The Bobby Beathard Reclamation Project (2000-

[Skillz Not Included]

The background: Fifth Avenue, no house rules but not playing to screw the system, coach determines depth chart and calls the plays, and a cupboard full of the mortal remains of the San Diego Chargers. Hence the subject name. The adventure begins:

The Kids Are Alright

My scout 43; VG in young talent, QBs, OL, and special teams; and the rest scares me. (Do scouts & HCs improve over time?)

The coach is 42(!); VG in DL, young talent, offense, defense, and avoiding injury. Only two below-average ratings in RB and receivers.

The beginning roster:
From the desk of Nicky Coleman of the San Diego Chargers

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Jim Harbaugh 9 9 14 2001
QB Ryan Leaf 8 10 3 2004
QB Moses Moreno 7 11 3 2000
QB Ray Gonzalez 2 5 1 2001
QB Sherdrick Bonner 1 1 2 2000
RB Robert Chancey 10 12 4 2000
RB Terrell Fletcher 9 9 6 2002
RB Kenny Bynum 9 9 4 2000
RB Tremayne Stephens 8 10 3 2000
FB Fred McCrary 8 8 4 2000
FB Jermaine Fazande 7 8 2 2003
TE Freddie Jones 13 13 4 2000
TE Steve Heiden 6 11 2 2002
TE Reggie Davis 5 10 2 2001
TE David Binn 5 5 7 2000
WR Jeff Graham 12 12 10 2000
WR Curtis Conway 9 9 8 2000
WR Cassidy Timberlane 9 10 1 2001
WR Mikhael Ricks 8 9 3 2002
WR Charlie Jones 6 9 5 2003
WR Robert Reed 4 6 2 2001
C Roman Fortin 10 10 10 2000
G Ben Coleman 11 11 8 2000
G Kevin Gogan 10 10 14 2003
G Monty Tejada 7 14 1 2002
G DeMingo Graham 7 8 3 2000
G Kendyl Jacox 6 8 3 2000
G Raleigh Roundtree 6 6 4 2000
G Wilbert Brown 3 5 2 2001
T Vaughn Parker 8 8 7 2000
T Courtney Kearney 2 3 1 2003
P Darren Bennett 14 15 6 2000
K John Carney 13 13 13 2001
DE Raylee Johnson 13 13 8 2005
DE Al Fontenot 10 10 8 2000
DE Mike Mohring 6 8 4 2000
DE Vonnie Vonnegut 5 11 1 2002
DE Cedric Harden 4 7 3 2002
DT John Parrella 13 13 8 2002
DT Jamal Williams 4 5 3 2004
LB Junior Seau 16 17 11 2003
LB Gerald Dixon 10 11 9 2000
LB Eric Hill 8 8 12 2001
LB John Reeves 8 10 2 2001
LB Michael Hamilton 7 9 4 2000
LB Orlando Ruff 7 13 2 2001
LB Charles Lincoln 6 13 1 2001
CB Darryll Lewis 6 6 10 2001
CB Fakhir Brown 6 8 2 2001
CB Scott Turner 6 6 6 2000
CB DeRon Jenkins 5 8 5 2000
CB Wendell Davis 5 5 5 2000
CB Tommie Gaines 2 3 1 2002
S Rodney Harrison 17 17 7 2004
S Mike Dumas 12 12 9 2000
S Greg Jackson 7 8 12 2000
S Jason Perry 4 5 2 2001
S Reggie Rusk 3 3 5 2000
S Rogers Beckett 3 8 1 2004

Dontcha just love how Moses Moreno keeps getting more love than Ryan Leaf? 59 players and definite depth problems at T,C, and DT. Let's get cracking!

Contract Extensions:
P Darren Bennett: $880,000, 2 yrs.
TE Freddie Jones: $2.44 mil., 3 yrs.
S Mike Dumas: $7.52 mil., 4 yrs.
WR Jeff Graham: $10.99 mil., 5 yrs.
RB Robert Chauncey: $3.32 mil., 2 yrs.
G Ben Coleman: $11.58 mil., 5 yrs.
LB Gerald Dixon: $1.86 mil., 2 yrs.

I'm a bit hesitant about giving so many long-term contracts to older players, especially Graham. I'm banking on them retiring / dive-bombing at the back end of the contract, if not later.

Trades:
DE Al Fontenot and QB Moses Moreno traded to Pittsburgh for RB Richard Huntley and a fourth-round draft pick in 2001. Huntley's contract is renegotiated to $3.10 mil., 2 yrs.

Fontenot wanted far too much ($12 mil over 4 years) for mediocre production. Moreno wasn't even talking extension and just wasn't that good to justify banking on him as the Starter of the Future (tm). So I packaged 'em both up and get myself a franchise RB in Huntley and an extra pick to boot. This leaves Chauncey in limbo, but I'll have him duke it out with Huntley during the season.

RB Tremayne Stephens traded to New England for a fifth-round draft choice in 2001.

Stephens, however, was expendable. And since nobody wanted Conway, it's off to...

Signings:
C Mike Flanagan: $440,000, 1 yrs.
T Shar Pourdanesh: $440,000, 1 yrs.
T Chris Ruhman: $440,000, 1 yrs.
DT Tony Williams: $440,000, 1 yrs.
DT Chuck Osborne: $440,000, 1 yrs.

Filling in the spaces...

Cuts:
QB Sherdrick Bonner
TE David Binn
G Wilbert Brown
G Raleigh Roundtree
G Kendyl Jacox
CB Tommie Gaines
CB Wendell Davis
S Reggie Rusk
S Jason Perry



[This message has been edited by Skillz Not Included (edited 12-22-2000).]

[Skillz Not Included]

The 2000 San Diego Chargers
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Jim Harbaugh 9 9 14 2001
QB Ryan Leaf 8 10 3 2004
QB Ray Gonzalez 2 5 1 2001
RB Richard Huntley 12 13 4 2001
RB Robert Chancey 10 12 4 2001
RB Terrell Fletcher 9 9 6 2002
RB Kenny Bynum 9 9 4 2000
FB Fred McCrary 8 8 4 2000
FB Jermaine Fazande 7 8 2 2003
TE Freddie Jones 13 13 4 2002
TE Steve Heiden 6 11 2 2002
TE Reggie Davis 5 10 2 2001
WR Jeff Graham 12 12 10 2004
WR Curtis Conway 9 9 8 2000
WR Cassidy Timberlane 9 10 1 2001
WR Mikhael Ricks 8 9 3 2002
WR Charlie Jones 6 9 5 2003
WR Robert Reed 4 6 2 2001
C Roman Fortin 10 10 10 2000
C Mike Flanagan 4 5 5 2000
G Ben Coleman 11 11 8 2004
G Kevin Gogan 10 10 14 2003
G Monty Tejada 7 14 1 2002
G DeMingo Graham 7 8 3 2000
T Vaughn Parker 8 8 7 2000
T Shar Pourdanesh 6 6 5 2000
T Chris Ruhman 4 6 4 2000
T Courtney Kearney 2 3 1 2003
P Darren Bennett 14 15 6 2001
K John Carney 13 13 13 2001
DE Raylee Johnson 13 13 8 2005
DE Mike Mohring 6 8 4 2000
DE Vonnie Vonnegut 5 11 1 2002
DE Cedric Harden 4 7 3 2002
DT John Parrella 13 13 8 2002
DT Tony Williams 8 9 4 2000
DT Chuck Osborne 6 10 4 2000
DT Jamal Williams 4 5 3 2004
LB Junior Seau 16 17 11 2003
LB Gerald Dixon 10 11 9 2001
LB Eric Hill 8 8 12 2001
LB John Reeves 8 10 2 2001
LB Michael Hamilton 7 9 4 2000
LB Orlando Ruff 7 13 2 2001
LB Charles Lincoln 6 13 1 2001
CB Darryll Lewis 6 6 10 2001
CB Fakhir Brown 6 8 2 2001
CB Scott Turner 6 6 6 2000
CB DeRon Jenkins 5 8 5 2000
S Rodney Harrison 17 17 7 2004
S Mike Dumas 12 12 9 2003
S Greg Jackson 7 8 12 2000
S Rogers Beckett 3 8 1 2004

[WebEwbank]

Scouts and coaches improve while they're young, but somewhat unpredictably. They usually plateau in their 50s and start to lose it in their 60s. Some are still valuable into their late 60s.

I never feel bad about paying top dollar for the best available S & C; they are your eyes and brains.

[Skillz Not Included]

Thanks Weeb. I assumed they might improve, but I wanted to be sure.

Preseason

Minor Note: Turk wasn't quite finished as WR Robert "Stop calling me Mike Brady" Reed is the last to get the axe.

Five weeks of exhibition games leave the Chargers at 1-3, not usually a good sign. The good news is that there aren't any major injuries.

OAKLAND 20, San Diego 10
Jim Harbaugh throws for 234 yards and a TD and Rodney Harrison picks off Rich Gannon twice, but our defense plays matador to Napoleon Kaufman to the tune of 113 of the Raiders' 150 yards on the ground.

New Orleans 38, SAN DIEGO 10
So much for the home opener. Vonnegut, Parker, Coleman, and Brown are gone for at least three weeks; that whooshing sound was Ricky Williams and Wilmont Perry blowing past the Chargers D for 168 yards and three TDs; and with Ryan Leaf nursing a sore ankle, it was Ray Gonzalez who took up the filler time at QB.

Michael Hawthorne is signed to fill in as an emergency replacement for Fakhir Brown.

San Diego 20, KANSAS CITY 14
And then there was light. DeRon Jenkins's 53 yard TD interception return is the spark for what was a 20 point lead. The Chiefs rally in the fourth, scoring their final TD with 27 seconds left in the game - but we recover the onside kick. Yay us.

Seattle 16, SAN DIEGO 3
There's no place like home. The Squawks ravage our D for 383 yards, though only come up with a TD and three FGs. Ricky Watters becomes the latest to discover the joys of rushing against the Chargers, as he racks up 114 yards. I start putting Richard Huntley's face on milk cartons. Four games, 62 attempts, a whopping 161 yards, and no trips to the end zone. The good news? Ben Coleman returns next week...

ST. LOUIS 31, San Diego 24
Hi, my name is Trent Green, and I'll be throwing for four TDs today. Harbaugh wakes up, rediscovers Jeff Graham, throws three TDs of his own, but to even things out throws three INTs too.

SAN DIEGO 20, Denver 7
Will the real San Diego Chargers please stand up? Denver comes in 4-1 and leaves 4-2 - thanks mostly to Richard Huntley. Suddenly remembering why he's being paid the big bucks, Huntley comes up with 87 yards on the ground and a TD. Raylee Johnson's three sacks are also helpful, and for the second straight week an opposing RB is held to under 100 yards. We're not quite dead yet!

BUFFALO 43, San Diego 28
Never mind. Harbaugh is doing his best to carry the team: 343 yards, 3 TDs today - but yet another 3 INT performance makes me wonder if I should take depth chart duties away from the coach and give Leaf a shot instead. Huntley disappears again.

SAN DIEGO 22, Oakland 10
Bye week + home cooking = a tie for last in the AFC West with the Raiders. The rushing D finds its way to the stadium, holding Kaufman this time to just 30 yards. This time, it's Gannon's turn to discover the joys of throwing for three INTs.

A quick assessment at the halfway mark: Harbaugh's 68.9 rating is subpar, but only nine other QBs have thrown for more yards. As Edgerrin James aims for a 2000 yard season, Huntley'll be lucky to see a third of that. Is it the lack of Vaughn Parker, who's still recovering from his '3-5 week' injury; or did I just get taken for a ride by the Steelers? Offensively, we're 30th in rushing, but 12th in passing. Defensively, we're 27 against the run, and 19th against the pass. Finally, despite our secondary being 11th in interceptions, we have a TO margin of -1.