San Diego Chargers Are Low on Big Names, but High on Expectations

Last week San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers discussed with NFL Network how the NFL labor dispute has been taken in the Bolt's camp:

"This offseason might be good for us. There’s always been a lot of hype surrounding our team, whether it be people picking us to go to the Super Bowl or talking about how talented we are. That’s all kind of gone away. We ought to be humbled and hungry and ready to get back out there."

While most teams are looking at the lockout as a major hindrance in preparing for the 2011-12 season, Rivers and the Chargers are being positive. 

Since 2006, the San Diego Chargers are often picked as preseason favorites to win the division and by many to reach the Super Bowl. In those past seasons, they have won the division four times, been to the playoffs four times, won three playoff games, produced 22 Pro Bowlers, and nine First Team All-Pros.

But they've been to the Super Bowl zero times.

For all the amazing talent and expectations, the Chargers have delivered absolutely nothing to their fans. To be fair, they are not a loud mouth group claiming Super Bowls before the season even starts (umm..Rex Ryan), but nonetheless, there is no reason they should have gone all these years without at least a Super Bowl appearance.

Last season Philip Rivers convincingly established himself as the franchise player. With Ladanian Tomlinson gone, the offense became one of the best in the league, leading in yards per game and second in points per game. The defense had similar success with the best total defense and best pass defense. 

They did all of this with few marquee players. 

With notable names like Darren Sproles, Mike Tolbert, Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd, Stephen Cooper, Kevin Burnett, and Eric Weddle all being free agents, the Chargers stand to lose the core of that potent offense and stifling defense.

Additions from the draft such as DT Corey Liguet, OL Jonas Mouton, WR Vincent Brown, and RB Jordan Todman all have promise and will look to fill the voids lost to free agency.

The signing (once the lockout is lifted) of veteran and former All-Pro SS Bob Sanders will also give some much needed leadership on a defense whose mental mistakes were a major reason for their failure to reach the playoffs last season.

All in all, this will be a team of new faces, aging veterans on their way out, and talented youth looking to make a name for themselves. Analysts will continue to make the claim that the Chargers are indeed contenders this year, as they should be.

With Philip Rivers developing into one of the elite quarterbacks of the league, they will always be expected to win. But a power shift is occurring in the AFC West. 

Where even last year it was absurd to suggest that any one but the Chargers would win the division, the Raiders, Chiefs, and Broncos all look like teams on the rise. Coaching changes and some good drafts have built a foundation for them to become real threats to San Diego's dominance.

For the first time in four years the Chargers will go into the season not the reigning champions of the AFC West and for the first time in that span not a clear cut favorite to win.

This will only benefit a team that is actually in a rebuilding phase. 

Luckily for Chargers fans, the rebuilding is taking place around one of the games best quarterbacks, skewing the statistics into suggesting a team that did not quite live up to its potential.

Next seasons Chargers are going to look very different from the "Super Bowl bound" ones of the last decade. New faces should take some of the pressure off and allow Norv Turner and the squad veterans to ease the youngsters into the system. 

But with the core talent still in place, there is no reason that this team won't contend. Perhaps without pressure they can finally achieve what has been expected for so long.