The city of San Diego is still nauseated about their beloved Chargers picking up and moving north to Los Angeles. While the exit strategy certainly burned some bridges, I got a feeling Bolts’ fans will get over it quickly when they see the product that takes the field in 2017-18. A team that only won five games a short season ago finds itself with the third longest odds to win the division ( +298 ), but those odds have been getting closer to the Chiefs and Raiders as we near the regular season.
AFC West Odds at BookMaker.eu
Denver Broncos +375
Kansas City Chiefs +249
Los Angeles Chargers +298
Oakland Raiders +170
Why the San Diego Chargers Will Win the AFC West
The football gods owe the Chargers this season. Heck, they own them for many seasons! They treated them terribly with eight of their 11 overall defeats coming by seven points or less. In other words, Los Angeles was terribly unlucky and the regression fairies are bound to make up for it. Anthony Linn takes over a team that was only outscored by 13 total points last season, and that unit mostly returns intact to go along with numerous additions on both sides of the ball.
San Diego comes off a season finishing up ranked No. 8 in scoring offense and No. 13 in total offense. Those high marks were still attained without the services of stud wide receiver Keenan Allen who missed half the season with a knee injury. It was the fourth time in the last five seasons that he succumbed to the injury bug. But once he went down, guys like Tyrell Williams and Dontrelle Inman stepped their games up. Melvin Gordon is also back to tote the rock looking to build off a breakout sophomore campaign that was abruptly ended late due to injury.
The Chargers gave up the fourth most points in the game a season ago with their 26.4 point per game average only better than the Browns, Saints and 49ers. That said, the unit closed the regular season with its hair on fire averaging 4.0 sacks over its last three games. It also ranked No. 5 in the sack department with an average of 1.8 per game. Stud defensive end Joey Bosa had much to do with that by going off for a team-high 10.5 sacks. He did it in 12 games and was named Rookie of the Year. He and linebacker Melvin Ingram are likely to wreak havoc flying off the corners in LA’s new look 4-3 defense.
Why the San Diego Chargers Won't Win the AFC West
It doesn’t matter how good your offense is or how many players you have at key positions. If the offensive line can’t get in front of anyone, the offense isn’t going anywhere. Last year’s line gave up 36 sacks, which was above average, but ranked in the bottom tier in pass-blocking efficiency for the third straight season. Philip Rivers isn’t the most mobile quarterback in the league, and needs his hogs giving him some time to be successful. The unit was addressed in the offseason and will be breaking many new faces in. If they gel quickly, LA will be explosive. If not, it will be the same old song and dance.
Karma. Will it get this franchise for “bolting” a city it was beloved in for greener pastures? That remains to be seen, but the football gods have had it in for this franchise seemingly forever. Still, Los Angeles threw caution to the wind and packed its bags. The Chargers teased their fans many times getting out to hot starts only to fade into the sunset when it mattered most. Does this team have what it takes to lock horns with one of the best divisions in football? That’s hard to say right now, but the needle looks to be pointed in the right direction. That is if karma and the injury bug don’t punish them for bailing on their fans.
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