Dr. Johnston says take a chill pill and call the ticket office in the morning

Use only as directed by a doctor or the Chargers front office

As a fan of both the Padres and Chargers since I was a little kid, I've grown accustomed to the front office telling us that everything will be okay when the team ultimately fails to live up to expectations, or worse, be competitive.  That's why I was shocked not surprised that Chargers PR guy Bill Johnston took the time to write a column on the Chargers website, expressing his disappointment in the negative uproar from the fans over the team's most recent nationally-televised failures.


Now, I understand why Johnston did what he did.  He is the Chargers mouthpiece, after all. The last thing the front office wants is a fan mutiny because the Bolts flushed a couple of very winnable games down the toilet.  But calling out an already frustrated fan base for being negative about a season that seems to be slipping away was not a very PR friendly move.  In fact, it's almost like we were being told to shut our mouths and just keep buying merchandise and tickets.  Now, I know that's not what Johnston was truly attempting to convey in his blog...but it sure as hell felt like it.

Facts are facts.  The Chargers were expected to compete for the AFC West division crown, which has normally been the case for about the past 8 seasons.  The combined record of the three squads the Chargers have defeated (Raiders, Chiefs, and Titans) is 4-13.  Not impressive at all.  The Falcons and Broncos appear to be playoff caliber teams, and they made San Diego look silly and helpless on their own turf.  Being in a tie for 1st place with a 3-3 record doesn't really mean much when this team should be 5-1 and in clear control of the division.

I appreciate how Johnston tried to point to previous Turner-led teams that started slow, eventually caught fire, and advanced into the playoffs.  However, those teams had the talent to overcome those early season woes.  The current Chargers team, sadly, has a lot of personnel issues that will make it extremely difficult to dig itself out of a hole.  The Broncos appear to have the talent and leadership to be a playoff contender...and that means bad news for San Diego.

However, maybe Johnston is right.  Expressing negativity over the airwaves and on the Internet isn't going to solve anything. The only thing we can do is take our chill pills and hope for the best.  Unfortunately, hoping for the best probably means hoping that the Denver Broncos collapse and the Chargers eek their way to a division title.