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Bolt-Load of Links: 7/30 Chargers Links

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More photos » Charlie Riedel - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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BREAKING NEWS: Ryan Mathews Signs! (Probably!)

This is probably what Ryan Mathews will look like after he signs his contract. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

More photos » Lenny Ignelzi - AP

This is probably what Ryan Mathews will look like after he signs his contract. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Okay, calm down. Ryan Mathews hasn't signed with the Chargers yet, but the Chargers have a history of waiting for the market to set itself (basically, waiting for the picks before and after theirs to sign) before they even make an offer. That way there's really no room for debate. This is what you're worth, sign it. The good news is that the 11th and 13th picks have been signed, setting the market and probably getting Ryan into practice sooner rather than later.

"Negotiations" are most certainly going on today in a meeting between Mathews and the Chargers brass. They'll decide incentives and probably bicker over $100k at some point, and then they'll smile and shake hands. If it's not announced today it'll be announced over the weekend, unless something seriously wrong happens. There will probably be a press conference on Monday where Mathews can say all the right things and we can all talk about the contract, which will probably be somewhere around 5 years for $26 million (that's if he hits all of his incentives), before gawking at the things he does in practice.

So rejoice everyone. Ryan Mathews is probably a San Diego Charger. He'll probably be at practice on Sunday, if not sooner. This is all probably going to go very smoothly.

Fingers-crossed_sxc-776014_medium

11 comments  |  1 recs |

Merriman’s chances of being a Charger in 2011…

 

Before I get started, does anyone know if Vegas has any odds established on this one yet?

 

So I’m sure most of you now know about the “respect campaign” that Merriman is on now, threatening to hold out unless the team can give some sort of verbal commitment that he isn’t on the trading block.  He does have a point: if he’s trying to be a leader of the team and the players around him don’t know if he’ll be around the full season or not, it sweeps the legs out from under him.  However, that is also assuming that the players around him on the team follow all of AJ’s comments, which I bet the majority of them do not, and the others only know because reporters tell them what AJ said and hope to get a juicy retort that they can print.

 

Either way, he’s holding out until he feels respected by the organization.  I’ve established that not only through the post here on BFTB but also from the numerous tweets from Merriman’s twitter account that links to different media outlets which all carry the same story for his “respect campaign.”

 

So, in light of recent events, what are Merriman’s chances of being a Charger in 2011?  The answer isn’t a simple one.

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4 comments  |  1 recs |

Earn a spot in BFTB's 2010 Fantasy Football League

Wrong fantasy.....or is it?

Wrong fantasy.....or is it?

With the air smelling like fresh-cut grass mixed with sweat and pigskin, it's time to start talking fantasy football. Last year was a bit of a mess, with two leagues that were far too big to be stable and almost no conversation about either going on here at BFTB. Let's call last year a "test run" and this year "the real deal" when it comes to how we're going to deal with fantasy football.

I will be writing a weekly update on what's going on in the fantasy world, with an obvious focus on Chargers players and/or opponents, and in these posts I'll keep you up to date with what's going on in the BFTB Fantasy Football League, hosted this year with CBSSports.com.

Currently enrolled in the BFTB League are past and present staff members such as Wonko, Creanium, DaBolts, Richard Wade and Sam (sdsuaztec4). The 12 teams have been broken into two divisions, the "Good Guys" and the "Bad Guys", and right now we have 4 open slots (3 on team Good, 1 on team Bad). Each week for the next month I'll be asking for you to give me reasons in the comments below to let you have one of those spots.

If you'd rather play with your real friends instead of some random BFTB bloggers, go ahead and sign up for your own CBSSports.com's Fantasy Football Commissioner League and get 50% off (and a free 14-day trial!) by clicking here. What you'll be getting is not just the best Fantasy Football system on the internet (Most awarded League Manager by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association), but weekly scouting reports, advice, live score-tracking and the ability to get all of your fantasy football questions answered by experts.

Whether you win a spot in BFTB's league or start one of your own, Fantasy Football is always a fun time for those that enjoy it and this year should be no different. Next week, I'll preview the upcoming season and which players should be at the top of your fantasy draft board.

 

Disclosure: CBSSports.com is an SB Nation partner and paying sponsor of the SB Nation football communities. This post is one of a series of sponsor-endorsed posts related to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Football Commissioner League.

29 comments |

Baby-godzilla

Chargers NT Cam Thomas has a new nickname and looks ready to take over the city.

1 day ago Paddlin_tiny John Gennaro 13 comments 1 recs

Shawne Merriman will not report to training camp, likely until he gets some assurances that he isn't going to be in limbo.

Merriman said he is not looking or a long-term contract or even a raise from the $3.269 million the Chargers have offered in a one-year tender.

"It's not about me wanting more money," Merriman said. "I will show what I deserve. I don’t have to ask for it. I feel like I've proved what I'm worth, and I will still prove it. To me, it really comes down to, 'Am I on the trading block this week? The third week of the season, am I on the block?' Where is that comforability for me?

1 day ago Paddlin_tiny John Gennaro 34 comments

An Interview with Football Outsiders' Bill Barnwell

For the second times in as many years as the Managing Editor of BFTB, I was given an advanced copy of Football Outsiders Almanac. If you like football and you like/appreciate stats, there is absolutely no reason not to pick up this book every single year. It's the best tool for measuring the performance of the team last year, and to predict performance for the upcoming season as well.

After perusing through the Chargers section, written by Bill Barnwell (who does a great job on the Football Outsiders website as well), I was given the chance to submit questions to Bill and have him respond. As you'll see from my line of questioning, I was looking for clarifications on some of the points that me and Bill disagree on. Some of his answers satisfied me, while others didn't. I've written in a few follow-up points to his answers where I felt they were necessary.

Read the full interview, plus my rebuttals, after the jump.

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14 comments  |  1 recs |

Hard Wonks Part 2 - Wide Receivers

These guys are out. Who's in?

More photos » Denis Poroy - AP

These guys are out. Who's in?

Hard Wonks is my reality show about Chargers Training Camp. I started this series by mocking up a reality segment about the defensive backs. That featured a showdown between Antoine Cason, Darrell Stuckey, Steve Gregory, Nathan Vasher, Donald Strickland, Paul Oliver and C.J. Spillman to what amounts to 7 or 8 roster spots. Today's mock reality show segment will feature another contentious set of position battles that's even more up in the air than the last, but with less starting positions to fill. I also add in a wild card to the mix that maybe doesn't come to mind when you're talking about the position battles, but it's important for my reality show to have this guy since he has star power and he's a big part of the team.

My mission statement remains the same. I'm looking at the same camp battles that everyone talks about because that where stuff gets real. And I'm now down to two of three position groups I teased in Part 1 that have distinct similarities. As a refresher here's what they are again. First, they've all had a former Pro Bowl player leave or hold out. Second, and this kind of goes along with the first, they all have openings at key positions. Third, we have too many of them with decent chances of making the roster. The first point is what shines the spotlight in its direction. The second point makes the these position groups mean something once the season start. And the third point brings what we all want to hear about in training camp: Drama.

Today we focus on the drama of the Wide Receivers.

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33 comments |

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