SD Contenders or Pretenders (1 Viewer)

[Billy Ball Thorton]

With the Merri Steriod topic going on it got me thinking about the team in general. I had thought of them as the team to beat in the AFC west but a colser look at the #'s has me thinking they are not true contenders.

They Beat

OAK 1-5

TENN 1-5

PITT 2-4

SF 2-4

Combined record of opp they have beat 6-18

They have lost to

Balt 4-2

Kc 3-3

W/O SM for the next 4 weeks do you think they meet the playoffs?

 

[Phase of the Game]

Is anyone surprised at the -9 line for SD this week against the Rams?

 

[Billy Ball Thorton]

Is anyone surprised at the -9 line for SD this week against the Rams?

I was very suprised by that line. Especially with the Lambs comming off the Bye.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

With the Merri Steriod topic going on it got me thinking about the team in general. I had thought of them as the team to beat in the AFC west but a colser look at the #'s mkaes me think they are not true contenders.They Beat OAK 1-5TENN 1-5PITT 2-4SF 2-4Combined record of opp they have beat 6-18They have lost to Balt 4-2 Kc 3-3 W/O SM for the next 4 weeks do you think they meet the playoffs?

they will go 2-2 during the next 4 and have a record of 6-4. they play STL,Cleve, @cincy, @ denver with home games against the whole division to go still. I like their chances.

 

[Despyzer]

They have lost 5 starters on defense:

Steve Foley, Terrence Kiel, Shawn Phillips, Igor Olishansky, and Shawne Merriman

That's a lot for any team. A three point loss in KC, considering all that, hardly qualifies them as pretenders.

 

[cstu]

They have lost 5 starters on defense:

Steve Foley, Terrence Kiel, Shawn Phillips, Igor Olishansky, and Shawne Merriman

That's a lot for any team. A three point loss in KC, considering all that, hardly qualifies them as pretenders.

The next four games are going to be tough with the injuries/suspension, especially the Denver game without Merriman, however I think they can overcome it and go at least 2-2. They have a winnable stretch weeks 11-15 where they play Oak, @Buf, Den and KC. Those are huge games and the defense should back.

 

[Billy Ball Thorton]

They have lost 5 starters on defense:Steve Foley, Terrence Kiel, Shawn Phillips, Igor Olishansky, and Shawne MerrimanThat's a lot for any team. A three point loss in KC, considering all that, hardly qualifies them as pretenders.

I am not sure where I called them pretenders because they lost to KC.. I was pointing out they have ONLY BEAT inferrior competition. They have had one (if not) the easiest schedule of any team. And in my opinion they are PRETENDERS(other than LT and Gates) and will NOT make the playoffs. And now MR Lights out Exposed for CHEATING.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Until they beat a good team on the road (which other AFC contenders like Indy, Denver, and NE have all done), they are pretenders.

 

[Chase Stuart]

I'm already looking at tiebreakers. San Diego, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, NYJ and Jax all have realistic chances to get to 9 or 10 wins, and only two of those six will make it.

New England is a lock for the playoffs, with Indy not very far behind. Denver seems likely to make it, and while you can't love how Cincinnati has played, I don't think Baltimore is going to outplay them the rest of the year.

 

[Despyzer]

They have lost 5 starters on defense:Steve Foley, Terrence Kiel, Shawn Phillips, Igor Olishansky, and Shawne MerrimanThat's a lot for any team. A three point loss in KC, considering all that, hardly qualifies them as pretenders.

I am not sure where I called them pretenders because they lost to KC.. I was pointing out they have ONLY BEAT inferrior competition. They have had one (if not) the easiest schedule of any team. And in my opinion they are PRETENDERS(other than LT and Gates) and will NOT make the playoffs. And now MR Lights out Exposed for CHEATING.

Can you point out the thread that you started last week calling out the Chargers as pretenders? Or the week before that? You may not have stated it openly, but the timing of this thread indicates that you believe the Chargers were somehow exposed by a last-second loss on the road to a team much better than its record.By your logic, who is the great team out there? Chicago's only significant win is against a toothless Seahawks team, and the Bears struggled mightily against a Cardinals team that just got embarassed by Oakland. The Colts could barely get by powerhouse Jets and Titans squads. The list of teams whose performances aren't exactly praiseworthy is pretty lengthy this year.And lastly, your venom in this post indicates that you had very little interest in actually starting an exchange on this topic, but that you just wanted to vent your bias and get a little attention.

 

[Ilov80s]

Pretenders all the way. 1st year QB, Coach Marty, and the fact they haven't beaten a good opponent yet.

 

[djcolts]

I'm already looking at tiebreakers. San Diego, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, NYJ and Jax all have realistic chances to get to 9 or 10 wins, and only two of those six will make it.New England is a lock for the playoffs, with Indy not very far behind. Denver seems likely to make it, and while you can't love how Cincinnati has played, I don't think Baltimore is going to outplay them the rest of the year.

NE and Indy are locks. NE because they have too many "easy" games left on the schedule and are 4-0 in their division. Indy's a lock because they will have the TB over Jax if they either beat Houston and Tenn again or beat Jax again. Jax would basically have to make up 4 games in the next 10 games to win the AFC South - even people that picked Jax in the beginning of the season have conceded that they are playing for a WC (Doug Kretz of ESPN.com - Vic Ketchem of Jaguars.com). The loss to Houston is even more devastating to Jax than has been reported in the national media because it kills them in possible tie-breakers over the Colts (division record is the 2nd tie-breaker after head-to-head for determining division titles).

 

[Harry Beanbag]

Before the season started, I went down the schedule and tried to predict wins and losses for the Chargers. Being a Charger fan since I was 8 (now 35) and also beuing a realist, I predicted SD would go 11-5 based on what I thought going into the 2006 season. Here is how I thought the season would go from Day 1 and here is how I see the season shaking out from here on out.

Predicted season before first game

@ Oakland Raiders - Win - SD and LT always play well in Oakland

Tennessee Titans - Win - Home opener and tenn is too young and inexperienced

@Baltimore Ravens - Loss - Tough D and tough road trip 3,000 miles away from left coast

Pittsburgh Steelers - Loss - Defending champs would beat SD twice in a row in front of nat't TV audience

@San Francisco 49ers - Win - SF improved but not enough to win

@Kansas City Chiefs - Loss - KC is tough to play at their house, marty can't win there as a visitor

St. Louis Rams - Win - Thought the rams had too many holes to fill

Cleveland Browns - Win - Cleveland has too many issues

@Cincinnati Bengals - Loss - thought Cincy's passing game would be better and SD passing D was not as improved

@Denver - Loss - SD never plays well in the thin air and Denver is going to be good.

Oakland Raiders - Win - SD plays well there and Oakland plays well in SD traditionally. The pendulum had to swing back sometime right? Not this year and Okland would be swept.

@Buffalo Bills - Win - Despite the road trip, SD would be too much

Denver Broncos - Win - Revenge factor and still fighting for playoff spot

Kansas City Chiefs - Win - Reversal of fortune as KC does not do well in SD

@Seattle Seahawks - Loss - Super Bowl losers still good and second to last game would be battling to stay in playoff hunt

Arizona Cardinals - Win -With nothing to play for yet again, Green would put in the rookies and play for next year.

now that we are in week 8, this is how I see SD season shaking out.

@ Oakland Raiders - Win

Tennessee Titans - Win

@Baltimore Ravens - Loss

Pittsburgh Steelers - Win

@San Francisco 49ers - Win

@Kansas City Chiefs - Loss

St. Louis Rams - Win - Rebound game despite all the distractions

Cleveland Browns - Win - At home and browns are pretty bad

@Cincinnati Bengals - Loss Merriman will probably be suspended at this time and Phillips not back yet. No pressure on bengals passing game and a tough road loss will happen.

@Denver - Loss - Denver D is tough and will hold the chargers O in check. Defense too thin to handle what little Offense broncos can muster in the thin air.

Oakland Raiders - Win - even though the stadium will be full of gang members and recently released criminals it will not be enough to will the raiders to a win.

@Buffalo Bills - Win - The road trip could play a role but the Chargers D should be backto healthy by this point and should handle the Bills.

Denver Broncos - Win - Could go wither way, but I will stick with a SD win.

Kansas City Chiefs - Win - Could go wither way, but I will stick with a SD win.

@Seattle Seahawks - Loss - Loud stadium and on the road. this could be a win but to stay realistic I will give the Chargers a loss here.

Arizona Cardinals - Win - THE CHARGERS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE! Winners here to end the season and depending on how Denver finishes, SD still has a chance of winning the AFC West at 11-5.

Sure this is all speculation and from a charger homer no less.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Since Gates sucks, Tomlinson is horrible, and Rivers has no clue, I don't see how they'll win any more games this year.

On a more serious note, they need to beat Denver and Kansas City before they are considered true contenders. But they are among the most talented teams in the league.

 

[Billy Ball Thorton]

They have lost 5 starters on defense:Steve Foley, Terrence Kiel, Shawn Phillips, Igor Olishansky, and Shawne MerrimanThat's a lot for any team. A three point loss in KC, considering all that, hardly qualifies them as pretenders.

I am not sure where I called them pretenders because they lost to KC.. I was pointing out they have ONLY BEAT inferrior competition. They have had one (if not) the easiest schedule of any team. And in my opinion they are PRETENDERS(other than LT and Gates) and will NOT make the playoffs. And now MR Lights out Exposed for CHEATING.

Can you point out the thread that you started last week calling out the Chargers as pretenders? Or the week before that? You may not have stated it openly, but the timing of this thread indicates that you believe the Chargers were somehow exposed by a last-second loss on the road to a team much better than its record.

HuH??? Because I did not start a thread last week means my opinion is based off this weeks loss??? Perhaps it could be a combined effort of all the factors I listed above. I guess no-one should question a team during the year, unless they start doing it week one. LOLI meerly stated they have not beat a team with a winning record and thier playmaker on D has been exposed to be a cheater.