Why are so many national writers so high on the Chargers?
 

Flavor of the off-season or are the Chargers a legit Super Bowl contender.

Let's discuss in here.

I think based on the NFL's trend to gift a SB win to aging QB's (The Manning legacy) the Chargers will win one before Rivers retires.

The NFL needs them to make the Super Bowl to both boost ticket sales and justify having them there in LA. Can't let all those potential fans NOT spend their monies on the NFL!

They should be good?

Melvin Gordon is really good. So is Keenan Evans. So is Joey Bosa. So is Melvin Ingram.

They have a lot of flashy pieces and a damn good low-stakes QB. Rivers is really really good... until the pressure gets too much, and he somehow manages to fold. Dude just doesn't show an ability to turn it up when it's all on the line.

The media has been high on the Chargers for like the past 5 years. Until they actually show they can close games out, I'm not gonna worry about them much.

Because every couple years the Chargers show some sign of improvement and writers decide that this will be the year they actually improve year to year. Followed by everyone remembering that Rivers is Rivers and the Chargers crap the bed.

They were a kicker away from being good last year. I think they will make the playoffs for sure.

well , in fairness ..its not JUST writers....its also vegas odds have the chargers as favorites to win the division....


If enough people put money on other teams like the chiefs , broncos or raiders...then the odds would change..but as of now they havent.


as divisions go the AFC west could be one of the tightest divisions (odds wise) to start off the season..I think it is THE closest one....


The AFC south is pretty tight too....


But anyway, I dont buy the fact this is some type of collusion by the NFL who pushes these stories out to writers....at all.


I mean real people are betting on this, and the money is bearing it out so far......at least from what I can tell.

If you need a kicker to be "good," you're not good enough.

I do feel they are overhyped a bit but make no mistake, the Chargers are a strong team.

I must say I am a bit baffled to see so many analysts crowning them as AFC West champions to be.

I can somewhat understand because of the fact that Mahomes is unproven but if he is even close to the hype, I think the Chiefs are the better team.

The Raiders have a chance too.

2 big name pass rushers and a known QB = media coverage.

They won 6 of their last 7 at the end of last season. They have a QB that is proven. They have a good defense. They are returning most of their players and the entire coaching staff. So little turnover creates more continuity. They had a good draft too.
The Chiefs have a new unproven OC and QB and our D is maybe middle of the road.
The Donkos have a QB that has had one good year and a coaching staff that is mediocre at best.
The Faiders have a new HC that has been away from the game for a while and has signed a bunch of aged veterans that are done and likely wont make it through the season.


Sent from my SM-S906L using Tapatalk

Sure but I don't think it was a matter of kicker last year at the end of the season when the playoffs were on the line and the Chiefs kicked their butt, once more.

I think their schedule has some to do with them being favored too. Much easier schedule than the Chiefs.

the whole division is pretty wide open, according to the actual odds...


theres not even a real clear favorite with the chargers having about a 33% chance and the raiders maybe around 28% and the donks 25% and us even just taking the scraps leaves us with a decent shot at it


anyone who is 'crowning them champs' does not understand math...they are VERY slight favorites in a tough , wildly close division

Who is Keenan Evans?

chargers will show flashes of greatness then crash and burn again.

Why? It's the offseason....they print enough crap to keep people reading.

keenan ivoray evans allen wayans

Because they have the best team on paper in the division.

If they stay healthy, they should be able to have a shot in every game they play.

Unfortunately, team health has killed them the last couple years.

Melvin Gordon sucks. Dude hasn't broken 4.0 YPC in his career yet.

Keenan Allen can barely finish a season.

Philip Rivers, though i'm a fan of the man, his play on the field is below average. Dude hasn't been the Philip Rivers people know for about the last 5 years now.

The defense is legit. And sure they have some nice pieces. But they're still the Chargers. The Chargers are the epitome of perpetual mediocrity.

Former Texas Tech hoops player.

Maybe they are gonna make him a WR.

I don't see why they shouldn't get any hype. Legit defense and an offense with dangerous weapons and a borderline HOF QB.

Isn't this what is predicted every single year? Then they end up the most talented 8-8 team ever.

Yeah....idk about that one. That's a stretch.

Exactly. I still remember the immediate post Marty, Norv years. The Chargers, yearly, were pronounced the "Best team to not make the playoffs!" by the national media. LMAO

I see these games as our most exciting. 5 turnovers between Rivers and mahomes then 2 scores in the final minutes. We win of course..

GMFB was doing a bit a couple weeks ago where they started it off with “this is the time of the year we talk about the Chargers winning their division”

I laughed.

Yeah, I'd love to know how many HOF QBs there are who have never even played in a Super Bowl. Rivers has longevity with a team going for him, but beyond that he's really just another mediocre QB.

EDIT: There are actually quite a few, so who knows? Maybe he'll make it in.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-b...er-bowl-2012-1

That was my first thought as well.

If only they had a head coach that didnt routinely get clown-shoes put on him by opposing head coaches.

I think they have a great roster, potentially even better than KC--but until they actually beat the Chiefs, people need to shut the **** up about them being the favorites.

They've lost the last EIGHT times. They blew a massive lead against them. Got whooped last September and then no-showed in a division championship game (essentially) last December.

Not to mention, Andy >>> Lynn.

I agree with all of that except the bold. He’s averaged under 4 YPC in both of his first two seasons. He’s been average at best.

They are now in a major media market, so the media is hyping them

It's interesting to me that all the talk was about how the Chiefs couldn't win anything of note with Alex and the others in the division were better, yet now that they've moved away from alex he's actually used as an excuse as to why they'll under achieve.

L.A.


It's the only reason, especially since the RAM's are going to come crashing down........

I'm really happy that we play them week 1. That game is going to be big time.

With little to no tape out there on our offense, will they game plan properly to stop KC? What kind of boxes will Mahomes face? Will they single cover Watkins all game? Etc. etc.

Rivers is 9th all time in passing yards, one in front of Warren Moon (HOF) and a few spots behind Dan Marino (HOF), neither played in a SB.

On the flip side, he's not too far ahead of Carson Palmer (12), Vinny Testaverde (13), Drew Bledsoe (14), and Kerry Collins (17).

9th all time is not HoF type numbers. HoF numbers are generally record breaking type numbers at their time.

At no point has Rivers ever been in that category. Warren Moon was crushing NFL records in his time.

"In 1990, Moon led the league with 4,689 passing yards. He also led the league in attempts (584), completions (362), and touchdowns (33), and tied Dan Marino's record with nine 300-yard games in a season. That included throwing for 527 yards against Kansas City on December 16, 1990, the second-most passing yards ever in a single game.[15] The following year, he again led the league in passing yards, with 4,690. At the same time, he joined Marino and Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons. Moon also established new NFL records that season with 655 attempts and 404 completions."

Well they can’t leave Tyreek in single coverage. We know that much..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bas3wGenlY

Notice that play was what Pat ran in week 17 with 5 wide. How will teams stop that? LMAO

As one analyst once put it:

"What was Philip Rivers' defining, HOF moment?"

...pssst....he doesn't have one.

After Carr's injury last year Rivers is the only proven QB in the division.

If its even possible, this offense is going to wear us out with deep balls I think. And they should, because most teams just don't have the dudes to match up.

Gonna see a LOT of zone coverages.

Proven that he's not clutch....

In a game in which the Chargers were hot and the Chiefs were reeling, with playoff implications on the line, Rivers came in and threw 3 ghastly interceptions to basically end the Chargers season.

Time after time Rivers has proven to be one of the least clutch QB's in today's NFL. Hell, maybe ever.

Remember the Halloween goal line fumble? :facepalm: the list goes on and on.

Keenan evanescence

Pretty much this

There it is.

If the Chargers and the Rams both have some success, like they should, the NFL splooge will engulf the entire planet.

Honestly the Chargers have probably done the best job in the draft (AFCW) over the last 3 years.

They have very few weak areas...

At the very least Rivers is the most fun meltdown in the league! :deevee:

Meltdown sounds about right. People love/hate him because he's emotional on the field. Problem is, that emotion lends itself to erratic play when the pressure gets high.

The 3 interceptions he threw last season against KC were the type of throws you'd be mad at a rookie making. That was essentially a playoff game for the Chargers. And he melted down completely.

Again, the disrespect to John Dorsey.

The Chiefs have drafted better than the Chargers over the last 3 years and this couldn't even be a discussion at all if not for their #3rd overall pick Joey Bosa.

Here's a list of notable players drafted by the Chiefs over the last 3 years:

- Marcus Peters
- Mitch Morse
- Chris Conley
- Steven Nelson
- Chris Jones
- Demarcus Robinson
- Tyreek Hill
- Patrick Mahomes
- Kareem Hunt

The Chiefs as we know have not had any high pick lately.

And then having a Derwin James fall right into their lap. "Oh here's our biggest need and probably the best player at his position".

And Melvin Gordon still sucks. IDC what anyone says. Dude has a career avg of 3.9ypc.

so many things wrong with such a short post


if you actually knew anything about your own team , you would know that 'moving away from alex' is much lower on the totem pole of reasons we wont win as many games next year.....than say...blowing up the defense.....


also, i dont buy the argument anyway that you stick with a middling QB to avoid some inevitable growing pains of what is essentially a 1st year starter...


of course mahomes will make some mistakes that alex wouldnt have...this year....but his future ceiling is why we got him...not to win 9 or 10 games instead of 8 and fizzle out in the playoffs again...and furthermore thats NOT under achieving..thats kind of a given with a guy who has played 1 NFL game that was essentially meaningless.


and by the way we never won anything 'of note' with alex nor would we ever have...but we might with mahomes and that IS why we got him



jesus

Absolutely.

John Dorsey did not have a lot of success with early round picks. Look at where the talent on this team came from.

Whut?

I'll say this. The Chargers front 7 is either overrated or people just don't realize that it is not so strong. Obviously, they have great players in Bosa and Ingram but for the rest, they are not even in the same planet as teams like Minnesota, the Rams, Jacksonville, etc.

I like the Chiefs front 7 better than the Chargers', going into next season.

Plus, Liuget is suspended for 4 games. I am really not sure that defense will be as good as some say. Their secondary is very good though, sure.

Well, for one, I'm talking about the media.

And you completely misinterpreted my post.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5bvDnQTZwfM" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

All the QBs in the top 10 in passing yards are, or will be, in the HOF. (Unless Rivers is the only outlier)

All the QBs in the top 10 in passing TDs are, or will be, in the HOF. Rivers is 6th. (Unless Rivers is the only outlier)

I'm not saying Rivers is a lock, but to say it's not even borderline seems a bit biased.

Rivers a HOFer? If it happens, then HOF will truly mean nothing.

which media said mahomes would under achieve this season?


that wasn't your take? because that seems your opinion....

"Message!"

They have some nice pieces but............ they were 2-5 against teams 500 or better last year, beating the 9-7 Bills and the 9-7 Elliottless Cowboys.
their 9 wins came against teams with a combined 50-94 record......woo...whooo

and they were fairly healthy
https://www.pro-football-reference.c...7_injuries.htm

Already the case. Bettis is in.

After this season Rivers will easily be 7th all time in passing yards. He’s already 6th all time in passing TDs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XIX

Marino's lone SB appearance was tarnished by a lopsided loss.

If you put Marino on those loaded San Fran teams- they would have would 10 SuperBowls.

Rivers would be one of the last NFL QB's I would want with the game on the line in the SuperBowl. He has more choke jobs than signature wins in his career.

I'm curious about the Chargers as well. Maybe it's just habit, but I never view the Chargers as being relevant.

If I was to step outside my Chiefs fandom for a moment and think about how a national writer might view the division, starting at the top last year.

1. Chiefs (10-6 in 2017). Not knowing the Chiefs, I'd probably conclude that they're starting a young quarterback and that their quarterback last year was statistically very effective. I'd see that they didn't have a first-round pick this year, so they may have lost some ground in the offseason, especially by giving away Peters, and I'd see that the defense was not ranked very high to cover up for a young quarterback's mistakes.

The error in this thinking is what we all know. This offense is a powder keg that was held back by conservative quarterback play last year. We've actually seen Patrick Mahomes II play on an NFL level, and we know what he's going to add. Also, the defense is getting younger and faster, and hopefully ridding itself of low-effort guys, but who are we kidding? Defense won't matter when Mahomes is revving full-throttle.

2. Chargers (9-7 in 2017). A national writer will see the most experienced quarterback in the division who routinely produces a lot of yards, and a couple of established pass rushers. They'll see that the Chargers lost most of their draft class to injury last year, so they'll effectively introduce two drafts this year. A national writer will conclude that they'll improve.

The error in this thinking is that Rivers doesn't have the "it" factor. He hasn't had a team above 9-7 in a decade, and their new coach is going to hit the wall this year as other teams get film on his tendencies. The Chargers are an injury-prone team (which is likely something baked into their risk-taking), so they'll always lose players to injuries at a higher rate. Other than Joey Bosa, who is legit, guys like Melvin Ingram and Melvin Gordon look good only because they're the best talent on the team. They're not great players when you look across the league. Gordon has not had a season averaging 4.0 ypc, and Ingram tops out at 10 sacks per year, which doesn't wow anyone.

3. Raiders (6-10 in 2017). A national writer will see Derek Carr and presume success. The Raiders tend to find some big names in free agency, so they get media attention.

The error in this thinking is that Carr is above average, but not great, and he has no talent around him. Their free agents are has-beens like Marshawn Lynch and Jordy Nelson who don't scare teams any more. And their defense has holes everywhere you look.

4. Broncos (5-11 in 2017). If you're a national writer, you might ascribe all of the blame to the quarterback situation, and a fair amount does belong there. Adding Casey Kasem at quarterback brings them up from abysmal to adequate at that position. Also, it appears that Denver drafted more out of a draft magazine this year than relying on their scouts, as it seems that they took more low-risk players. So if you assume that there's a big bump at the QB position, maybe you see them going higher than 5-11.

This thinking is wrong, of course, because they continue to lose talent on defense, and their quarterback is a stopgap. Their receivers are getting lethargic, they have no running game, and the worst OL in the business. Will they beat 5-11? Not likely.

It is a fallacy to say that the Chiefs had conservative QB play last year. You need to watch the games.

I don't expect Mahomes to be as good as Smith was last year overall but I expect him to be more clutch and not disappear when it matters. Well that might be considered better but you get my point.

This right here says a lot

I'd bet anything Mahomes will have more TDs, Yards and ints than smith did last year.

:clap: I wish I could Positive Rep you 10 times for this post.

Can't believe I forgot about that.

<img src="https://media2.giphy.com/media/TwtXMS5EnKDBK/giphy.gif">

As a San Diegan, i've watched him his whole career. He's a perennial choker. For years i lectured CPers not to sleep on Rivers.

But it's time to call a spade a spade. The dude has not been good in awhile. The Rivers that people have in there heads is long gone. I haven't seen that QB in a long time. No bias here.

It's just been a long time since he performed like a winning QB.

The Rivers/HOF debate is something that was a popular topic in SD. Years ago, i agreed that he had a HOF type career path. But these last several years have not amounted to anything. He's regressed IMO.

Again, what is Rivers' HOF moment?

What big game did he win?

What was his memorable, heroic moment?

He's a QB with a losing record, and in his era wasn't BREAKING records. The other stat guys you mentioned were game changers in their era. Rivers is not.

I’m sorry, I just think it’s a joke that people crown the Chargers as favorites when they haven’t beaten an Andy Reid led Chiefs team since 2013 when all backups played. They won that in overtime, too. :facepalm:

"If only the Chargers had a kicker!"

Yeah right. That guy missed one field goal, the other was blocked

Fact that people don't want to admit is that if LACk had beaten KC just once, Chargers would have been in the playoffs while KC would have been at home twiddling their thumbs

I think a lot of people forget about how great Marino was. He didn't just break records, he destroyed them.

That year he played Montana in the SB was his 2nd year in the NFL.

It will be Mahomes 2nd year.

Marino had one of the greatest years ever for a QB but ultimately came up short in the big game against Montana- who was also a Chief.

Mahomes is a Chief.

Marino had a pair of stud receivers that were nearly impossible to cover and a suspect defense.

Mahomes will have a pair of ultra speedy receivers and a possible suspect defense.

Marino and Montana's last names start with M.

Mahomes last name starts with M.

Montana and Marino both had great coaches that helped their career.

Mahomes also has a coach that many consider great- that has helped him.

Marino was interviewed in the draft by the Chiefs.

Mahomes was also interviewed by the Chiefs.

And lastly- Marino has stated that Mahomes "Looks like me-with better wheels."

Mahomes was drafted in a year where the Chiefs took a QB in the top ten, and Marino was drafted in a year where the Chiefs took a QB in the top ten.

Patrick Mahomes II is jersey number 15. 15 - II = 13 = Dan Marino's jersey number.

Mahomes was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. Marino was drafted by the Kansas City Royals.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy and Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln! Coincidence?