A. J. Smith |
SAN DIEGO—
The Chargers woke up this morning only to see the words of General Manager A.J. Smith in the local newspapers calling their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers "embarrassing". Smith also said that the team has looked "bewildered and soft."One Charger who asked not be identified said that Smith had not addressed the team as a whole with those comments, but said, we should pay attention, since he's the boss.
LaDainian Tomlinson held the same belief, and also agreed with Smith.
"We were embarrassed too," Tomlinson said. "We felt the same way. We were embarrassed to put out that kind of performance because it reflects us. It reflects all of us. It reflects AJ, it reflects the head coach, it reflects us as players and we were embarrassed about it."
Tomlinson ran for just 15 yards against Pittsburgh, the second-lowest single-game total of his career, and the Chargers defense allowed nearly 500 yards against the Steelers
The chargers have lost several key players but Smith, who has turned down repeated interview requests from Fox 5, told the newspaper that the team needs to, "Deal with it."
Coach Norv Turner agreed.
"You go through those times in the NFL," Turner said. "We know we're gonna have injuries. I said it on Monday and I'm gonna continue to say it, we have enough good players to go out and win."
Linebacker Shawne Merriman was thought to be one of those good players, but he has yet to record a sack this season.
Perhaps a change in hair style will help. He shaved off his blue mohawk. He also responded to Smith's comments.
"That's an opinion of a person, and it's not needed. We know that we have to play better," Merriman said. "I don't duck and hide from my play and I gotta play better. We have guys here who need to play better and it's an attitude and demeanor that we have to get back to establish ourselves."
With the bye week and subsequent Monday night game, the Chargers have 11 days to find that attitude and demeanor.
