San Diego Chargers: State of the Franchise—2009

Last year’s San Diego Chargers started off terribly, and their record stood at 4-8 with just four games left to play. The Denver Broncos, whose record stood at 8-5 in Week 14, completed a monumental collapse to become the first team to lose a division with a three-game lead with just three weeks left to play. They were the phoenix, who rose from the ashes to reclaim their AFC West title for the third straight season. A recent hot button topic has been whether the Chargers’ window for Super Bowl contention is beginning to close; even with Phillip Rivers playing at a Pro Bowl caliber, they were still only a .500 team. LaDainian Tomlinson’s performance dropped off drastically last season, and many wonder if Darren Sproles can be a feature back. But the Chargers’ defense was without their all-star pass rusher, outside linebacker Shawne Merriman. If he can return to form, he can help to drastically improve a defense that ranked a dismal 24th in the league in sacks and ... (link)