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Last Year
After an offseason of trying to find a reliable quarterback, one surfaced in-house. Drew Brees may have been slow to mature, but when he finally did in his fourth season, the San Diego Chargers got that bolt of energy they were looking for. Only 3-3 after six weeks, Charger-backers were skeptical, but Brees was sharp and as he gained confidence, so did the team. They finished on a 9-1 run and were just wide right of the second round of the playoffs. Can they top it this year?
What We Learned From Last Year
The 12-win total the Chargers achieved last year was their highest total in 25 years and generally that doesn't happen unless a few things go right for you.
It had been a few years now that the Chargers were gathering prime young prospects so it was only be a matter of time before some of them started to develop.
But the maturation came from unexpected areas.
The team had virtually given up on quarterback Drew Brees, who had struggled in his three NFL seasons, and drafted Phillip Rivers as a future replacement. But while Rivers missed most of training camp with a lengthy holdout, Brees began to blossom.
He wasn't the only one to flourish as second year tight-end Antonio Gates burst onto the scene and developed a strong rapport with Brees. He was a physical specimen that everyone was aware and with a lack of dependable receivers, he got a chance to thrive.
His emergence gave Brees a reliable weapon in the passing game, something he had sorely missed.
Then you factor in LaDainian Tomlinson, a perfect match for Marty Schottenheimer's offense, as well as Keenan McCardell later on in the season, and all of the sudden the Chargers were a three-dimensional monster on offense.
Tomlinson has been the Chargers' most valuable player virtually every year, but Brees and Gates made a strong case to at least share that title last year.
What was so impressive about Brees was his accuracy. He only threw seven interceptions all year and his efficient quarterback play factored greatly in the Chargers success.
In 2003, they entailed the 28th-worst turnover ratio having 11 more giveaways than takeaways. In 2004, they had the third-best turnover ratio at +15.
They stopped shooting themselves in the foot and became a smart offensive team.
More importantly, instead of being punished by opponents for making mistakes, they were the ones capitalizing on their opponent's miscues.
The Chargers may have given up endless yards via the pass, but they still amassed the third-highest total of interceptions. The biggest misconception was that their secondary could be abused at will because of a lack of talent. The real case was that Quentin Jammer, Drayton Florence, and Sammy Davis all progressed as young defensive backs, but the with a minimal amount of quarterback pressure from the front lines, this grouping simply wasn't good enough to maintain for prolonged periods of time.
Sacks were at premium, but not many were attained. There were only 29 sacks in total and only nine from the defensive line.
The front seven had no problems against the run, holding opponents to a stingy 81.7 rushing yards per game (third in NFL). The run defense was led by nose tackle Jamal Williams, who had a career year last year.
Right behind him, linebacker Steve Foley and safety Terrence Kiel also had a banner years, while Donnie Edwards was easily the team's defensive MVP with 150 tackles.
But coming off such a high with so many players posting career years, the Chargers will be hard-pressed to duplicate last season's success.
This Year
A year ago, they were desperate to uncover a gem at quarterback, now they have two as the Chargers go from outhouse to penthouse in the quarterbacking department.
Brees is back and he is as confident as ever, but that doesn't mean he will replicate his unbelievable season from a year ago.
Most of the cast returns, including Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates, wide receiver Keenan McCardell, and all-world running back LaDainian Tomlinson, but there is still a missing punch at wide receiver.
Eric Parker is the starter opposite of McCardell, but he can be blanketed out of the passing game. McCardell, at the age of 35, is not the player he used to be. With Parker, Reche Caldwell, and Kassim Osgood, the Chargers have a bunch of in tweeners. Parker is a big-play threat, but he is undersized, Caldwell, who is bouncing back from an ACL injury, does not have great speed, but can find the soft spot in a zone, and Osgood needs to work on his route-running. Tomlinson is a great receiver out of the backfield, but somebody needs to emerge if this team wants to make a serious run.
The Chargers relied too heavily on Gates during third-down plays and teams will force them to look elsewhere this year.
The offensive line is decent, but was coached up by Hudson Houck last year, one of the better O-line coaches in the NFL. Center Nick Hardwick, tackle Shane Olivea, and guard Toniu Fonoti are definitely on the rise, but Roman Oben and Mike Goff have some work to do. Neither is a major concern, but Goff is weak in pass protection and Oben is 32-years-old.
Keep an eye on second-year kicker Nate Kaeding, who had a stellar rookie season, but has been up and down in the preseason (made only three of first six field goals).
For a defense desperate for quarterback pressure, management made the correct decision to spend its top two draft selections on lineman.
Shawne Merriman, the team's top pick, is making the transition from defensive end to linebacker and has great speed all over the field. He will push outside linebacker Ben Leber for time and should take over his role once he's fully comfortable with the switch. Luis Castillo, the Chargers' second first-round selection, is excellent against the run and adds an insurance plan in case Jamal Williams is injured.
Neither starting defensive ends Jacques Cesaire or Igor Olshansky are prolific pass-rushers, so once again most of the sacks will be expected to come from the linebackers.
Merriman's impact probably won't be noticed until the second half of the season since he is a rookie, so essentially the pass-rushing dilemma still exists. Foley is still the prime option, but opponents will pay more attention to him this season.
In the middle, Donnie Edwards and Randall Godfrey are not known as sack artists, but very few tackles slip out of their grasp. Edwards is an impact player and Godfrey is painfully physical.
The secondary is still young and growing, but is laced with a slew of former first-round picks. Jammer, Davis, and Jamar Fletcher are all former first-rounders, while Florence is a high second-round selection.
Jammer and Florence will start and although neither have turned into shutdown cornerbacks, both are above-average and still rising. Jammer is very physical, but needs to improve in coverage. Florence has better speed, but doesn't make great plays on the ball. With Davis and Fletcher also around, this battle for playing time should continue to push all four.
At safety, Bhawoh Jue was brought in to battle with Jerry Wilson for the starting free position. Jue has the better set of skills, while Wilson has superior instincts. Terrence Kiel will man the strong position but is essentially an extra linebacker: strong in run support and weak in the passing game.
Overall, this team looks strikingly similar to last year's version, but it is hard to envision this year's squad topping what they accomplished. This is still a very good team, but with Oakland and Kansas City expected to be much improved, the Chargers may only get to eight or nine wins.
Over/Under: 8
Last year, the Chargers only beat two teams who finished with a winning record and that is not a good sign considering they face eight teams who finished with records above .500 this year and that's not accounting for a couple of their improved division mates. They play: DAL, NYG, @NE, PIT, @PHI, @NYJ, BUF, @WAS, MIA, and @IND.
Fantasy Sleeper
It is rarely advisable to draft a wide receiver over the age of 34, but Keenan McCardell is an exception. In only six starts last year, McCardell was the second-leading receiver on the team and even though Antonio Gates is around, McCardell will be the team's top option at wide receiver. Considering his average draft position is 93rd, he's worth picking up.
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