2007 San Diego Chargers

The Chargers were the best in the business during the regular season finishing an NFL-best 14-2 in 2006. Unfortunately, inexperience showed up in the postseason, and this talented group made an early exit from the playoffs which especially left All-Pro tailback LaDainian Tomlinson frustrated. The Chargers will try to build on last season’s success with a new coaching staff and a wealth of talent.

Bet Our NFL Picks at Sportsbook and get FREE premium service!

The Chargers got rid of decorated head coach Marty Schottenheimer following an early playoff departure despite earning a league-best regular season record. Losing coordinators Cam Cameron and Wade Phillips perhaps dealt this team even bigger blows. Seemingly, A.J. Smith’s decision to get rid of Schottenheimer shot him in the foot as it led to the dismantling of the best staff in the league. Now Norv Turner will try to outshine his 58-82-1 career NFL record. This is definitely a team that has the talent to make him look good. His teams in Oakland and Washington combined may not have had as complete a roster. However, I’m still very much the skeptic and he’s going to have to convince me. Another early departure from the playoffs and I’m going to be saying “Marty could have done that.”

When the Chargers were able to resign outside linebacker Shaun Phillips and offensive guard Kris Dielman, they were ensured of having the best roster in all of football heading into the 2007 season. However, a huge change in coaching and inexperience has this team behind New England as the favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Norv Turner is a guy who fans hate because his name is synonymous with losing, but coaches respect him and renown him as one of the great offensive minds in the game. How quickly we forget that this guy was the mastermind of the early ‘90’s Dallas Cowboys’ offenses. He now has another Pro Bowl backfield to utilize so expect to see him draw up some strong game plans. His biggest fault may be getting a little too cute instead of just letting his horses make plays.

The Chargers defense was constantly on the charge last season making it look easier to get in their opponents backfield than to float on the Dead Sea. This unit finished the regular season 10th overall in yards allowed and seventh in points allowed. New coordinator Ted Cottrell is certainly no Wade Phillips, but he will likely look pretty darn good as a coordinator with this defense.

The books have nailed the Chargers in our opinion at 11 wins as we had them chalked up with an 11-5 season as their will be some jetlag with players having to adjust to a new coaching staff. If you’re looking for some small action on this team’s win total, we would recommend taking the over as this team has too much talent to finish with less than double digit wins.

By Jeff Alexander – 7/10/2007

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

June 17, 2008

Comments

Got something to say?

You must be logged in to post a comment.