Boy, did the football gods ever smile on Dean Spanos, John Spanos and Tom Telesco four years ago.
They handed the Chargers’ brain trust a star quarterback on a cheap contract. And this happened as the team moved into a $5.5-billion NFL palace built by others.
Did I mention that the same QB — Justin Herbert — was a huge Chargers fan while growing up in Oregon?
That he’s been available for every one of the team’s 61 games that have followed his arrival to the NFL, even as the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow have been carted away?
This is true, too:
The Chargers have still managed to goof it up.
Unable to win an AFC West title or their only playoff game in the franchise’s first three years with Herbert, the defensive-challenged, ball-dropping Chargers (4-6) will need a few miracles to salvage Herbert’s fourth season after hitting the skids once again.
Herbert sparkled again Sunday in his first visit to storied Green Bay, only to see his second consecutive A+ showing end in another three-point defeat.
It was another shaky day for the defense that John Spanos and Telesco entrusted to Brandon Staley by hiring him as head coach three years ago.
A week after the Detroit Lions went for 41 points in the Kroenke Dome to overcome Herbert’s brilliance, the Packers exceeded 20 points for the first time in eight games and claimed a 23-20 victory at Lambeau Field.
Rookie Quentin Johnston didn’t come through for Herbert, either.
A first-round pick, the receiver dropped Herbert’s long pass that could’ve gone either for a go-ahead touchdown with about 20 seconds left or led to a tying field goal or TD.
Johnston had the dropsies at TCU and outgrew them.
But it stings for this team that the receiver has contributed very little, while former University of San Diego tight end Dalton Kincaid has earned the trust of Bills QB Josh Allen and receiver Jordan Addison has thrived for the Vikings of Carlsbad’s Kevin O’Connell.
Both Kincaid and Addison were drafted after Johnston went 21st to the Chargers.
As for Staley’s defense, when it came time to Charger, that’s exactly what it did.
Blunders assisted Green Bay’s go-ahead touchdown drive of 75 yards that culminated with two-plus minutes left.
But in trying to hold off Herbert, the Packers survived only because Johnston was unable to pull down Herbert’s pass near the right sideline.
It was special throw. Mahomes-type stuff.
Herbert looked left before finding Johnston deep down the far sideline. The 6-foot-6 QB’s easy velocity seemed to surprise rookie corner Carrington Valentine and allowed Johnston to pull two strides away.
The 6-foot-4 receiver reached above his helmet and got both hands on the ball before it skimmed away.
If there was good news Sunday for the thousands of sick delusional San Diegans who watch Chargers telecasts in the belief that a franchise run by Dean Spanos and John Spanos will someday win the Super Bowl, it was this:
Perhaps one of the defense’s blunders served as a final straw and convinces the Spanoses they’re part of the problem when it comes to not making the most of Herbert, 25.
Was it cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.’s needless contact that incurred an interference flag and rescued the Packers on third-and-20, just three offensive snaps after Herbert’s laser to Keenan Allen moved L.A. ahead, 20-16?
Or was it the defense’s presnap confusion, greasing the pass play that put the Packers ahead, 23-20?
Like Houdini’s assistants, Staley’s defenses find ways to facilitate great escapes.
His first Chargers defense failed to stop a third-and-23 draw from becoming a first down in a narrow defeat with a playoff berth on the line.
His second ‘D’ was part of the 27-0 implosion at Jacksonville in last year’s wild-card game.
This year, it’s getting worse.
See: the Dolphins inheriting 9 seconds on the first-half game clock yet going 52 yards for a go-ahead field goal; the Cowboys overcoming third-and-18 via two illegal contact flags, leading to the winnings points; and the Lions overcoming five consecutive TDs by the Herbert offense.
Whether Staley stays or goes, here’s the “Football For Dummies” reminder on how to evaluate an NFL franchise that repeats its mistakes.
Take a hard look at the folks running the franchise.
It wasn’t Staley’s decision to invest two premium draft picks in linebacker Kenneth Murray or a premium pick in Samuel.
Staley isn’t why Derwin James’ incurs so many personal fouls or Joey Bosa has proven far less durable than All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones, whom the Chiefs chose some 30 picks later.
Poor special teams, a constant of the 11-year Spanos-Telesco era until recent seasons, undermined Herbert’s first Chargers team.
Under Dean Spanos, the Chargers have whiffed on their last four head-coach hires.
It won’t do Herbert much good to fire Staley and replace him with another Staley.
If there’s a winner to watching these Chargers telecasts, it’s the folks in San Diego who enjoy seeing Team Spanos do a faceplant. The past two weeks have served up tasty pie to the schadenfreude crowd.
With Herbert’s bigger salaries likely to pinch the roster starting in 2025, will the Spanoses rethink their refusal to get outside of their comfort zone when hiring coaches?
If not, the NFL may have to spot the Chargers two victories every season to gloss up the franchise’s league-enabled L.A. venture.
