Welcome to the very first installment of "BFTB After Dark". This is an idea I'm stealing from multiple places around the internets.
BFTB After Dark, in a nutshell, is a night time open thread. Want to talk about the NBA game you're watching? Go for it. Is your girlfriend (or boyfriend) being cranky? They'll never find your complaints about them here. Did you see the new episode of Archer? They're in space! That's right, other Barry.
Also, this will be my forum to just ramble about the Chargers. There will be very little (if any) research and statistics. This will be the type of Chargers talk typically reserved for friends and family. For today, I'll throw those thoughts after the jump. Later on they'll be the only thing here to read. You've been warned.
This is one of those rare times during the year when I'm actually pretty down on the Chargers. Do I think they've had a solid offseason? I do. Do I think A.J. Smith and Norv Turner are going to win the division? I don't, unless they somehow manage to draft the next Von Miller or Clay Matthews... Although they'd probably screw that up by not playing them enough.
The offensive line is pretty scary. I don't really like relying on Jared Gaither, Tyronne Green or Brandyn Dombrowski. Those guys haven't earned my trust yet. I have no idea if Le'Ron McClain can still block. God help us if Ryan Mathews gets injured, much less Philip Rivers.
The defense, especially if they don't land Antonio Garay or Luis Castillo, scares nobody. Shaun Phillips is starting to show his age, Antwan Barnes is one dimensional and Jarret Johnson has yet to prove that he can rush the QB. Takeo Spikes is a thousand, which will catch up to him one day, and the starting CBs are only good with a strong pass-rush (which doesn't seem likely) and strong Safety play (which only seems probably from Eric Weddle).
There may not be any obvious "holes" where the Chargers don't have any players at least capable of starting in the NFL somewhere, but this roster doesn't look elite like it has in the past. Hell, even on paper I think the Broncos and Chiefs look better.
The Chargers added some solid players through free agency, but no real game-changers. The Broncos and Chiefs added game changers through free agency and through players that are returning from injury. How the heck are we going to catch up? In Norv and A.J. I trust. They know better than I do. However, I am pretty happy that they're on a "Win or be fired" contract for this season, because it feels like we're this close *puts fingers close together* to needing the complete teardown that the wailing Chargers fans have been begging for since 2008.
Less Than Jake - Last One Out Of Liberty City (via LTJDwumPlaya112)