Last Year:
Deion Sanders is making his glossy return to the football. How does that concern the San Diego Chargers? It doesn?t - just like most happenings in the NFL. San Diego was a mere afterthought in the minds of most fans, teams, and coaches as their four wins discouraged attention. But even a minute contestant can demonstrate significance in an enormous food chain as witnessed by the Chargers win over the Minnesota Vikings, which for all intents and purposes, impeded the Vikings path to the playoffs. Unfortunately Marty Schottenheimer?s boys look like nothing more than a speed bump once again.
What we Learned from Last Year:
Typically it?s important to learn an attribute which a team is likely to carry over into the next season, but in the Chargers case, it?s best to forget.
Starting with the good, San Diego?s offense was not nearly as poor as many would blindly assume. The ranking was a byte above the median, and the running game, not surprisingly, was sixth.
Running back LaDainian Tomlinson was the lifejacket of an offense that would have easily drowned without him. There are some who rant and rave about that yahoo in Kansas City, but when accounting for the support that Tomlinson garners ? or doesn?t garner ? it makes a strong case for LT as the best running back in the league. In his three seasons as a Bolt he has improved his yards per carry, yards per catch, and receiving yard total. Priest Holmes is surrounded by one of the best offensive lines available, has a reliable quarterback, as well as a group of receivers led by Pro Bowl tight-end Tony Gonzalez that simplify his task. Meanwhile Tomlinson was virtually abandoned last year as his back up from the quarterback was appalling and he himself led his team in receptions.
In attempts to make a plea for starting quarterback Drew Brees?, the offensive line?s play did not impress. Although defenders only slipped through the offensive line cracks 29 times, Brees dropped 21 times in a span of 11 games. If quarterback pressures were an official stat, this team would probably headline that category.
The receiving corps produced a lousy 1770 yards. David Boston, the most productive catcher out of the crew, nearly had that many receiving yards on his own three seasons ago.
If defense truly wins championships, the Chargers have a long, long, long, long way to go.
Time of defensive possession: 32:08 per game - 5th worst
3rd down percentage: 42.0% - 5th worst
Penalty yards: 1006 - 5th worst
Plays: 1072 - worst in the league
Passing touchdowns: 36 - worst in the league
You get the point.
The question is have these ominous shortcomings been addressed?
What Has Changed?:
Mel Brooks? wonderful theatrical piece ?The Producers? is now back at the Civic Theatre in San Diego and most people will likely flock to there opposed to Qualcomm Stadium.
Well?maybe the season won?t be so bad after all.
The first thing Schottenheimer needs to quench is the fire. Stop, contain, isolate, or whatever metaphorical term you wish to use, the spread of disaster on this team, and become positively focused. When disarray is constantly in the mind of the young players, every single moment is needed to construct confidence amongst the core.
Anything from snaps in training camp, to outperforming opponents in scrimmages and pre-season games, they need to regain hope.
The secondary has been pantsed for a number of seasons and it?s time for those prospects to grow up. Jamar Fletcher (not drafted by San Diego), Quentin Jammer, and Sammy Davis are all first-round selections, while Terrence Kiel and Drayton Florence are second-round picks. This could be one of the worst drafting displays of all time if the Chargers rank bottom-barrel in passing statistics once again. Nonetheless, the potential for stardom is there.
Although 30 sacks were managed on rival signal callers last year, a lack of defensive stops kept them on the field more than any other defense in the league. No secondary can be expected to hold out that long.
The front lines on both sides of the ball are receiving makeovers, but are they for the better? With a young nucleus of talent, particularly Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers, it?s important to have a stout offensive line for the younguns to effectively battle through their trials and tribulations.
Arguably their top offensive lineman, Center Jason Ball, is a hold-out and likely won?t play anymore snaps as a Charger. Two players that should be regulars, Courtney Van Buren and Phil Bogle are returning from knee surgeries, while the addition of Mike Goff and Roman Oben are not eye-popping. Well compared to the rest of the guys, Goff and Oben may be eye-popping, but that?s not a good thing.
Phillip Rivers does have a quick release, but is he prepared to take a beating? With a scarce receiving group, who exactly is he going to be quick releasing to? I guess they?ll just throw Drew Brees back in to take the punishment. The last thing this team needs is more fissures in an already unstable offensive line.
On defense, the team might actually progress. Bluntly speaking, it would be pretty hard not to, but any optimism is encouraging.
Newly hired defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will bring the 3-4 scheme to San Diego, and considering the team has more talent at linebacker than defensive line, this repositioning could prove vastly helpful. Replacing the departed Marcellus Wiley and Raylee Johnson, are a few rookie linemen, but considering this team?s recent track record in the draft it?s not recommended to hold your breath waiting for assistance. For what it?s worth, Steve Phillips and Dave Ball have had solid pre-season sack numbers.
Linebacker Ben Leber talked about the new defensive alignment.
?It took a little while, but I think toward the end of camp, we were flying around and understanding what we were doing and felt comfortable, and it showed. We gave our offense fits, and it looked like they were confused, so hopefully that will translate over.?
With Randall Godfrey, Steve Foley, and Donnie Edwards at his side, this grouping may be the defenses strength.
It?s all about reading between the lines when it comes to the Chargers and with a lot of shuffling on both the offensive and defensive lines, it?s hard to envision success, or growth for that matter.
O/U 4.5:
Oakland: Re-tooled offensive line. Denver: Intimidating offensive line. Kansas City: Painfully dominating offensive line. I wonder how the Chargers will cope. Hopefully the 3-4 confuses the front lines and aids this team, otherwise topping last year?s win total will be a challenge. They play: @HOU, NYJ, TEN, JAX, @ATL, @CAR, NO, TB, @CLE, and @IND.
Fantasy Sleeper:
Mama help. Well I guess somebody needs to catch the ball in this offense? I put a question mark at the end of the last sentence because I?m not sure if I?m asking a question or making a statement. Everyone get on board the Kassim Osgood choo-choo train as he has the most upside (allegedly). He?ll have the shine time now that David Boston is gone, and he isn?t likely to be double-teamed while defenses stack the line to stump Tomlinson.
Deion Sanders is making his glossy return to the football. How does that concern the San Diego Chargers? It doesn?t - just like most happenings in the NFL. San Diego was a mere afterthought in the minds of most fans, teams, and coaches as their four wins discouraged attention. But even a minute contestant can demonstrate significance in an enormous food chain as witnessed by the Chargers win over the Minnesota Vikings, which for all intents and purposes, impeded the Vikings path to the playoffs. Unfortunately Marty Schottenheimer?s boys look like nothing more than a speed bump once again.
What we Learned from Last Year:
Typically it?s important to learn an attribute which a team is likely to carry over into the next season, but in the Chargers case, it?s best to forget.
Starting with the good, San Diego?s offense was not nearly as poor as many would blindly assume. The ranking was a byte above the median, and the running game, not surprisingly, was sixth.
Running back LaDainian Tomlinson was the lifejacket of an offense that would have easily drowned without him. There are some who rant and rave about that yahoo in Kansas City, but when accounting for the support that Tomlinson garners ? or doesn?t garner ? it makes a strong case for LT as the best running back in the league. In his three seasons as a Bolt he has improved his yards per carry, yards per catch, and receiving yard total. Priest Holmes is surrounded by one of the best offensive lines available, has a reliable quarterback, as well as a group of receivers led by Pro Bowl tight-end Tony Gonzalez that simplify his task. Meanwhile Tomlinson was virtually abandoned last year as his back up from the quarterback was appalling and he himself led his team in receptions.
In attempts to make a plea for starting quarterback Drew Brees?, the offensive line?s play did not impress. Although defenders only slipped through the offensive line cracks 29 times, Brees dropped 21 times in a span of 11 games. If quarterback pressures were an official stat, this team would probably headline that category.
The receiving corps produced a lousy 1770 yards. David Boston, the most productive catcher out of the crew, nearly had that many receiving yards on his own three seasons ago.
If defense truly wins championships, the Chargers have a long, long, long, long way to go.
Time of defensive possession: 32:08 per game - 5th worst
3rd down percentage: 42.0% - 5th worst
Penalty yards: 1006 - 5th worst
Plays: 1072 - worst in the league
Passing touchdowns: 36 - worst in the league
You get the point.
The question is have these ominous shortcomings been addressed?
What Has Changed?:
Mel Brooks? wonderful theatrical piece ?The Producers? is now back at the Civic Theatre in San Diego and most people will likely flock to there opposed to Qualcomm Stadium.
Well?maybe the season won?t be so bad after all.
The first thing Schottenheimer needs to quench is the fire. Stop, contain, isolate, or whatever metaphorical term you wish to use, the spread of disaster on this team, and become positively focused. When disarray is constantly in the mind of the young players, every single moment is needed to construct confidence amongst the core.
Anything from snaps in training camp, to outperforming opponents in scrimmages and pre-season games, they need to regain hope.
The secondary has been pantsed for a number of seasons and it?s time for those prospects to grow up. Jamar Fletcher (not drafted by San Diego), Quentin Jammer, and Sammy Davis are all first-round selections, while Terrence Kiel and Drayton Florence are second-round picks. This could be one of the worst drafting displays of all time if the Chargers rank bottom-barrel in passing statistics once again. Nonetheless, the potential for stardom is there.
Although 30 sacks were managed on rival signal callers last year, a lack of defensive stops kept them on the field more than any other defense in the league. No secondary can be expected to hold out that long.
The front lines on both sides of the ball are receiving makeovers, but are they for the better? With a young nucleus of talent, particularly Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers, it?s important to have a stout offensive line for the younguns to effectively battle through their trials and tribulations.
Arguably their top offensive lineman, Center Jason Ball, is a hold-out and likely won?t play anymore snaps as a Charger. Two players that should be regulars, Courtney Van Buren and Phil Bogle are returning from knee surgeries, while the addition of Mike Goff and Roman Oben are not eye-popping. Well compared to the rest of the guys, Goff and Oben may be eye-popping, but that?s not a good thing.
Phillip Rivers does have a quick release, but is he prepared to take a beating? With a scarce receiving group, who exactly is he going to be quick releasing to? I guess they?ll just throw Drew Brees back in to take the punishment. The last thing this team needs is more fissures in an already unstable offensive line.
On defense, the team might actually progress. Bluntly speaking, it would be pretty hard not to, but any optimism is encouraging.
Newly hired defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will bring the 3-4 scheme to San Diego, and considering the team has more talent at linebacker than defensive line, this repositioning could prove vastly helpful. Replacing the departed Marcellus Wiley and Raylee Johnson, are a few rookie linemen, but considering this team?s recent track record in the draft it?s not recommended to hold your breath waiting for assistance. For what it?s worth, Steve Phillips and Dave Ball have had solid pre-season sack numbers.
Linebacker Ben Leber talked about the new defensive alignment.
?It took a little while, but I think toward the end of camp, we were flying around and understanding what we were doing and felt comfortable, and it showed. We gave our offense fits, and it looked like they were confused, so hopefully that will translate over.?
With Randall Godfrey, Steve Foley, and Donnie Edwards at his side, this grouping may be the defenses strength.
It?s all about reading between the lines when it comes to the Chargers and with a lot of shuffling on both the offensive and defensive lines, it?s hard to envision success, or growth for that matter.
O/U 4.5:
Oakland: Re-tooled offensive line. Denver: Intimidating offensive line. Kansas City: Painfully dominating offensive line. I wonder how the Chargers will cope. Hopefully the 3-4 confuses the front lines and aids this team, otherwise topping last year?s win total will be a challenge. They play: @HOU, NYJ, TEN, JAX, @ATL, @CAR, NO, TB, @CLE, and @IND.
Fantasy Sleeper:
Mama help. Well I guess somebody needs to catch the ball in this offense? I put a question mark at the end of the last sentence because I?m not sure if I?m asking a question or making a statement. Everyone get on board the Kassim Osgood choo-choo train as he has the most upside (allegedly). He?ll have the shine time now that David Boston is gone, and he isn?t likely to be double-teamed while defenses stack the line to stump Tomlinson.
