San Diego Chargers
2007 Record: 11-5
ATS: 11-5
Super Bowl Odds: 15-2
The chargers raised some eyebrows when they fired Marty Schottenheimer after the 2006 season and replaced him with Norv Turner. Schottenheimer had been very successful during the regular season, but ultimately a bust in the playoffs. So how well would Turner do in the all-important postseason during his first year at the helm? Not bad, especially for a coach of the underachieving Chargers. After a slow start, San Diego streaked to an 11-5 record in the regular season, and handily won the AFC West division title.
Chargers fans, though, only care about the playoffs and making it to the Super Bowl. That didn’t quite happen – they ran into the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game and were knocked out – but the Chargers did manage to subdue the Titans and upset the Colts in the first2 rounds to exorcise some of their postseason demons. That gives San Diego some optimism for 2008, especially since they didn’t have hobbled star RB LaDainian Tomlinson on the field for much of the Patriots game. Tomlinson’s numbers were down a bit in 2007 from his monstrous 2006 season, but he did still manage to rush for over 1400 yards and score 18 touchdowns. Tomlinson looks to be healthy for camp this year, but injuries could limit 2 other key offensive players this summer – QB Philip Rivers (knee) and TE Antonio Gates (toe). As well, center Nick Hardwick is recovering from foot surgery and could end up missing the start of the season.
San Diego, though, can rely on their solid defense even when their offense is a little banged up, and in a weakened AFC West division they should have no trouble getting into the playoffs. From there they’ll just have to find a way to get past the Pats to play in the big game.
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