2010 NFL Predictions: San Diego Chargers

June 26, 2010

The San Diego Chargers ended their 2009 season with a loss in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Jets and their exceptional defense. San Diego ran away with the AFC West as the second best team (Denver Broncos) finished 5 games back. However, a few key mistakes, and some defensive lapses cost the Chargers in the playoffs.

Philip Rivers had another solid performance in that game, but 2 interceptions ultimately cost his team the game. He is clearly one of the top quarterbacks in the league, but occasionally gets caught up in his own hype and tries to force balls that he shouldn’t throw. Rivers has had back to back 4000+ yards seasons, and is likely to do so again in 2010.

The Chargers are loaded offensively. Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates had tremendous seasons last year. Jackson caught just 68 passes because Rivers had so many options in the passing attack. However, Jackson’s 17.2 yards per catch was more than enough to push him well over the 1000 yard plateau as he finished with 1167 yards. Expect Jackson to carry much more weight this year, and exceed even last years numbers. Gates has been the best tight end in the league for several years, and will be instrumental in the Chargers offense once again in 2010.

The loss of LaDanian Tomlinson will not be as detrimental to the Chargers offense as most NFL experts think. Tomlinson’s best years are far behind him, and he will be nothing more than a backup and mentor with the Jets. Darren Sproles has cemented himself as not only the Chargers starting running back, but as one of the best backs in the NFL. He may not put up the numbers of a Chris Johnson or Adrian Peteron, but he is far better at catching the ball out of the backfield and rarely turns it over. If you are a NFL Fantasy League player, taking Sproles in the first round of the draft will certainly pay off this year. He will get the majority of the carries, and even though this is a pass first offense, should have much more carries and far more yards than he did in 2009.

San Diego knows that Sproles will need a breather now and again this year with the increased workload so they used their first pick in the 2010 draft to get RB Ryan Mathews out of Fresno St. Mathews is a hard runner that will take the place of Tomlinson in terms of goal line running.

Defensively, San Diego had a mediocre year in 2009 finishing 16th in total defense. They had more trouble against the run as they allowed 117 yards per game on the ground. In order to strengthen their rush defense, the Chargers took LB Donald Butler out of Washington with their 2nd pick and DT Cam Thomas out of North Carolina in the NFL draft. They don’t need to be a defensive juggernaut due to their strength on offense, but they will certainly keep pushing to get their defense to the next level.

Many sports handicappers have already made football picks on the San Diego Chargers to win the AFC in 2010. This may be hold to be true, but the new faces on offense and defense will need to prove themselves before I buy into them.

Written by Glenn Andrew · Filed Under NFL

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