NFL Preview: San Diego Chargers

Will you WIN it already? I’m getting thoroughly sick of the Chargers January implosions. How good does a team have to be to win the Superbowl? Very. How lucky does a team have to be to win a Superbowl? Incredibly. The San Diego Chargers are not lucky; they a positively unlucky. Over the last decade they have boasted some of the league’s top talent. Their QB is a perennial pro-bowl selection; their running game has been league-leading; their defence lights out.

So what’s the problem?


Coaching: can’t be – the Chargers make it through the regular season with an almost mandatory accrual of 10+ wins. They have backbone and guile over 17 weeks – you can thank adequate preparation on the coach’s part for that kind of consistency, so what is it?

Post season weather: this is a possible cause for their inability to win when it matters. San Diego are a serious warm weather team, but other warm weather teams (the Cardinals most recently) have made it to the big game, playing away from home. Looking over the stats, though, in recent years almost all Superbowl constituents have been from wintry environments (the Steelers, the Giants, the Patriots, with the Colts and Saints exempt for playing indoors), so it is possible this trend has some ground, but I think it more likely to be a fluke.

Pressure: here it is – got to be. San Diego has never won a Superbowl despite having some supremely talented teams in its history. Dan Fouts; Kellen Winslow; Lance Alworth – these players and their legacies deserve championships.

Will this year be the year? Maybe – I’ve got them in the top four AFC teams, but they need to get off to a fast start to build confidence in regards to their new identity.


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