NFL Preseason 2010: San Diego Chargers Top Storylines
Good evening, San Diego. I'm Ron Burgundy, and tonight, we'll be taking a closer look at the 2010 edition of the San Diego Chargers, your beloved NFL team.
That's right! After a solid seven months off following a disappointingly early exit from the playoffs, the Chargers are back it. And boy, is there a lot to talk about.
While some French fellow in Minnesota has been hogging all the headlines, it seems that the nation has forgotten about Sandiago's team, which is poised to take home the AFC West crown at the end of the season.
And then return home a week or two later to spend more time with it.
Once again, the Bolts are thinking Super Bowl, but this time without LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Cromartie, and perhaps even Vincent Jackson (a party-going friend of mine who, like yours truly, has a soft spot for hard beverages).
Funny how so many of these story-lines remind me of my colleagues and contemporaries back when I was the lead anchor for the Channel Four News Team.
And not just Champ Kind, the chauvinistic sportscaster of the bunch.
Undoubtedly, there are plenty of intriguing story-lines that developed before and during Chargers' camp, some of which may not be written to completion until February of 2011.
Or so hope most San Diegoites...
Or is it San Diegoans?
Right, San Diegans! Apologies all around.
Veronica Corningstone...Err...Ryan Mathews Fills Void Left by LT
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Veronica Corningstone's appearance on the scene as Channel Four's first-ever anchor-lady came with plenty of skepticism–and failed pick-up attempts.
So, too, is the story with Ryan Mathews.
Like the lovely Ms. Corningstone, Mathews–the Chargers' first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft–will be looking to fill the shoes of a legend.
And there's no doubt that LaDainian Tomlinson was and will forever be one of the greatest football players in the history of San Diego, if not the world. Fans won't soon forget the 12,490 yards and 138 touchdowns he amassed for the Chargers.
I must admit, even I'm impressed.
Not that the rookie out of Fresno State will be asked to be LT. Rather, the Bolts are hoping for some semblance of improvement from their backfield after trotting out the league's 31st-ranked rushing attack last season.
An attack that was led by LT.
As you may know, Corningstone has since gone on to become a network anchor. Only time will tell whether Mathews will achieve similar greatness on the field of play.
Chargers' Version of Brian Fantana, Antonio Cromartie, Joins the Jets
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Speaking of former Chargers in New York, San Diegans may recall that their star cornerback, Antonio Cromartie, was traded away to the Jets in the offseason for draft picks. Rumor has it, now that "Cromo" has become such a big star thanks to his appearance on HBO's Hard Knocks, he'll soon be making a guest appearance on Brian Fantana's hit show, "Intercourse Island."
To be fair, Cromartie's escapades, at least in sheer extent, put to shame those of Fantana, a former colleague of mine who also is a world-reknowned ladies' man.
Though highly inappropriate to share at this time, there's little doubt that Antonio Cromartie is well aware of what "Sandiago" means in German.
Good-natured ribbing aside, the Bolts will be more concerned with replacing Cromartie's on-field contributions than his off-field philanderings. It's entirely possible that he's had as many interceptions as illegitimate children (five) over the past two years.
The Chargers will look to former first-round pick Antoine Cason to pick up the slack and starting producing.
That is, interceptions and passes defended, not children.
In either case, Chargers coaches and players expect Cason to more than fill the void left in the team's defensive backfield, which bodes well for the team's ability to shut down their opponents' passing attacks.
There's no telling, though, how well Cason will be able to fill the void of fatherhood in the lives of Cromartie's far-flung progeny.
Philip Rivers, SD's Burgundy, Needs Marcus McNeill to Be His Anchorman
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With so many hold-outs, trades, and cuts among Chargers' regulars, the competition at left tackle has become the most important position battle in San Diego. The absence of Pro-Bowler Marcus McNeill from training camp has left coach Norv Turner with a rather sizeable and crucial hole to fill along his offensive line.
I can certainly sympathize with the whole situation. Like me, quarterback Philip Rivers needs to be sure that his line has his back, just as my News Team always had mine. Without McNeill at left tackle, Rivers will be relying on the likes of Tra Thomas and Brandyn Dombrowski to watch his blind side so he doesn't end up smothered in turf at the end of each play.
I, too, know the feeling of being abandoned by my News Team, their loyalties lean more to the station than to their lead anchor.
Even so, McNeill isn't going anywhere and should end up back on the field for the Bolts' sooner rather than later, though he could very well spend the 2010 season on vacation if he so chooses.
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Vincent Jackson Looks More Like Brick Tamland Than Pro-Bowl Receiver
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McNeill is certainly not the only Charger who could be relaxing in Tahiti for the foreseeable future.
Like "Big Mac," Vincent Jackson is looking for a new contract that would pay him closer to what his wide-out peers–namely, Brandon Marshall and Roddy White–are making.
Unfortunately, V-Jax has more than just money working against him, with four DUI's in San Diego County to his name, the last of which earned him a three-game suspension for the coming season.
Knights of Columbus, that's a staggering number! Even I learned to spend the night or call a cab if I wasn't fit to drive after my first three citations.
Fourth time's a charge, I suppose.
As valuable as Jackson's contributions have been over the years, the Chargers should be fine without him, with the likes of Malcolm Floyd and Buster Davis stepping in as Rivers' new favorite end-zone targets.
In the meantime, VJ might be well-advised to go into hiding for a bit, just as my dim-witted colleague–weatherman Brick Tamland–did after killing a man with a trident.
And while 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns won't just appear out of thin air with Jackson gone, the folks in San Diego have become quite familiar with how to fill in holes left behind by significant hold-outs and departures.
The story at wide receiver isn't likely to be any different.
Will Playoffs Be Chargers' Wes Mantooth? Or Will Season End with Champ?
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Assuming San Diego is able to overcome all of its absences (McNeill, Jackson, Shawne Merriman) and departures (LT, Cromartie), it should pencil in a game or two in late January.
The question then becomes: Will the team finally reach the Super Bowl this time around, or will they be foiled in the Divisional Round once again?
I certainly know how the Chargers feel. Even after holding down the No. 1 spot in the rankings with the Channel Four News Team year after year after year, I could never seem to shake Wes Mantooth, anchorman of the No. 2-ranked Channel 9 Evening News Team and my chief rival in San Diego. Each time, I would celebrate the glory of being on top, and each time my celebration would be spoiled by Mantooth and his band of goons.
Thankfully, I always had Champ Kind, my trusty sportscaster, to back me up.
This year would seem as good a year as any for the Chargers to shake their own Mantoothian dilemma of early post-season exits and, to use an expression from another sport, finally knock one out of the park.
Whammy, indeed.
Well, another August, another bright and sunny outlook for the folks in Sandiago. I look forward to watching the Bolts this season as they embarrass the Broncos, Raiders, and Chiefs on the way to a fifth-straight division title.
So, for all of us here at the Bleacher Report, this is Ron Burgundy saying good night.
Stay classy, San Diego.
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