San Diego Chargers preview
San Diego Chargers 2008 Preview ReportAugust 5, 2008
The San Diego Chargers are like a Porsche with a donut tire. They look good. They are good. Really good, in fact. But you can’t help but notice the awkward apparatus cheapening the front passenger side.
It will be a shame if this team doesn’t hoist a Lombardi Trophy sometime during this era. The talent on this roster is immense. Simply put, the Chargers have a lot of the game’s best players.
LaDainian Tomlinson, even at 29, is the NFL’s best running back. Many believe that Antonio Gates is the best tight end. Some will tell you that Marcus McNeil is the league’s best young left tackle. Fewer will say––though it could be more accurate––that the man next to him, Kris Dielman, is the game’s best guard. (This is certainly true when Dielman is on the move.)
Dielman, center Nick Hardwick and right guard Mike Goff make up the game’s best interior blocking trio. Factor in McNeil and it’s plausible that this is football’s best offensive line.
There’s more. On the other side of the ball, Shawne Merriman could be the NFL’s best pass-rusher. And if not for Richard Seymour, Luis Castillo would be the best 3-4 defensive end. When healthy, Jamal Williams is widely considered the game’s best nose tackle. And, after recording 12 interceptions in 19 games last season (in just 11 starts), you’ll soon begin hearing that Antonio Cromartie is the league’s best cornerback. (Not yet though.)
By the way, the rest of San Diego’s roster forms what could be football’s best supporting cast. And the front office features perhaps the league’s best general manager (A.J. Smith).
Yes, the Chargers are a fine looking Porsche––the type that draws the ire of motorcycle cops, the lust of materialistic women and the jealousy of nine-to-five Joes.
But there’s that donut tire. You’re not supposed to drive on those things for more than 30 miles. And high speeds aren’t recommended.
