Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer did not have a good year in 2011.
Opposing teams picked on him to the tune of 10.2 yards per attempt on passes thrown in his direction, a big jump from his previous numbers and a contributing factor to Jammer giving up six touchdowns over the course of the year. Jammer, the longest-tenured Chargers player, broke up only eight passes thrown in his direction and looked lost on the field.
As it turns out, he was. Jammer sat down with Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune to talk about last season and he didn’t pull too many punches. He admitted that 2011 was not his best year and said that part of the reason for his drop in play was the divorce he was going through off the field. It led him to drink too much and broke the confidence that is necessary to succeed on the field. Jammer described a blown coverage against the Bears and said that he was too “mentally shot” to do anything about it.
“I would try to shake myself out of it, get the cobwebs out and just think,” Jammer said. “But there were so many things to deal with, so much was going through my head. I couldn’t focus. I’ve always been a resilient guy. You get knocked down, you jump back up. But I never thought I’d come out the end of this … The only thing you can think of is the bad (stuff).”
Jammer admitted to still being affected by fallout from the divorce, but it sounds like he’s working with a larger support system now than he was during the season. Jammer says he feels he owes Norv Turner and his teammates a better effort this season and vowed not to let off-field things distract him on the field this time around.