Welcome, to the 2009-2010 San Diego Chargers Blog! posted by Steven Ramirez

Starting today and till the end of next season I am going to blog about the Chargers for the preseason, regular season, and or the playoffs!

Well to get things started I would like to say they are really heading in the right direction.  QB Philip Rivers states that he and Tomlinson are healthy and ready to play this year. Shawn Merriman and Antonio Cromartie coming back from their respective injuries feel this year will be different. Their off-season is going really good. The rookies, I must say are doing exceptionally espceally the rookie Louis Vazquez. Here the link where you can read all about his change from College to the pros(  http://www.chargers.com/news/article-1/vasquez-embracing-new-challenge/909cfe91-8f77-4d43-9e19-a972f2354cb6)

So thanks for reading my first blog, and if you have questions send them to this address.

stevenaramirez31@yahoo.com 

The 50 Greatest Chargers? posted by David Lassen

The San Diego Chargers are coming up on their 50th season this fall, and the team is doing many things to celebrate and acknowledge its history.

Recently the club posted a list of the greatest Chargers players. Fans are invited to vote to select the 50 players. The fan vote will be split with a vote of franchise Hall of Fame members.

Here are the candidates:

QUARTERBACKS (Pick 3)
Dan Fouts - John Hadl - Stan Humphries - Jack Kemp - Philip Rivers - Tobin Rote

RUNNING BACKS (Pick 6)
Gary Anderson - Marion Butts - Ronnie Harmon - Keith Lincoln - Paul Lowe - Natrone Means - Chuck Muncie - Lorenzo Neal - Dick Post - LaDainian Tomlinson - Don Woods

WIDE RECEIVERS (Pick 5)
Lance Alworth - Wes Chandler - Gary Garrison - John Jefferson - Charlie Joiner - Tony Martin - Anthony Miller - Don Norton

TIGHT ENDS (Pick 2)
Willie Frazier - Antonio Gates - Dave Kocourek - Jacque MacKinnon - Kellen Winslow

OFFENSIVE TACKLES (Pick 3)
Marcus McNeill - Ron Mix - Terry Owens - Vaughn Parker - Billy Shields - Russ Washington - Ernie Wright

OFFENSIVE GUARDS (Pick 3)
Kris Dielman - Ira Gordon - Walt Sweeney - Ed White - Doug Wilkerson

CENTERS (Pick 2)
Sam Gruneisen - Courtney Hall - Nick Hardwick - Don Macek

DEFENSIVE ENDS (Pick 3)
Fred Dean - Steve DeLong - Earl Faison - Lee Williams - Leslie O'Neal

DEFENSIVE TACKLES (Pick 3)
Reuben Davis - Gary Johnson - Louie Kelcher - Ernie Ladd - Shawn Lee - Jamal Williams - Wilbur Young

LINEBACKERS (Pick 5)

Early look at 2009 lines posted by David Lassen

The 2009 NFL season is still several months off, but now is a good time to take an early look at how the oddsmakers see things shaping up.

Let's start with the Over/Under lines on regular season wins.

There are a few that stick out and may catch the eye of fans. The Miami Dolphins are set at 7 wins. Some may think, "well, they went to the playoffs last year," and jump on the over. On the flip side, some of the so-called experts have tabbed them as one of the teams most likely to disappoint this season. The Dolphins have a first-place schedule to contend with, and let's not forget they get to see a Tom Brady-led New England Patriots club twice.

The Pats enter '09 with an over/under total at 11.5 wins, the highest mark. I think it's a little too high. Sure the return of Brady is the biggest reason, and they did post a winning season in 2008 without him. However, I just have a hunch that they don't go 12-4 or better. Seems like a bit too much to pick the over.

The New York Jets are at an even 7 wins for 2009. For a team that will have either relatively green Kellen Clemens or rookie Mark Sanchez at quarterback, it is much too high. I'm surprised they aren't more in the area of 5.5 wins.

Pegged at 10.5 wins are the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. I do like the over there. It's not often I say that on a double-digit total, but the Steelers schedule isn't near as tough on paper as it was last season. And look what they did then. Perhaps they don't have the hunger? Doubtful as they've been fairly resilient during this era.

(Chargers) Think Before You Act posted by Eric McCoole

 San Diego Chargers fans:  Yes, your team was so close to Super Bowl XLII and you (as well as me) were extremely disappointed.  We are tired of hearing “next year” when speaking of a Super Bowl championship for San Diego but ladies and gentlemen let’s not make any rash decisions.

I heard some small whispers from a number of both Chargers fans and sports talk radio hosts that say it’s time to explore options for trading Chargers star running back LaDainian Tomlinson. This ridiculous idea is entirely due to his 2008 playoff performance, which was highlighted (or low lighted) by Tomlinson playing only three plays in the AFC championship game on January 19th 2008 in a loss against the New England Patriots.  These “Brain Surgeons” could not be more off the mark.  Did they forget Tomlinson is off back-to-back NFL rushing titles?  Tomlinson is in the prime of his career as an NFL running back and he has been compared to the all-time greats.  Would you trade Jim Brown, Walter Payton, or Emmit Smith in the prime of their career?  I didn’t think so!  Besides, what players on the NFL trade block would be equal value for Tomlinson?  No one, that’s who!  Talks of trading him are foolish and don’t even need to be entertained. 

Looking at the Chargers next season would give even more reason not to trade Tomlinson, who is commonly known as LT.  LT’s back up for the past four seasons was Michael Turner, who many think could start on any other NFL team, will be an unrestricted free agent for the 2008 season.  Trading LT would have the Chargers lose their number one and two running backs on the depth chart all at once. Tell me how to replace that. 

To Miss Pro Bowl: 2007-08 All-Pro Team posted by Nicholas O'Malley

    I understand that football's a rough game, I played it. But damn, can anyone that's good at it stay healthy? Take a look at the players missing this year's pro bowl, it looks like the 2015-2020 Hall of Fame inductions.

Jamal Williams-DT, San Diego Chargers
Randy Moss- WR, New England Patriots
Antonio Gates- TE, San Diego Chargers
Tom Brady- QB, New England Patriots
Brett Favre- QB, Green Bay Packers
Jonathan Ogden-OT, Baltimore Ravens
Walter Jones- OT, Seattle Seahawks
Patrick Kerney-DE, Seattle Seahawks
Lance Briggs-OLB, Chicago Bears
Tommie Harris-DT, Chicago Bears
Willie Parker-RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Ladainian Tomlinson-RB, San Diego Chargers
Jason Peters-OT, Buffalo Bills
Jason Taylor-OLB, Miami Dolphins
Troy Polamalu-S, Pittsburgh Steelers
Bob Sanders-S, Indianapolis Colts
Sean Taylor-S, Washington Redskins

Of course, there are legitimate reasons to miss the pro bowl (See: Sean Taylor, who's questionable with a mortal bullet wound), but then there's the case of Randy Moss who wasn't even listed on the Super Bowl injury report and got outplayed by 2'5" 15 pound Wes Welker.

This list of players is basically the same thing as a team in Madden 08 with fair trades turned off. You got:

- The 2 New England Patriots that broke touchdown records in their respective categories

- The league's leading rusher and 4th leading rusher (and in all honesty, he would have gotten it if not for a leg fracture)

-Two future hall of fame tackles

Little Giants posted by Gus Johnson's Whisper

Who knew?  Did anyone have any idea that the 3 year old goofy kid who couldn't talk yet would eventually be the Super Bowl MVP?  I sure didn't.  How do I know that he couldn't talk?  I got it from an awkward interview during hour 11 of the Super Bowl gameday coverage.  Terry 'fake laughing at Frank Caliendo's Segments' Bradshaw interviewed Archie Manning.

Terry basically said: 'Now, I know Eli was a goofy mute...was that hard?'

Archie 'somehow my ungood career comes off looking great these days' Manning basically deflected the question by saying that he has a nephew who is developmentally challenged and that he told the parents 'Not to worry, Eli didn't say nothing until he was 3'.  When I was 3, I declared myself ruling overlord of everything and that I would make my way across the land as a story teller because everyone loved listening to me talk.  I later rescinded this and renounced my claim as overlord.  I traded it all in for a Voltron cake.  You would have to if you had seen the cake.  It had one of the lions attaching itself.  It was an action cake.  You don't see action cakes much anymore.

Anyway, this bumbling, pouting, over-hyped donut has a Super Bowl.  I used to coach for a living.  If one of my kids did the 'Eli Manning Face' on the field, I'd yank him.  I'd then lecture him about how everyone sees what you are doing and it brings them down.  Don't believe me?  Who did Eli hug after they Giants beat the Packers?  He couldn't find anyone.  No teammates were waiting to embrace him.  He finally found Jeff Feagles...the punter.  It was beyond awkward.  The Giants basically, as a team said: 'He's not going anywhere.  Let's just deal with it.  We'll play for each other and hopefully, this kid won't screw us.'

Super Bowl XLII Prediction posted by Mick Ciallela

I have never claimed to be an expert when it comes to predicting outcomes of football games, although last year I nearly predicted the exact final score of the Super Bowl while hitting on seven of my nine prop bets. (My prediction was 26-17, the final was 29-17.) For whatever reason I had a very good feel for that game. This year's Super Bowl, however, remains a mystery to me. Part of the reason I am having trouble getting a good feel for this game is that I am a bitter Jets fan and I can't stand either team. I'm finding it difficult to put my personal feelings aside and look at the game objectively. I think right now I am as close to objectivity as I am going to get, and with that being said, here is my official Super Bowl XLII prediction.

I believe that football is the most difficult sport to predict because there are so many variables. This may sound strange, but I truly feel the coin toss will be a major factor in how this game is played. On one side we have a Giants team that is best suited to try and play ball control and keep Tom Brady and the vaunted Patriots' offense off the field. But football is unique in that days of gameplanning can be shot to hell almost instantly. The Patriots can win the coin toss, receive the opening kickoff and, if they execute as they have for the majority of this season, put the Giants in an early hole. If this happens, how long will the Giants remain patient? If the Giants win the toss, they can at least attempt early on to slow the pace of the game and see what their running attack can accomplish against an aging New England linebacking corps. Given the fact that I do not like either team at all, I would at least like to see a competitive contest. So I'm using the premise that the Giants win the toss and at least keep the game competitive in the early stages.

Spygate's Back... and Patriots Haters Won't Like What the Commish Has to Say posted by Mike Dussault

Welp, it's two days before the Super Bowl and what a shocking coincidence that Spygate is back in the news. Isn't that just amazing? Arlen Specter kicked it off this morning by requesting NFL Commish Roger Goodell to explain why the confiscated tapes were destroyed, though he claims he intially made the request just before the New England Patriots played the Philadelphia Eagles this season (another coincidence?) but the NFL didn't respond.  So here it is today in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/sports/football/01nfl.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

Finally Roger Goodell came out in his press conference today and directly answered questions about Spygate and what he had to say is not good if you're a Patriot-hater and convinced the Pats Super Bowls are tainted. He said that there were about six video tapes coming from late in the 2006 season and 2007 preseason (um, not the super bowl seasons FYI), all showing the same kind of stuff as the tape that Jay Glazer of FOX managed to get of the New York Jets game. Here are some other interesting quotes from the commish:

“I don’t think it taints their accomplishments,” Goodell added. “I think what they did this season was certainly within the rules, on a level playing field.”

And as to why he destroyed the tapes: “I believe it was helpful for us in making sure my instructions were followed closely, not just with the Patriots but by every other team,” (i.e. if any other tapes pop up he'll know the Pats were lying)

Plaxico Burress Predicts 23-17 Victory For Giants posted by Mike Dussault

23-17 is what Plax thinks the final score of Super Bowl 42 will be with the New York Giants beating the New England Patriots. First off, as I've said many times I don't understand why people feel the need to make predictions (including stupid bloggers like myself). I understand that Plaxative is confident in his team, and rightly so I think that the Giants need to go into this game EXPECTING to win if they are to have any chance at all. My problem is with the score he picked.

First of all the Patriots have not been held under 20 points all season long. Yes they've been close a couple times (a 20-10 win over the New York Jets and the 21-12 win over the San Diego Chargers) but both of those games were in inclimate weather. Given normal game conditions (not to mention PERFECT game conditions that the Pats will have in Arizona) the Pats are almost a shoe-in to put up over 30. If the Giants could hold Brady, Moss and the most explosive offense in NFL history to two touchdowns and a field goal they would absolutely deserve to win. If Plax is predicting only 23 for the Giants they are going to have a really hard time winning this game. That's two touchdowns and three field goals. As a Pats fan I'd take that right now. When you play the Patriots you can't bring knives (Field Goals) to a Gun (touchdowns) fight. They will need at least 28 and probably closer to 35 to even make this thing competitive.

Tom Brady's High Ankle Sprain-Gate: The Perfect Non-Story to Keep Distractions Limited posted by Mike Dussault

Tom Jackson appeared almost upset today on ESPN's NFL Countdown. He was convinced that New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is not injured and the Pats are playing games with the media and trying to use  the leaked photos from last week to their advantage. I happen to agree with him. All year the Pats have been victims of weekly controversies. Rightly so on some weeks (Spygate - San Diego Chargers, Rodney Harrison HGH - New York Jets), not so much on others (Run Up the Score Gate - Washington Redskins , Randy Moss Hurt-My-Finger Gate - Jacksonville Jaguars). 
The point is that this week the Patriots are CONTROLLING the controversy, instead of playing the victim.  They kept Tom Brady completely isolated from the Press. We know for sure he didn't practice at all on Thursday and missed at least the first portion of practice on Friday. Brady's street clothes and white sneakers were laid out in front of his locker in an almost theatrical way. Then today, just as the controversy was starting to die down another report in the Boston Herald comes out saying Brady was seen "limping" around Boston earlier in the weekend. The fires are relit. Is it true? Maybe is Brady actually really injured? Every player seems 100% confident and completely unconcerned about Brady's chances of playing in the Super Bowl. But this is the controversy that won't die, and it's almost conveniently taken any kind of spotlight off of Randy Moss, (whose lawyer will be in Florida tomorrow for the hearing on "H-M-F Gate").
The Patriots have done a good job Continue reading "Tom Brady's High Ankle Sprain-Gate: ..."

Leaf surrenders on theft, drug charges (AP)

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Attorney: Leaf plans to surrender Friday (AP)

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QB Trent Green retires after 15 seasons (AP)

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Report: QB Trent Green retires (AP)

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Ex-Chargers QB Leaf to surrender in drug case

Ryan Leaf's lawyer says indicted the former NFL quarterback will surrender on drug and burglary charges in Texas.Bill Kelly told The Associated Press late Thursday that Leaf is "not a fugitive from justice" and will return next week.Prosecutor Lacy Miller says a warrant was issued May 20 when Leaf was indicted. Miller says Leaf has been working in British Columbia.The ex-Washington State University and San Diego Chargers quarterback is charged with burglary to a habitation. [read full article]

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