Monday, July 22, 2002

A bolt of potential in San Diego

There are a lot of signs pointing to the Chargers as this year’s surprise team

By Trent Modglin, Associate editor

The Chargers are also the team I’m picking to surprise a lot of people in 2002 and perhaps serve as this season’s version of the Ravens or Patriots. Keep in mind: This is only July, and I did say "perhaps."

Alright, I doubt the Chargers will go the distance this season, but if I’ve got to have one longshot who at least holds a decent hand of cards sitting at the table with the big boys, it’s San Diego.

My reasons?

1. Marty Schottenheimer — The old-school master knows what it takes to get the most out of his teams. Tangible evidence of that lies with the fact he has just one losing season in 16 years as an NFL head coach. Hard to argue with that. His hard-charging, no-nonsense approach turned some Redskins veterans off early last season, and the spend-happy ways of Washington weren’t the answer, as the team started with an 0-5 slump. But the Redskins, devoid of a true starting quarterback and out of sync for much of the first half of the season, rebounded under Schottenheimer and were a club no one really wanted to play down the stretch. Yet, still, he was fired by Daniel Snyder at the end of his first season at the helm. Now, Schottenheimer feels rejuvenated in a sense working for esteemed general manager John Butler, and he’s "ready to get to work."
   
2. Upgraded offensive line — The Chargers had arguably the least-talented offensive line in pro football last season. It didn’t take a genius to know it was a problem area, and they worked to clear up the situation, adding veteran C Cory Raymer and OG Bob Hallen via free agency. Perhaps the biggest splash (no pun intended) made on the line was through the drafting of massive OG Toniu Fonoti, who has the inside track to the starting ORG spot.
   
3. Quality draft — The Chargers selected players who likely can and will be expected to help the team immediately. They took CB Quentin Jammer, a physical defender who rarely gave wide receivers a real chance to get off the line in college, with the fifth overall pick. He will team with a secondary that already boasts SS Rodney Harrison and CBs Ryan McNeil and Tay Cody. Next up were Fonoti, a powerful road-grading lineman out of Nebraska who may become LaDainian Tomlinson’s best friend, and WR Reche Caldwell, a talented pass-catcher out of Florida. Both of them ended up being second-rounders but were rated as potential first-rounders in many mock drafts.
   
4. An improved receiving corps — Re-signing WR-RS Tim Dwight was a good move for the offense and the return game, but doing so at such a price ($15 million over five years) seemed like a bit of a stretch. He’s had difficulties staying healthy for a full season and generally has been regarded as nothing more than a solid No. 3 wide receiver, but he’ll be asked to carry more of a load now and certainly has the speed and playmaking ability to do so. Also hoping to improve on his contributions will be Trevor Gaylor, a big and talented third-year wideout who showed real flashes of starting material when he got significant playing time in the final two weeks of the year last season. If he can stay healthy, new TE Stephen Alexander, who knows the offensive system well after playing under Schottenheimer in Washington, should provide another quality threat in the middle of the field. Caldwell is still a bit raw, but with a little grooming, he has the potential to be the heir apparent to Cutis Conway.
   
5. Donnie Edwards — Edwards, who will man the strong side linebacking position after being released by the Chiefs in a cost-cutting maneuver, is exactly the athletic and versatile defender this team needs. He — somewhat quietly — has recorded more than 100 tackles in each of the last four seasons, and he can do a lot of different things (rush the passer, pursue across the field, cover backs and tight ends, etc.), which should take some pressure off his new teammates.
   
6. QB competition — An overused cliché deals with how players embroiled in a competition for a starting job always say it will make them better in the long run. But I believe the QB derby between Doug Flutie and Drew Brees actually will make them better by making them compete hard and prepare themselves even more than they might otherwise. My belief is that Brees will emerge as the starter, and it’s hard to imagine the Chargers won’t be better off with him in there.
   
7. LaDainian Tomlinson — This guy is only going to get better. With the aforementioned weak offensive line and an up-and-down passing game, all Tomlinson did was rush for 1,236 yards and 10 touchdowns and catch 59 passes in his rookie year. Mark him down for an annual trip to Honolulu for a good long while.

Sure, there are reasons the Chargers may not win 10 games (the fact they have Denver and Oakland in the AFC West with them and the loss of DT John Parrella are among the more popular reasons), but I think the upside of this roster far outweighs any collection of negatives. The key veterans on the team — Harrison, Conway, LB Junior Seau, OT Vaughn Parker, DE Marcellus Wiley — have all bought into the Schottenheimer way, perhaps realizing this is their best chance to make some noise before they call it a career.

Predicting a trip deep into the playoffs in a talented AFC could be jumping the gun somewhat, but there is no reason the Chargers can’t top the list of rags-to-riches possibilities. After all, they’re already looking better than the Ravens or Patriots did when they began their climb up the NFL charts. 

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2001 - 2002 Season