Lack of urgency is maddening to Chargers fans

San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith re-signed center Nick Hardwick today. That was great; Hardwick and quarterback Philip Rivers have nice chemistry as battery mates, and the veteran center has done well leading his fellow offensive linemen  Smith also placed the lowest tender on backup left tackle Brandyn Dombrowski, meaning the Chargers will either retain Dombrowski or receive a seventh-round pick from the team that signs him to a contract San Diego chooses not to match. In other words, who really cares?

What's disturbing right now is why Smith still hasn't re-signed left tackle Jared Gaither. Where's the urgency on that? It's a no-brainer to retain Gaither, who stepped in and played like an elite left tackle during the last five weeks of the 2011 season. Smith needs to re-sign Gaither as quickly as possible, as there's nobody else available to protect Rivers' blind side as well as the 6-9, 340-pound giant can. Plus, taking care of Gaither allows Smith to pursue other free agents, such as Houston Texans defensive end/outside linebacker Mario Williams and New Orleans Saints offensive guard Carl Nicks. Both Nicks and Williams have been visiting other teams, yet there hasn't been a word about the Chargers scheduling for either of them to come into their facility. Why is that?

San Diego isn't talented enough to just sit back and let the rest of the teams in the NFL add the best free agents to their rosters. The Chargers currently have massive needs along the offensive line and at outside linebacker, strong safety, and now wide receiver. And yet Chargers fans are waiting...and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...for something to happen.

A.J. better get a move-on; these guys aren't going to stay free agents much longer.