I asked Jeff Williams, the Sports Cartel’s resident Chargers expert, about Cam Cameron.  I told him to be honest and not hold anything back — that we wanted a real fan perspective of how Cam handles an offense, players, et cetera.

Here’s what he had to say:

Tenure with the Chargers

Cam Cameron was brought in to replace former offensive coordinator Norv Turner in 2002 (previously Cam actually coached under Norv with the Redskins).  Cam’s primary directive after joining the Chargers- maintain the singleback-focused offensive scheme that had been installed by Norv Turner.  Cam not only maintained that offensive system, but he built upon it.  RB LaDainian Tomlinson grew into one of the premier runningbacks in the league, and QB Philip Rivers made the Pro Bowl in his first year as a starter.  In 2005 the Chargers had a 3,500 yard passer (Drew Brees), and 1000-yard RB (LT) and a 1000-yard receiver (TE Antonio Gates) for the first time since Dan Fouts led the Chargers in the early 80’s.  In 2006 the Chargers led the league in scoring and went an NFL-best 14-2…before losing in the playoffs.

Ah, the playoffs.  For all the good that you can say about Cam, he will forever be linked to the coaching staff that led the Chargers to multiple choke-jobs in the post-season.  After the offensive performance put on by the Chargers offense in 2006, it was believe that we finally had everything in place to make a post-season run.  But in our first game (divisional round), the offense that was on the field did not seem to be the offense that we had become accustomed to with Cam.  Leading after the half, Cam called only 9 running plays for his MVP RB in the 2nd half, still baffling since Tomlinson dominated most of the first half.  QB Rivers was ineffective in the 2nd half and the Chargers went on to lose to the Patriots.  For all the heat former head coach Marty Schottenheimer took for his miserable playoff record, much of this loss was laid squarely on the shoulders of OC Cam Cameron.

In Cam’s time with the Chargers, coaches were not allowed to talk to the media.  Thus, there isn’t anything that can be pulled from press conferences or media interviews.  Still, the players seemed to enjoy playing for him, and there were no negative comments ever made by players about Cam or the offensive coaches in San Diego.  He was believed to be a QB guru, but he seemed to take a hands off approach with young QB Rivers.  When Norv Turner returned to the Chargers, he created the perception that Rivers had not been sufficiently developed under the previous coaching staff.  Maybe that’s just one man’s opinion, but there never did seem to be a close relationship that developed between Rivers and Cam.

Cam would not be my first choice for head coach, but he would be at the top of the list for offensive coordinator.  He made the most of the offensive talent around him with the Chargers, but unfortunately took over a Dolphins team that had virtually no talent.  I imagine that he has the desire to prove that he can be a successful OC and to prove that he is worth another chance at head coach down the road.

You can vist Jeff’s blog at chargerscoverage.com.

I’m still catching up from a weekend trip to Chicago (where I was greeted with 2 degree weather and a -18 degree wind chill), so you’ll have to forgive the stream-of-consciousness style of this post. I’m still thawing - much like Tom Coughlin’s cheeks. Seriously, dude. It was -4 degrees last night in Green Bay. It’s a miracle you don’t have frostbite over 70% of your face.

… and speaking of faces, some Patriots fans with recently purchased tickets on the New England Bandwagon love to giggle and point out the “Manning face“. Thanks to the younger, less experienced Manning last night, we now have the Favre face:

“Waaaaah, I can’t start collecting social security for another 4 years.”

Fun with numbers, hyperbole

I caught the intro to the NFC Championship game on Westwood One radio about 10 minutes from my front door. The color guy mentioned that “90% of America wants to see Brett Favre play the Patriots in the Super Bowl.” Well, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the resident population of the United States, projected to 01/21/08 at 18:20 GMT (EST+5) is 303,279,395.

Perhaps there really are 272,951,456 Packer Backers out there… but please: can we stop painting with our hyperbole brushes? Case in point: please stop referring to the Patriots as a “Dynasty”. The Zhou were a Dynasty. The Ming were a dynasty. The Patriots are a football team. When they can win 276 championships in a row like the Ming will they be worthy of such a title.

Welcome to Baltimore, John Harbaugh

Murphy’s Law dictated that I wouldn’t be around any technology for the hiring/announcement of the Ravens coach, so I wasn’t able to catch up on media coverage until late last night. Damn you, Murphy. Damn you.

First, I’d like to say that I’m really excited about what John Harbaugh brings to the team. He sounds like the kind of coach that’s going to really work every ounce of talent out of the active roster and demand 110% on every snap in practice and during games. By all accounts - and I’m sure you’ve read them by now - Harbaugh is a sharp guy and hard-worker. The days of Mike Preston calling training camp ‘Camp Cream Puff’ are over (even though Mike McCarthy and other coaches around the league regularly rest veterans).

Now Harbaugh is scrambling to pick his coaches. While technically not “fired”, all of the coordinators and position coaches were “released,” which essentially means that they can be retained if Harbaugh likes ‘em. Rumors are floating around that if Rex Ryan doesn’t get the head coaching job in Atlanta that Bisciotti will give him a raise to keep him on the staff.

Problem solved.

On the other side of the ball, it’s really Harbaugh’s call. The Sun thinks that he’ll pick Eagles QB coach Pat Shurmur. I’m not sold on Shurmur, but if he helps transition Harbaugh from position coach to head coach with an already established working relationship, I’m all for it. As Billick proved last season, you can always fire friends who happen to be OCs.

What do you think? Who should Harbaugh target for his coordinators?

Art imitates life

I was on YouTube this morning and found a Coming to America clip where Eddie Murphy’s character, Prince Akeem, talks about how the Giants of New York defeated the Packers of Green Bay by kicking an oblong ball through a big H. Strange:

How, dear readers, does Kelly Gregg get overlooked again? I’m baffled. Gregg continues to be the most underrated and overlooked player in the NFL — and he’s one of the most consistent and hard-working guys you’ll see play the game.

And while we’re talking about overlooked Ravens, how was Haloti Ngata (2.0 sacks, 58 tackles, 1 FF) left off the team? He and Gregg are the reason the Ravens rush defense is so damn good. The same rush defense that hasn’t allowed a 100 yard rusher since Larry Johnson on 12/10/06 (17 straight games good for the longest streak in the NFL). The same rush defense that has only allowed two 100 yard rushers in their last 33 games.

Don’t get me wrong — I can’t argue with Albert Haynesworth (6.0 sacks, 31 tackles, 1PD) — he’s a beast. But Vince Wilfork (2.0 sacks, 44 tackles)?! How is Wilfork better than Gregg’s 3.0 sacks and 74 tackles? How are Gregg and/or Ngata not selected as alternates? Their numbers are much better than Jamal Williams (0.0 sacks, 39 tackles, 1 FF).

And how in the world does Mario Williams - who is finally living up to the #1 overall pick status with 13.0 sacks on the season (and 53 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR and 1 TD) - get passed over by Mike Vrabel? Not hatin’ on the Patriots, but I think Williams deserves the nod more than a guy who catches touchdown passes like it’s his job. I wonder if we’ll see him line up as a TE with a trick play?

What about Ben Roethlisberger getting the nod over David Garrard? That hardly seems fair, right? I mean, jeez — what do you have to do in order to get noticed? Apparently not throw 2 picks against 16 TDs while compiling a 101.6 QB Rating, right? (To be fair, though, Roethlisberger has a 100.5 QB rating and a 29 to 11 TD-to-INT ratio). Sadly, the Jaguars aren’t sending anyone to the Pro Bowl this year, despite compiling a 10-4 record in a tough division. Again, that hardly seems fair.

At least the NFL gets the concept of an all-star game correct: the NHL and MLB fail miserably in drumming up fan interest by playing the game in the middle of the season (not that the Pro Bowl draws huge ratings — I think I set my TiVo last year and ran errands instead of watching it live). By placing a meaningless exhibition game at the end of the season, it can be a nice send-off after a long career.

Case in point: Jonathan Ogden.

Ogden has played by far his worst season of his otherwise outstanding pro career in 2007. But because he’s going to hang ‘em up at the end of 2007, he gets the sentimental vote. Far from dominant in 2007, he still managed to play through a lot of adversity and pain to cap a beautiful career with the Ravens. 2008 will mark Ogden’s 11th straight Pro Bowl selection in his 12 year career.

I look forward to the day that Ogden is placed in the Ravens’ Ring of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I hope to be present at both occasions.