Tight end Antonio Gates is one of two Chargers chosen as a Pro Bowl alternate.(US Presswire) |
Chargers players who want to spend the last week of January in Honolulu, Hawaii will have to do it on their own dime. The 2013 Pro Bowl roster was announced on Wednesday and it included no Bolts. TE Antonio Gates (3rd) and FS Eric Weddle (5th) have an outside chance of playing on Jan. 27 as alternates.
If Gates or Weddle do not play, it will mark only the third time in franchise history the Chargers will not send a player to the all-star game. The other years were 1973 (2-11-1) and 2003 (4-12).
The 2006 regular season was the best in franchise history, as the team went 14-2. It also produced the most Pro Bowlers with 13. LT Marcus McNeill, OLB Shawne Merriman, FB Lorenzo Neal, RB LaDainian Tomlinson and NT Jamal Williams were starters. LS David Binn, TE Antonio Gates, C Nick Hardwick, WR Kassim Osgood (special teams) and QB Philip Rivers were also voted to the roster.
The 2006 Chargers lost their first postseason game in the divisional round of the playoffs to the Patriots 24-21. That resulted in the firing of coach Marty Schottenheimer. General manager A.J. Smith then hired coach Norv Turner with the lone goal of taking his talent-rich roster to the Super Bowl.
Turner reached the AFC Championship game in 2007 and 10 players made the Pro Bowl, including first timers LG Kris Dielman and CB Antonio Cromartie.
Gates, Hardwick and Rivers are the only three of 15 Pro Bowlers who remain from the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
Other talented players have also departed such as WR Vincent Jackson and RB Darren Sproles, who were allowed to leave as free agents.
Jackson made the Pro Bowl following the 2009 and 2011 seasons before departing to Tampa Bay. He leads the Buccaneers with 69 receptions for 1,334 yards. WR Malcom Floyd leads the Chargers with 56 receptions for 814 yards. Floyd (ankle) was placed on the reserve-injured list last week.
Smith thought Sproles had lost a step before he let him leave following the 2010 season. Sproles went on to set an NFL single-season record with 2,696 all-purpose yards for the Saints in 2011.
The erosion of talent may not all be on Smith. It’s very possible that Turner is just not very good at developing talent. Smith has had 40 draft picks since Turner was hired. RB Ryan Mathews (round one, 2010) and Weddle (round two, 2007) are the only two to receive Pro Bowl honors of Smith’s picks in the Turner era. Both represented San Diego last season and Mathews made it as a third-alternate.
The Chargers (6-9) were eliminated from postseason contention with a 31-7 loss to the Panthers in Week 15. This is the third straight season San Diego will not be in the playoffs.
Smith and Turner are expected to be fired some time next week.
Roster Shuffle: NT Aubrayo Franklin and SS Brandon Taylor were placed on the “Reserve-Injured” list with knee injuries on Wednesday, marking the sixth straight week at least one player’s season has been cut short because of injury. San Diego now has 17 players on IR. S Sean Cattouse and CB Greg Gatson were signed to the active roster from the team’s practice squad. Neither is expected to play this Sunday.
Takeo Spikes helps Boys and Girls Club: ILB Takeo Spikes has helped the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Dieguito, a community of San Diego, raise $20,000 through “Takeo’s Tackles.” Fans were given the opportunity to make pledges ranging from $0.50 to $5.00 per tackle based on a maximum of 100 tackles. Heading into Sunday’s season finale against the Raiders (4-11), Spikes has 98 tackles, two shy of his 12th career 100-tackle season. The pledges raised $13,350 and Spikes announced he would contribute $6,650 to bring the total for the first-year program to $20,000.
Injury report: RB Ronnie Brown (hamstring), ILB Donald Butler (groin) and ILB Takeo Spikes (hamstring) did not practice. ILB Demorrio Williams (ankle) was limited. CB Shareece Wright fully participated. Wright was a new addition following last Sunday’s game.
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