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San Diego Chargers: A Year in Review
By Andy Baker
This year was quite the roller coaster for the Chargers. After a promising finish in 2013, our Chargers looked to improve on their success. The team seemed poised to grab that proverbial “brass ring” and take the next step. Our leader had a major bounce back season and was ready to go to work. The offense had a lot of fire power, the right scheme, and the right personnel. A second year with the system, and the sky was the limit. The defense, especially the defensive backs, appeared to be the team’s glaring weakness.
The Chargers had one of the toughest schedules in the league. They began the season on the road against a great opponent. The Arizona Cardinals, a 10-6 NON-playoff team the year before, were hungry and ready to pounce on their first victim. The game was a defensive struggle, and, ultimately, the Chargers dropped the season opener. The game was very closely contested. It left a lot of questions to be answered about the offense. Fans were unsure about the team’s ability to move the ball and score in the red zone. Then our Bolts rattled off five straight wins, including one against the defending World Champion Seattle Seahawks! The game against Seattle showcased the team’s ability to control the tempo of the game, and play great situational football. The game was not as close as the score suggested.
As high as the peaks seemed to be, the valleys were just as low. It all started with a week six victory over a division and state rival, the Oakland Raiders. Ball security had been key during the win streak, and it was to blame during many of the losses. The Chargers dropped two games a piece to both the Broncos and the Chiefs. As a fan residing in Southwest Missouri, those two games were especially difficult to swallow. Our team is notorious for playing down to the level of our competition. This season was no different. The Bolts were in close games with the Patriots and the 49ers, respectively. While I really felt like the New England game would have been a statement game, it wasn’t one I had penciled in as a “must win”. The 49ers game, however, was a different story. It was the most incredible comeback victory I have ever witnessed. It showed intestinal fortitude and the savvy of Rivers and the rest of the squad. It was the beginning of “playoff” football for San Diego, and they did not disappoint.
This is where reflection can be brutal. You begin to see how different the team was at the end of the season. Five different players starting at the center position. The offensive line was like a revolving door of “who’s that?”, to the average fan. The team had to utilize its 4th string running back for the majority of the season. The defensive line was more of the same. It seemed that as soon as someone got going, they were on their way to be evaluated in the locker room. Manti Te’o’s absence prove to be a major factor in the middle of the season, as well. When he became healthy, the defense played at a different level. If the team had stayed healthy, who knows where it would ended up. There is a good chance that I wouldn’t be typing a Year in Review, just yet. This is all said without mentioning the fact that Rivers was playing the last quarter of the season with a bulging disc in his back and a rib issue.
In summation, it was an exciting season, filled with promise, that ended rather unceremoniously. There is an awful lot to build on, however, and I have faith that our front office will do just that. They have a lot of cap space and a lot of decisions to be made. I still believe that building through the draft is the proper way to build. But the team must get better through free agency if they intend on trending upward.
Andy Baker writes for the lively Chargers fan Boltblitz.com. This article is republished from that website. BoltBlitz is at the forefront of a battle to try and keep the San Diego Chargers in San Diego.