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

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by Hydrae

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

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.

[Rausch]

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

They have very few weak areas...

[Buckweath]

Originally Posted by Rausch

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

They have very few weak areas...

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.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by Buckweath

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.

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.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Buckweath

Again, the disrespect to John Dorsey.

Absolutely.

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

Originally Posted by Buckweath

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.

Whut?

[Buckweath]

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.

[Nickhead]

[CrossCheck]

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

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by CrossCheck

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

This right here says a lot

[wazu]

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

[Halfcan]

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.

[Rain Man]

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.

[Buckweath]

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.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by Buckweath

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.

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

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

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.

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