At the time, I threw out my own quick take on the season. Let's analyze how it turned out:
The Chargers Over/Under win total was 10.5. I really thought, as did nearly everybody, that they should finish 11 wins or more. I said they'd go about 12-4. They managed to win the division again but posted an 8-8 regular season mark after a number of close losses during much of the campaign.
I had the Bolts winning the first two games, Carolina at home and Denver on the road. The Panthers won on the last-play touchdown catch by Dante Rosario and the Broncos took advantage of the botched call by referee Ed Hochuli. So San Diego was 0-2 right out of the gate. I had predicted a win at Miami but loss to New England. It turned out to be the other way around. I also had them winning at Buffalo (eventual loss) but noted it is a very tough site to play at.
I picked the Chargers to beat the visiting Colts, but they lost on Adam Vinatieri's ending field goal. I had them slated for a win over the Falcons, but back in the summer who would have figured Atlanta to be the team they became? Fortunately that turned out to be the last loss of the regular season. I picked Tampa Bay to beat the Chargers prior to the season additionally, but a flexed start time aided San Diego as they posted the season's biggest win prior to the finale vs. Denver.
Other win totals that stood out back in the summer:
Jaguars 10. Man, that went way under.
Chiefs 5.5. Many would have taken under as they were perceived to be pretty poor.
Patriots 12. Credit them with nearly reaching that mark after losing Tom Brady in the opening game.
Giants 8.5. I can't believe that number was so low after winning the Super Bowl. Heck, weren't they 9-1 when it went over? They seemed much better this regular season than in 2007.
Raiders 6. By winning the final two games they ended with a 5-11 record. I was pretty confident they'd be under 6 this year.
Steelers 9. Like the Giants, what a low number. Most all would have gone over there.
The Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins each were 100-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. Amazing what each team did this season. Rare is it teams like that make it interesting come playoff time.
The Dallas Cowboys were 9-5 to win the NFC. I said then they got too much respect since it had been a decade since a single playoff victory. And look what happened - they failed to make the postseason.
Keywords: San Diego Chargers
