San Diego Chargers: State of the Franchise—2009

(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Last year’s San Diego Chargers started off terribly, and their record stood at 4-8 with just four games left to play.

The Denver Broncos, whose record stood at 8-5 in Week 14, completed a monumental collapse to become the first team to lose a division with a three-game lead with just three weeks left to play.

They were the phoenix, who rose from the ashes to reclaim their AFC West title for the third straight season.

A recent hot button topic has been whether the Chargers’ window for Super Bowl contention is beginning to close; even with Phillip Rivers playing at a Pro Bowl caliber, they were still only a .500 team. LaDainian Tomlinson’s performance dropped off drastically last season, and many wonder if Darren Sproles can be a feature back.

But the Chargers’ defense was without their all-star pass rusher, outside linebacker Shawne Merriman. If he can return to form, he can help to drastically improve a defense that ranked a dismal 24th in the league in sacks and second to last in passing yardage allowed.

They also drafted Larry English, a great prospect at outside linebacker, who can be a situational and rotational pass rusher.

While questions about Norv Turner’s leadership abilities have never quite been silenced (there’s even a fan blog with the sole intent and purpose of getting Turner fired), no one can question the drastic turnaround the Chargers made last season to make the playoffs.

Turner has helped the team post a remarkable 8-0 mark he has posted in December in his two seasons as their head coach.

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