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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- ESPN is reporting the NFL will look into coaches jumping from one team to a playoff team during the postseason and that the league will determine whether there will be a rule blocking such moves.

Of course, the inspiration for the discussion is the New England Patriots’ hire of Josh McDaniels as an offensive coach. He was St. Louis’ offensive coordinator during the season. Yet, he started to work for the Patriots last week. His first game will be Saturday night against Denver in the divisional playoffs. Denver fired McDaniels as head coach in December 2010 after 28 games. He was previously the Patriots’ offensive coordinator.

The Broncos haven’t made a big deal of the situation, but, I know, privately, some folks in the organization -- and others around the league -- think it’s a little odd that such a move could happen.

Don’t you think there are some Rams players who would like the opportunity to work in the playoffs, just as McDaniels will get the opportunity?

I knew the league would take some heat over it. It’s just my guess, but I bet this is the last time we see such a move.

Meanwhile, Denver snapper Lonie Paxton is missing the game because his wife is having complications in her pregnancy. She is carrying twins. Our best wishes go out to the Paxton family.

Denver signed former longtime San Diego long snapper David Binn for Saturday night’s game.

I arrived in the Boston area early Saturday morning and wanted to catch up on some news that occurred during my travels Friday:

Interesting move by Denver by signing David Binn. The longest-tenured San Diego Charger of all time is now a key figure in Denver’s playoff run. Binn will be the Broncos’ long-snapper Saturday night at New England. Binn played 17 seasons for the Chargers — but hasn’t seen the field since the first week of the 2010 season.

Binn replaces Lonie Paxton, who is out for an undisclosed personal reason. He missed the entire week of practice.

The pressure will be on Binn. Heavy underdogs, the Broncos can’t make many mistakes at New England. Binn is one of the most accomplished long-snappers in the history of the NFL, but he will be fighting the rust Saturday night.

Meanwhile, as expected, Denver receiver Eric Decker is out with a knee injury. Safety Brian Dawkins is doubtful with a neck injury.

NFC East blogger Dan Graziano distributes some AFC West love. He picked the San Diego Chargers to win it all. Meanwhile, Denver Broncos rookie linebacker Von Miller has some high expectations as well.

Former San Diego long snapper David Binn reflects on his time as a Charger. His 17-year career with the team ended this week when was cut.

Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles is not worried about a lack of preseason action.

The Oakland Tribune looks at the frustrating tale of Chaz Schilens. Some fans wonder if Schilens will be cut because he has had trouble staying healthy. I don’t see any way that happens this year. He has too much potential to give up on now.

The Kansas City Star takes a stab at predicting the Chiefs’ 53-man roster. Final cuts will be Saturday afternoon.

The Chiefs’ starters are playing some Thursday night in the preseason finale at Green Bay.

There is not a more faceless name on an NFL roster than the one that belongs to a team's long snapper.


In most NFL cities, the snapper is simply a part of the special teams. If you know his name that often means he made a major mistake.

Yet, it was a different story for the San Diego Chargers. David Binn was a known part of the San Diego organization. For nearly two decades, Binn personified San Diego's special teams.

That’s why there are some sad folks in San Diego on Tuesday after the Chargers cut Binn. He is, by far, the biggest name in the AFC West to be cut this week. He played in San Diego for a team-record 17 seasons and a team-record 179 consecutive games, 256 games overall. His first season was 1994, the only time San Diego played in the Super Bowl.

He goes into the annals as one of the most remembered San Diego players of all time.

The Chargers have decided to go with Mike Windt at long snapper. In the end, youth and the fact that Windt has two more years on his contract swayed the Chargers. Binn, 39, was entering his contract's final year.

Binn’s San Diego career essentially ended in Week 1 at Kansas City when he injured a hamstring that shelved him for the 2o1o season. Windt was the Chargers’ fifth snapper of 2010, but he played in the final 11 games of the season.

Now Windt continues his job as the lonely, unknown long snapper in San Diego. How times are changing.

UPDATE: Here are some of the Chargers’’ other cuts Tuesday. No surprises here.

New Orleans safety Darren Sharper said he could retire if the lockout wipes out the 2011 season.

I’m sure Sharper is not alone. I bet there are several veterans around the league who could call it a career if the 2011 season is scrapped. It would be very difficult for some veterans to sit out a year and then try to gear back up in 2012.

Here is a look at some of the veterans in the AFC West who potentially may have played their final NFL game if there isn’t a season this fall:

David Binn, long snapper, San Diego: Binn is 39 and was lost in the season opener last year with a nasty hamstring injury. If Binn were to miss virtually two straight seasons, it could be tough for him to come back at the age of 40. Still, he has long best one of the best long snappers in the business and he has always kept himself in good shape.

Brian Dawkins, safety, Denver: Dawkins will be 38 and I think the Broncos are interested in having him for one more season, likely at a reduced rate. If this season is lost, Denver may not be interested in Dawkins in 2012. Yet, he keeps himself in supreme shape and if Dawkins wants to play in 2012, he could get a chance to play somewhere.

Mike Vrabel, linebacker, Kansas City: Vrabel is 35 and the Chiefs have not committed to bringing him back. Still, I could see Kansas City wanting Vrabel for one more season in 2011 if he wants to play. I could see Vrabel -- who is heavily involved in the NFLPA -- deciding to retire if there is no football this season.

Casey Wiegmann, center, Kansas City: Wiegmann is still deciding whether he wants to play in 2011 or not. The general consensus is that Wiegmann, who’ll turn 38 in July, will decide to play in 2011 because he may be refreshed by an extended offseason. The Chiefs want him back. Yet, a lost season could keep Wiegmann at home for good.

SAN DIEGO -- It took San Diego's special teams a minute and 29 seconds to betray the Chargers Sunday.

Tennessee blocked a Mike Scifres punt and the ball flew out of the end zone for a safety. The Titans lead, 2-0. It was the fourth time a San Diego punt was blocked this season. In his six previous seasons, Scifres had one punt blocked. San Diego is on its fifth long snapper of the season after going the past 17 seasons with David Binn, who tore his hamstring in Week 1. The San Diego crowd booed loudly when Scrifres had the punt blocked.

Special teams have killed San Diego all season long. The Chargers are 2-5 despite leading the NFL in offense and defense.

It was a Tuesday afternoon during the NFL season.

Instead of game planning and trying new ways to bust the wedge and to protect his punter, Gary Zauner was about to take a swim at his Arizona home. Asked if he desired to become a special-teams coach in the NFL again, Zauner, 59, didn’t hesitate.

“No, because I don’t want to be asked questions about why my special teams are bad,” said Zauner, who now owns his own special teams consulting firm, which specializes in working with kicking specialists. After 13 years as an NFL special teams coach, Zauner clearly had enough of the pressure of coaching the unappreciated third phase of the game.

Zauner feels for his friend Steve Crosby, the special teams coach of the San Diego Chargers. Known as one of the better special teams coaches in the NFL, Crosby is under scrutiny because his once air-tight unit has been disastrous through the first five games.

San Diego (2-3) could easily be 5-0 if it weren’t for its dreadful special teams. In San Diego’s three losses this season, the special teams have surrendered 30 points. The Chargers have lost the three games by a combined 22 points.

San Diego has allowed a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown at Kansas City, two kickoff returns for touchdowns at Seattle and two blocked punts at Oakland in less than five minutes, which resulted in a touchdown and a safety. Football Outsiders believes the Chargers are on their way to having perhaps the worst overall special-teams unit in the history of the NFL.

“It’s every phase of the special teams in San Diego,” said Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. “It is killing a good team. It’s a brutal way to lose. It’s so repetitive. It’s just a massive problem for an otherwise really good team.”

San Diego coach Norv Turner scoffed at talk that Crosby would be fired earlier this week when he responded to a question about the assistant’s job security by saying: “Don’t be silly.” Miami coach Tony Sparano didn’t have the same patience after Week 4 when he fired John Bonamego following the Dolphins’ special-teams miscues that directly led to 21 points for New England in the spotlight of "Monday Night Football."

“I’ve been there before,” Zauner said. "When I had good players on special teams, I was a good special teams coach. When I had bad special-teams players, I was a bad special-teams coach … Steve Crosby is a fine special-teams coach. He’s one of the best. He’s the not the problem.”

So, what is the problem in San Diego?

“It’s probably several little things,” Zauner said.

How can the problems be fixed?

“It’s not that easy,” Zauner said.

Added Scouts Inc.’s Gary Horton when asked how the Chargers can turn around their fortunes on special teams: “I wish I knew the answer. It’s just baffling.”

Zauner said there are no quick fixes for broken special teams during the season, just some Band-Aid solutions. Zauner said the Chargers can kick to the corners of the field to try to cut down on long returns and ask punter Mike Scifres to try to punt with a better hang time but not worry about punting as long as he usually does. To guard against blocked punts, perhaps the team could put starting offensive linemen on the line. Zauner said putting more starters on the coverage teams can help too.

“It really comes down to personnel,” Zauner said. “You either have good special-teams players or not.”

The Chargers are missing two key players and it is clearly making a huge difference. Coverage ace Kassim Osgood signed with Jacksonville as a free agent because he wanted a chance to play receiver, which wasn’t an option in San Diego. The team doesn’t have the coverage aptitude it had with Osgood, even though San Diego kept 28 defensive players on the original 53-man roster in an attempt to load up on quality special-teams coverage players. Often, the best special-teams players are backup linebackers and defensive backs.

In addition to the Osgood departure, San Diego is playing without long-snapper David Binn for the first time since 1993. Binn is known as one of the best snappers in NFL history. He was lost for the season at Kansas City with a hamstring injury he suffered while trying to make a play on rookie Dexter McCluster’s team-record punt return.

In the next two weeks, two of Binn’s replacements, James Dearth and Ryan Neill, were lost for the season with injuries. The team is on its fifth snapper of the season after going 17 seasons with only one. Ethan Albright was released this week in favor of rookie Mike Windt. Zauner believes the loss of Binn and subsequent flux at snapper have created obvious timing issues.

Scifres has had three punts blocked in the past four games. He had one punt blocked in six previous NFL seasons. There haven’t been any blatant issues in the place-kicking game.

“They miss Binn and Osgood,” Zauner said. “Those are big losses and the Chargers are feeling it. ... Those are hard players to replace.”

Still, Horton said there are more issues. He studied film of the two blocked punts against Oakland and saw clear trouble.

“On one of the [blocked punts], the guy came in unblocked,” Horton said. “Something is going on there. I know they work on it and they watch film, but something is not working there. I don’t know the answer, but it has to be fixed. They have to fix it.”

The special-teams trouble in San Diego could sink the team, and there are no sure solutions. Perhaps that’s why Zauner would rather swim during football season.

Sandwiched between three temps, the San Diego long snapping job has gone from a 17-year veteran to a rookie who has never snapped in an NFL game in exactly one month.

In a continually baffling story, the turnstile at the long snapper has continued in San Diego. For those still able to keep count, the Chargers are on their fifth snapper of the regular season.

The newest San Diego long snapper is Mike Windt. He is a rookie who was a standout at the University of Cincinnati. He went to camp with the Bengals. Now, he better be ready for prime time.

San Diego had the most stable snapping situation in the NFL heading into the season with David Binn, who was on the job since 1994. However, Binn, the longest tenured Charger in history, suffered a torn hamstring in the season opener at Kansas City on Sept. 13.

The team then signed veteran James Dearth. He was injured at practice before he even played in a game of the Chargers and was sent to the IR. Then, there was Ryan Neill. He played but was quickly sent to the IR. Then, there was the Ethan Albright era.

He was the snapper Sunday when Oakland blocked two field goals, which resulted in nine points, in the first five minutes of its upset win over San Diego. Albright was sent packing Wednesday, opening the door for Windt.

Now, Windt is on the clock.

The San Diego Chargers’ staggering string of bad fortune at long snapper has continued.

After having one long snapper since 1994, San Diego is now on its fourth snapper of the season. Amazing.

Long snapper Ryan Neill, who snapped in the second and third games, is now out for the year with a knee injury. So, San Diego has now turned to veteran Ethan Albright. He is in his 16th NFL season. He snapped in every game through 1996-2009. He was last with Washington.

Let’s see if Albright can bring back stability to the position in San Diego. The craziness began when David Binn, the longest tenured Charger ever, was lost for the season in an opening-season loss at Kansas City. The team then signed veteran James Dearth. He was lost for the season when he was hurt in practice before playing a game for the Chargers.

The Chargers made some other moves Tuesday. San Diego signed safety Quinton Teal and brought back Dante Hughes, who was cut Saturday. Running back Curtis Brinkley was cut. He will likely go back to the practice squad. He was signed to the 53-man roster Saturday as insurance at running back. His release probably means rookie starter Ryan Mathews will be back against Arizona. Mathews has missed the past six quarters with an ankle injury. There were indications Monday that Mathews would play this week.

The team also put linebacker James Holt on the injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

Before this week, the San Diego Chargers had only one long snapper dating back to 1994.

Now, they’re on their third snapper since Monday.

In a dizzying turn of events, San Diego has gone from the venerable David Binn to untested Ryan Neill as their snapper. San Diego signed Neill on Friday. He snapped in nine games for the Rams last season.

Binn snapped in 256 games for the Chargers over 17 years. He has played in the most games and is the longest tenured Charger in team history. He suffered a torn hamstring in Monday night’s loss at Kansas City on a punt return for a touchdown by Chiefs rookie Dexter McCluster. Binn was put on the injured reserve Wednesday.

San Diego signed 10-year veteran James Dearth on Wednesday to replace Binn. However, Dearth suffered a foot injury in practice Thursday and was lost for the season.

The Chargers struggled on special teams against the Chiefs. It will be interesting to see if these dramatic changes at snapper will play a major detrimental role Sunday against visiting Jacksonville.

Usually, the loss of a long-snapper isn’t overly concerning for a team. However, David Binn is not a usual long-snapper.

Putting an explanation point on a stinging loss Monday night in Kansas City, Binn suffered a torn hamstring on Dexter McCluster’s 94-yard punt return for a touchdown in the Chiefs’ 21-14 win. Binn, who has been with the team since 1994, finished the game.

Replacing Binn may be difficult and it certainly will be awkward. The team signed former Jet long-snapper James Dearth. San Diego punter Mike Scifres and kicker Nate Kaeding will have to adjust to working without Binn for the first time.

Binn, who set a franchise record by playing in his 179th consecutive game on Monday, has played in 256 NFL games. It is a franchise record as his 17 seasons with the team. Dearth spent nine seasons with the Jets before being released in a cost-cutting move.

San Diego’s special teams had a tough night Monday night (and it was noticed by former star Kassim Osgood who will visit San Diego with Jacksonville on Sunday) and it will be interesting to see if Binn’s absence causes an issues.

Meanwhile, San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman was limited in practice with Achilles issues that has been bothering him for a month. It kept him out of the Kansas City game. Linebacker Stephen Cooper did not practice with a knee injury.

SAN DIEGO -- Forty-four uniformed Chargers had slumped off the field on a shocking afternoon that got grayer as the day went on.

The last Charger standing on the field was defensive lineman Antonio Garay. As he headed off the field, Garay suddenly took off his helmet and drop-kicked it about 15 yards.

The mood didn’t lighten in the moments to follow. Members of the Spanos family, which owns the team, marched through the halls of Qualcomm Stadium with matching looks of disbelief on their faces. Many San Diego players quickly dressed and headed to the parking lot and a sudden offseason.

“How in the hell did this happen?” San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman asked no one in particular.

There was no way San Diego thought its Super Bowl run would end in a New York minute. Yet, the reality in San Diego is another failed playoff run after the Jets’ running game and tenacious defense took over in the second half of a 17-14 upset of the Chargers.

San Diego, which led 7-0 at the half, entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a legitimate threat to win its first Super Bowl. The Chargers were 13-3 and ended the regular season with 11 straight wins. They were clicking in all three phases. They were playing nearly flawlessly.

And then Sunday happened. The Chargers went out and played their worst game of the season.

The Chargers, whose previous low score this season was 20 points, were horribly sloppy on offense. Quarterback Philip Rivers threw two second-half interceptions. He was intercepted only nine times in the regular season. San Diego was penalized 10 times for 87 yards. All-Pro kicker Nate Kaeding missed three field goals, including two inside 40 yards. Entering the game, he had made 29 straight field goals from inside the 40.

“Compete lack of focus, a complete lack of discipline,” Merriman said. "And that’s not us. That had never happened this season before. That’s why this is so hard. It was totally out of character and totally unexpected.”

The final result was another cold ending to the NFL season in paradise.

The Chargers have been to the playoffs five of the past six seasons, but haven't gotten past the AFC title game. In 2004 and 2006, San Diego was upset at home in its first playoff game. In 2004, the Jets beat the Chargers after Kaeding missed a 40-yarder that would have won the game. In 2006, the Chargers were beaten in the divisional round at home by New England.

In Norv Turner’s first two seasons, San Diego won playoff games before bowing out. Sunday’s loss brought back crushing memories.

“It does make you wonder,” San Diego linebacker Stephen Cooper said. “It brings back those memories … This will be with me until we start training camp. This is hard.”

The sudden ending also will bring up questions about the Chargers’ ability to ever win a Super Bowl. Expect an offseason full of questions about whether San Diego’s window of opportunity has closed.

That may be a bit premature because the centerpiece of the organization, Rivers, is only 28 and he has gotten better in each of his four years as a starter. As long as Rivers is around, the Chargers will be a contender.

But there could be changes in San Diego.

At the top of the list has to be the status of running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson, 30, saw his production slip dramatically this season. He did not have a productive game Sunday, rushing for 24 yards on 12 carries.

Tomlinson is owed $5 million in 2010 and the Chargers barely brought him back in 2009. It has to be considered a strong possibility that the Chargers, who ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing this season, will look for a new starting tailback in 2010.

In the recent past, Tomlinson, a sure future Hall of Famer, said he will not retire. Sunday, he sounded like a beaten man.

“It’s very disappointing to think about the future,” Tomlinson said. Asked if he wants to come back in 2010, Tomlinson said: “I can’t tell you that right now.”

When asked if this was his last game in San Diego, Tomlinson said: “I don’t know. I’m not sure. I’ve heard all of the speculation. But I’ll tell you want, I’ve had a heck of a time here and if it is [the end], I’ve enjoyed the ride.”

In addition to Tomlinson, several key San Diego players are due to be unrestricted or restricted free agents, including Merriman, wide receiver Vincent Jackson, running back Darren Sproles and left tackle Marcus McNeill. Thus, the unexpected end of the season could be the start of a busy offseason in San Diego.

At the very least, it is an earlier start to the offseason than anyone in San Diego could have imagined.

“I’m in shock,” said long snapper David Binn, the longest tenured player on the team. “It’s surreal to think the season is over.”

Five AFC West players made the all-fundamentals team selected by USA Football and the NFL Players Association.

The 26-man roster rewarded the league’s most fundamentally-sound players at each position. Among the six voters for the award are former Kansas City general manager Carl Peterson and former Kansas City coach Herm Edwards.

Here are the AFC West players who were honored:

Denver LT Ryan Clady: Hands in pass protection

Kansas City LB Mike Vrabel: Shedding blocks

Oakland CB Nnamdi Asomugha: Breaking up the pass

San Diego S Eric Weddle: Open-field tackling

San Diego LS David Binn: Long-snapping mechanics

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

One of our final all-decade week features will be of interest to fans of AFC West teams. The division dominates NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert's feature on the special teams stars of the decade.

The punter results will make some fans in the division happy. The results will frustrate others.

San Diego punter Mike Scifres was named the all-decade punter. He was selected over Oakland punter Shane Lechler.

Lechler is the AFC's perennial Pro Bowl punter. He is a fantastic punter and Oakland just rewarded him by making him the highest-paid punter in league history. Yet Scifres was recognized for his wonderful touch, which he showed off in a legendary way in a San Diego playoff win over Indianapolis in January.

San Diego long-snapper David Binn also received all-decade honors. He's been a consistent presence for 15 years in San Diego.

Former Kansas City return man Dante Hall was edged out for returner of the decade by Chicago's Devin Hester.

What do you think? Nothing like a punter controversy to send us out of all-decade week.