First, a confession. LaDainian Tomlinson is probably my favorite football player, or was. I don't know how to put it without sounding gushing, but LT came along right as I was starting to lose it as a football fan (I didn't start following the Chargers until 1998). Getting him and Drew Brees, the two guys that were so much fun to watch in college that I actually watched college football for a year, we like a dream come true. Watching him go on to have the career he had in San Diego was even better.

Second, I already kinda wrote this post. Here's what I wrote just four months ago:

People think with their heart more than their brain most of the time. Tomlinson was not well liked in the locker room, he can barely be called a running back anymore, he's expensive and he dislikes both Norv Turner and A.J. Smith. I know he is the favorite player of a lot of Chargers fans, but so was Kellen Winslow Sr. That doesn't mean Winslow show be signed this offseason to replace Randy McMichael.

The Chargers should not, and will not, bring back Tomlinson. He'll either hook on with some team and hope to not get cut in training camp (Jerry Rice with the Broncos, anyone?), or he'll call it a career. I hope, once he does that, the Chargers sign him to a one day contract so that he can retire where he started. However, any contract longer than 24 hours should be kept away from him.

Many people agreed with me when I wrote that post. Then, a few things changed. Have I changed my stance? Have you?

Continue reading this post »

Free Agency Recap

(Important) Players Lost

• WR Vincent Jackson
• OT Marcus McNeill
• FB/RB Mike Tolbert
• SS Steve Gregory
• WR Patrick Crayton
• QB Billy Volek
• OLB Travis LaBoy

Continue reading this post »

If you haven't yet updated your twitter feed to track the new Chargers, here is a handy list!

Chargers Free Agents

Continue reading this post »

The news of the day is that former San Diego Chargers Cornerback Drayton Florence has been released by the Buffalo Bills after spending the last three seasons there. With some question marks in the secondary, it would only make sense for the Chargers to have interest in bringing Florence back. Silver Fox confirms:

Bills released @DraytonFlorence. Chargers tried to extend 2x when he was here & then bring him back in 2009. They'll be interested again.

— UTKevinAcee (@UTKevinAcee) May 4, 2012

A former 2nd round pick by San Diego, Drayton worked his way up the depth chart and was the starter opposite Quentin Jammer for about three seasons before losing that job to Antonio Cromartie. In his last game with the Chargers, Drayton intercepted Tom Brady in the AFC Championship but also gave the Patriots a crucial first down (after the Chargers stopped them on 4th and long) with a personal foul penalty.

That was four years ago. Drayton signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars for big money and the promise of a starting job and was released after one season. After playing well for two seasons, and making $3.3 million per year, Drayton re-signed for more money and more years and continued with a strong output in 2011. Unfortunately, the Bills are trying to get younger on defense and drafted two corners in the first four rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft, making Florence expendable and expensive by comparison.

Continue reading this post »

Whether or not we're ready to, it's time to move back to news about the 2012 San Diego Chargers. Today, all 32 NFL teams announced their schedules for mini camps and OTAs (organized team activities). Here is the Bolts' in chronological order:

• May 11-13: Mini Camp (rookies only)
• May 29-31: OTAs
• June 5-7: OTAs
• June 11-14: OTAs
• June 19-21: Mini Camp

Last year this process was a little muted because the lockout prevented signings until after the CBA was settled. And then you had veteran free agents signing at the same time allowing these signings to get lost in the shuffle. This year it's back in its normal post draft scramble time slot. So here we go.

One of the best sources for gathering this info in the past has been www.nepatriotsdraft.com (for whatever reason) and it looks like they are right on top of things again this year. I'll be checking there and other sources periodically to get the latest on any signings that are happening. Feel free to give any info you can find in the comments, but please try to include a link to where you say the information. You'll get a nice thank you from me and see the name added to the list. You can also list the players you want to see signed and I'm sure someone will let you know whether they've been scooped up by another team or if they are still available.

Remember to keep checking back here as I'll keep adding names until the Chargers have an official list. Here is the Chargers official list according to their transactions page.

• Hubert Anyiam, WR, Oklahoma State
• Jason Barnes, WR, South Carolina
• Cordell Bell, OT, Minnesota State
• Eddie Brown, DT, Texas A&M
• Charles Burton, OL, Montana
• Sean Cattouse, S, California
• Paul Cox, WR, Mississippi Valley State
• Taylor Embree, WR, UCLA
• Greg Gatson, DB, Arkansas
• Nick Guess, LS, Arizona State
• Logan Harrell, DE, Fresno State
• Michael Harris, OT, UCLA
• Michael Hayes, RB, Houston
• Jarrett Lee, QB, LSU
• Josh Linam, ILB, UCF
• Mohamed Marah, FB, San Jose State
• Kyle Martens, P, Rice
• Phillip Payne, WR, UNL
• DeAndre Presley, CB, Appalachian State
• Christian Tupou, DE, USC
• Michael Willie, WR, Arizona State

Okay, fine, free agency technically isn't over yet. The San Diego Chargers could be signing someone right now, for all we know. However, it seems like they're mostly done signing guys and have turned their focus to the draft.

Heading into the draft, I like to look at where guys could fit without risk of getting cut at the end of training camp. This depth chart should be a helpful way to find that out.

Quarterback
Philip Rivers
Charlie Whitehurst

Room for a rookie?: Nope. There's probably no room here for at least the next two years, barring any serious injuries. It sure is nice to have Charlie Dreamboat back, isn't it?

Running Back
Ryan Mathews
Curtis Brinkley
Le'Ron McClain
Jacob Hester

Room for a rookie?: Yes, but one isn't entirely necessary. If the Chargers believe that McClain is as good as Mike Tolbert was as a running back, then the group they have now would essentially be the same as it was in 2012 even without a rookie.

Fullback
Le'Ron McClain
Jacob Hester

Room for a rookie?: No.

Continue reading this post »

I guess I should talk about the Mario Henderson thing, since people have begun to ask me about it.

A former 3rd round pick of the Oakland Raiders, Mario Henderson missed the entire 2011 season because...well....nobody wanted him after he reportedly showed up to Raiders camp out of shape. He was also arrested about a year ago for carrying a concealed weapon, which certainly didn't help.

Some Chargers blogs (that I won't name) have reported that the Chargers have signed the former starting Left Tackle for Oakland, mostly due to these two status updates on his facebook page:

God is so gud and is still blessin me got another call today from the San Diego Chargers and I fly out der this sunday for 2 days for a workout and visit and I'm just glad to get this chance because alot of people counted me out and said I wouldn't play again but God has da last word..... The Real is on the Rise.....

Source (March 27, 2012)

God is gud i just want to give him all the praise for given me another chance He deserves all da credit n wanna thank th San Diego chargers for given me another chance n i know wat i need to do. Im goin back to Cali .. The Real is on the Rise....

Source (April 2, 2012)

So Mario came to San Diego for a workout, and then that second update happened. That means he signed with the Chargers, right? Wrong.

From our buddy Michael Gehlken, who has an awful picture next to his byline on the U-T site:

The clock is ticking in the Chargers' search for veteran depth on their offensive line, and sources said Friday that if Henderson does not make a decision in the coming days, the team will move in a different direction.

Source

This seems easy enough to break down. The Chargers are looking for at least one veteran OT to fight for the backup spot with......Steve Schilling?.....and whoever else they draft. Henderson, who literally has no interest from other teams, should come cheap and at one point was an okay starter in Oakland. The team flew him in, worked him out, and probably deemed him worthy of the veteran minimum.

The offer was made, Mario was happy to be back in the NFL, and his agent said "Let me see if I can get a better offer from somewhere else." Chances are, that offer won't magically appear and Henderson will sign in the next couple of days. When he does, we'll report on it. Until then, ignore the rumors.

(Oh, and as for the several people that have asked if Henderson would compete for a starting job with Jeromey Clary or Jared Gaither.....no. No, he would not.)