Bolts, shmoltz

[Old Dude]

Too many writers are conceeding the AFC West to the Chargers.

1. Take away Gates, and this team does not have much of a passing attack.

2. Gates can and will be taken away. He's a TE, for crying out loud. If we can stuff Gonzo when we put our mind to it, we can stuff Gates as well.

3. The Chargers lack a great pass rush. It's even worse than ours. Their secondary will get scorched their share of the time.

4. They are not playing a namby-pamby 3rd or 4th place schedule this year. They have both the Pats and the Eagles on the Road.

We crushed them once last year, and but for a dropped pass, we would have swept them.

Far as I'm concerned, the division is up for grabs.

[Cito Pelon]

I have a hard time seeing the Bolts going 12-4. They could win the Div though.

[2KBack]

I have trouble seeing them have another year like last year (and would be troubled watching it), but it is fair to point out that the Chargers have barely-arguably the best Running back in the league right now.

[Hogan11]

The Chargers don't impress me much.

Look for Brees to come crashing down to Earth with a resounding thud this season.

[elsid13]

The bolts are currently the media darling, but they really haven't done anything to improve themselves this offseason. Gates was none factor in both our games against them last year and this year our LBs match up better with them.

[Odysseus]

Chargers are coming back with confidence but that is about it.

[Breck Bronc]

Originally Posted by Old Dude

4. They are not playing a namby-pamby 3rd or 4th place schedule this year. They have both the Pats and the Eagles on the Road.

We probably had an easier schedule than the Chargers last season and still finished two games behind them. We played all the same teams except they had the Jets and Browns while we had the Dolphins and Bengals. New York was one of the top five teams in football last year; the Bengals were just a decent team (though playing them in their first MNF appearance in over a decade didn't help). Cleveland and Miami cancel each other out.

I think the Chargers are for real. They gave the Colts a hell of a game in that dome a few weeks before we got murdered there. If Brees doesn't regress I think they're a potential Super Bowl team, especially if Merriman, Castillo, and Jackson contirbute anything. Having McCardell for more than 7 weeks will help their passing game and slide Eric Parker, Reche Caldwell & Kassim Osgood into better fitting roles.

[2KBack]

Originally Posted by Breck Bronc

We probably had an easier schedule than the Chargers last season and still finished two games behind them. We played all the same teams except they had the Jets and Browns while we had the Dolphins and Bengals. New York was one of the top five teams in football last year; the Bengals were just a decent team (though playing them in their first MNF appearance in over a decade didn't help). Cleveland and Miami cancel each other out.

I think the Chargers are for real. They gave the Colts a hell of a game in that dome a few weeks before we got murdered there. If Brees doesn't regress I think they're a potential Super Bowl team, especially if Merriman, Castillo, and Jackson contirbute anything. Having McCardell for more than 7 weeks will help their passing game and slide Eric Parker, Reche Caldwell & Kassim Osgood into better fitting roles.

Even if they have a phenomenal regular season, Marty-ball does not win Championships.

[Odysseus]

I think the Raiders are the sleeper team in the division more so than Chargers. Chargers will come in with high expectations but find the usual "something is missing" thing going on.

San diego's pass defense was as bad as Kansas Citys. All these sorry defenses are just going to make the Raiders look beastly if they find their stride. Wade Phillips 3-4 actually works pretty well but unless they shift some personnel I don't see any big changes in numbers.

They have a tougher division than last year. Chiefs were injured on offense. Raiders didn't know who they were into later in the season. Broncos didn't have a red zone to speak of. All of this is going to change next season. The only things I have heard about is Merriman holding out and Tim Brewster leaving to Antonio Gates for the Broncos. If they've done something else I haven't heard about it.

I think they have a chance at being in it because none of this is written in stone but I haven't seen anything they've done as unsettling. If you look at what the Raiders did with picking up Lamont Jordan and realize the two newbies on their OL are only going to get better you'll see Raiders could explode next year. The trick is slapping the confidence out of them before they figure out how good they are.

Chargers? I don't think any game is a gimme in the NFL but the Broncos gave them a bad time without a defensive line, special teams or red zone offense. Let's see what happens this year.

[boltaneer]

Originally Posted by Old Dude

Too many writers are conceeding the AFC West to the Chargers.

1. Take away Gates, and this team does not have much of a passing attack.

2. Gates can and will be taken away. He's a TE, for crying out loud. If we can stuff Gonzo when we put our mind to it, we can stuff Gates as well.

3. The Chargers lack a great pass rush. It's even worse than ours. Their secondary will get scorched their share of the time.

4. They are not playing a namby-pamby 3rd or 4th place schedule this year. They have both the Pats and the Eagles on the Road.

We crushed them once last year, and but for a dropped pass, we would have swept them.

Far as I'm concerned, the division is up for grabs.

Crushed is a bit much I think.

If not for a Brees overthrow on a wide open Tim Dwight and a prayer from Plummer to Lelie the game goes the other way. I thought both games were very competitive.

San Diego's schedule looked tough at the beginning of last year but it turned out to be a softer schedule than it appeared. It could be that way this year. You never know. Very little sperates first place and last place schedules these days. The x-factor is injuries.

On paper, it looks like the division will be very competitive this year and I agree the division seems to be up for grabs. I expect it to come down to the Chiefs and Chargers. Perhaps Denver may contend for a wild card spot again.

[elsid13]

Originally Posted by boltaneer

Crushed is a bit much I think.

If not for a Brees overthrow on a wide open Tim Dwight and a prayer from Plummer to Lelie the game goes the other way. I thought both games were very competitive.

San Diego's schedule looked tough at the beginning of last year but it turned out to be a softer schedule than it appeared. It could be that way this year. You never know. Very little sperates first place and last place schedules these days. The x-factor is injuries.

On paper, it looks like the division will be very competitive this year and I agree the division seems to be up for grabs. I expect it to come down to the Chiefs and Chargers. Perhaps Denver may contend for a wild card spot again.

A bolt fan, I am surprise that we found one, welcome. IF Plummer does not audible on the goal, we win that game. The game in Denver was joke, the D held LT under 60 yards and Brees couldn’t hit the side of barn.

[RhymesayersDU]

The Chargers have talent, as scary as it is to say that.

But, just like when they made it to the SuperBowl that 1 year, they need to proove to me that they can do it again this year. I'm not sold if they can. If they can have a similar performance to last year's, I will definately consider them a real team.

[broncohaven]

Originally Posted by Hogan11

The Chargers don't impress me much.

Look for Brees to come crashing down to Earth with a resounding thud this season.

I agree with the Brees comment. Brees's path seems an awful lot like one Mr. Griese to me, and I think he'll flop next year.

[DivineLegion]

Considering they will be going through a QB change and will have to deal with some growing pains I figure we might have a slight edge but then again the homer in me tells me that Rivers is Jesus and if thats the case were pretty much screwed

[Breck Bronc]

Originally Posted by DivineLegion

Considering they will be going through a QB change and will have to deal with some growing pains I figure we might have a slight edge but then again the homer in me tells me that Rivers is Jesus and if thats the case were pretty much screwed

Jesus already played in the NFL.



2,003 yards in 14 games. What an accomplishment.

[Jason in LA]

I was thinking about that thread, where the Charger fans were trying to get the respect of being a rival. That was funny. But then I started thinking about the Padres. They are pretty much the samething. Who are their rivals? Not the Dodgers or Giants (who hate each other). D'Backs? No. When the Padres play in interleague play, the team they are matched up against every year is the Mariners. Yeah, that's a big rivalry. The Dodgers play the Angles (which has become heated). Giants play the A's, which has always been heated. The Padres play a team that they have no history with.

San Diego sports teams get no respect. The place is so bad the Clippers left. Who is San Diego St. rival? Not UCLA or USC.

[Kaylore]

We'll see. The Chargers have some weapons, but they didn't address their primary weaknesses effectively enough this offseason. They were actually one of the teams that did the least. LT2 is the real deal, and I think Gates is as well. Drew Brees may or may not be, and their receiving corps doesn't look all that magical. Both their lines aren't stellar either. We'll see.

[yavoon]

Originally Posted by elsid13

The bolts are currently the media darling, but they really haven't done anything to improve themselves this offseason. Gates was none factor in both our games against them last year and this year our LBs match up better with them.

what is having 2 first round draft picks? chop liver?

[Odysseus]

Originally Posted by Kaylore

LT2 is the real deal, and I think Gates is as well. Drew Brees may or may not be, and their receiving corps doesn't look all that magical. Both their lines aren't stellar either. We'll see.

Chargers are going to win some games no doubt but if they don't at least improve to beat their rivals they can only go downward. They won a lot of games last year but I don't remember them dominating anyone.

The problem with the Chargers has been consistency. Chiefs have it. They are either good on offense or defense. The Raiders have it. They suck no matter what they do. The Broncos have it. We can almost always look like we are going to do something. The Chargers are a boom and bust team. I think they will do good this year but 9 games might not be enough.

That all said.....you are right.....We'll see.

[sirhcyennek81]

Chargers are going to have the bottom collapse on them. They had an easy schedule, their qb was in a contract year, with a 1st round pick right behind him, Brees had no choice but to do well. LT2 was not at his best last season, but it has never changed when you play san diego. stop LT, you win. We did that in denver. did not in san diego. I dont care if brees throws for 600 yards, as long as we stop LT. He makes that team go. as for the raiders...their defense will be beyond awful. Lack of speed in the secondary, even with their drafting of a speedster at cb. lot of projects. They may have 2 new OL'men, but they have to gel. Chiefs offense will let them down. the defense will improve, but the offense will not hold up their end of the bargain. Broncos need redzone production, if nothing else. Redzone production.

[BRONCCRUSHFAN]

Ah yes, the AFC west becoming one of the toughest divisions in football again. Gotta love it.

[Bronco Yoda]

Originally Posted by boltaneer

Crushed is a bit much I think.

If not for a Brees overthrow on a wide open Tim Dwight and a prayer from Plummer to Lelie the game goes the other way. I thought both games were very competitive.

San Diego's schedule looked tough at the beginning of last year but it turned out to be a softer schedule than it appeared. It could be that way this year. You never know. Very little sperates first place and last place schedules these days. The x-factor is injuries.

On paper, it looks like the division will be very competitive this year and I agree the division seems to be up for grabs. I expect it to come down to the Chiefs and Chargers. Perhaps Denver may contend for a wild card spot again.

WoW! A bolts fan. Welcome!

I don't see many of these and I live in Southern California. They don't even play their games on the big screens in the sports bars in most places. I did start seeing the bandwagons start to show late in the season with the tags still attached to their jerseys like minnie perl from Hee-Haw.

[BRONCCRUSHFAN]

Originally Posted by Bronco Yoda

WoW! A bolts fan. Welcome!

I don't see many of these and I live in Southern California. They don't even play their games on the big screens in the sports bars in most places. I did start seeing the bandwagons start to show late in the season with the tags still attached to their jerseys like minnie perl from Hee-Haw.

[Odysseus]

Originally Posted by BRONCCRUSHFAN

Ah yes, the AFC west becoming one of the toughest divisions in football again. Gotta love it.

Who do you think is the toughest division in football? No flames intended.

[Breck Bronc]

Originally Posted by quiettiger

Who do you think is the toughest division in football? No flames intended.

AFC East - Patriots are a true dynasty, the Jets should have played their division rivals in the AFC Championship Game if not for Doug Brien, the Bills were the hottest team in the league at the end of the season, and the Dolphins are finally rebuilding after so many years of being good, not great.

AFC South - Indy has an all-time great offense and average defense, Jacksonville is a clear wild card contender, Houston too, probably, and Tennessee is horrible.

AFC North - Pittsburgh is the favorite after becoming the first AFC team to ever go 15-1, Baltimore needs to improve their offense, Cincinnati should be a playoff team after two solid seasons, and Cleveland has their known problems.

AFC West - San Diego had an easy schedule last year and won 12 games, Denver had an easy schedule and won 10 games, Kansas City finally improved their defense, and Oakland brought in some guy named Randy Moss.

NFC East - Philly is clearly the class of the NFC, Dallas has to improve in Parcells' third season, the Orangemane has already decided Washington is the worst team in football, and New York has the slack jawed QB entering his first full season as the starting QB.

NFC South - Atlanta has Ron Mexico and a good defense, Carolina just might be the second best team in the NFC if they're healthy and their doctor doesn't rat on their steroid usage, New Orleans finally put it together at the end of 2004 but it was too little, too late, and Tampa Bay has Chucky and Brian Griese leading their team into '05.

NFC North - Minnesota lost Randy Moss and Onterrio Smith (?) and many people still think they improved themselves the most this offseason more than any team in the league, Green Bay lost a lot on the offensive line and their defense was a mess last year, Chicago will make the playoffs if they get any kind of decent quarterback play, and Detroit has more wide receivers than any team should have, with the immortal Joey Harrington throwing them the ball.

NFC West - Seattle was as bad a division champion as I've ever seen, St. Louis owns Seattle, Arizona will be the best team in the division, and San Francisco might win 2 games.

I'd rank them:

1. AFC East
2. NFC South
3. AFC West
4. AFC South
5. AFC North
6. NFC East
7. NFC North
8. NFC West