Former Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer disagrees with Rex Ryan’s contention that the Jets should be favored to beat the Chargers in Sunday’s divisional playoff game at Qualcomm Stadium.
“I think the Chargers are probably the best team in the American Football Conference,” Schottenheimer said. “That doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten. I’m telling you, the football gods, they have their way.”
If anyone knows about the football gods, it is the man who was victimized by John Elway and The Drive, and by Earnest Byner’s fumble at the 3 in the 1986 and ’87 AFC Championship games when he coached the Browns.
His advice to the Jets: “You’re gonna have to go beat ’em, ’cause they seldom ever beat themselves.”
And: “They can’t turn the ball over. They can’t give ’em the short field.”
And: “The more you can possess the ball, the better off you are. It doesn’t take Philip Rivers and that offense a lot of time to score points.”
And the kicking game and special teams will likely be a factor. Schottenheimer raves about Chargers punter Mike Scifres and placekicker Nate Kaeding.
“The most overlooked part of the team is the two kickers — they are absolutely outstanding,” Schottenheimer said.
Referring to Scifres, Schottenheimer said: “He’s the Ray Guy, in my mind, of this era. And of course [returner] Darren Sproles is absolutely electric.”
Schottenheimer revealed why he preferred Rivers to Eli Manning.
“I really liked the competitiveness of Philip Rivers when we worked him out down at North Carolina State,” Schottenheimer said. “I thought Eli was gonna be a good player, but there was just something about Philip . . . he had this persona. He’s received some criticism from a number of people because some people call it chirping where he talks to the opposing team. But that isn’t something that’s contrived. That’s just the competitive nature of Philip Rivers.”
Schottenheimer coached Rivers in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
“In three or four consecutive drives, he took the team right down the field,” Schottenheimer said. “It blew me away.”
The same way Ryan was blown away by Mark Sanchez.
“I like Mark very much,” Schottenheimer said. “I like his competitiveness. The amazing thing to me is there isn’t a better understanding by the public of how hard it is to play quarterback in the National Football League. When you have a young quarterback — and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Peyton Manning, whether it’s Joe Montana — it makes everything more difficult. Mark has done a terrific job understanding what’s expected of him. I think he’s grown leaps and bounds this year.”
Sanchez has been guided immeasurably by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, Marty’s son.
“I think Brian has done an excellent job this year with Mark,” Schottenheimer said. “And Mark has bought into the whole program. I think that not only does that make Mark better, it makes Brian better, and more importantly, it makes the Jets better.”
Schottenheimer said he would not join Brian should he leave the Jets for a head-coaching job.
“If he gets that opportunity, let him go on his own,” Schottenheimer said. “I think that’s a difficult situation, I really do.”
He’s certain Brian can stand on his own.
“He’s been around it his whole life,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s not something foreign to him in any fashion. I think he’s been around — and I’m not referring to myself — some pretty good coaches. He’s always been very, very eager to learn and understand what it is that’s being done, why it’s being done, and probably most importantly, how it’s being done.”
Schottenheimer said that working under Steve Spurrier in Florida was an invaluable experience for Brian. “He got quite an education there,” he said. “Steve let him call some of the plays during games when Brian was down there.”
Schottenheimer will be rooting for the Jets and swears it has nothing to do with his dysfunctional relationship with Smith that led to his firing after the 2006 season.
“Blood’s thicker than water, isn’t it?” Schottenheimer said.
Asked what happened between the men, Schottenheimer said: “There was a communication breakdown there that I never could get resolved. To this day I have no idea what the issues were, frankly.”
Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum has no such issues with Ryan. Schottenheimer never announced plans to shake hands in the White House with Ronald Reagan, but has no problem with Ryan’s unorthodox, blunt force trauma style.
“I think he’s terrific,” Schottenheimer said. “He tells you exactly how he feels. He’s a lot different than me.”
His son versus his old team.
“I think when the Jets have the ball, it’ll be power football,” Schottenheimer said. “When the Chargers have the ball, it’s gonna be wide-open, spread-it-around, throw it here and there. When you get this far, you’re gonna do the things you do best. This is not the time to experiment.”
Ultimately, he knows, the football gods will have their way.