Getting To Know the San Diego Chargers

I exchanged a Q&A with a Loren of bolttalk.com to get a feel for what the fans of San Diego feel about their Chargers. I also answered some of his questions about the Dolphins, which you can read here.

(1) I think it's pretty safe to say Chargers fans were expecting a Super Bowl run this year, ever since the end of last season. How has that opinion changed at all by the events of the first four weeks of this season?

LC: I still believe this is the most talented team in the NFL and even with the injuries and playing down to teams like the Raiders my expectations and opinion haven't really changed. We went through sometime like this last year when we started 1-4 and people were screaming we wouldn't make the playoffs. I'm basically running with the assumption that Norv Turner teams start slow but finish strong. I have still seen the talent level this team has defensively over the last two weeks and offensively over the first three weeks. This team isn't too far away from putting it all together and when it does no team in the NFL can match up.

I would agree for the most part, but I don't know about the "no team the NFL can match up." When operating at 100% efficiency I would definitely put the Chargers in the top tier of teams, but not by themselves.

(2) What's the deal with Ladainian Tomlinson? Is he still the fantasy and reality star that will just keep scoring touchdowns and terrorizing opposing defenses and fantasy owners or is he finally starting to slow down and is the nagging injury a real cause for concern?

LC: I do believe the injury is causing problems. LT is a back that relies on his ability to cut numerous times in a small area to make defenders miss. A turf toe would prevent him from doing that and furthermore every team seems to want to key on LT and force Rivers to beat them - a big mistake and one numerous teams have paid for already. He probably is slowing down somewhat; lets face it, he's been the workhorse back of the Chargers for years and wear-and-tear has got to be accumulating on him. But I don't believe he's anything but the best all around back in the NFL and I don't believe any fantasy owner or NFL defense should take him lightly.

I pretty much agree here. I would still put LT at the top of the list of RB's I'd least like to face, but he would be ranked below the previous versions of LT, namely 2005 and 2006

(3) How has the defense changed since Shawn Merriman has been out of action? From the outside looking in I would think it would still be one of the better units, but they have given up a lot of points and the most passing yards so far this season.

LC: Losing Merriman hurts the defense, no questions. He was the one player that every offensive player focused on every single down. The Chargers don't have a guy like that other then him. It means that the team has had to rotate their other star OLB, Shaun Phillips, around to get the best matchup since most teams now double team him. Furthermore we still haven't found the one replacement for Merriman and have had to rotate a bit between Tucker/Harris/Applewhite. As to the yards and points, that's a two part issue. Yes Merriman's loss is causing some of that but for the first two games we played fairly dynamic offenses and did little in the way of disguising blitzes or coverages. As such we'd rush four guys regularly, play vanilla coverages and teams would pick us apart. We've gotten better lately but still its been a problem and until it gets solved we will continue to give up yards and points.

I wouldn't call Carolina a dynamic offense, but I understand the argument here. At this point in time, their sub par play on defense is a trend, if it continues throughout the middle of the season though, then it becomes a problem.

(4) What do you think are the keys to the game for the Chargers and conversely what should the Dolphins focus on doing?

LC: Chargers have got to key on Ronnie Brown as much as possible and must get ahead to the point that even that Wild Cat formation won't be of any use to them because they'll be so far behind. The Chargers also have to play as tight as possible coverage wise and realize that on passing downs they're facing a QB without much arm, so they have to be ready for those short passes.
Dolphins, they need to score points, as many as possible, and keep the Chargers offense off the field as much as possible. Basically a similar game plan to what you did against New England.

I'd say pretty much the same thing.

(5) What is your prediction for the game?

LC: 34-13 Chargers

As you could see on their site, my prediction is slightly less of a beat down by the Chargers. It should be a good game and I think San Diego will put it away late, but this scoreline will be a tad off.

Getting To Know the Arizona Cardinals

To be honest, I don't know much about the Arizona Cardinals other than the outstanding wide receiver tandem of Fitzgerald and Boldin and the fact that Matt Leinart likes to party. To learn more I sought out Cardinals bloggers and came across Eli Wahlstrom of Voice of the Cardinals. We agreed to exchange a Q&A about each others team in advance of the Sunday matchup. You can find my answers to his Dolphins questions on his site shortly. Below are the questions I asked about the Cardinals and the answers Eli provided.

What are the expectations for Arizona this year? They always seem to be a trendy pick to make the playoffs. Are fans buying that this year?

• Every season is suppose to be the Cardinals season. In my opinion this year looks better than any other year. Not because the Cardinals are so great but because the rest of the division including Seattle looks so bad. Once again we could see 8-8 or 9-7 win the NFC West and I think the Cardinals will do just that.
  

Outsiders always talk about Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Who are some under the radar stars for the Cardinals that the Dolphins should keep an eye on?

• Rookie RB Tim Hightower has been a pleasant surprise for the Cardinals. He scored a touchdown in the first game against the 49ers and looked very good in the preseason. On defense Travis Laboy is a guy that really puts pressure on quarterbacks. He had 2 sacks and a forced fumble against San Francisco and I expect him to make things tough on Jake Long and the Dolphins offensive line.

What is the biggest weakness of the team?

• The biggest weakness is still the offensive line. Kurt Warner is a sitting duck in the pocket, any team that has a good pass rush is really going to cause some problems for the Cardinals offense.

What's the deal with the Leinart/Warner situation? Are fans happy, angry, ambiguous or what about the decision to go with Kurt Warner as the starter?

• It's kind of mixed emotions, all Cardinals fans want Leinart to work out here in Arizona, But I think the majority of fans are happy with the decision to start the better quarterback which is Kurt Warner. It's nice to know that if Kurt does get hurt we have a quarterback that is capable to fill in and still lead this team to the playoffs.

Finally, what's your prediction for game?

• I don't think the Dolphins can keep up with the Cardinals offense. My prediction is 31-17 Cardinals

My Thoughts

This is the second time I've heard Tim Hightower's name mentioned. I haven't seen him but if he or Edgerrin James has any kind of success then we can be in trouble. We will have enough trouble stopping the passing game. If they can run effectively then it will be a very long day.

The fact that their offensive line is a weakness is good news for us. We have shown ability to rush the passer and if Warner really is a sitting duck then we should get a good amount of QB pressures, sacks and hopefully a dumb interception or two.