San Diego Chargers: Analyzing the Latest Offseason Notes and Opinions

This has been a relatively quiet offseason for the San Diego Chargers. Following a disappointing year in 2011, expectations around the league are not as high for a team who normally dominates preseason buzz.

There are not any Super Bowl projections coming from any sports news outlets. In fact, in the wide-open AFC West most are projecting a second- or third-place finish for Norv Turner’s team.

Here is a look at the latest offseason notes and the opinions surrounding the Chargers.

Picking the AFC West Winner

Trying to predict the winner of the AFC West is harder than finding a shirt that fits around Takeo Spikes' neck.

Every year it seems to change and with every team finding themselves around .500 it really comes down to who is playing better football at the latter part of the season. This year will be no different; the records may be better but there is not a clear-cut winner in the division.

John Nizinski, a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist, recently projected that the Chargers are the second best team in the AFC West behind the Denver Broncos. He acknowledges that adding Robert Meachem to a talented offense is nice, but it won’t completely fill the hole left by Vincent Jackson.

This is the claim that is being made across the board. While Jackson’s stats are far better than Meachem’s, I don’t believe that Meachem is too far of a step back from Jackson.

When Jackson gave full effort he was one of the best receivers in the NFL; the only problem was he only did this on select occasions. He would disappear from games, which is baffling for a receiver of his size and skill. Meachem has never had his desire to play the game questioned and I think he might turn out to be a better asset for the Chargers.

In my opinion, the AFC West will be decided in the last two or three weeks of the season and it will come down to the Chargers and the Broncos vying for the AFC West crown. 

Junior Seau’s Family Donates Brain Tissue

The late Junior Seau will have his brain tissue studied to determine if the affects of football contributed to his suicide in May. The suicide shocked the NFL community, and reminded many of former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Dunerson, who shot himself in the chest and was found with a note asking for his brain to be studied.

In my opinion, this is great news. It could provide both insight into the reasons behind his suicide as well as help the NFL in their quest to better understand and hopefully manage concussions more effectively. Seau, who was one of the hardest working and dedicated football players the NFL has ever seen, left this world far to soon.

Hopefully, the brain study will give fans, and more importantly his family, closure on why he decided to take his own life. Seau did so much for the game of football and it is fitting that even after his death he is still helping out the game he loved so much.

Do the Bolts Need to Win in 2012 to Stay in San Diego?

As everyone knows the San Diego Chargers are in a tug-of-war battle with the city of San Diego, as they fight over who is responsible for building a new stadium.

Many San Diegans do not want to use public funds to pay for a new stadium for a team owned by a billionaire. But the Spanos family does not believe that they should be on the hook for the entire cost of a new stadium project.

Michael C. Jones of the Yahoo Contributor Network, suggests that if the Chargers have success in 2012, it will go a long way in determining whether the team will move or not. Although he makes solid points, in reality, the stadium debate goes a lot deeper than just team success.

That being said, if the Chargers happen to win the Super Bowl in 2012, fans would undoubtedly be more willing to do what they can to keep their team in San Diego, but there are so many other issues that are holding the stadium deal back.

Perhaps the most important stage of this process will be decided in November with the mayoral election. The Chargers lost their most favorable ally, Nathan Fletcher in the most recent mayoral primary. Fletcher was one of the few candidates not to be opposed to using taxpayer money to fund a stadium. The two remaining candidates, Carl DeMaio and Bob Filner have both said publicly that they are against using taxpayer dollars.

If the Chargers organization and the Charger fans want the team to stay in San Diego, they will have to meet somewhere in the middle. We will certainly know where that middle is once the mayoral race plays itself out this November. One thing is for sure, however; success in 2012 will not be the main driving force behind the team staying in San Diego or moving up Interstate 5. 

Philip Rivers to Join Fantasy Elite?

With fantasy football just around the corner, many enthusiasts are beginning to plan out their draft strategy. Eddie Brown of the San Diego Union Tribune believes that Philip Rivers should be considered an elite fantasy football quarterback joining the likes of Rodgers, Brady, Brees and Newton.

I completely agree with Brown. Not only do I expect Rivers to have a bounceback year after his turnover-plagued 2011, I expect him to do it in a huge way. People overlook Rivers' performance last year because of how high his turnover numbers were. However, Rivers still threw for 4,624 yards and 27 touchdowns.

The problem with Rivers last year, as far as a fantasy standpoint goes, was he was far too inconsistent. That was partly because his offensive line was consistently getting hurt which forced inexperienced players into spots where they were unprepared. This, coupled with other injuries around the Chargers, severely crippled Rivers performance last season.

If the Chargers can stay healthy in 2012, Rivers should see better numbers across the board. He has the ability to dominate not only a real game, but fantasy games as well. He will slip in most drafts due to his poor performance in 2011, but he surely will be an elite fantasy option in 2012. Don’t miss out on him.