Chargers Plan to Say Less, Play Better

Chargers general manager A.J. Smith is his own toughest critic. When he looks at his squad, the one that has gone 54-26 the last five years and should be considered one of the NFL’s elite, there doesn't seem to be much satisfaction. 

Not yet, anyway.

For Smith and his team's die-hard fans, nothing other than a world championship this season will really suffice. The team's last two exits from the playoffs have only heightened those lofty expectations, which is something quarterback Philip Rivers knows all too well.

"For two offseasons now there's been so much hype around this town and in the national media that this is the most talented team in football," Rivers told the Sporting News in an interview published earlier this month. "The Chargers have got this and this and this — and then we've gone 1-3 and 0-2."

Smith's bravado about the team he engineered — and his own stated expectations for a world title — have only added fuel to the fire. But this year, the Chargers realize they no longer need to talk the talk, it's time to walk the walk.

"We've been battled tested, faced every situation we could face, had every type of adversity," Rivers said. "You can kind of just sense now in our locker room, 'Let's be quiet and go play and get it done.'"

For Rivers, Smith and the rest of the Chargers to finally hoist the Lombardi Trophy, which will be handed out Feb. 7 after Super Bowl XLIV at Dolphin Stadium, the team will need a little bit of luck along the way.

Simply put, it's impossible to know what kind of breaks, injuries and other surprises the Chargers will encounter over the four-month regular season. But on paper, there are few teams more primed for a title run than San Diego.

The biggest reason to believe the squad will be improved from 2008 is the addition of its most talented defensive player, Shawne Merriman. After registering 29.5 sacks his first two years in the league, Merriman played in just one game last season because of a knee injury sustained previous year that never fully healed.

The Chargers may not have signed any impact free agents this last offseason, but the addition of Merriman is about as big a boost as the team could've hoped to receive.

Still, if there's one thing that could derail the Chargers' season once again, it would probably be the same thing that ruined the 2007 season's AFC Championship Game and last year's postseason run. Injuries to star players like Rivers, Merriman, LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates have lingered at the most inopportune of times.

This year, all four of those stars will enter training camp ready to go. When the season starts, we'll find out if the Chargers are ready to do what Rivers, Smith and the fans expect: Say less and play better.