San Diego Chargers 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds
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San Diego Chargers 2009 NFL Record: 13-3 Home: 6-2 Away: 7-1
San Diego Chargers 2010 Preview
The San Diego Chargers moves on without LaDainian Tomlinson, whose nine-year run as the face of the franchise ended in the offseason due to age and salary cap concerns. The Chargers will try to win their fifth straight AFC West title behind a supercharged offense led by quarterback Philip Rivers, tight end Antonio Gates and wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd. They’re also looking to reestablish a defensive identity behind outside linebacker Shawne Merriman, who wasn’t the same old “Lights Out” last year as he returned from knee surgery. The Super Bowl reinains an elusive goal for the Chargers, who have lost three of their last four playoff games, including a mystifying pratfall against the Jets. The window of opportunity hasn’t closed on the Bolts, but it’s certainly getting smaller for Southern California’s only NFL team. Some people, including some opposing coaches, continue to insist that San Diego is the NFL’s most talented team. That might be the case, but it hasn’t translated into recent success in January.
2010 San Diego Chargers Quarterbacks
Rivers has solidly established the Chargers as a passing tealn and himself as one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. Although the addition of rookie running back Ryan Mathews from Fresno State will give the Chargers some balance, they’re not about to veer away from their high-octane passing game. In fact, Rivers’ status as one of the game’s best quarterbacks means Mathews won’t carry quite the burden Tomlinson did when he was a rookie in 2001 and the Chargers were awful. Rivers will be looking for his third straight 4,000-yard season, something only Hall of Farner Dan Fouts has accomplished in San Diego. Rivers has settled in nicely as the team’s leader and seems to do less yapping at opponents. Billy Volek remains the solid backup, although he doesn’t see much action. The Chargers traded third-stringer Charlie Whitehurst to Seattle and drafted Tennessee’s Jonathan Crompton to be his successor. In a perfect world, Crompton will never take a snap for the Chargers.
2010 San Diego Chargers Running Backs
Tomlinson is out and Mathews, who led the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing at 150.7 yards per game in 2009, is in. The Chargers liked Mathews so much that they spent big-time to move up 16 spots in the draft to take hin1 12th overall. The Chargers view Mathews as a fresh set of legs with a between-the-tackles style to replace Tomlinson, who had clearly lost a step and, coincidentally, was Mathews’ idol growing up. Mathews has been wearing No. 21 since he was a sophomore in high school. He won’t be getting Tomlinson’s old number, but he will get the chance to prove that the Chargers’ belief that he is a complete back is accurate. Speedy little Darren Sproles returns for at least one more season. The Chargers still intend to use him as a third down back, a receiver out of the backfield and a return specialist – but not the every-down back Sproles thinks he can be. Fullbacks Jacob Hester and Mike Tolbert get a touch or two most games, but they are blockers first and foremost.
2010 San Diego Chargers Receivers
The receiving corps is clearly the team’s strongest unit. There are times when the Chargers can seen1ingly score at will, and Gates, Jackson and Floyd are almost always involved. Gates, now a six-time Pro Bowl tight end following a season in which he had a career-best 1,157 yards on 79 catches, still gives defensive coordinators headaches trying to figure out how to cover him. The 6’5″ Jackson can jump up and get anything that Rivers throws in his general vicinity. Jackson played in the Pro Bowl for the first time and will be looking for his third straight 1,000-yard season. However, he’s also expected to be suspended for a game or two by the NFL after a second DUI conviction. Gates and Jackson became the first Chargers receiving duo to top 1,000 yards apiece since Lionel James and Wes Chandler in 1985, and their 2,324 combined yards were the most by two Chargers since Kellen Winslow and John Jefferson in 1980. Floyd isn’t at Jackson’s level, but he’s also 6′ 5″ and can make big plays. Sproles actually was the team’s third-leading receiver, tied with Floyd, and can bust a long one, too. Veteran wideouts Legedu Naanee and Craig Davis provide solid depth.
2010 San Diego Chargers Offensive Line
Above all, this group is looking for good health. Left tackle Marcus McNeill and left guard Kris Dielman were the only offensive linemen who made every start last year. McNeill rolled an ankle in the season opener and had to stay in the game because there were no backups left. Center Nick Hardwick sprained an ankle in the opener and missed the next 13 games. Right tackle Jeromey Clary missed the final six games with an ankle injury. The injuries did provide valuable playing time to players such as Scott Mruczkowski and Brandyn Dombrowski. Mruczkowski filled in admirably for Hardwick until he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in mid-December, and Dombrowski started two games at right guard in place of rookie Louis Vasquez early in the season, then started the final six at right tackle after Clary got hurt. Rivers’ numbers didn’t seem to suffer, but the injuries contributed to problems in the running game. This is a talented line, but it would be a lot more evident if the players weren’t ailing.
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2010 San Diego Chargers Defense
The Chargers hope that rookie Cam Thon1as will eventually become the replacement for departed nosetackle Jamal Williams – and the quicker the better. Williams was the run-stuffing anchor of San Diego’s defense for the better part of a decade, but he suffered a season-ending arm injury in the opener last year that the Chargers never really recovered from, and now he has moved on to division rival Denver. The Chargers drafted Thomas in the fifth round and will throw him into the mix along with Ogemdi Nwagbuo and Ian Scott. As is the case on offense, the Chargers would love to find some consistency up front. A revolving door across the line worked for a portion of the season, but injuries limited this group’s effe.ctiveness. Even though they each had a solid season, ends Luis Castillo and Jacques Cesaire will be more effective if the Chargers can get a strong presence in the middle. The Chargers welcome back Ryon Bingham, who can play either end or tackle and missed all of last season with an arm injury.
This is the group that defines the Chargers’ defensive identity, and last year it hardly ovelwhelmed. Merriman might have moved on by now if not for the uncapped year, and this is perhaps his final season in San Diego. He’s looking to regain the form that led to 39.5 sacks in his first three seasons. He had four last year as he returned from knee surgery that cost him the majority of the 2008 season. On the other side, Shaun Phillips (seven sacks) is now best known as the guy who head-butted a Jets player in the playoffs. Larry English remains in waiting, perhaps as Merriman’s eventual replacement. Brandon Siler and Stephen Cooper do a solid job inside, where rookie Donald Butler is expected to add some depth, especially considering the Chargers gave up two draft picks to move up in the third round and grab him.
This is always an interesting group, one that’s either reviled or revered (often the former). Antonio Cromartie went from having 10 interceptions in 2007 to freezing up when New York’s Shonn Greene hit the hole en route to a 53-yard touchdown run in the playoffs. Cromartie was shipped to the Jets a few weeks later, having become a liability both on the field and in the locker room. Antoine Cason, the team’s 2008 first-round pick, has a chance to win Cromartie’s job, although the team brought in cornerbacks Donald Strickland and Nathan Vasher to compete for the spot opposite the ever-solid Quentin Jammer. The Chargers drafted safety Darrell Stuckey of Kansas, perhaps to light a fire under Eric Weddle and Kevin Ellison.
San Diego Chargers 2010 Season Prediction
An 11-game winning streak to end last season didn’t mean anything once the Chargers were beaten by the Jets. The same will hold true this year, when winning the mediocre AFC West is almost a given. Avoiding another face-plant in the playoffs is what really matters to th is team. The Chargers have gotten better about not talking openly about reaching the Super Bowl, but even that focus hasn’t paid off. The fans who get fired up reading predictions of Super Bowl glory get really grumpy when their team gets sent home in the early rounds of the playoffs.
We predict that the San Diego Chargers will finish 1st in the AFC West, with a record of 12-4.
San Diego Chargers Betting
AFC West Odds: 2-5 AFC Conference Odds: 9-2 Super Bowl Odds: 17-2
San Diego Chargers Five-Year Win Betting Trends
2005: 9 2006: 14 2007: 11 2008: 8 2009: 13
Bet on the San Diego Chargers
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