Opening Day and Raider Week?! Are You Kidding Me!!!???

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. In the past, on "the other site", I always predicted the winner of every NFL game and gave the reason I picked a team and my best guess for the final score. That was fun, but very time consuming. This year, I'm going to focus on my favorite team, the San Diego Chargers and break down their game each week. At the end of the post, I will make my picks for the winners of the other games as well, but without analysis. I hope this change is alright with you and please remember that I am a homer and very biased. I will try to be fair in my writing, but it is my blog and I'm a Chargers fan, so don't be surprised if you don't agree with everything I say. Okay? Let's get on with it!

VS

Chargers vs Raiders!!! This is a rivalry that goes back since the beginning of the AFL! They have been playing each other so long that Raider owner Al Davis was actually a Chargers coach before moving on to the Raiders! He had a brilliant football mind and was one of the main reasons that the AFL was such a huge success. He helped the Chargers to their only league championship as well. Thanks Al!

As for the Al Davis back then, and the Al Davis now, there does not seem to be much in common. In the '60's through the 90's, Davis seemed to be on the cutting edge of the NFL. He was a great evaluator of talent and his "just win baby" motto surrounded him with a bunch of low character, high ability players who challenged for the ring every year and actually won three Super Bowls! That is three more than my Chargers have won. Raider fan will remind you everyday that they have won those three Lombardi Trophies as well. That is when I remind Raider fan that the past is the past and the present is all that matters. No one on the Raiders was part of those championships and the culture of winning is long since gone. Only Al was around in those days, and he may not even remember.

Over the course of time, the Raiders do hold the better record against the Bolts. However, since 2003, the Chargers have beaten the Raiders 11 straight times! That is the most dominance any NFL team has had over another ever! For whatever reason, the Chargers have had the Raiders number and it really hasn't even been close. Last year, the Raiders did have the Bolts shut out going into the fourth quarter and looked to be on the verge of an upset. In the fourth quarter, the Chargers unloaded for 25 points and ran away with the victory. Even in the "Black Hole" the cream seems to rise to the top.

In my youth, I guess I went into a rebellious faze. I was actually a Raiders fan! I loved watching Stabler, Branch, Belitnikoff, Matusak, Casper etc... Then it happened. The Holy Roller aka The Immaculate Deception. With the Chargers on the brink of their first post season in years, The Snake, while being sacked, threw the ball forward (incomplete pass). The referees called it a fumble. Van Eegan kicked it around and batted it toward the goal line. Dave Casper then kicked it a while and knocked it into the end zone where he fell on the ball and was awarded the game winning touchdown. Call it cheating. Call it improvising. Call it winning at all cost. Call it whatever you want. It turned me off to Raiders football and I made a switch to the home town team, the San Diego Chargers.

Today, it is no longer Fouts and Coryell trying to out fox Stabler and Madden. We have Rivers and Turner up against Russell and Cable. I don't know if Rivers' numbers will surpass Fouts, but the other three are a real downward slide from their predecessors.

Okay, I'll let the cat out of the bag early. I think the Chargers will win and win easy. The high powered Chargers offense and revamped defense should be much to much for the Raiders who have been dealing with coaches fighting each other and star players not showing up from trades that were made. What a mess it is in Oakland! The Chargers have had a few negative stories during the preseason, but nothing compared to the Raiders. Shawne Merriman and his domestic abuse and false imprisonment case does not even compare to Cable breaking his coaches jaw and Seymore not showing up to camp. Merriman is not 100%, but I think he knew that the charges would go away and on the football field, he is no choker.

Now, let's look at what the Raiders defense will have to stop. To start with, we have quarterback Phillip Rivers. All Rivers did last year was throw for 34 touchdowns, over 4000 yards, and led the entire league in passer rating. Also, he has a new 90 million dollar contract that he is out to prove was not a mistake.

LaDainian Tomlinson is on a mission this year. All off-season, Tomlinson has heard how he is washed up. He is too old and does not have it anymore. Well, the fact is that he is healthy this year and wants to prove that he still has it. Fortunately, for him, he gets to prove it against the team he has ran over since he joined the league. With just over 90 in Monday night's game, Tomlinson will reach the 2000 career yards mark against the Raiders. That is more rushing yards than any rusher has against any other team in the NFL.

Need a first down, look for number 85, Antonio Gates. Gates also had an off year last season. He battled a foot injury that kept him from being able to explode off the line and made it difficult to block. This year, he is healthy and said that he learned a lot about the game of football by being limited last year. He claims that he is a better football player now than before. That is a scary thought for opponents.

Okay, you stopped the run, and you are putting a lot of pressure on Rivers. Congratulations! Now you will get a healthy dose of Darren Sproles and the screen pass. Here is another dangerous weapon who is trying to prove that his franchise tag was no mistake. Ask Indy and Denver about Sproles. They will tell you how hard he is to bring down.

Okay, but do the Chargers have a deep threat? Absolutely! Meet Vincent Jackson. Jackson should become an upper tier receiver this year. His 6' 5", 235 lb frame helps him sky over the smaller defenders and make spectacular catches for big yards. Also, Malcolm Floyd averaged over 20 yards per catch last year. Both of them can get down field. Throw in a possession receiver like veteran receiver Chris Chambers and you have quite a receiving corp.

I'm not even going to get into the Chargers defense today. Jamaal Williams, Shawne Merriman, Antonion Cromartie, Quenten Jammer, Shaun Phillips, Stephen Cooper, and the rest of this talented D will introduce themselves on Monday Night Football!

Final score Chargers 34 Raiders 13

Here are my other picks for the NFL games this week. You'll have to take my word on the first game since it has already been played. The winning team will be in blue.

Titans @ Steelers

Dolphins @ Falcons

Vikings @ Browns

Lions @ Saints

Broncos @ Bengals

Jaguars @ Colts

Cowboys @ Bucs

Eagles @ Panthers

Jets @ Texans

Niners @ Cardinals

Chiefs @ Ravens

Redskins @ Giants

Rams @ Seahawks

Bears @ Packers

Bills @ Patriots

Well, there you have it. Agree or not, I'd love to read your comments and predictions for this week!

Side note: On my site tracker, I see people in countries all around the world have stopped in to read. If you are from outside the US, I'd love to know where you are from and how you found me. Please leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks!

Go Bolts!!!