San Diego Chargers
2009 Record: 13-3, Division Champions
2009 Playoff Record: 0-1 Key Losses: LaDainian Tomlinson, Demetrius Byrd, Brandon Manumaleuna
Key Additions: Ryan Mathews, Darrell Stuckey
Let's start out with the good, just last season San Diego went 13-3, an impressive feat. That being said, San Diego suffered an early exit at the hands of a Wild Card team in their first playoff game. There's been a lot of talk of if San Diego can really even get to a Superbowl, and those arguments seem to carry a lot of weight especially now. For a team that has won the division four years in a row and five of the last six years, these results are just inexcusable. What's the difference, though? Is it personnel, or coaching, or does playing in the most annually dismal divisions turn San Diego into a fluff team? This season could hold the answers.
Now let's go to some nuts and bolts. I gave you the big numbers already, but let's look at some more minute details. In 2009 they were among the top five in the league in major passing categories, but second to last in rushing with an average of 3.3 yards per carry and 88.9 yards per game. They were ranked 16th in overall defense giving up 327 yards per game. In the postseason their defense tightened up, allowing only 262 yards and 17 points. Their offense, however, failed to come through in the clutch.
To me, this signifies coaching difficulties. Norv Turner is a celebrated coach, much of the team's recent success has been attributed in part to him. However, consistently losing key playoff games and teams breaking down at key moments to me signifies a lack of discipline, and I believe if the team doesn't win this year Turner may be on the way out.
That may be easier said than done. Though I think this division will have its ups and downs, I definitely think it will be harder to win games previously taken for granted. In addition, San Diego seems to be having some age problems. Three of their starting linemen offensive linemen are approaching thirty, the other two have less than two combined seasons starting. This line does a good job of protecting the quarterback, but the declining rushing numbers and lack of clutch performances suggests this may be an area of trouble next season. In addition, their two star receivers and star tight end are getting up there in years, and there seems to be no heirs apparent. If there were, they were released and it seems that San Diego is banking on a youth movement at these positions, a gambit to say the least. Add to this that the team is counting on a rookie running back to jump start a running game that declined last year under 12,000 yard career rusher LaDainian Tomlinson, and this offense has far more questions than in years past.
All this adds to the fact that the clock is ticking for Norv Turner and Phillip Rivers, who is turning 29 and entering his seventh year. Starting a rebuilding movement at this point is out of the question, and the holdouts of Marcus McNeil, Vincent Jackson, and Shawne Merriman are just compounding matters. Yes, these players are clearly getting older, but at this point in the franchise's history can they really afford to lose them and try to build replacements from the ground up? In addition to the offensive questions, the defense has yet to prove it can be a force, as it was for the team that knocked them out of the playoffs, the New York Jets. This is a team that was middle of the league at best in interceptions and sacks, if not for an explosive offense the Chargers would be sunk. Linebacker is a question with Merriman holding out, and isn't much clearer with him in the mix. His absence might not be as big a factor as the other holdouts, but his replacement, Larry English, might not be the long-term answer either. Shaun Phillips was a force last season, with seven sacks and seven fumbles, but the other backers combined for just four sacks and four fumbles. One has to wonder, also, if Phillips can carry this defense without the benefit of a disruptive force in Merriman on the other side. The linebackers are going to have to be the cornerstone of this defense, as the linemen, if they follow their 2009 statistics, are underwhelming at best.
The secondary is a question. They played an above average season last season in terms of interceptions, and Quentin Jammer, Eric Weddle, and Antoine Cason are all returning. They have a rookie penciled in to start at strong safety, albeit a highly touted one. Though this secondary was good at takeaways, they left a lot to be desired in yards allowed. With the offenses in the division all getting upgrades and a failure to keep up when facing good defenses in the postseason this could be an issue that comes back to haunt them.
Overall, San Diego will have to either sink or swim. They have issues on both sides of the age spectrum, and that causes it to be hard to predict how things will turn out as either the youth or the veterans could prove to be a boon or a detriment. One thing is for sure, they will need production from one or the other, and with an ever-growing playoff issue both sides of the team will have to contribute to wins as opposed to the shootout style they have relied on in the past. Their schedule won't be easy by any means, either. Aside from playing the AFC South, with perennial offensive powerhouses Indianapolis and Houston and hungry Jacksonville and Tennessee, they get the pleasure of playing two other 2009 playoff teams in the Bengals and the Patriots, a defensive and offensive powerhouse, respectively. They get a partial reprieve in facing the NFC West, but their usual domination should at least be less of a guarantee with all of their division opponents making significant upgrades, don't be surprised to see the Bolts drop a few division games. Of all the playoff teams in 2009, I consider the Chargers one of the most susceptible to falling off, that is unless they can tighten up their problem areas and solve some of their holdout situations.
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