw the whole o-line fall asleep during the second half thinking the game was over. Don't know if this kind of attitude comes from Norv.

 

[Tom Servo]

The Marty chants at the end of the game was nice. Where's MoP's thoughts on this? Wasn't he the one clamoring for Marty to be fired after last season's embarassing playoff loss?

I bumped a couple of threads about this. I did in detail talk about him being fired, thread was deleted because it turned into a pissing contest. However, once the window to keep Cam and Wade closed, then to turn around and fire Marty at that point was absolutely ridiculous!!! I don't care who MS was going to bring in as his OC/DC, you had to let him do it. I felt AJ should have gone to Cam and said he was going to likely fire Marty and offer him the Head Coaching job...if he didn't want it then you do the same with Wade...Phillips is showing he can take over a talented team and make it work. I don't think he has done a real lick of coaching in Dallas but he looks like he is having a good time as are the players. He did a great job of putting together the assistant coaches though and those are the glue of any team really.

MoP -- Thanks; I stand corrected. I remember you being very passionate about the Chargers situation.

 

[switz]

At this point it's clear Norv should be fired...

and as much talent as AJ has brought in, his inability to work with a winning coach should at least earn him a very stiff reprimand, if not being fired himself.

 

[Assani Fisher]

 

[Arnold. S]

At this point it's clear Norv should be fired...and as much talent as AJ has brought in, his inability to work with a winning coach should at least earn him a very stiff reprimand, if not being fired himself.

 

[Arnold. S]

Chargers front office effed up, how u fire a coach that went 14-2 is beyond me. then you hire Norv Turner???

 

[Riffraff]

mmm... crow tastes good for some.

 

[Gopher State]

Chargers are luck to have Norv

 

[BoltBacker]

Tech hasn't been in this thread in awhile.

 

[teamroc]

At this point it's clear Norv should be fired...and as much talent as AJ has brought in, his inability to work with a winning coach should at least earn him a very stiff reprimand, if not being fired himself.

It’s clear people get way too excited during football season.And AJ got an extension. Norv is in the conference finals. 0-2? AJ would get hired before he had time to clean out his desk, by at least 10 teams.