The Chargers dumped their #42 late last night...Rogers Beckett
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20030610-9999_1s10chargers.html
Lassiter checks in, so Beckett gets the ax
Chargers count on ex-Cardinal at safety
By Jim Trotter
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 10, 2003
The revolving door was in full spin yesterday with the Chargers' secondary.
Several hours after announcing the signing of unrestricted free safety Kwame Lassiter to a three-year deal for undisclosed financial terms, the Chargers released Rogers Beckett, their projected starter at strong safety.
What the moves ultimately will mean for the secondary remains to be seen. For the moment, coach Marty Schottenheimer said he plans to have Lassiter, Ryan McNeil and Jerry Wilson compete at free safety, while second-year pro Vernon Fox and rookies Terrence Kiel and Hanik Milligan battle at strong safety.
However, he acknowledged at least two other scenarios, including one in which McNeil and Lassiter would start at safety – McNeil at free, Lassiter at strong – and another in which McNeil could return to cornerback, the position he played in each of his first 10 NFL seasons, including 2001, when he went to the Pro Bowl after leading the team with eight interceptions.
"We're just trying to get ourselves better," Schottenheimer said. "The feeling was that we needed an experienced guy back there at safety, and both Ryan and Kwame can give us that. But our plan is not unlike that with the offensive line – we're going to find a way to get the best four guys back there in the secondary that we can.
"We have all that experience at free, and all that youth at strong. We'll just have to see how it plays out. We've got six guys back there, and I don't think any of them can be counted out of the mix.
"As it unfolds it's going to become obvious what direction we need to go. I don't think it's going to be hard to see."
Beckett, the team's top pick (second round) in the 2000 draft, said he could see his departure coming after losing his starting job after 10 games last season. At the time, the club expressed concern about his struggles to direct the secondary and make plays in the passing game.
"It really wasn't a surprise to me," said Beckett, who started 29 of 48 games in his career, but managed just two interceptions. "I really thought they were going to do it in March, at the start of the new league year, but they waited for whatever reason. I knew it was coming down because I know the general feeling toward me around here.
"I just think they don't like my personality . . . I'm a pretty quiet person, and they don't know what I'm thinking. That may be one thing behind it. But I think this is best for me. I came out here and gave it my best, but sometimes you get in a situation where there might be something better out there for you."
Said Schottenheimer: "I like Rogers as a player; I like everything about him athletically. The thing we struggled with last year was he just never made the plays that we had hoped he would . . . It seemed to me that rather than fooling around with the thing, if I've got a veteran player that you don't think is going to make your football team, I prefer to let him go early."
Lassiter is a definite upgrade for the Chargers, who ranked last in the NFL in pass defense in 2002. He played each of his eight pro seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before becoming an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
The 6-foot, 203-pounder has 24 career interceptions, including nine in 2001 and eight in 1998 – four of which came in a playoff-clinching win over the Chargers. He slipped to two interceptions last season after signing a one-year, $3.34 million deal as the Cardinals' "franchise" player, but Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said he had Lassiter targeted for months.
"He's a terrific player," Smith said. "He's a very, very tough, physical and extremely competitive football player. He plays that position and knows that position, and any time you can bring in tough, physical players and put them in the mix, you're a better football team. There will be a hell of a battle at free safety."
McNeil, who has not played free safety since high school, said he's prepared for the competition.
"I'm cool with whatever happens," he said. "I look forward to playing, whether it's at safety or corner. The more good players you have, the better, and Kwame is a good player. Whatever we've got to do to make us a better team, I'm all for."
Lassiter said the team has to discuss what role it expects him to fill, but his career statistics say he will be in the middle of the action. In eight pro seasons, he has 709 tackles, those 24 interceptions, 49 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
"They've got a lot of great talent on this team; they just need some direction," Lassiter said. "My part in this thing is to help these young guys learn to play NFL football, not the college game.
"In Arizona, we were always young in the secondary, except for Aeneas Williams. What you try to do is teach those young guys communication, let them know what we're trying to do. You want to get them talking, so we know what each other is doing."
That process will begin in earnest with the team's mandatory minicamp Thursday-Saturday at Chargers Park.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20030610-9999_1s10chargers.html
Lassiter checks in, so Beckett gets the ax
Chargers count on ex-Cardinal at safety
By Jim Trotter
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 10, 2003
The revolving door was in full spin yesterday with the Chargers' secondary.
Several hours after announcing the signing of unrestricted free safety Kwame Lassiter to a three-year deal for undisclosed financial terms, the Chargers released Rogers Beckett, their projected starter at strong safety.
What the moves ultimately will mean for the secondary remains to be seen. For the moment, coach Marty Schottenheimer said he plans to have Lassiter, Ryan McNeil and Jerry Wilson compete at free safety, while second-year pro Vernon Fox and rookies Terrence Kiel and Hanik Milligan battle at strong safety.
However, he acknowledged at least two other scenarios, including one in which McNeil and Lassiter would start at safety – McNeil at free, Lassiter at strong – and another in which McNeil could return to cornerback, the position he played in each of his first 10 NFL seasons, including 2001, when he went to the Pro Bowl after leading the team with eight interceptions.
"We're just trying to get ourselves better," Schottenheimer said. "The feeling was that we needed an experienced guy back there at safety, and both Ryan and Kwame can give us that. But our plan is not unlike that with the offensive line – we're going to find a way to get the best four guys back there in the secondary that we can.
"We have all that experience at free, and all that youth at strong. We'll just have to see how it plays out. We've got six guys back there, and I don't think any of them can be counted out of the mix.
"As it unfolds it's going to become obvious what direction we need to go. I don't think it's going to be hard to see."
Beckett, the team's top pick (second round) in the 2000 draft, said he could see his departure coming after losing his starting job after 10 games last season. At the time, the club expressed concern about his struggles to direct the secondary and make plays in the passing game.
"It really wasn't a surprise to me," said Beckett, who started 29 of 48 games in his career, but managed just two interceptions. "I really thought they were going to do it in March, at the start of the new league year, but they waited for whatever reason. I knew it was coming down because I know the general feeling toward me around here.
"I just think they don't like my personality . . . I'm a pretty quiet person, and they don't know what I'm thinking. That may be one thing behind it. But I think this is best for me. I came out here and gave it my best, but sometimes you get in a situation where there might be something better out there for you."
Said Schottenheimer: "I like Rogers as a player; I like everything about him athletically. The thing we struggled with last year was he just never made the plays that we had hoped he would . . . It seemed to me that rather than fooling around with the thing, if I've got a veteran player that you don't think is going to make your football team, I prefer to let him go early."
Lassiter is a definite upgrade for the Chargers, who ranked last in the NFL in pass defense in 2002. He played each of his eight pro seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before becoming an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
The 6-foot, 203-pounder has 24 career interceptions, including nine in 2001 and eight in 1998 – four of which came in a playoff-clinching win over the Chargers. He slipped to two interceptions last season after signing a one-year, $3.34 million deal as the Cardinals' "franchise" player, but Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said he had Lassiter targeted for months.
"He's a terrific player," Smith said. "He's a very, very tough, physical and extremely competitive football player. He plays that position and knows that position, and any time you can bring in tough, physical players and put them in the mix, you're a better football team. There will be a hell of a battle at free safety."
McNeil, who has not played free safety since high school, said he's prepared for the competition.
"I'm cool with whatever happens," he said. "I look forward to playing, whether it's at safety or corner. The more good players you have, the better, and Kwame is a good player. Whatever we've got to do to make us a better team, I'm all for."
Lassiter said the team has to discuss what role it expects him to fill, but his career statistics say he will be in the middle of the action. In eight pro seasons, he has 709 tackles, those 24 interceptions, 49 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
"They've got a lot of great talent on this team; they just need some direction," Lassiter said. "My part in this thing is to help these young guys learn to play NFL football, not the college game.
"In Arizona, we were always young in the secondary, except for Aeneas Williams. What you try to do is teach those young guys communication, let them know what we're trying to do. You want to get them talking, so we know what each other is doing."
That process will begin in earnest with the team's mandatory minicamp Thursday-Saturday at Chargers Park.
