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- -- A.J. Smith Not Backing Down --
Tue Jul 6, 2010 --from FFMastermind.com - The National Football Post reports San Diego Chargers GM A.J. Smith isn't backing off his hard-nosed stance regarding contract disputes with WR Vincent Jackson and OLT Marcus McNeill. That said, Smith acknowledged that their potential losses are harmful to the team and of concern to him. “It hurts,” Smith told Yahoo! Sports. “It hurts when you don’t have your players. How are you going to win a championship without your left tackle and your wideout? I’m sick about it. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how anybody could be more upset about this than me.” One player told the website that Smith's tough-guy approach can go too far. “He gets too emotional and too tied up in making his points, and when emotions run wild anything can happen," the veteran told Yahoo!. "I don’t see other GMs talking the way he’s talking. It creates confusion.” At this point, there doesn't appear to be any common ground. And the Chargers aren't inclined to give any contract extensions. Not with the uncertain state of the collective bargaining agreement. “Our position now with the labor unrest is we’re going to shut it down and take it slow,” Smith said. “We’re on hold right now. We’re not the lone ranger, but we’re on hold. It’s not forever. I don’t know when we will or when we won’t . There is a long list of players in line for them. It’s the longest I’ve ever seen.” Smith has publicly said that McNeill and Jackson have been lost for the season. And he defended his comments. “I don’t know why it was ‘extreme,’ ‘cause I was being honest," Smith said. "We’re not signing anyone right now. We’re taking our time. Those players would like long-term contracts. What we decided to do, which we thought was fair, was say, ‘Play for $3.2 million, and let’s see what happens at the end of the year with us.’ That was rejected. We told them, ‘On the 15th we’re gonna bring that down to $600,000.’ Their agents told me, ‘Now we’re not coming in for a considerable length of time.’ When they say], ‘You’re not going to see us,’ I take them for their word. My head is spinning. I’m trying to replace them. I think we’ve got a good football team. We’re losing a left tackle and a wide receiver, I want our team to know they’re gone. Talk about it now, process it while you’re on vacation, get it out of the way. But they’re not coming back, and we have to move on. If those players change their mind, I’ll deal with it then.” Bottom line: Neither the Chargers or the players show any sign of blinking anytime soon.
