San Diego Chargers Blogs

 

Football is back baby! That means we get to watch our Bears in action! Here are my notes from tonight's 25-10 preseason loss to the Chargers:

Continue reading "Wright, Aromashodu stand out in Bears' ..."

It's been too long since I've gotten to talk about live Chicago Bears football! On Saturday the Bears will be in San Diego to take on the Charges in their first exhibition game this year. While I'll go in-depth at each position in later blogs, I'll let you know what to look for if you're in the mood to watch some scrubs fight for jobs.

Continue reading "Joe's Preseason Preview: Bears at Chargers"

I thought Logan Mankins was going to be different. I believed he could conduct his contract negotiations privately. Because he kept a low profile after the season and through the draft, I figured Mankins would continue to keep his distance from the Patriots and let his agent and New England hammer out a new deal.

Continue reading "No Audience for Mankins' Moans"

A day after the NFL Network revealed San Diego shopped OLB Shawn Merriman during the NFL Draft to New Orleans and two other teams, the Patriots re-signed DE Derrick Burgess. Knowing what is out there, Burgess’ return doesn’t excite the fan base much.

Continue reading "A "Lights Out" Alternative"

Patriot fans know there are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Bill Belichick will trade down during the draft.

 

It’s not just a pattern; it’s as reliable as the seasons, the sun rising, and celebrity controversies.

Continue reading "Fear of Falling"

My obsession with Pro Football Focus continues...

Cromartie only had 2 good games in 2009, with a total season ranking of -5.5. But that still wasn't bad enough to beat Tomlinson who had only 1 good game in 2009 and came in with a total season ranking of -10.8. Although Cromartie did play a little worse in the Chargers playoff loss, maybe that's why they signed him first? Wait, what?

Continue reading "Which New Jet / Former Charger Was ..."

The New York Jets acquired San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2011 draft Thursday evening. 

In order to make room for Cromartie, the Jets released disappointing cornerback Lito Sheppard. 

Continue reading "On March 4, the New York Jets managed ..."

LaDainian Tomlinson was let go by the Chargers.   The 8th all time running back is no longer in San Diego.  He is a future hall of famer. But, does he have a future else where?

Continue reading "LT no longer a Charger"

The San Diego Chargers are never the aggressor, money-wise, when it comes to signing players during the offseason.

The last big-name free agent the Chargers signed was David Boston in 2003, and what a bust that was.

Continue reading "San Diego Chargers Turn "Lights Out" ..."

The San Diego Chargers' CEO Dean Spanos and General Manager A.J. Smith have made the biggest desperation move in Super Charger history.

The three-year extension signed by Norv Turner only makes sense in one big way, and that’s money.

Continue reading "Why The San Diego Chargers Signed ..."

It was an ugliest of games for the team in the prettiest of cities. After winning 11 straight games to finish the regular season, the San Diego Chargers came out with a resounding thud at home against the Jets on Sunday. Penalties, missed field goals and turnovers formed a perfect storm of suck for the Chargers and kept the Jets in the game until the final quarter where they took and held onto the lead to advance to the AFC championship game with a 17-14 victory.

Continue reading "Jets stun Chargers 17-14 in San Diego"

 

Even if yesterday's were drama-less (story of the playoffs so far), I couldn't miss a second. That won't change today as the most hyped game of the weekend starts Divisional round Sunday. New York's Cinderella story (is Rex Ryan the fairy godmother?) closes out the night with a west coast appearance. The Opening Drive of Divisional Sunday in the NFL starts now!

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Divisional Sunday"

The Cowboys have a huge match-up this week against the #2 seed Minnesota Vikings.  But, I don’t think that will keep any Cowboys fan from relishing in what has transpired over the last month.  Over these last 4 weeks the Cowboys have exercised all of their “demons” and now simply have to go into the Metrodome and take on the 12-4 Minnesota Vikings led by Brett Favre to advance to the NFC championsip.  Piece of cake, right?  Well before we stuff ourselves, let’s digest the last month of the season and see what the Cowboys were able to stomach (pun intended). 

Continue reading "Exercising the Demons"

After another dramatic Colts win, the still-undefeated Saints try their luck against the Cowboys on Saturday night while the second seed in the AFC is on the line on Sunday. Let's start the Opening Drive of week 15 in the NFL!

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 15"

The Dallas Cowboys have entered their December swoon, and yet I'm not worried.  The defense couldn't contain the pass.  The offense couldn't punch it in from the one yard line.  And off we go to New Orleans, a team that will pass all over you, that will stuff you at the line.

Continue reading "Big Test Coming for Big D"

If the Dallas Cowboys do not defeat the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, then they will not make the playoffs.  At least that’s what ESPN’s Michael Smith implies as he analyzes the Cowboys December schedule.

Continue reading "Must Win Game?"

A game like Sunday begins to make you wonder, “Are the Cowboys truly incapable of finishing out a season?”  Despite getting a career performance from their quarterback

Continue reading "Here We Go Again (Part 2)"

To this point of the season the Cowboys have taken care of business, for the most part.  The Cowboys could very easily be 9-1 had they just maintained their composure against the likes of the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.  But instead of dwelling on what could have been, the ‘Boys did a good job of moving on as they went on to win 6 of their next 7 games and claim 1st place in the NFC east.  Unfortunately, none of that matters now.  The Cowboys are 8-3 with the Philadelphia Eagles in a close trail at 7-4, and the Giants still kicking at 6-5.  And being that the final five games of this season are in the dreaded month of December, the phrase “anything can happen” is an understatement. 

Continue reading "Going Forward: Can the Dallas Cowboys ..."

Any true Cowboys fan had to see this Sunday’s disappointing loss coming from a mile away.  It was like double reverse psychology.  Everyone starts talking about how the game is a trap game at the beginning of the week, yet most everyone picked the Cowboys to win.  So naturally the Cowboys fell to the Packers and Tony Romo’s streak of

Continue reading "Letdown at Lambeau"

There were a few games I couldn’t even pretend to drum up a story for. Monday night’s Baltimore v. Cleveland match-up is beyond ugly. Still, there's plenty of drama for the week 10 edition of the Opening Drive! 

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 10"

Ugh, I remember this feeling.  The Giants are once again an excruciating, exhausting team to watch.  They have been for most of my lifetime, yet somehow, they put it all together at the end of the 2007 season.  They won the Superbowl, beat an undefeated team, and even carried that momentum into the majority of the following season, but overall this has never been a team that handles prosperity well. 

Continue reading "Another Deflating Giants Loss (11/8/09)"

In a crazy week six in the NFL, we saw both New York teams fall, one squad completely give up, and three teams continue their undefeated ways. The Final Drive of week six starts right now! 

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 6"

How long should it take for QB Tom Brady to return to form? How much longer before he’s excelling on a consistent basis? When does Brady regain the confidence in his reconstructed knee to the point he doesn’t think about it anymore?

Continue reading "Seven Weeks"

Any Cowboys fan who watched Sunday’s game had to be ready to throw themselves out of a 3rd story window when they saw that the Cowboys were getting beaten by the Chiefs nearly the entire game.  I, myself, wasn’t able to watch the game but I constantly monitored the score which may be even more maddening.  

Continue reading "250 Miles between Austin & Kansas City"

In week four of the NFL season, at least one more undefeated team will fall. AFC forces meet in Boston, and one of the best rivalries in the league takes it to a whole ‘nother level thanks to a certain unretiring quarterback. Week four Opening Drive commence! 

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 4"

 

With 16 games in the regular season, losing your first two isn’t a cause for panic, but it is a cause for concern. In the Week 2 edition of the Opening Drive, here are some teams who need to avoid an 0-2 start.

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 2"

Here on the eve of kickoff for the San Diego Chargers 2009 opener, I will take my annual stab at predicting the Bolts win-loss record.

In Las Vegas the Over/Under total for the club has been about 9.5 wins. I said it last year, and will say it with greater emphasis this time around, but this season has got to be the greatest odds for a division title that the Chargers have ever seen. And it's no stretch to say they will probably be favored in all six divisional contests.

Continue reading "Predicting the Chargers record in 2009"

River City Dreamin'

Camp is just days away in the wonderful city of San Antonio, TX.  When thinking of the previous location, Oxnard and the years that training camp has been spent over there, the only thing that comes to mind is:  Screw California.  Raiders and Chargers and 49ers and a Governor who tried to kill Christian Bale in the latest Terminator movie.  Yuk!  My hatred of that west coast state aside, there is nothing like a Texas team preparing for the upcoming NFL season in Texas.  That being said, I think it's time to take a look at the Dallas Cowboys from the Owner down to the towel boy (Mickey Spagnola).  Part one, JWJ.

Continue reading "Cowboy Nation: Owner edition"

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)

Continue reading "Welcome, to the 2009-2010 San Diego Chargers Blog!"

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.

Continue reading "The 50 Greatest Chargers?"

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.

Continue reading "Early look at 2009 lines"

As football fans across the globe cast their longing eyes in the direction of the April draft, I decided that now might be a good time to reflect on draft classes of the last 10 years. Too often in this business, we rush ahead to the next big event without taking pause to evaluate the past and learn from it. In a way, this study will still be a celebration of the coming 2009 draft as I believe it will shed some light on certain overlooked trends that no one ever stops to consider. I will begin with a class by class showdown of sorts at the quarterback position over the last 10 drafts.  This is part III in the series:

Continue reading "NFL Quarterback Draft Class Showdown: 2004 vs 2003"

I think when your sub-sub-sub concious is trying to tell you something, you should really heed to that advice. Last week I talked about long layoffs, and low and behold three of the home teams were upset. Is that going to happen regularly? I hope not, because all the money that was won from the first round of the playoffs would continiously get blown on the second round games. Before I get down into the games this up coming weekend, I want to try to break down the four games that were played. So, with random stories about my past put aside for now, let's get into it.

Continue reading "NFC/AFC Championship game picks"

This year’s NFL action hasn’t failed to deliver intriguing storylines, and the Divisional round continued that trend. This round’s upsets have produced a fresh and exciting conference championship Sunday. Let’s find out how we got here with a look at last weekend’s action in the Final Drive.

Continue reading "Joey A's Final Drive: Divisional Round"

Much credit to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday's AFC Divisional playoff win over the San Diego Chargers 35-24.

The Chargers simply were beaten by the better team. It's easy to look back at a couple fluky turnovers (the one-play drive in essentially the red zone where Philip Rivers was intercepted on a deflected pass, and the muffed punt return off Eric Weddle's helmet), but truly the deciding factor appeared to be the Steelers ball control - final drive of the first half and opening drive of the second half. In what's been a problem for the Chargers all year, they allowed Pittsburgh to move down field and take its first lead on a touchdown drive starting with under two minutes left in the second quarter. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, the Steelers used up about 8 minutes to begin the third quarter for a killing TD drive and jump up 21-10.

Continue reading "End of the season; end of an era?"

Continue reading "The Steelers used the Bye to get better"

Continue reading "Play off Picks."

In what can only be described as ingenious regular-season scheduling on the NFL’s part, each of this weekend’s divisional contests are rematches from the regular season. That fact only serves to heighten the drama as we head into what is, in my opinion, the best weekend in all of football. After Wild Card Weekend gets rid of some of the riff-raff or gives surprise teams a chance to continue their run at the Super Bowl, the Divisional round ups the ante by adding the cream of the crop back into the mix after their bye weeks. This weekend’s slate of action looks to be an excellent one. I get you ready right here, right now. 

Continue reading "Joey A's Opening Drive: Divisional Round"

  

           Each week I will answer questions submitted by my loyal readers.  I personally read every single email I receive.  I will pick out the best five or so to use for the weekly post, as I won’t be able to answer all of them.  I will also answer one or two questions on my daily posts as well.  Now it’s time to open the mail!

Continue reading "Reality Mail Bag - 01/08/09"

When I was a sophomore in high school playing on the JV basketball team, we went into our Christmas break undefeated and feeling pretty good about ourselves. Over the break we were scheduled to play one game against a team from the division below us. We practiced a few times, nothing too serious, and went into the game feeling good. But the week and a half layoff killed us and we lost by four, our only loss of the season.

Continue reading "Picks for the NFL weekend"

 

The Denver Broncos gave the San Diego Chargers the greatest gift a team could ask for. A playoff spot.  It has been well documented in the last few weeks about the Broncos three-game lead and their failure to win at least one of them to lock up the division and get in to the playoffs.  The Chargers were virtually playing for pride when they set out after notching a record of 4-8.  They kept winning and the Broncos kept losing.  The AFC west title was neatly gift wrapped for the bolts.  How did San Diego thank them?  By beating the red-hot Indianapolis Colts led by league MVP  Peyton Manning.  Now all of the sudden this 8-8 football has a chance to get into the AFC championship.  Are you kidding?  A 500 record team has a ligitemate shot to win the Superbowl!  What a gift indeed by the Broncs. 

Continue reading "The greatest gift ever"

 

The crystal ball had a mediocre performance this past week, going a mere 2-2.  This is playoff time, so that is unacceptable!  The crystal ball took its lumps on the Colts game, but it’s okay with it since Norv’s our buddy!  Anyway, that puts the crystal ball at 2-2 for the post-season, and 35-28-1 overall.  That’s seven games over .500 (.555 to be exact).  Hopefully the crystal ball will perform better this coming week, as the pressure mounts in post-season play!  Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.

Continue reading "Wildcard Weekend Review"

Continue reading "Motivation for this weekends games."

Continue reading "Divisional playffs"

What a fantastic performance by the San Diego Chargers in Saturday's AFC Wild Card 23-17 overtime win against the visiting Indianapolis Colts.

Darren Sproles, Mike Scifres, Antonio Gates, the Charger defense...so much credit to go around the whole team. It was great to see balance in that way - it wasn't just a huge offensive performance, or a shut-down "D" but all sides contributing. Scifres, the punter, was perhaps the most valuable player in the game with four punts placed inside the 10-yard line. None were more important than his final punt in the game with around three minutes to go that put the Colts near their own goal line.

Continue reading "Cheers for the Chargers, and on to Pittsburgh."

 

           Wildcard weekend had an interesting lineup of games this year.  All four road teams (wildcard teams) were favored to win over the home teams (division winners).  That’s unusual, but this year it actually makes a lot of sense.  Many of the wildcard teams had better records than the division winners.  In the end, the underdogs won two of the four games (both 6th seeds defeated the 3rd seeded teams).

Continue reading "Where Are All The Nay Sayers Now?"

Continue reading "Baltimore Ravens Dominate for a second time."

Continue reading "Wild Card Weekend"

Before previewing the big Vikings/Eagles matchup that will cap off the NFC Wild Card playoff round, I would first like to give my "official" (meaning they are most likely completely wrong!) predictions for the other three wild card games:

Continue reading "NFL Playoffs: Wild Card Preview"

Back in the summer I took a look at the San Diego Chargers and other teams with respect to how the oddsmakers in Las Vegas were perceiving them.

At the time, I threw out my own quick take on the season. Let's analyze how it turned out:

Continue reading "NFL Over/Under win totals"

Pretty much all has been written and said about the Chargers-Broncos season-ending game at San Diego. Just wanted to say how "Super" the performance was by the Bolts.

Philip Rivers played a darn-near perfect game. On the way, he shattered Dan Fouts' 1981 club record of season touchdown passes, finishing with 34 and along the way posted the NFL highest pass rating for the season. That was significant in its own right since he was the leading passer for just about the entire season. (Got to be honest though, a handful of times during 2008 I proclaimed that it didn't mean anything when he'd fumble since that doesn't factor in).

Continue reading "Sweet vindication vs. the Broncos"

Continue reading "Not dead yet!"

Continue reading "E A G L E S.......WARNING Cowboy ..."

Regardless of what happens on Sunday, this was a successful season. I really want a birth in the playoffs, but if the chips don't fall in New England's favor and they are on the outside looking in, then that's just how it is. It wasn't meant to be.

Continue reading "Hats Off"

Continue reading "Quick Peek at the weekend action, ..."

For a guy like Jay Cutler, his performance vs. the Bills will motivate a huge degree of improvement.

 Interceptions are bound to Jay's game because he is so super-confident. At the end of the Bill's game, Cutler made two near INT's that could've cost him, but the defense, along with Kavika Mitchell deserve a lot of cred.

Continue reading "Can Cutler cut it in the clutch? ..."

The facts are daunting.

The Patriots defense allowed points scored, either touchdowns or field goals, the last 41 times the opponents entered the red zone. Arizona is the second highest scoring team in the league that features receivers 6-0 Steve Breaston, 6-1 Anquan Boldin, and 6-3 Larry Fitzgerald. New England's cornerbacks measure 5-9 Ellis Hobbs, 5-11 Jonathan Wilhite, and 5-11 Deltha O'Neal.

Continue reading "Goal to Grow"

Continue reading "Motivated Nfl pick for week 16"

I would like to thank the Minnesota Vikings for putting the boots to the Arizona Cardinals, with their back-up quarterback, to the tune of 35-14. As if the Cards didn't have reason enough to win this Sunday. They're still jockeying for playoff positioning. Now they are hungry to bounce back from Sunday's butt-kicking.

Continue reading "Another Inspired Patriots Opponent"

Continue reading "Monday Night Specail"

Continue reading "Week 15 Picks"

I've been putting off writing this particular entry for awhile.  I was with my parents as my mother's birthday was yesterday.  I had on my Joe Jurevicius jersey, casually flipping a mini Browns football back and forth with my dad, and breaking down with both of them what was going on in the game.  Usually it was me trying to explain the Browns' play calls with logic, which became more and more challenging as the game went on.

Continue reading "Browns Staff and Quarterbacks: Scramble! ..."

     What I am about to say here may sounds strange, or maybe not, but think about this solution to our BCS predicament.  This could clarify and validate the BCS selections, the National Title Game, provide some great excitement, set a precedent for that kind of excitement, and get the ball rolling toward a college football playoff.    

Continue reading "BCS- The Perfect Way To Fix it and ..."

Continue reading "Thursday night football"

Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers was a must-win for the Falcons. Of course, every game is a must-win if you're in the NFC south. The Falcons didn't disappoint as they defeated San Diego 22-16. However, the score was not indicative of the game.

Continue reading "Falcons Return East With Big Win"

The upcoming game between the Atlanta Falcons and the San Diego Chargers is a huge one for both teams. For the Falcons, they are playing in an extremely tough NFC south division, and need every win they can get. For the Chargers, a loss could mean the end of a playoff run, as they would fall to 4-8.

Continue reading "Game Preview; Falcons vs. Chargers"

Seasons Greetings!!!!

     I am giving you a gift in this holiday season. Over the next few weeks most of us will spend our time meeting and greeting, traveling and shopping, and stuffing and laughing - so I thought that I would share one of my favorite pastimes, ogling and drooling.

Continue reading "Giving Thanks!-Houston Texans Cheerleaders Video"

Continue reading "3-D Football coming soon"

This was bound to happen.

For the second week in a row, QB Matt Cassel threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns. This from a guy that looked so bad against San Diego that practically all fans were calling for his head. Now Cassel is at the head of the class as every Pats fans' favorite player. It's at the point that now people think New England should re-sign Cassel and trade Tom Brady.

Continue reading "The Cassel-Brady Debate"

       Watch this weeks Fantasy Football injury report by Fantasy Sportsgirl.  After that, you can vote for your favorite Fantasy Sportsgirl of the season to this point by placing their name in our comment section. (Remember to look in the archives for past Fantasy Sportsgirls). Then, watch the end of the UAB vs. University of Arizona basketball game from the other night. This might have been the most jaw-dropping ending to a sporting event that I have ever seen. Tell us what you think.

Continue reading "Injury Report"

The Cleveland Browns went in to Buffalo for a show down with the Bills. The First play was from Trent Edwards to the Defense. Trent Edwards threw three total in the game. The Browns where able to move the ball, yet Brady did not get a touchdown pass this week. The Game came down to a close one, with the deciding factor was a missed field goal. So Brady Golden Domer Quinn is now 1-1 in his early carrer.

Continue reading "Brady Quinn gets first win."

Week 11 was one of the more interesting weeks in the NFL this season. A game ended in a 11-10 score for the first time in NFL history, a game ended in a tie and we also saw 'America's Team' get back on track with their star quarterback at the helm. I'll get to that and more as this week's Fallout report kicks off.......riiiiight now!

Continue reading "NFL Week 11 Fallout"

To avoid getting fined by NFL officials, the Steeler coaches and players did their best tap dancing routine around the questions involving how Sunday's against the Chargers was officiated.

If the coaches and players won't say it, I will. It sucked!

Continue reading "REFS NEARLY COST STEELERS A WIN"

It was the game the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to win to remain serious contenders in the AFC, and a win was exactly what they got.  The Steelers took care of business on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the San Diego Chargers 11-10.  The win improves Pittsburgh’s record to 7-3, but they will little time to celebrate, as they prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night on the NFL Network.

Continue reading "Steelers Win in a Tight One"

Week 11 is off and running after a nail biter of a game on Thursday night football between the Jets and the Patriots. Last week the Crypt Keeper and I went 2-2 yet again. I've gone 2-2 three consecutive weeks, but no worries my Week 11 picks will prosper like flowers in the Spring time. I've decided to get rid of the Crypt Keeper this week and I've also decided to get rid of all the 'shenanigans' that are usually a part of the weekly predictions like the "classic NFL music" etc..Only for the time being though. So let's see how it works out!

Continue reading "NFL Week 11 Predictions"

Sunday was what I invisioned Matt Cassel would be once he was running the full offense. Yes, the offense is still short pass-heavy, but Cassel did look long and tried to connect on a few big plays. Cassel will complete these deep passes soon enough, but it's important to know he will utilize it when he sees the opportunity.

Continue reading "Looks Like We Got a Quarterback"

Sunday's 20-19 home victory over the Kansas City Chiefs sure wasn't much to get excited about for San Diego Chargers fans. However, they did get the much-needed "W."

The impression coming into the game was the bye week would allow the Chargers to get re-energized. And who better to do it against than the one-win Chiefs? This would explain the bloated two-touchdown-plus spread. Additionally, LaDainian Tomlinson had begun to show his old form.

Continue reading "At least the Chargers won"

The Indianapolis Colts got the best of the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 24-20 victory at Heinz Field Sunday evening.  It was poor decision making and play by Pittsburgh’s offense that cost them the game.  The loss drops the Steelers to 6-3, as they are now tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North.

Continue reading "Colts Upset Steelers, 24-20"

Continue reading "Vet's Picks for Week 10"

Great news as the San Diego Chargers have fired Defensive Coordinator Ted Cottrell. At least they are demonstrating they aren't giving up on the season. Fans should expect much better results, or at least more exciting play, with Ron Rivera guiding the "D" now. He is noted for a much more aggressive style than the zone favored by Cottrell.

Continue reading "Ted Cottrell is out!"

Was anybody else as peeved at the look on Cro's face after the loss in London? One would think the players would be in no mood for joking around. I've been a high school coach for years and never act like that after a tough loss. It's been said countless times but the losses seem to affect fans more than the players almost. Oh wait, it all makes sense - Cromartie got paid last off-season so he's happy now.

Continue reading "Antonio Cromartie just lovin' it!"

A friend of mine who attended the Patriots game against San Diego told me that the Pats are still introduced as a team. I could understand that, as for the first five games the defensive line didn't deserve mention.

Continue reading "See More Seymour"

We put Week 7 behind us and tackle Week 8. I went 3-1 last week in my picks (without the crystal ball mind you). If you remember I suspended the crystal ball indefinitely last week for acting up and being unsuccessful in its picks. It hung around the clubs, etc..but it did not focus on what I bought it for: .....making football picks! So I suspended it, grounded it from distractions. I'm glad to announce it has acted in line and it will make its comeback tonight in Week 8! After having a long talk with it, I feel like its the right time to bring it back. Even after going a good 3-1 last week, I have faith in my crystal ball. I have faith in its predictions. So without further ado, hit ze music!

Continue reading "NFL Week 8 Predictions"

        The Wildcat formation proved to be useful again, the Dolphins used it 11 times and scored the decisive touchdown on a play where Ricky Williams threw a block

Continue reading "Charging Forward"

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

The San Diego Chargers are without a shadow of a doubt my favorite football team. However, in the spirit of writing, I will write this as unbiased as I possibly can. The Chargers ended last year’s regular season with an 11-5 record and a trip to the playoffs. They were able to dispose of the Titans and then pulled off a major upset against the Indianapolis Colts, beating them and making it to the AFC Championship Game. The Chargers defeated Indy with both their starting quarterback Phillip Rivers and their star running back Ladainian Tomlinson on the bench. This amazing role would end in a loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. The Chargers were again without Ladainian Tomlinson and also had to deal with an injured Phillip Rivers. Maybe that game would have ended differently with both of the Charger’s stars healthy. Despite that, the fact is that they lost and there is no getting around that.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #20: The ..."

Is this finally going to be the year the Chargers go to the Super Bowl? Rivers is another year older. Unfortunately, so is L.T. The Patriots and Colts seem to be on a downswing which bodes well for our beloved Bolts, but it would be foooooooolish to believe they're going to roll over and die. 

Continue reading "Chargers Last Stand?"

a 7-9 record was not good enough to get the Panthers into the playoffs last year. Most of that can be blamed on their quarterback problems last season. Jake Delhomme was having a fantastic year until the injury bug hit him hard and ended his season. This forced the Panthers to play the under-achieving David Carr, a man I feel should not even be playing in the NFL, let alone starting for any franchise. Things got so bad in Carolina, that they even went out and got the older-then-God Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde played ok, but it wasn’t what this team needed to have success. Lets face it, the season was over when Delhomme went down. The offensive line played terribly last season. Delhomme may not have been able to avoid the injury, but Carr was getting killed back there when he played. The Panthers needed to fix that offensive line coming into this year. They did pick up a couple of good draft picks. Jeff Otah from Pittsburgh will be a great addition to the line. I don’t think its going to be enough, but lets hope for the Panther’s sake that the offensive line can come through.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #15: The ..."

The Saints were the surprise story of the 2006 NFL season. They exploded onto the scene with new superstar Reggie Bush in their offense. They managed to make it all the way to the NFC Championship Game before falling to the Chicago Bears. 2006, was a great year for every New Orleans’ fan. However, 2007 was not so great. The Saints lost their first 4 games. In what seemed to be a meltdown, The Saints did everything they could to get back into the season. They finally were able to win a game. Not only that, they strung 4 wins together. They then lost 2. This pattern would continue until the Saints would finish the season with a 7-9 record and they would end up missing the playoffs as well. It wasn’t the year they were expecting and this year they must do everything they can to get back to being a contender.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #14: The ..."

Today the San Diego Chargers announced a new deal for DE Luis Castillo, coming in at more than $43 million for five-years. Castillo will earn $17.5 million in guaranteed bonuses.

To me, the real number that sticks out is the $17.5 mil in bonuses. As many know, NFL contracts are hardly ever guaranteed, unlike the NBA. Castillo will have to make the team each year during the life of his deal to take home the full amount. His talent is unquestioned and he is still fairly young, but how often do we see NFL teams sign players to long-term contracts but fail to live up to them? The familiar scenario is sign him now, he plays a few more seasons, then declare he is too expensive to keep and release the player. This happens over and over.

Continue reading "Luis Castillo's big contract extension"

Here in Oregon I've gotten that question a thousand times it seems. Many times if I'm at a place watching a Chargers game on satellite, or just wearing Charger merch, I get people asking me that. Like I have to explain why...I hardly ever see a Raiders, Packers, Cowboys, or Steelers fan having to explain themselves why they like the team they do. But to be a Bolts fan, there has to be more to it? And of course the question gets posed more often when San Diego has success.

Continue reading "Ever have to explain why you are a Chargers fan?"

With the NFL season just around the corner, it's interesting to take a look at some of the established lines set in various Las Vegas outlets.

The San Diego Chargers have an Over/Under win total set at 10.5. For those that don't understand this, it means one could pick the Chargers to have over 10.5 wins this season (which would be a record of 11-5 like last year, or better). Or, they could pick the Bolts to have under 10.5 wins...so a 10-6 record or worse.

Continue reading "Over/Unders and other NFL Futures..."

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

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The Buffalo Bills. The only New York team that actually plays in New York, but they want to play in Toronto and to be honest, I want them to go there too. The franchise has had very little success in its entire history. Yes its true they do have 4 conference championships, but in its entire history, the Bills have never been able to win the big one. It’s never happened and by the looks of the team that took that field last year, it doesn’t look like its going to happen this year either. They will play some of their games in Toronto and I do believe eventually the Bills will move their franchise there. It’s a good place for the franchise to start fresh in a new home. I think they could use it.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #4: The Buffalo Bills"

J-E-T-S! JETS! JETS! JETS! Yes the New York Jets are coming into another year of football with hopes of winning it all!... or at least of making it back to the playoffs in a division where they are forced to play Tom Brady and the Patriots twice in the regular season and by all intents and purposes would most likely have to beat them in the playoffs to get to the big game. But lets be real for a minute, the Jets aren’t making it to the Superbowl and if they by some miracle make the playoffs it will be by the skin of their teeth. The AFC is too hard of a conference and there are so few spots in the post-season.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #3: The New York Jets"

1-15. The worst team in the league last season. The Miami Dolphins are looking to get back to relevance and what a chore that is for them competing in the same division with Tom Brady and the Patriots and also having Ladainian Tomlinson and the Chargers on their schedule. The Dolphins are going to have to dig deep and put in the work that is needed to make any sort of impact this season. However, perhaps the point of this season is not to make an impact. Perhaps the point of this season is just to get some wins to their record and rebuild a franchise that was once great.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #2: The Miami Dolphins"

Am I the only one out there that thinks the Chargers' throwback powder blue jerseys are terrible? The whole retro thing is about as original as saying you're "going green". Personally, I've had enough of them and I won't stand for this nonsense anymore.

Continue reading "Powder Blue - Pee-uuu!!!"

The Fantasy season has arrived and as owners begin to mock draft, form their strategies, and get set to dominate their leagues (or lose terribly), the question that is on everyones mind is, Who should go #1 in all fantasy drafts?  San Diego Running Back Ladainian Tomlinson or Minnesota Running Back Adrian Peterson? Both of these plow shares have a huge case for them. Peterson, last year’s rookie sensation. Tomlinson, the top running back for the last two years. So how does one decide who should go first?

Continue reading "Fantasy Football: Tomlinson v.s Peterson"

That's right people, ME! I cannot even begin to say how much I LOVE Ebay. If you're diligent you can almost always find a deal for something you really want and that was the case today when I just happened to do a search for "Patriots Chargers Tickets". I found two seats for just a little over face value that weren't even nose bleeds. If you want tickets to an NFL game try eBay before you have to donate a kidney so you can afford Stub Hub or some other ticket broker that jacks the charges up on you.

Continue reading "Guess Who Just Got Tickets to the ..."

From April 15, 2008 San Diego Chargers press release: 

The San Diego Chargers were notified today by the National Football League that linebacker Stephen Cooper will miss the first four regular-season games of 2008 for violating the NFL policy on Steroids and Related Substances. 

Continue reading "Cooper to be suspended for San Diego Chargers"