Why are the Chargers being hyped up?

[carson33]

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/794037002?__twitter_impression=true

The attached link is one of many examples I've seen of people picking the Chargers to do really well? What have they done to warrant such hype?

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[bmurph128]

I'm not the expert that bwgood77 would be, but I can still take a shot at this.

Rivers has been the most underrated franchise QB for this generation. They have a fringe top 10 QB.

Their skill position players are very good - Allen is one of the best WRs in the NFL; Melvin Gordon is a guy primed to break out. Travis Benjamin is solid and Mike Williams, their first round pick from a few years ago, was injured and then disappointed - but has talent. Their OL had previously been an issue but seemed to figure it out last year.

Their defense is where the hype really is though IMO. Bosa and Ingram represent arguably the best edge rushing duo in the NFL. Hayward became an elite CB last year.

Then, they won 6 out of their last 7 and lost some games due to FGs early in the season - give them the best kicker in the NFL last year and that's possibly a 12-4 team.

And all this with their now typical "someone sold their soul to the devil and he's collecting now" injury luck.

[Mamba Mentality]

Yeh I think bmurph pretty much hit it right on the head. Chargers are loaded top to bottom. But I'm not sure if I would be quick to crown them the favorites in the AFC West...the Raiders will almost certainly improve as will the Broncos, and I absolutely love the Chiefs with Mahomes moving forward. Division will be A LOT more competitive than last year.

I'm not sure if the Chargers have done enough to address their 31st ranked run defense. Teams were ripping long runs on them left and right last season. While I love the Derwin James pickup, I don't think he's the solution to that problem.

Also think losing Hunter Henry will be a significant blow. Last I checked the Chargers were going to just roll out with 38 year old Antonio Gates...that's all sorts of yuck.

With that said, I'd be hyped too if I was a Chargers fan. Team is stacked. If they can clean up their special teams play, and finish even in the middle of the pack in run defense I think they'll have a good shot at winning the division.

[carson33]

I'm not the expert that bwgood77 would be, but I can still take a shot at this.

Rivers has been the most underrated franchise QB for this generation. They have a fringe top 10 QB.

Their skill position players are very good - Allen is one of the best WRs in the NFL; Melvin Gordon is a guy primed to break out. Travis Benjamin is solid and Mike Williams, their first round pick from a few years ago, was injured and then disappointed - but has talent. Their OL had previously been an issue but seemed to figure it out last year.

Their defense is where the hype really is though IMO. Bosa and Ingram represent arguably the best edge rushing duo in the NFL. Hayward became an elite CB last year.

Then, they won 6 out of their last 7 and lost some games due to FGs early in the season - give them the best kicker in the NFL last year and that's possibly a 12-4 team.

And all this with their now typical "someone sold their soul to the devil and he's collecting now" injury luck.

I agree with Rivers, but Melvin is overrated, can't even crack 4 ypc

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[carson33]

Yeh I think bmurph pretty much hit it right on the head. Chargers are loaded top to bottom. But I'm not sure if I would be quick to crown them the favorites in the AFC West...the Raiders will almost certainly improve as will the Broncos, and I absolutely love the Chiefs with Mahomes moving forward. Division will be A LOT more competitive than last year.

I'm not sure if the Chargers have done enough to address their 31st ranked run defense. Teams were ripping long runs on them left and right last season. While I love the Derwin James pickup, I don't think he's the solution to that problem.

Also think losing Hunter Henry will be a significant blow. Last I checked the Chargers were going to just roll out with 38 year old Antonio Gates...that's all sorts of yuck.

With that said, I'd be hyped too if I was a Chargers fan. Team is stacked. If they can clean up their special teams play, and finish even in the middle of the pack in run defense I think they'll have a good shot at winning the division.

Where do they rank in their own division?

Chiefs: defending division champs, Mahomes will be ready after watching for a whole year, lost Peters but getting Eric Berry back

Bronco: Their defense is still excellent, all they need is competent QB play and they may have that with Keenum. Not to mention they have a very good WR core in DT, Sanders, and Courtland Sutton

Raiders:

Down year last season for Oakland and Carr, but I think John Gruden can get him back on the right track. Carr was an MVP canidate in 16-17

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[bmurph128]

Yeh I think bmurph pretty much hit it right on the head. Chargers are loaded top to bottom. But I'm not sure if I would be quick to crown them the favorites in the AFC West...the Raiders will almost certainly improve as will the Broncos, and I absolutely love the Chiefs with Mahomes moving forward. Division will be A LOT more competitive than last year.

I'm not sure if the Chargers have done enough to address their 31st ranked run defense. Teams were ripping long runs on them left and right last season. While I love the Derwin James pickup, I don't think he's the solution to that problem.

Also think losing Hunter Henry will be a significant blow. Last I checked the Chargers were going to just roll out with 38 year old Antonio Gates...that's all sorts of yuck.

With that said, I'd be hyped too if I was a Chargers fan. Team is stacked. If they can clean up their special teams play, and finish even in the middle of the pack in run defense I think they'll have a good shot at winning the division.

Where do they rank in their own division?

Chiefs: defending division champs, Mahomes will be ready after watching for a whole year, lost Peters but getting Eric Berry back

Bronco: Their defense is still excellent, all they need is competent QB play and they may have that with Keenum. Not to mention they have a very good WR core in DT, Sanders, and Courtland Sutton

Raiders:

Down year last season for Oakland and Carr, but I think John Gruden can get him back on the right track. Carr was an MVP canidate in 16-17

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I'm not sure Mahomes will be ready - QBs are finicky like that. KC also gutted their defense a little - they're essentially rebuilding on the fly. They have done a great job of surrounding Mahomes with talent though. I have them at roughly 7-9 wins.

Broncos - their defense is decent but I don't trust Keenum to have a year anywhere close to last season. Their offense is a mess. Defense could also get worse with the loss of Talib. I have between 5-8 wins.

Raiders - they actually regressed to the mean last season. The year before they went 12-4 but did it winning a ton of close games, which isn't realistic, as last year played out - they have talent obviously but I can't trust them after last season. I have them winning between 6-8 games.

Which leaves the Chargers - I like them to win the division and win 10-12 games. They have the best QB and IMO they will have the best defense in the division.

[bluejerseyjinx]

Why are the Chargers being hyped up? I believe it has a lot to do with only drawing roughly between 15,000 - 25,000 folks to their home games most of the season.

[Mamba Mentality]

Yeh I think the Chargers will take the division with right around 10-12 wins. Chiefs could get in as a wild card, but I'm not crazy about the Broncos and Raiders.

Chiefs-I absolutely love Mahomes. He's the right guy for this job considering all the speed on this offense. I think they could finish as a top 5 offense once again. However, I'm skeptical of their defense particularly on the back end. Losing Marcus Peters was huge.

Broncos-Too many question marks on offense. Keenum will almost certainly regress from last season, they still don't have a true #1 back, and Demariyus Thomas showed signs of slowing down last season. Defense will play better than last season, but they're not the same dominant unit that they were a couple seasons ago.

Raiders-Not very high on Gruden. I expect Derek Carr to play better behind a healthier offense line. On paper they're loaded on offense, but I'm not certain this group will mesh well together. Also think Amari Cooper has to emerge as a consistent go to receiver for this offense to take the next step. Defense still has too many holes.

[Cactus Jack]

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Snake bitten franchise

[bwgood77]

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Snake bitten franchise

It's simply unbelievable. I won't ever hype them because they feel cursed. I've always felt if they could stay healthy and even if Rivers just had adequate pass protection and they could avoid kicking miscues, that even before their defense was much improved, they could hang with anyone.

But now their defense had improved a great deal. Verrett is a huge blow. Bigger than Henry, but both are top 10 players on the team. I just can't believe how many season ending injuries they have before a season starts. Last year it was Forrest Lamp, their 2nd round pick who had never missed a game in college. Then their first round pick broke his back.

The only positive thing is, they are used to playing without him....he was only healthy the whole season in 15....when he made the pro bowl..

The 2014 first-rounder missed 10 games his rookie year with a shoulder injury, 12 games in 2016 with a torn ACL and all but the opener last season after another knee injury. He made the Pro Bowl in his one healthy season (2015), in a career defined by the time missed.

UPDATE 2:01 P.M. ET: Per Rapoport, the belief is that Verrett tore his Achilles.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/07/27/report-jason-verrett-suffers-serious-injury-in-conditioning-test/

[Bulltalk]

I think the Chargers' success pretty much depends upon how often they don their powder blue uniforms...

[Ballerhogger]

They always get hurt pre season . Like seriously

[Shivershock]

Im predicting that Rivers will retire after a 6-10 season

[kazeme2]

For the last 5 seasons or so, they have lost a ton of close games due to missed FGs and bad luck at the end of games.
They have a new kicker whose been reliable as of last year.
Their new coach preaches discipline is what helps you hold your composure in close games.
Keenan Allen was hurt for roughly 30 games in a 2 year span and him being one of the top 7 receivers in the league IMO, that makes a huge difference, the rest of the receiving core isn't bad either, travis benjamin for what he's there for, go routes and play action passes and such gets the job done and mike williams should produce this year as he's comparable to Kelvin Benjamin IMO with a better attitude. Losing Hunter Henry for the year HURTS terribly but they'll resign Gates and as a backup last year he had close to 400 yards and 3 tds and although he's lost a few steps, I can see him having 5 tds and 600 yards if he starts this year the whole year. Tyrell Williams also takes the top off the defense and is a huge body to throw to so with Keenan, Tyrell, and Mike they have huge receivers to throw to.

A huge factor was in the increase in production from Melvin Gordon, he proved he can be a feature back who runs the ball 20-25x a game along with catching the ball very well out of the backfield totaling nearly 500 yards receiving and scored 13 total tds and had his first 1000 yard season running the ball and nearly had 1,600 yards from scrimmage so I expect him to roughly stay averaging 1500 total yards a season as long as he stays in his prime so that sets up play action pass and makes life so much easier for Rivers who keeps putting up 95-105 passer rating seasons ever year.

Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa on both sides totaling double digit sacks year in and year out for the next 5-10 years probably won't hurt their chances of being really good. Casey Heyward is also a top 10 corner, exceptional at what he does. I expect 12-4 to 14-2 next year.
Those are my reasons/

[therealbig3]

Chargers and Steelers are two teams that always get a ton of hype every year, and then continue to disappoint every year. Steelers fool people into believing they're actual contenders by having good regular seasons, but then they get owned in the playoffs almost every year.

Chargers just lose a whole bunch of close games every regular season, which knocks them out of the playoff hunt. And Rivers is a good QB, but for a guy that gets the amount of praise that he does, he always seems to play a part in their losing close games with some terrible decision-making at the absolute worst time.

[Pacers_Freak]

Death
Taxes
And Phillip Rivers down 7 with 2:00 left and 80 yards to score.

[DrAWNiloc]

I believe the Chargers are being hyped with good reasons, though the other Los Angeles team will fare better under similar circumstances. Looking at the positional schedules, both teams will turn away from the run and toward the pass in 2018, despite their excellent defenses. Both had good pass protection on the field last year, which surprised Charger-watchers. The difference is that, unlike the Chargers, the Rams have more O-Line talent across the board and were able to move bodies last year. Losing TE Hunter Henry couldn't have happened at a worse time, with Antonio Gates retiring and the TE scheduled to meet the league's softest defenders.

Bottom line: If Keenan Allen stays intact and Philip Rivers stays upright the Chargers will win the AFC West. Otherwise, they'll be glad they're in the AFC, with fewer wild card contenders than the NFC. If they find a TE they might even win a playoff game.

[Revived]

And Rivers is a good QB, but for a guy that gets the amount of praise that he does, he always seems to play a part in their losing close games with some terrible decision-making at the absolute worst time.

What praise are you talking about exactly?

People put guys like Eli Manning, Russel Wilson and Matt Ryan above him all the time and it’s just hilarious. Eli and Wilson won rings but I think it’s safe to say that Rivers wins those Super Bowls if he had that roster as well.

Rivers has had like 2 rosters in his whole career which were actually championship contender worthy and those were both in his first 2 seasons as a starter in the NFL. First season they choked because of god awful kicking from Nate Kaeding and a scrub CB who fumbled an INT. Second season, Rivers took them to the AFC Championship game and played the entire championship game on a torn ACL (only player in NFL & NBA history to do such a thing iirc) and lost by 9 to the then 18-0 Patriots on the road while he was missing Gates, LT and Merriman due to injuries.

Other than Brady, Rodgers, Ben, and Brees, there really isn’t a better QB than Rivers in this league but he will never get the credit for that.

[Revived]

Also think losing Hunter Henry will be a significant blow. Last I checked the Chargers were going to just roll out with 38 year old Antonio Gates...that's all sorts of yuck.

No Gates retired, the Chargers are gonna roll out with 30 year old Virgil Green instead.

Of all the injuries the Chargers have had thus far, Henry is by far the worst one imo. He was supposed to break out as a star player in the Chargers offense and be a huge safety blanket for Rivers like Gates used to be. Not to mention the depth at that position is just really lackluster.

The Chargers are hoping Mike Williams isn’t a bust and that he can actually contribute enough this season to make up for the loss of Henry.

[bwgood77]

And Rivers is a good QB, but for a guy that gets the amount of praise that he does, he always seems to play a part in their losing close games with some terrible decision-making at the absolute worst time.

What praise are you talking about exactly?

People put guys like Eli Manning, Russel Wilson and Matt Ryan above him all the time and it’s just hilarious. Eli and Wilson won rings but I think it’s safe to say that Rivers wins those Super Bowls if he had that roster as well.

Rivers has had like 2 rosters in his whole career which were actually championship contender worthy and those were both in his first 2 seasons as a starter in the NFL. First season they choked because of god awful kicking from Nate Kaeding and a scrub CB who fumbled an INT. Second season, Rivers took them to the AFC Championship game and played the entire championship game on a torn ACL (only player in NFL & NBA history to do such a thing iirc) and lost by 9 to the then 18-0 Patriots on the road while he was missing Gates, LT and Merriman due to injuries.

Other than Brady, Rodgers, Ben, and Brees, there really isn’t a better QB than Rivers in this league but he will never get the credit for that.

It's hard for me to compare Rivers to the younger generation, but I mostly agree. I've always felt I'd rather have him than Ben. With Brees, it's tough. I feel like he has more talent, but I remember in Brees last year with the Chargers, I always felt if they had the ball at the end he could drive them to win. While I also feel that way with Rivers, I am probably more nervous, but that's also partly due to being on bad teams and him almost having to force things at times which results in turnovers. This wasn't a problem early on good teams.

For an immobile guy like Rivers though, it all comes down to pass protection. If you have a horrid OL, I take a lot of QBs ahead of Rivers. If you have the best OL in the league, I may not take more than 1 or 2 ahead of him. It makes it a little hard to rate him, particularly since they've had a terrible OL for years...it's still not that good, but could be quite a bit better with the new C and Lamp if he does well in his first year after injury.