And now Chargers fans are getting delusional!

[iknowftbll]

Let it never be said that I've neglected to dump on Chargers fans too.

Okay, okay, fine, I get it! It's the season of hope for all teams right now. It's June. We have two more months before reality slaps a lot of fans in the face, so why not just let these fans talk about their hopes and dreams in peace? Well I'll tell you why I won't: While the San Diego Chargers are the least of our AFC West rivals, I've managed a special dislike for them due to living in San Diego a couple times.

In 2001 I was stationed in San Diego on the heels of a 1-15 season for the Chargers in 2000. They were far better in 2001, climbing all the way to 5-11! In those days you couldn't give away a Chargers ticket, with some residents openly calling for the team to relocate to Los Angeles. FF a few years, and in 2007 I returned, with the Chargers having risen to a level of respectability. If you recall, they went 14-2 in 2006 and the fired Marty Schottenheimer for his failure to get it done in the playoffs. These were also lean years for the Broncos, and living in San Diego at this time was brutal. I'd have people come up to me in the mall and get in my face about my Broncos shirt. I'm there with my wife and infant daughter and people are dropping F bombs, etc. A couple good seasons brought out the A-hole in these people and even though the Chargers are historically a bottom tier franchise I developed a special loathing for them.

So while I understand the thought process behind an article like this, I am still obliged to lampoon it. Of all the teams that have not won a Super Bowl, the Chargers are the one I want to remain outside looking in the most. They are the least of our rivals, true. They don't even compare with the Raiders or Chiefs as far as sheer veracity of the rivalry. Still, my personal experiences with some of their fans combined with the fact they are still a feisty opponent, kind of like an annoying little ankle biting yap dog that won't go away even if you punt it across the yard.

Read this writer's delusional analysis, and have a good laugh with me, friends!

Could the Chargers win their first Super Bowl in 2017?

 

[GeekSportsFan]

Nope, we are going to be an 8-8 or 9-7 team at best. Our O line has been a patch work disaster the past few seasons, and unless we can get Gordon's running game established, Rivers will be running out of the pocket more often than not. Our defense is OK, not horrible but not great either. It has the chance to be very, very good but coaching decisions and play calling is suspect in big games. When Marty was fired after the 14-2 season, and the Spanos family decided to keep AJ Smith instead, it was evident that the Chargers were doomed to mediocrity until the Spanos family is out of the picture. As a rule, we have had horrible personnel decisions, and we don't seem to do a good job developing players. As much as I despise the Raiders (my wife LOVES them and makes for a long season when they win and the Chargers lose), they are on the rise and will be very interesting this year. I'm very interested to see how Mark Sanchez works out for the Broncos under the tutelage of Gary Kubiak. The criticisms leveled at Sanchez have been warranted, but to be fair, he was in two organizations that were complete cluster fucks at both the front office and coaching level. Can't wait for September!

 

[iknowftbll]

Geek,

Thanks for stopping by and being a class act on a thread I started to rag on your team and fellow Chargers fans. I know I painted with a broad brush and that there are some real quality people out there who like the Chargers. And you always post good content here, so I can appreciate that.

I have the Chargers at 7-9 this year. I think they're going to be a solid team but in a tough division. With that said, they seem to have loaded up in the draft. Consider this: in a couple seasons Rivers will really be looking at the sunset of his career, but some of this draft talent will be coming of age. There MAY be a very interesting 2 or so year window in the near future where the team looks like a contender.

It'll be interesting to watch.

 

[CEH]

Rivers is the key. He has always been a 30 TD , 10-13 Int guy his whole career. I really like Rivers toughness and moxie. Would love him as the Broncos QB. Until Miller is signed I can't say who is the AFCW top team. Denver will have the weakest QB and if they don;t sign Miller that drops Denver down a couple notches. Miller is that important in 2016 to Denver.


Can't see SD beating NE, Pitts, Cincy or Indy in the playoffs.

 

[BigKen]

As Bill Parcells used to say......................."Everyone is undefeated until the end of Week 1.........then 16 teams are undefeated."

 

[WalkerBoh]

"The addition of Hayward should not be overlooked, as he was arguably the best corner on the Packers in 2016."

This isn't saying much. Did this guy even watch the Packers last season?

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

Hey iknowftbll.. You must think division rival teams don't get better right??

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

I mean, do you guys really think Sanchez or whoever you guys have at QB will beat the Bolt D??
And let's not forget, Rivers also got some NEW weapons for his Offense to counter the Denver D..
Hmmmm

 

[Gatorchip]

Can we get a Chiefs thread in here too please?

 

[nflbronco]

SD will be better just being healthier in 16. Can they go to SB doubt it. AFC West will be a battle imo we need our QB's and offense be good with ball and execute better. We will be in year two under Kubes I expect better O and huge improvement in run game. The D will have to carry us again. I don't expect much drop off from them IF we stay pretty healthy.

 

[Clayton]

"The addition of Hayward should not be overlooked, as he was arguably the best corner on the Packers in 2016."

This isn't saying much. Did this guy even watch the Packers last season?

Their secondary actually won them a few games last year. Footballoutsiders had them 6th against the pass. PFF, however, had Hayward #3 overall 3 years ago but 21st last year so there are signs that he is getting figured out or he just got lucky his first year. I'm not convinced he is an upgrade so I mostly agree with you. His INTs went from 6 to 3 to 0.

Can we get a Chiefs thread in here too please?

I think he has like 4.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Their secondary actually won them a few games last year. Footballoutsiders had them 6th against the pass. PFF, however, had Hayward #3 overall 3 years ago but 21st last year so there are signs that he is getting figured out or he just got lucky his first year. I'm not convinced he is an upgrade so I mostly agree with you. His INTs went from 6 to 3 to 0.


I think he has like 4.

It also lost them a few games. A way-past-his-prime Manning even tore them up.

 

[cdumler7]

Hey iknowftbll.. You must think division rival teams don't get better right??

Idaho here is the problem that you don't seem to be grasping. This isn't about teams getting better. This is about teams that have been really bad for a while or just in a big time transition having fans claiming Super Bowl in their near future. Such as with the Raiders fan saying they have a good chance to win 3 of the next 7 Super Bowls. Well even the best teams in NFL history have struggled to hold that type of talent together for that long to put together that incredible of a run. We are talking everything having to fall into place and that is with one of the best organizations from top to bottom in how they are run and the players they have on the team in NE being the only one that really comes to mind of recent since the Salary Cap was put into place that was able to accomplish that. So we are not just talking about the Raiders being improved but people having this mindset that they are going to do something that has only been done once and it was with probably the best coach the NFL has ever seen, a HOF QB, and plenty of other HOF talents while also having some great coaching staffs and FO to run things.

So yeah I would say that type of delusion deserves to be called out. Now if a fan says the Raiders are going to have a winning season and make the playoffs for the first time since 2002 heck you will find even Bronco fans including the one who started the Raiders thread right on board with that idea. They need to have a winning season before we start talking Super Bowl though. Most teams don't go from losing record to Super Bowl Champs let alone 3 times in 7 year Champs.

Same with the Chargers in the sense that they are a team that probably needs to enter full rebuild mode. They have a lot of holes on both sides of the ball. Phillip Rivers has really heald that team together for a lot of years but his age is getting up there and they need to start thinking about a future without him on the team and what that will look like. I like pieces that both the Raiders and Chargers have in place but I see plenty of holes that make me just go yup not quite there yet but maybe on their way.

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

Idaho here is the problem that you don't seem to be grasping. This isn't about teams getting better. This is about teams that have been really bad for a while or just in a big time transition having fans claiming Super Bowl in their near future. Such as with the Raiders fan saying they have a good chance to win 3 of the next 7 Super Bowls. Well even the best teams in NFL history have struggled to hold that type of talent together for that long to put together that incredible of a run. We are talking everything having to fall into place and that is with one of the best organizations from top to bottom in how they are run and the players they have on the team in NE being the only one that really comes to mind of recent since the Salary Cap was put into place that was able to accomplish that. So we are not just talking about the Raiders being improved but people having this mindset that they are going to do something that has only been done once and it was with probably the best coach the NFL has ever seen, a HOF QB, and plenty of other HOF talents while also having some great coaching staffs and FO to run things.

So yeah I would say that type of delusion deserves to be called out. Now if a fan says the Raiders are going to have a winning season and make the playoffs for the first time since 2002 heck you will find even Bronco fans including the one who started the Raiders thread right on board with that idea. They need to have a winning season before we start talking Super Bowl though. Most teams don't go from losing record to Super Bowl Champs let alone 3 times in 7 year Champs.

Same with the Chargers in the sense that they are a team that probably needs to enter full rebuild mode. They have a lot of holes on both sides of the ball. Phillip Rivers has really heald that team together for a lot of years but his age is getting up there and they need to start thinking about a future without him on the team and what that will look like. I like pieces that both the Raiders and Chargers have in place but I see plenty of holes that make me just go yup not quite there yet but maybe on their way.

cd, i don't like this board.. At some point it's ok to have a little class.. But?? You know where i lurk, if you want to talk shop.. I will reply, i always do..

 

[CEH]

Nope, we are going to be an 8-8 or 9-7 team at best. Our O line has been a patch work disaster the past few seasons, and unless we can get Gordon's running game established, Rivers will be running out of the pocket more often than not. Our defense is OK, not horrible but not great either. It has the chance to be very, very good but coaching decisions and play calling is suspect in big games. When Marty was fired after the 14-2 season, and the Spanos family decided to keep AJ Smith instead, it was evident that the Chargers were doomed to mediocrity until the Spanos family is out of the picture. As a rule, we have had horrible personnel decisions, and we don't seem to do a good job developing players. As much as I despise the Raiders (my wife LOVES them and makes for a long season when they win and the Chargers lose), they are on the rise and will be very interesting this year. I'm very interested to see how Mark Sanchez works out for the Broncos under the tutelage of Gary Kubiak. The criticisms leveled at Sanchez have been warranted, but to be fair, he was in two organizations that were complete cluster fucks at both the front office and coaching level. Can't wait for September!

embarrassing is the only word that comes to mind when their 1st round pick did not score one TD.

 

[iknowftbll]

Hey iknowftbll.. You must think division rival teams don't get better right??

I would write a reply but CD very closely captured the thoughts I'd have shared. I'll just add that I'm already on record as predicting the Raiders AND Chargers will be better this year: 10-6 and 7-9 respectively after 7-9 and 4-12 respectively last year. Nobody here is clowning Raiders or Chargers fans for expecting them to get better. But to make claims of winning 3 Super Bowls in the next 7 years, or argue a team coming off a 4-12 season will win its first Super Bowl is hopeful homerism and worthy of a few jeers by rival fans.

 

[cdumler7]

cd, i don't like this board.. At some point it's ok to have a little class.. But?? You know where i lurk, if you want to talk shop.. I will reply, i always do..

Idaho you come on our board bringing no actual football conversation to the board just propping up your Raiders and then continue to name call or demean others on this board and then call us the classless ones? Again look at how the Chargers fan and Chiefs fans that have come to our board act. They bring actual football discussion to the board, bring very logical thought out posts, and can even be a bit objective about the possible weaknesses of their team. I have no problem and none of us have any problem with other fans coming to our board and most come and really enjoy our board that is one of the most active on this board. You are the first to accuse us of being classless. I'm sorry but this is a great group of guys and gals that love to talk football. I won't be back to the Raiders board any time soon. Posts like this make it very difficult to talk to you.

 

[idahoraiderfan33]

I would write a reply but CD very closely captured the thoughts I'd have shared. I'll just add that I'm already on record as predicting the Raiders AND Chargers will be better this year: 10-6 and 7-9 respectively after 7-9 and 4-12 respectively last year. Nobody here is clowning Raiders or Chargers fans for expecting them to get better. But to make claims of winning 3 Super Bowls in the next 7 years, or argue a team coming off a 4-12 season will win its first Super Bowl is hopeful homerism and worthy of a few jeers by rival fans.

Who saying they will win 3 SBs in the next three years?? And to be fair to whoever said that, it can be done.. And i will tell ya why??

To win that many SBs you need a team that was drafted, and not bought in FA like you guys did..
The RAIDERS core is young and drafted, and just entering their 2nd and 3rd years man.. If we get into the playoffs then anything can happen as you know.. If our D is on fire and Carr and Coop and the rest of the team is clicking, we won't be an easy out, assuming we are in the playoffs..

You guys we out and bought a SB, but the bad thing there is, those are one and done for the most part..
Heck, our Rich Gannon team that went to the SB was the best money could buy.. But it was one and done..

 

[iknowftbll]

Who saying they will win 3 SBs in the next three years?? And to be fair to whoever said that, it can be done.. And i will tell ya why??

To win that many SBs you need a team that was drafted, and not bought in FA like you guys did..
The RAIDERS core is young and drafted, and just entering their 2nd and 3rd years man.. If we get into the playoffs then anything can happen as you know.. If our D is on fire and Carr and Coop and the rest of the team is clicking, we won't be an easy out, assuming we are in the playoffs..

You guys we out and bought a SB, but the bad thing there is, those are one and done for the most part..
Heck, our Rich Gannon team that went to the SB was the best money could buy.. But it was one and done..

Von Miller, CHJ, Roby, DT, Wolfe, Sly, CJ Anderson, Matt Paradis are all core players the Broncos drafted. And there's a lot more waiting in the wings. I'll wait to see how they pan out before proclaiming them core players, but my point is the Broncos didn't "buy" a SB. The core of the team was a good mix between drafted talent and FAs. But I suppose you're going to ignore that because that's what you do when someone makes a logical counter argument to you.

About the fan who made the "3 Super Bowls in 7 years" comment (quoted on the "full retard" thread, BTW) the reason it's a laughably stupid comment is spelled out plainly by CD in post #13 of this thread. The reasons you spelled out...well if it were always that easy then CD wouldn't have been able to make the profoundly intelligent post he made above.

 

[cdumler7]

Von Miller, CHJ, Roby, DT, Wolfe, Sly, CJ Anderson, Matt Paradis are all core players the Broncos drafted. And there's a lot more waiting in the wings. I'll wait to see how they pan out before proclaiming them core players, but my point is the Broncos didn't "buy" a SB. The core of the team was a good mix between drafted talent and FAs. But I suppose you're going to ignore that because that's what you do when someone makes a logical counter argument to you.

About the fan who made the "3 Super Bowls in 7 years" comment (quoted on the "full retard" thread, BTW) the reason it's a laughably stupid comment is spelled out plainly by CD in post #13 of this thread. The reasons you spelled out...well if it were always that easy then CD wouldn't have been able to make the profoundly intelligent post he made above.

Was just in the middle of typing a response and you summed it up perfectly. To me what the Broncos did was the mixed in players that could contribute from many different places. It wasn't just the draft that brought them great/core players but they were able to hit in FA which most teams struggle to do that, they hit on the waiver wire with guys like Todd Davis and Brandon Marshall, they found UDFA talents that again on very cheap contracts contributed in big ways to our championship like CJ Anderson and Shaq Barrett, and they also built guys up on the Practice Squad for a year giving them a nice red shirt season to then promote them to be a quality start like Matt Paradis and Brandon Marshall. This is how you build a championship caliber roster in your find talent through many avenues. If you rely squarely on the draft you are limiting your opportunities. If you go big in FA and continue to sell off draft picks or whatever in trades to bring in talent you quickly find your roster void of talent like the Raiders did pretty much for about 12 years straight.

Really in the NFL because of having a Cap teams have to spend their money. It isn't a matter of buying a championship. It is about spending your money wisely to build depth throughout the roster. Look at our defense. DeMarcus Ware our defensive captain goes down for a big chunk of the year and our two back ups in Shaq Barrett and Shane Ray step in and the defense barely falters with one of our key guys gone. Talib misses a game and we have a guy like Roby waiting in the wings that would be starting on almost every single team in the league. Derek Wolfe misses a few games with suspension and we have a nice rotation to young and veteran guys on the defensive line to step in and hold their own. Really safety was our one position without depth last year and it really did show up at the end of the year as our 2 game losing streak just happened to coincide with those guys being out and then of course with us losing Bruton as well in that mix.