The San Diego Chargers have lost their sheen.
For the better part of the last decade, the Chargers regularly were considered Super Bowl contenders this time of year. But coming off back-to-back seasons of empty Januarys, Bolts buzz has dissipated considerably.
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Chargers general manager A.J. Smith isn't known to hold back his opinions, and he offered a frank one on his team in a recent conversation with SI.com's Peter King.
"We have lost our respect in the league and our credibility in the league," Smith said. "We were an elite team. You miss one year in the playoffs? OK. You miss two? You deserve everything that's being said about you."
It's the type of statement you'd expect to come from local sports talk radio, not a team's GM. But Chargers players don't disagree with Smith's blunt assessment.
When told of the comments, center Nick Hardwick said, "Amen." Tight end Antonio Gates called it a truth that's "not acceptable, not negotiable."
"That's the mentality we have right now," Philip Rivers said. "Not being in the playoffs the last two years, we've developed that feeling, and our feeling right now is we've had enough. We have a little edge about us now. But, you know, you've just got to go out and do it."
