Game Five Preview: Chargers vs Broncos

The San Diego Chargers enter week 6 with an extended break...fresh off their bye week and a Monday night game against the undefeated, division rival, most hated team in the NFL, Denver Broncos.

The Chargers may be well rested but after getting their asses kicked by Pittsburgh it is probably welcomed. Last season the Chargers went into their bye week with an awful defense and fired coordinator Ted Cottrill. This year the Chargers defense seems to be about the same...extremely weak...and this season they cut the starting safety Clinton Hart. Clinton Hart was the partner in crime with Cromartie in week 1 when the Raider receiver, on 4th and 16, scored a touchdown as Hart and Cromartie pointed at each other as the Raider player strolled on down the field unguarded by either. After the bye week newly promoted defensive coordinator, Ron Rivera, took a few games to retool the defense but eventually got it playing marginally better...but never near a quality NFL defense.

The game against the Broncos will certainly be a statement game for both teams... The Chargers, with the inferior record, will want to prove that they are not ready to relinquish the AFC West title this season. The Broncos will certainly remember last season when they had the AFC West all but won and after pissing away their 4 game cusion still had a chance to win the title by simply beating the Chargers in the last game of the season last year...instead, they were thoroughly pounded and left out of the playoffs.

The Chargers play each of their AFC West foes in the next 3 weeks but there is no bigger game then the one against the Broncos this Monday night. If the Chargers lose they will be 4 games out in the division, under .500 and essentially in the same position as the Chiefs and Raiders when they will meeting up in the following weeks...all in a virtual dead-heat for 2nd and last place for the AFC West...

The 2 biggest, glaring issues that, most everyone can agree on, are hindering the Chargers...both about equal in terms of being a concerning factor to the Chargers lack of success. The first, and is a broken record now, is the defense. The Chargers can not stop the run or the pass. The Charger defense can not get any pressure on the opposing quarterbacks and the Charger defense can simply not stop a team from driving down the field at will. The second glaring concern for the Chargers is the lack of a running game...and that is an understatement...the running game is actually non-existant as of this time. Tomlinson has been hurt since week 1 and hasn't done anything on the ground. Sproles, his fill-in, has been spectacular but primarily as a receiving back out of the backfield. You combine both of these factors in and you can see why the Chargers are playing the way they have been... teams have been able to control the tempo of the game, maintain ball control, move the ball and score. The Chargers are unable to mount any threat of the running game even though they consistently convert on long plays...but unfortunately the red zone efficiency for the Chargers is pathetic...likely due to the lack of a power running game. The Chargers simply can not ram the ball down anyone's throats. The offensive line has been pushed around all season long and the Chargers use spread and shotgun formations as any means to give Rivers any time to set up...running out of the pro form would have defenders meeting Rivers in the backfield immediately after the snap.

The Chargers have a chance to at least to be seen as somewhat legitimate if they beat the Broncos. A loss will only further implant the impression that many media types are already forming about this team... a soft, defenseless team with a formidable offense but unable to beat any quality team. A win will likely hurt the national impression of the Broncos more than it will boost the Chargers. The facts remain the same... the Chargers still haven't beaten a legitimate, quality team (except the Colts) during the regular season since '06...beating the Broncos will likely just prove that the Broncos are not a legitimate, quality team. A loss by the Chargers does the same for them...proven the Chargers are not a legitimate, quality team.