NFL Regular Season -- San Diego Chargers
Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 4:11 am
The 2013 regular season starts today and I'm not sure about you guys, but I'm extremely thrilled! The majority of you are probably Vikings fans and I can dig that. Randy Moss, Daunte Culpepper or more recently Adrian Peterson probably would have been enough to make me one to be honest. While AD's name got brought up, I will take the time to say that his last interview on ESPN fully garnered every ounce of respect I could give him. As much of a great athlete and football player he is, he's equally or even better of a human being. I hope he breaks the single season rushing record that he somewhat promised this year.
So you guys must be thinking, "Camden loves the Timberwolves and Twins, how come he isn't a Vikings fan?" That question can be answered with two initials: LT. Not Lawrence Taylor, the electric runningback whose football home still lies in San Diego, LaDainian Tomlinson. I knew I was going to be a fan of the guy when he became the first to rush for 400 yards in a single game, which is a major-college record by the way. That's unheard of! That's almost impossible in a video game let alone a real life college game. Anyways, he was drafted fifth overall to the San Diego Chargers and I was instantly a fan of the Bolts. Drew Brees was drafted in the second round in that same draft, so you can probably understand my excitement going into the next season.
Well, years have passed and LT retired years ago, but I'm still a die-hard Chargers fan and going strong. We've gone from an anually-picked Super Bowl team to missing the playoffs and in my opinion, we're being severely underrated and slept on going into the 2013 season. Some have pegged us a four or five win team, which is absurd to me for many reasons. New management is in town and those men are Tom Telesco (GM), Mike McCoy (HC) and the much-respected Ken Whisenhunt (OC). They're replacing the men that brought this roster from arguably the best in the NFL to relatively thin at some areas and underachieving doesn't begin to describe their tenures in San Diego. This is the most confident I've been in management for the last six years or however many Norv "I suck" Turner was here.
I know this is an extremely lengthy post, and one that most of you won't read, but I can't hold back my excitement for this team, especially the defense. Leading that unit is the best safety in football, Eric Weddle. Weddle doesn't get the praise he truly deserves, much like Nikola Pekovic on the T-Wolves, but he's a really humble player and an instrumental leader in the locker room. Donald Butler is probably the best player in the NFL that nobody knows about. A third round pick out of Washington, Butler has gotten better and better every year in the league and is borderline star at LB. Corey Liuget is well on his way to being a top defensive end in the NFL and his DE mate on the other side of the D-Line is likely to join him among the top in Kendall Reyes. Derek Cox, Shareece Wright, Manti Te'o, Melvin Ingram (injured), Jarrod Johnson and Dwight Freeney make up the rest of the defense. It's a unit that doesn't get the respect it deserves, but has the chance to be something special.
On the offensive side of the ball, Philip Rivers should be much-improved due to an upgraded OL and Mike McCoy's assistance. McCoy's a QB guru in my opinion and his methods through pre-season have shown that he is worthy of the head coaching opportunity. For those of you who aren't familiar with McCoy, he was the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos when they had Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and most recently Peyton Manning. McCoy knows how to gameplan for his players and that's a skill that goes unappreciated since most OCs want players that fit their offense instead of the other way around. Ryan Mathews may have a breakout, top-10 rushing season if he can stay healthy this year. D.J. Fluker's addition to the OL is going to pay huge dividends for the Chargers rushing attack and as a result, it will help Rivers find his way back to the top of people's QB lists. Antonio Gates is a sure Hall of Famer when he calls it quits, but he's in the best physical shape he's been in the past five years. He was fighting through plantar fasciitus and that's a lingering injury, but it looks like Gates has finally passed through it. I didn't even point out the Danny Woodhead signing yet. The guy is perfect for Philip Rivers as this offense hasn't had someone like him since Darren Sproles left for New Orleans.
As you can see, I'm pretty passionate about my Chargers and I think they're bound to turn heads this year. We play the late game on Monday Night Football next week against the Houston Texans. It should be a statement game, but certainly won't be an easy victory. It's a game that San Diego could win if they want it bad enough and play clean football. Bolt Up! This is a One Charge season.
I hope it's a fun football season for you all.
So you guys must be thinking, "Camden loves the Timberwolves and Twins, how come he isn't a Vikings fan?" That question can be answered with two initials: LT. Not Lawrence Taylor, the electric runningback whose football home still lies in San Diego, LaDainian Tomlinson. I knew I was going to be a fan of the guy when he became the first to rush for 400 yards in a single game, which is a major-college record by the way. That's unheard of! That's almost impossible in a video game let alone a real life college game. Anyways, he was drafted fifth overall to the San Diego Chargers and I was instantly a fan of the Bolts. Drew Brees was drafted in the second round in that same draft, so you can probably understand my excitement going into the next season.
Well, years have passed and LT retired years ago, but I'm still a die-hard Chargers fan and going strong. We've gone from an anually-picked Super Bowl team to missing the playoffs and in my opinion, we're being severely underrated and slept on going into the 2013 season. Some have pegged us a four or five win team, which is absurd to me for many reasons. New management is in town and those men are Tom Telesco (GM), Mike McCoy (HC) and the much-respected Ken Whisenhunt (OC). They're replacing the men that brought this roster from arguably the best in the NFL to relatively thin at some areas and underachieving doesn't begin to describe their tenures in San Diego. This is the most confident I've been in management for the last six years or however many Norv "I suck" Turner was here.
I know this is an extremely lengthy post, and one that most of you won't read, but I can't hold back my excitement for this team, especially the defense. Leading that unit is the best safety in football, Eric Weddle. Weddle doesn't get the praise he truly deserves, much like Nikola Pekovic on the T-Wolves, but he's a really humble player and an instrumental leader in the locker room. Donald Butler is probably the best player in the NFL that nobody knows about. A third round pick out of Washington, Butler has gotten better and better every year in the league and is borderline star at LB. Corey Liuget is well on his way to being a top defensive end in the NFL and his DE mate on the other side of the D-Line is likely to join him among the top in Kendall Reyes. Derek Cox, Shareece Wright, Manti Te'o, Melvin Ingram (injured), Jarrod Johnson and Dwight Freeney make up the rest of the defense. It's a unit that doesn't get the respect it deserves, but has the chance to be something special.
On the offensive side of the ball, Philip Rivers should be much-improved due to an upgraded OL and Mike McCoy's assistance. McCoy's a QB guru in my opinion and his methods through pre-season have shown that he is worthy of the head coaching opportunity. For those of you who aren't familiar with McCoy, he was the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos when they had Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and most recently Peyton Manning. McCoy knows how to gameplan for his players and that's a skill that goes unappreciated since most OCs want players that fit their offense instead of the other way around. Ryan Mathews may have a breakout, top-10 rushing season if he can stay healthy this year. D.J. Fluker's addition to the OL is going to pay huge dividends for the Chargers rushing attack and as a result, it will help Rivers find his way back to the top of people's QB lists. Antonio Gates is a sure Hall of Famer when he calls it quits, but he's in the best physical shape he's been in the past five years. He was fighting through plantar fasciitus and that's a lingering injury, but it looks like Gates has finally passed through it. I didn't even point out the Danny Woodhead signing yet. The guy is perfect for Philip Rivers as this offense hasn't had someone like him since Darren Sproles left for New Orleans.
As you can see, I'm pretty passionate about my Chargers and I think they're bound to turn heads this year. We play the late game on Monday Night Football next week against the Houston Texans. It should be a statement game, but certainly won't be an easy victory. It's a game that San Diego could win if they want it bad enough and play clean football. Bolt Up! This is a One Charge season.
I hope it's a fun football season for you all.