http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8569264?MSNHPHMA
Chargers' woe-is-us act wearing thin
by Mark Kriegel
You'll be seeing it for years, immortalized in replay infamy. The call was that bad.
With 1:17 remaining, the Broncos were down seven and a yard from the goal line when Jay Cutler dropped back to pass. Before he could, however, the ball squirted from his hands. Everybody saw what happened, except, of course, referee Ed Hochuli, who saw an incomplete pass and whistled the play dead, thereby nullifying the recovery made by Chargers linebacker Tim Dobbins.
Two plays later, the Broncos scored a touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion for a 39-38 victory.
Unlike most controversial calls, this one isn't really subject to interpretation, much less debate. Not even Cutler bothered to pretend he didn't fumble. Hochuli, said to be "devastated," has been predictably vilified. "Ed has been an outstanding official for many years," said an NFL spokesman, "but he will be marked down for this call." The league's compe ion committee is sure to address the issue of inadvertent or idiotic whistles.
Still, there's good news. Even in an ins ution as obdurate as professional football, it's nice to know that everyone can admit mistakes.
Everyone, that is, except for the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers are under the mistaken notion that Hochuli alone cost them the game.
"It is not acceptable to have the refs decide it on that play," said Norv Turner.
"A tough way to lose," said LaDainian Tomlinson, who was held to 26 yards with a bad toe. "... The officials should be accountable."
Same for the Chargers, who always seem to lead the AFC in excuses. To listen to San Diego — always a popular preseason pick for the Super Bowl — is to wonder once again if Turner's team (like Marty Schottenheimer's before it) is tough enough.
Unlike the Chargers, Hochuli could at least admit his error. As it happened, the referee's less than Solomonic compromise resulted in Denver getting the ball at the 10-yard-line.
"All we can do to fix it is put the ball at the spot that it hit the ground, which is why we moved it back to the 10-yard line and the down counts and it becomes third down," he said.
As solutions go, it wasn't perfect. It wasn't just. By the same token, though, it was as if Dobbins had sacked Cutler for a loss of nine. Denver had third and goal at the 10; San Diego had the chance to control its own destiny.
And what did the Chargers do? They gave it up for the second time in as many weeks.
They let the Broncos into the end zone twice in three plays. Again, they relinquished a lead in the last seconds. (In Week 1, it was a 24-20 advantage over the Panthers and their rusty quarterback Jake Delhomme.) Then they complain about Hochuli, a Phoenix lawyer who'd been praised as one of the league's better officials.
To be sure, San Diego got a lousy break. Conspiracy theorists also cite the replay apparatus that malfunctioned in the first half. More to the point, after giving up 31 points in the first half, it's clear the Chargers miss Shawne Merriman. But so what? The Patriots, now 2-0, only lost the best quarterback in football and replaced him with a guy who hadn't started since high school.
Comparison with New England doesn't flatter San Diego. Goof on the Patriots and their coach all you want, but not for complaining. You don't hear them complain.
A couple of years ago, Tomlinson famously protested the manner in which the Patriots celebrated on the Qualcomm field after beating the favored Chargers in the playoffs. Perhaps he was expecting a chant of "2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate ..." Whatever the case, it sounded like whining then.
It sounds a little like whining now.
Until further notice, consider the Chargers severely marked down.
I don't know what is stupider, this article or the person who thought it worthy enough to post.
Turner made his statement, sent the tapes in, and left it at that. Same as any other head coach would do. Where exactly is the excessive whining mono? Seems to me people are whining more about the Chargers whining then the Chargers are whining themselves.
And you are one of the biggest whiners here, funny you'd post this article.
<see last years playoffs or Brady's injury this year>
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