After their game two loss to the New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers fans are asking themselves if 2011 will start off in typical fashion under head coach Norv Turner. For the last four seasons, Turner has led the Charges to a 2-3 record after the first five games, and they’ve had to battle back to make the playoffs. The Chargers came out this year and overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit to beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-17 in week one.
Their week two opponent, however, the New England Patriots, would not be as likely to give up a lead. New England is coming off a league-best 14-2 record last year but suffered a disappointing loss to the Jets in the playoffs. This game against the Chargers was a chance for the Patriots to prove they are again a contender, and also a chance for the Chargers to prove that this year wouldn’t start off as rocky as the last four did.
After the Patriots gained a 7-0 lead on a Tom Brady pass to tight end Aaron Hernandez, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers led his team 80 yards on a scoring drive capped by running back Ryan Matthews’ ten yard touchdown run. By halftime, however, Tom Brady had added another touchdown pass and New England had kicked a field goal to lead 20-7.
After an uneventful third quarter, Rivers engineered another eighty yard drive and threw a three yard touchdown pass to San Diego Chargers – primary receiver Vincent Jackson to pull the Chargers within six. But the Chargers were destined to play catch up for the rest of the game. They traded touchdowns with the Patriots, but the Patriots sealed the game with a running back Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis rushing for a sixteen yard touchdown with 1:54 remaining in the game.
The Chargers offense looked impressive for the most part. But turnovers did them in. Rivers threw two interceptions and fumbled once, and running back Mike Tolbert added another fumble. Three of the Chargers turnovers were inside the Patriots 35-yard line, and led to 17 points. The Patriots allowed the Chargers 470 yards of offense, but made stops when they counted, stopping the Chargers on a fourth and one at the one yard line before engineering a 99 yard scoring drive.
Positives for the Chargers included the play of wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who missed part of last year due to suspensions and contract negotiations. He finished the game with 10 catches for 172 yards, an indication that he has quickly regained his status as one of Rivers’ favorite targets. Rivers’ other favorite target, Antonio Gates, was kept in check by the Patriots defense and held without a catch. Chargers running back Ryan Matthews ran effectively, with 64 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.
The Chargers round out their first five games before the bye week by hosting Kansas City and Miami, then traveling to Denver. All three of these games are very winnable contests for the Chargers, and finishing these first five games with a good record is important for Chargers tickets sales. Also, with teams like Green Bay, Chicago, Baltimore in the second half of the schedule, coming out with a positive win ratio may prove difficult.
If you are a football fanatic, most likely you are familiar with the San Diego Chargers. If not, here are a few things that make the San Diego Chargers a great team! Since their merger with the NFL, this professional football team has based itself in San Diego, California. As of these times, they are members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the NFL or National Football League. The team started playing in the year 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League. The first season was spent Los Angeles, California before they move to San Diego in the year 1961.
The San Diego Chargers sell out Chargers tickets for their home games at the Qualcomm Stadium, and since the year 2011, they were the only NFL team based in Southern California. They had no teams in Los Angeles since the year 1994. The Chargers are the only team who was able to start a season 0-4 and make it to the playoffs in 1992. They were also the only team to start a season 4-8 and made it to playoffs in 2008. In addition, they are one of the 5 teams in NFL to rank first place in the overall defense and offense in the same season in 2010.
During the 2004 NFL season, they are one of the teams with no losing record. However, they never succeeded to enter the Super Bowl. In 1963, they won an AFL title and were able to reach the AFL playoffs not one time, but five times. They also won the Championship four times before they joined the NFL in 1970. For the past 30 years, the Chargers have made several trips to the playoffs and some show in the AFC Championship game. During the end of the 1994 season, the team faced the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX game on 1995. Unfortunately, they were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers with 49-26 score.
The Chargers consist of six players and one coach that were enclosed in shrine located in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Lance Alworth (1962-1970) and Charlie Joiner (1976-1986)-Wide receiver, Fred Dean (1975-1981)-Defensive end, Dan Fouts (1973-1987)-Quarterback, Ron Mix (1960-1969)- Offensive lineman, Kellen Winslow (1979-1987)- Tight end, and Sid Gillman (1960-1969)-Manager/Head Coach.
In the year 1970, the Chargers entered the AFC West division the merge of the NFL with the AFL. During that time, the Chargers fell on difficult times. That same time, Gillman who just returned as a General Manager also stepped down the year after. A lot of Charger players from the 1960’s had also retired or has been transferred from other teams. Although they were able to acquire seasoned players such as Johnny Unitas and Deacon Jones; however, they entered in the team at their later career stages, so the team struggled. They just placed fourth in the AFC West from the year 1970 until 1978.
All through the years until the present times, the San Diego Chargers experienced up and downs in the National Football League. At least they learn from every game they played and do all that they can to improve for their next games. This attitude has fans wanting to come back to buy Chargers tickets.
The San Diego Chargers have a long and distinguished history. Although, this explosive and dynamic team has yet to win a super bowl title, they have reached the finals. To their credit their history also includes numerous division titles and one AFL Championship.
This team can trace their roots back to the formation of the American Football League (AFL). In 1959, Barron Hilton, the hotel magnet met with five other men from various cities to discuss the possibility of founding a new football league. The meeting in Chicago resulted in six cities and teams being granted charter membership. The cities were Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Dallas, Houston and New York. The American Football League was the official name of this new association. Before the kickoff of the first season, two more cities would join this elite group.
The Los Angeles Chargers played their first game in the Coliseum on the 10th of September, 1960. The team managed to rally from a 20 to 7 deficit to gain the win over Dallas. The final score was twenty-one to twenty in favor of the Chargers. The team was guided to victory by head coach and general manager Sid Gillman. Sid Gillman was forced to assume the role of general manger due to the unexpected resignation of Frank Leahy. Leahy was forced to retire on account of his ailing health. More than 17, 700 fans were treated to this opening game comeback.
The Los Angeles Chargers were able to win the AFL Western Division title on December the 10th, 1960. The game was held in Los Angeles were only 9,928 Chargers tickets were purchased. It might have been due to this poor turn out that Baron Hilton decided to accept an invitation from San Diego to discuss the possibility of relocating the team. Despite this turn of events, the Chargers traveled to Houston to play in the final game of the season. Unfortunately, the Chargers were unable to achieve a victory. They were defeated by the Houston Oilers with a final score of 21 to 16.
In 1961, the American Football League gave Baron Hilton approval to move the Chargers from Los Angeles to San Diego. Work began on renovations to Balboa Stadium in May of 1961. The future home of the chargers was being expanded to accommodate the expected football crowds. The expansion would include an upper deck, and would increase the capacity of the facility from 23,000 to 34,000. The San Diego Chargers would play their first game in their new home on the 6th of August, 1961. This was a preseason game against the Oilers.
The San Diego Chargers would play nine seasons in the AFL. During this time the team would make the league playoffs five times. They reached the final four times. In 1963, the team finally won the title of league champion. They won the championship against the Boston Patriots. The final score was a decisive 51 to 10.
In 1970, the AFL would merge with their rival league, The National Football League. The Chargers would have to wait twenty five years to make it to the coveted Super Bowl. In 1995, the Chargers would travel to Miami, Florida to face off against the San Francisco 49ers. Despite the efforts of star quarterback Stan Humphries and head coach Bobby Ross, the Chargers were defeated. The final score was 26 to 49.
The San Diego Chargers are no doubt a team that has a distinguished past. They are currently one of the most exciting teams to watch in the league. Purchasing Chargers tickets to go to a game in person will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience and money well spent.
The San Diego Chargers are 1-1 in the Western Division of the American Football Conference. The NFL season has just begun, but Charger fans have got to be wondering when this team will finally put it all together. This team has been one of those popular organizations that are predicted to win their division and even the Super Bowl just about every year. When fans purchase Chargers tickets, they know they get their moneys worth. Last year they finished 9-7 and even though they finished 13-3 the year before, they could not go all the way.
The Charger offense has always been explosive with QB Phillip Rivers always amongst the top quarterbacks in the league. However, this season he needs some reliable targets to pick up the passing game. It appears that Wide Receiver Patrick Crayton would be replacing injured Malcolm Floyd who is out with a groin injury. All Pro Tight End Antonio Gates has been resting his foot and needs to find a way to get open even with defenses stacked against him. Crayton had missed the first two games with bone spurs on his ankle.
Veteran Wide Receiver Vincent Jackson has also been struggling with a strain in the abdominal area. QB Rivers has a way of getting the best out of his receivers and threw for over 4,700 yards last season spread out over 17 receivers. However, Rivers has thrown 4 picks already this season and needs to get on track as well.
The San Diego Chargers are set to take on the hapless Kansas City Chiefs this coming Sunday. The Chiefs are 0-2. The Chargers could have beaten the Patriots last week but turned the ball over 5 times in New England. Only 3 other teams in the AFC have given up more points then the Charger defense (52) this year. In the past the Chargers could just outscore their opponents, but that is no longer a guarantee. San Diego is picked by 15 points this week against the Chiefs and they are facing fairly weak competition this year in the Western Division, but they are going to have to tighten up the loose ends if they want to live up to their expectations.
Did everyone forget that the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC West division last year? Apparently that is what is happening for this weekends game. Ticket sales remain very slow with prices of the tickets going for less than face value in most locations. Chargers tickets for all the other home games this year are selling briskly and for much more than the face value of the tickets. I guess the fact that the Chiefs are 0-2 on this young season has caused not only the Chiefs fans to stay away but the Chargers fans don’t seem to worried about getting a victory over their division foes.
Last week the Chargers failed to come up big and capitalize on their chances to beat the New England Patriots. With that loss, the Chargers fans seem to lose some of their steam and are starting to feel the same way as in years past with the slow starts the team has had. However, this game is gigantic in determining the outcome of this season. Charger tickets should be flying out of here because division games are twice as important as any non-division game and I don’t care that the Chiefs are 0-2. The Chiefs beat the Chargers twice last year and are very familiar with how to play against them. Don’t think for one minute that they don’t think they can win and how important it is for the Chargers to not take this team lightly. One of the biggest things in the league is having a great home field advantage and judging by the sales of Chargers tickets, that isn’t going to be the case this Sunday and can really hurt the team. Be careful Chargers fans, thinking you got an easy one and staying home might be a recipe for disaster.
In Watching the first thirty five seconds of yesterdays Chargers vs. Vikings game, I immediately thought, here we go again. When Percy Harvin was racing down the field on the opening kickoff of the 2011 season, my heart just sank. The Chargers have said from day one after the 2010 season that special teams would be a #1 priority. They even replaced their special teams coach with a guy that is very highly respected in the league. It only took the first play of the new year to remind us all that they still have a ton work to do. At least, it happened on the first play instead of later in the game. It gave the Chargers plenty of time to come back, which they did!
Rivers looked a little off yesterday, I am sure the lockout played a roll in that, but made enough good throws to win the ball game. With the running backs picking up chunks of yards and some pretty amazing catches by the receivers, the San Diego Chargers did what they hadn’t been able to do the last couple of years. They won the first game and hopefully can get off to the kind of start they need to make a legitimate run to the superbowl. Every season since 2006, I have heard all the football guys on TV and Radio pick the Chargers for their division and make a deep playoff run. This year is no exception but hopefully this will be the team they live up to all the hype and prove the so called experts right. I know a lot of people in San Diego would be extremely happy and probably a whole lot of people in Los Angeles. However that is a whole another story for a different day!
When the New Orleans Saints’ defense stayed on top of Darren Sproles a bit too long during a practice drill on Thursday, most of the offense jumped in to rescue the new running back, setting off a brief scuffle on an otherwise peaceful California afternoon. Safety Malcolm Jenkins even grabbed hold of tight end Jimmy Graham’s facemask before everybody calmed down.
The Saints have a clear interest in keeping the durable Sproles healthy. They’re counting on the undersized speedster to help carry them past the departure of Reggie Bush and on to bigger achievements—and that’s exactly why Sproles chose the Saints in free agency.
“The reason I came here was to get a ring,” Sproles said. “This team, they know how to win, maybe because they’ve been here before.”
The Chargers never got there during his six years down the coast in San Diego, and Sproles doesn’t exactly sound disappointed about leaving for a four-year, $14 million deal with New Orleans during last month’s frenzied free-agent signing period.
Sproles said the only thing he misses about Southern California is the weather, “and that’s it.” He also said the Saints “work a little bit harder” in training camp than he remembers in San Diego.
Sproles chose New Orleans over Philadelphia and or a return to San Diego, which used its franchise tag on Sproles in each of the past two seasons. The designation allowed Sproles to make nearly $14 million over the past two years
alone, but didn’t give him the long-term commitment he desired despite playing in every game for San Diego over the past three years as a key component of coach Norv Turner’s offense.
He’s just one part of a dynamic group of running backs in New Orleans, but Sproles has always been at his best as a change-of-pace back who can cause trouble for opponents in small doses. He rushed for 267 yards and caught 59 passes for 520 yards last season, his third straight with at least 29 catches to go with 330 yards rushing.
When NFL teams finally were cleared to sign free agents last month, Saints quarterback Drew Brees immediately went after Sproles, briefly his Chargers teammate and a longtime workout buddy in San Diego. Brees barraged him with texts, the quarterback gleefully admits.
“Every spring and summer, we always work out together,” Sproles said. “Then, he would always say that he wanted me in a Saints uniform. He would just be playing, but it actually came true.”
Sproles already is working with Heisman Trophy-winning rookie running back Mark Ingram, who returned to practice with the Saints on Thursday after missing two days with a swollen knee. Ingram insists the injury isn’t serious, but the Saints will watch him closely, given his history of knee problems at Alabama.
The San Diego Chargers look toward making it back to the playoffs in the 2011 NFL season after falling a game short of the postseason last season, finishing 1 game behind the 10-6 Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West Division Title and a playoff berth.
The San Diego Chargers’ 2011 NFL Schedule begins with the Chargers hosting the Minnesota Vikings at home on Sunday, September 11. The Vikings struggled to a 6-10 mark last season without QB Brett Favre, who was injured for much of the season. Favre finally decided to retire for good on January 17, so the Vikings will definitely not have him as their quarterback this season. That fact alone should bode well for the Chargers and make it more of a winnable game for them, especially being at home at Qualcomm Stadium.
The Chargers have what should be a much better test in week two, when they travel to Gillette Stadium to take on the New England Patriots. The Patriots have been one of the better teams in the NFL for the past 10 seasons, including a 14-2 mark that won the AFC East title in 2010, and they are expected to be strong again this season. Of course, the Chargers and Patriots have had a bit of a rivalry ever since the Patriots upset the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium in the 2006 NFL Playoffs, beating the Chargers 24-21. That loss was especially painful to San Diego because the Chargers had the best record in the league at 14-2 that season and had home field advantage throughout the playoffs, but the Chargers’ postseason aspirations were ended early that year by the Patriots.
The San Diego Chargers then get their first shot at the reigning AFC West Division Champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, September 25 at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers have good divisional rivalries with all of their AFC West counterparts, and the Chiefs are no exception, especially after they finished one game ahead of the Chargers in 2010 and made the postseason.
The Chargers then host the Miami Dolphins at Qualcomm on Sunday, October 2 before heading on the road to take on the AFC West archrival Denver Broncos on Sunday, October 9. The Broncos struggled to a 4-12 mark in 2010, but are usually always competitive against the Chargers, and especially in Denver, as the Chargers barely beat Denver there last year 33-28.
The San Diego Chargers will enjoy their bye week the following week before heading out on the road again to take on the NY Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, October 23. That should be a good test for the Chargers, as the Jets have made the AFC Championship Game the past two seasons, just coming up short of representing the AFC in the Super Bowl both seasons.
The Chargers will meet up with the Chiefs again on Monday Night Football, October 31. That should be another good test for the Chargers, not only because it’s the Chiefs, but also because the Chargers fell to the Chiefs last year in Kansas City 21-14.
The Chargers come home after that, but their first date at home will likely not be easy, as the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers invade Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday, November 6. Chargers’ fans should definitely come out to this game, as the Packers are not always on the Chargers’ schedule, and the fact that the Packers won the Super Bowl should make this a must-see game for Chargers’ fans.
After the Packers leave town, the Chargers will face AFC archrival Oakland Raiders for the first time in 2011. Oakland finished 8-8 in 2010, including two wins over the Chargers, so Chargers’ fans should definitely want to come out to this game and support the Chargers as they try to beat Oakland at home for the first time since 2009.
The San Diego Chargers then hit the road again to take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday, November 20. The Bears finished 11-5 in 2010, winning the NFC North Division title. In addition, playing at Soldier Field in November can be quite tricky sometimes, both with possible wind and snow.
The Chargers will then return home on Sunday, November 27 to take on archrival Denver for the second time this season. The San Diego Chargers will then appear for the second time on Monday Night Football on Monday, December 5, as they travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars.
The San Diego Chargers then return home for their final two home games of the season, first against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, December 11 and then against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, December 18. The game against the Ravens should be a good barometer for the Chargers to measure themselves, as the Ravens went 12-4 last year and made the postseason.
The Chargers then finish the 2011 NFL season on the road. First, they go to Detroit to take on the Lions on Saturday, December 24, then they finish up the season at Oakland to take on the archrival Raiders on Sunday, January 1, 2012. As mentioned earlier, the Raiders beat the Chargers twice last year. As also mentioned, the Chargers were only one win away from a postseason berth in 2010, so that last game against the Raiders could really be important, enough so that dedicated Chargers fans who are able to make the relatively short trip to Oakland may want to do so to try to somewhat negate that Raiders’ home field advantage.
Overall, the San Diego Chargers’ 2011 opponents combined to go 133-123 in 2010, a .520 winning percentage. Ten of the Chargers’ sixteen games are with teams who finished .500 or above in 2010, though two of the six games against sub-.500 teams are against the AFC West archrival Denver Broncos. Still, at first glance, this schedule projects to be tougher than the schedule the Chargers faced in 2010, a season where the San Diego Chargers finished 9-7 and in second place in the AFC West Division. The Chargers will have to improve their overall play to return to the postseason in 2011.
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