Robert Meachem’s first season with the San Diego Chargers was a complete disappointment.
After signing a four-year deal worth nearly $30 million with the Chargers last year, Meachem posted perhaps the worst season of his six-year career. Meachem caught just 14 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns last season for San Diego while making just three starts for his new team.
Meachem knows he has to produce on the field for the Chargers this year but first he had to take a closer look at himself. He wanted to get to the root of why he underperformed and how he could approach getting better this year.
“What did you do last year?” Meachem said in an interview with Mike Costa and Judson Richards on XTRA Sports 1360 in San Diego. “To yourself, you’ve got to totally be honest with yourself and look yourself in the mirror. You sucked last year. So now what are you going to do? Are you going to be the same guy as last year or are you going to be a new guy?”
His struggles from last season continued to weigh heavily on him. Finally his wife had to deliver a blunt message to get him refocused.
“‘Stop feeling sorry for yourself,’” Meachem relayed. “She just put it like that. She was honest. She was just saying ‘stop feeling sorry for yourself and go play your ball. Go do what you do. Go have fun and enjoy the game again.’”
With new head coach Mike McCoy and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, Meachem has a new offense to adjust to and new coaches to win the respect of. It serves as a fresh start for Meachem as he looks to prove he can live up to expectations.
“Every year is a new start. Every day is a new start. You have to take it one day at a time,” Meachem said. “Last year was last year. If you’re going to dwell on last year, this year is going to be bad. So you’ve got to look toward the future.”