Week 13 Coin Toss

There's plenty of blame to go
around in  San Diego. (Getty)

Stally: I don't follow the draft that closely, especially as we get deeper and deeper into the rounds.  However, I do follow college football some, so I'd obviously heard of University of North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates, who's now with the Houston Texans.

He played for a perennial bowl contender in the ACC (never finishing in the Top-25) and threw to targets like Hakeem Nicks, Greg Little and Brandon Tate.  His stats in college were good, not great, and he was drafted in the fifth round this past spring (152nd, or 47 spots earlier than Tom Brady was once taken).

The Tennessee Titans are two games (three, when you factor in probable tiebreakers) behind the Texans.  I think we can both agree that Houston should win the AFC South, but what's the prognosis on Yates?

With Matt Leinart at the helm (for less than two quarters), we debated the liklihood that the Texans might make it out of the first round.  With Yates, we'll probably both side with them being an underdog in the Wild Card round.  Are there any teams that could be susceptible to a team quarterbacked by Yates?  If you were Gary Kubiak, what skills does the QB have that you would best use to win?

Austen: I follow the draft very closely and Yates just barely made it onto my radar. For a quarterback, he has the NFL size (6'3", 220 lbs), which means hopefully he should at least stay healthy for the Texans if nothing else. However, the biggest compliment I have heard about him is that he has "starter potential." To me that means scouts like the way he played in college, but really have no freaking clue whether or not that will translate to the NFL.

From watching what little tape I can find on Yates online, he seems to be a bit of an erratic passer and tends to struggle with his accuracy at times, despite completing over 60% of his passes in almost all four years as a starter at UNC. This definitely could be what breaks the Texans' season since they cannot afford to have a quarterback who throws picks on what should be easy completions.

Yates has improved dramatically each of his seasons at UNC and he probably has yet to play his best football. However, right now for the Texans, he is at best a game manager who may be able to make some big plays here and there, but will most likely also make some costly mistakes. He is one of those quarterbacks who is solid in all areas of his game, but not great in any particular area, which makes him easier to defend.

While Yates definitely benefited from playing in college with some great receivers, he will get to throw to Texans' receiver Andre Johnson, so it is not like he will be throwing to scrubs out there. The Texans also have very talented pass catching tight ends and they will have to get their them involved into the passing game more to give Yates some short and intermediate throws to keep the chains moving.

The main trait Yates possess that will benefit the Texans is that he is an intelligent kid and according to many sources has a strong understanding of the Texans' offense, which is one of the simpler offenses in the NFL to run. He has good pocket awareness and makes quick decisions, which could make teams pay for sending a lot of blitzes his way.

Overall, I think Yates will play decently, but he might not be the starter long if Jake Delhomme can learn the offense quickly and prove that he has just a shred of the talent he used to possess in Carolina. Donovan McNabb might also get strong consideration for the starting role, despite his recent struggles.

Yates is probably a year or two away from being a guy you can rely on to win you some big games, so I really do not think he will be the starter for long in Houston.

Stally: Here's the thing though: T.J. Yates or Curtis Painter?  I'd say that since Yates has "starter potential" and Painter clearly doesn't, that the Texans have at least put some stock in building a back up quarterback.  I would imagine that Yates projects to a high end back up that could come in and start some games.  He'll probably never be anything special, but he could ultimately be someone the fans rely on to at least keep his team in the game.

I certainly don't like the prognosis for the team in the playoffs with him under center.  However, as I said in the question, the Texans are in a great position to cruise to the playoffs and I think Yates can do that.  My game plan if I'm Kubiak: maximize the running attack of Arian Foster and Ben Tate and get Andre Johnson on the field to catch passes and boost this kids confidence.

Austen: I am shocked, like all NFL fans, at how poorly the Chargers have been this season. They were expected to be one of the best teams in the AFC, and even possibly compete for a Super Bowl. At 4-7, the Chargers have almost no shot at the playoffs and have often looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL.

The Chargers started off hot at 4-1, which was atypical for this team which usually gets off to a slow start. However, the only teams they beat were the Vikings, the Chiefs, the Dolphins and the Tebow-less Broncos. Those are some pretty terrible teams and a lot of those were close games.

What is it about this team that has made them completely fall apart this season? Is Norv Turner that terrible of a coach? Did general manager AJ Smith really drop the ball this offseason by not adding the appropriate talent to this team to allow it to succeed? Why has Phillip Rivers been so off this season and throwing picks like its his job? Is there anything they can do to right the ship before this team falls off the deep end or will they have to start rebuilding with a new head coach and general manager?

Please tell me what to think of this team!

Stally: Honestly!?  I don't know what to think of this team.

Offensively, they seem to have the same talent that's made them a perennial playoff team in the last several seasons.  Defensively, they brought in my buddy from the 49ers, Greg Manusky, and they're not bad in total (yardage) defense, but give up a ton of points!  They're basically like the anti-Patriots in terms of yards given up and points yielded.

I've always thought of Phillip Rivers as a great talent but also quite arrogant.  I think his overall arrogance makes him a tough guy to have at the helm of a struggling team because he's doesn't adapt his game well when it's not working.  It was very underrated, but the loss of Darren Sproles (a year after losing LaDainian Tomlinson) affected this offense.  Ryan Mathews hasn't developed as expected and Mike Tolbert is nothing great.  Sproles was always that safety valve for Rivers.  Without him, he's forcing throws (again, out of arrogance) and making poor decisions because he thinks he's good enough to get it done.

I see a big turnover in the front office.  The defense doesn't have many standout players at all and it's gone from being one of the league's best to what I would classify as below average.  Turner will most definitely be out after the season.  It's one thing to go 14-2 and get fired for losing by a field goal to the Patriots in the playoffs and get fired like Marty Schottenheimer was in 2006, it's totally different to have a somewhat similar cast of characters, sneak by against a lousy schedule and then drop six in a row to a cast of characters that's not particularly better.

You look at starters like Rivers, Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates and none really seems to be that into winning right now.  Turner doesn't seem to be giving them the kick in the butt they need.  The Chargers need a coach that is tougher on these talented players, someone like, oh, I don't know, Schottenheimer!, who I never thought should have been fired in the first place!

Austen: I agree with everything Stally says, and I particularly like the part about Rivers' arrogance getting the better of him. To add to that point, I just do not think Rivers is a great leader or really has the ability to get his team to rally around him because he simply seems like a jerk. It is hard to play for a quarterback who you just don't like because football is such a physical game and you really risk your physical health every time you go out on the field. Who wants to risk an injury to make a guy you don't like look better? Maybe I am reading too much into Rivers' character, but this certainly does not help a team that really lacks any sort of team chemistry.

While Rivers and the offense has certainly struggled, the Chargers defense has failed to do much of anything this season. This was a defense that allowed the fewest yards per game last season so this is a bit of a surprise. However, over the last few years, they have lost a lot of long time starters who had made this a strong defense for years. Their young players have not developed like they had hoped and that leaves the team with a very mediocre defense. The defense also seems to lack a leader, which again causes them to falter in critical moments.

Basically everything Stally and I have said shows why this team should be mediocre, but doesn't explain why the are awful. What makes this team awful is clearly something inside the locker room that as an outsider we will not really be able to put a finger on it. However, it definitely has something to do with a team that lacks leadership on offense, defense, and the coaching staff. The Chargers are officially rebuilding and do not be surprised if Vincent Jackson is not back next season.