Most of you reading this Blog may not know who the hell this man above is. He is the current Chargers General Manager, A.J. Smith. Under Smith’s guidance, the Chargers have been one of the most successful regular season teams since 2004. But does he really know what he’s doing? Especially right now with Vincent Jackson?
First, let’s take a look the Chargers record under Smith. 68 wins with 30 losses. That’s a 69% win ratio. Not only is that absurdly impressive, it is a top 5 winning percentage in the league since he took over the GM position in 2004.
I’m sure right about now you are thinking that I clearly have no idea what I’m talking about. The win-loss record proves that he is a fantastic GM. I got to agree, you are right, but only to a certain extent. Allow me to explain.
For the sake of not wanting to bore anyone to death, I’m only going to discuss his 2 most recognized moves and then relate them to Vincent Jackson.
The first major move to happen under Smith was in 2004, his first year as GM. The Chargers had the first pick in the draft and everyone knew who was going 1st overall. Eli Manning. The only problem was, Eli and especially his father, did not want Smith and the Chargers to draft him. Although it has never been confirmed, it is rumored that the main reason the Manning’s did not want the Chargers to draft Eli was because they hated A.J. Smith. Regardless, Smith went ahead and drafted Manning anyway. Shortly thereafter, Smith traded Eli to the Giants in return for the #4 overall selection, Phil Rivers, and 3 draft picks. 2 of the draft picks gained were used to draft Linebacker Shawne Merriman and Kicker Nate Kaeding.
After the first 3 years, it seemed like Smith had, unquestionably, FLEECED the Giants. And this was in spite of the fact that Eli had led the Giants to the playoffs in both years he was the full time starter. This is how the thought process was in 2006.
Chargers: 14-2 record, Phil Rivers (Pro Bowl), Shawne Merriman (Pro Bowl & former Rookie of the Year) Nate Kaeding (Pro Bowl)
Giants: 8-8 record, Eli Manning (No Pro Bowls)
Then, 2007 happened. We all remember it. Eli Manning, went into Superbowl XLII against Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the 18-0 New England Patriots. His team came out on top. He was also named Superbowl MVP. As it turns out, as of now, the Giants got the better end of the deal.
The next major move, and almost surely the most controversial move of his career was the handling of Drew Brees. It’s common knowledge that in 2004 Rivers was supposed to be the opening day starter as a rookie. Brees had his opportunity and he clearly failed. But Rivers wanted more money and held out of camp. This gave Brees 1 more chance and he ran with it. Brees ended up going to the pro bowl and was the 3rd highest rated passer that season. Then at the end of the 2005 season Brees needed surgery on his throwing shoulder. A.J. Smith decided it was too risky to re-sign Brees and trade Rivers, instead opting to let Brees walk away. What resulted was Brees being named the 2008 Offensive Player of the year as well as being named Superbowl Champion and MVP. In the end, Smith got no compensation for Drew Brees.
The list of questionable moves goes on and on. Firing Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2, letting Michael Turner walk away for no compensation, electing to use the Franchise tag on a 5’6” Running back named Darren Sproles (Thus paying him the league average of the top 5 players at his position, which ends up being 6.6 million). 6.6 million for a guy with 19 all purpose touchdowns in 5 years!
This leads me to the whole Vincent Jackson debacle. It appears that Smith believes that Jackson is a rare NFL talent, probably top 5 at his position. That, obviously, is absurd. It’s rumored that Smith wants at least a 2nd and 3rd round pick in a trade for Jackson. If Smith truly believes that Jackson is worth that much then I have a bridge to sell him.
Let’s use Brandon Marshall as an example. Marshall was traded this off season with 3 consecutives seasons of 1000 yards and 100 receptions while averaging 7 TD’s. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins for two 2nd rounder’s, and he is considered by most people to be at worst, in the top 7 in the NFL at his position. So let’s be fair in our assessment. While Jackson is coming of back to back 1,000 yard seasons and his first pro bowl, he still has yet to crack the list of top 12 WR’s in the league.
There’s no way in hell that Smith will get what he wants. The Vikings, who are desperate to add a quality WR, offered a 2nd round and a conditional draft pick to which Smith said no. Allegedly, there are multiple teams that have made multiple offers yet Smith is determined to get what he wants. As I said, he won’t get it.
So here’s the tricky part if you’re A.J. Smith: Jackson is not eligible to play until week 7 anyway because of his suspension for violating the substance abuse policy as well as being on the exempt list. Eventually, if Jackson is not traded by the October 19th trade deadline, he will sign the tender offered to him and play out the remainder of the season as all Jackson needs to do to become an unrestricted free agent next year is be physically able to perform in 6 of them.
So the question is Mr. Smith, do you take the best offer you can get right now, or do you risk losing your Pro Bowl Wide Receiver for no compensation...again?
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