Just Another Manic Thursday

This morning I came across this article by Tim Sullivan, regarding the Chargers situation at quarterback. I defy anyone out there to tell me this piece says anything or makes any kind of point whatsoever. No one knows what A.J. Smith plans to do in regards to the possibility of picking up a veteran back-up QB. None of the QBs on our roster have ever started a regular season game in the NFL. The San Diego Chargers are a professional American footballing squad. If you needed any of these things cleared up, Sullivan's article was for you. For the rest of us, not so much.

I was going to expand on my feelings about the release of Feeley and the fog that has descended upon the Field General position of our offense. I was going to rant like a lunatic about how this team has no intention of pursuing a title until A.J. gets his corner office view of the L.A. skyline. I might have said something about asking the Rams what your chances are of competing without a viable option at back-up QB. I'm looking at you Jamie Martin, Chris Chandler, Ryan Fitzpatrick, etc... But I'm not going to. Because it's true we don't know what Smith has in mind. Because we expect Rivers to start every game and start them well. Because, well, today I just don't have much fight in me.

Last night, after returning home from seeing the funny, but not Anchorman funny, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, I decided to pop on the old boob tube and see if I could catch some Padres 'lights (high/low? It's been a 50/50 crapshoot for three years). Commercial on ESPN, so I roll over to "the dos" to check the ticker at least. Cue the ESPN special presentation on the 2005 San Diego Chargers. Oh dear. Can I watch this? Can I turn away. Too late. I'm sucked in. I live the roller coaster again. For every glorious pounding touchdown run by The Running Back, there's an absent Antonio Gates against Dallas. For every beaten Manning, a blocked field goal returned for a TD in Philly. They spared us from reliving the ultimate demise against Miami and the following two abysmal performances, preferring instead to and the special on the high note of our Bolts beating the unbeaten in Indy. As I watched these men rack up six wins in a row, culminating with that extraordinary performance, I began to wonder if history would rewrite itself. This team- these juggernauts obviously advanced to glory. They certainly accomplished that greatest of goals, Superbowl XL. Did they not? Sadly, that was still their last win. In fact, what they don't show is that the team, with three games to go, never really competed again. They lost a leader. They lost their way. It was sad to remember. And as I watched this special, I noticed how often Donnie Edwards made critical plays. I saw this supposedly overrated player dominate time and time again and I swear, by the end I remembered every play as clearly as when it happened. I remembered how we all cheered and how happy the fans were to have him. It made me angry.

All in all, though, this ESPN special made me anxious. I can't wait for our guys to take another shot. I miss our old leader and wish him well, but I'm excited to see what the new guy can do. I hope Donnie stays for another go around, but I live in the real world and I wish him the best no matter what, as well. As for the rest of the guys, we're almost there. Give 'em hell! Go Bolts!!!

Update: I'm an idiot. Due to my alcohol ravaged brain and the somewhat nonlinear nature of the ESPN Yearbook special I watched (They never mentioned the Miami game from what I remember), I mistakenly put the Miami game after the Indy game. Oops. The Chargers only won five in a row before the big shitbomb in Florida. The sentiment of my post remains the same, however. Sorry y'all. I'm giving back my paycheck this week.

Back Up, Schmack Up.

What can I say? I still haven't actually seen any footage from Saturday night's game, but three fumbles is three fumbles and there isn't too much you can say about that. I can only sing the praises of Michael Turner and that other back-up guy for so long, because as much as you want to believe that Turner going to get his share of the load in the regular season, I doubt it. Schottenheimer hasn't gotten the reputation he has in this league by going away from what works most of the time, and that's our boy LTD. So, unless Turner does, in fact, return kicks, don't expect him to do much more than clean up or spell for Tomlinson.

I hate to say that I'm actually beginning to worry about Rivers a bit, but as good as the Seahawks appear to be, that is no Bears defense out there. I still think he'll be fine, but you have to wonder about the wisdom of the team letting go of A.J. Feeley today. Feeley is no great talent, but he has played and won in the league, and without him you're looking at Whitehurst as your only back up. Obviously, they have something else in mind, but who? Kerry Collins? Dear Lord. Drew Henson? Vinny Testeverde? I'm scared.

Donnie Edwards may actually practice with the team. What that means, no one knows, but if he does end up playing for us this year, how in the world does he keep his head in the game.

Lekkerkerker is our left tackle right now. Wrap your brain around that one.

Thirteen more days til our openner. Is that unlucky? Awe hell, I don't care. Bring on the season already! Go Bolts!!!

Update: I guess Kerry Collins was signed by the Titans or somebody while I wasn't paying attention, so I'm going to replace that suggestion with Quincy Carter. Unless he's in jail or still serving some sort of suspension. Is he? If so, I'm going to have to go with Billy Joe Tolliver or Erik Kramer.

Update #2: Ooh! Ooh! What's Neil O'Donnell doing these days?

New Pic, Last One Hosed Out. Still Hot.

I used to date a girl that looked nothing like Jessica Biel and hated the Chargers. If that pattern holds true, it stands to reason that Jessica Biel loves the Chargers. And if not, she's certainly welcome to. And to date me as well. Go Bolts!!!

The Frog Roll

So yes, Philip did throw a pick on Friday against the Bears. He got a look at what a good NFL defense looks like playing at full speed, and what a good (former UNM Lobo, Woof!) linebacker looks like sneaking up fast on a pass. I hope this will help him in the long run. He is going to throw some picks this season, but he shook that one off pretty well, and as he learns to adjust and read the defenses, hopefully we will see his talent rise to the top. And speaking of talent, yes, I believe he has some. Maybe a lot. And he has size. And quickness. And a feel for the game. Example:



When I saw that play from Friday's game on 3rd and long, where he broke a tackle, scrambled outside the box, and laid in a 1st down strike to Floyd, I was impressed! That was talent, and he showed his size, Speed, toughness, arm strength, etc. I think he has the tools, and if he can weather the inevitable missteps here and there, is in a GOOD position. Ok enough "up with Rivers" talk for now, but I'm hoping that was a glimpse of some amazing plays this season. And to bring him back down a little, what the heck was that little somersault that he did at the end of the play??? (about 20 secs into that video clip above) I didn't hear the announcers comment on it. Looked funny- Little sideways roll. Is that his complete pass on 3rd and long celebration dance? If so, LT with his "Teapot" and Merriman with the "Lightswitch" can feel a little better... cause "The Frogroll" would make theirs look like they were choreographed by Usher.

Ok all for now... any word on the ticket status for Saturday yet? I'm assuming blackout until further notice... those punters! But here's hoping.

It's A Family Affair.

I don't know why I find the following piece interesting. Maybe you can figure it out.

"There apparently has been a Priest Holmes sighting, at least by the San Antonio police. According to San Antonio television station WOAI, Holmes arrived on the scene of a fight between the mother of Holmes' two children and a woman who claims to be the mother of another child of Holmes. --Kansas City Star"

Here's the whole article, if you care to check it out.

I'm not going to go any lower than that. Go Bolts!!!

Hah! They Had Both Of Their Vaunted Running Backs In The Game.

After a weekend of “Too bad you guys got rid of Brees” e-mails, I was rather relieved to see Ole Drew shut everybody up against the Cowboys last night. Not that he was God awful or anything, but he certainly didn’t do much to keep the haters flaming. At least not flaming in the e-sense of the word. Of course, the New Orleans game plan was actually very similar to what Marty put out there the other night, with remarkably similar results. Don’t let the QB throw very far, etcetera and so forth. With Brees you’d be concerned that maybe his arm isn’t quite as 100% as they’d have you believe. With Rivers, I’m concerned that they were afraid to let that O-line guard him for more than a nanosecond or some overzealous Bears’ defenders may try to take random QB limbs as souvenirs. The fact is, though, who knows what the Chargers offense is going to look like under Rivers until Our Boy Spectacular is on the field. And it doesn’t look like we’re going to see that until it counts in Oakland.

I worry a bit more about that damn secondary again. The Bears have a good defense, so their play on that side of the ball is to be expected. Their offense on the other hand, despite some off-season improvements, should leave more to be desired. Sadly, they really picked on our DBs Friday night. Especially Griese, and while I could care less what the Bears do, I’ve been saying that’s the guy they should be going with. Grossman is still developing and that team needs to take a shot while that defense is still stellar. God, did I really just have that much to say about Da Bears?

All in all, Friday’s game was a pretty sad performance, with a mere handful of bright spots. Michael Turner continues to be brilliant, and that guy Perkins had a couple of nifty little runs as well. There was a field goal. Probably kicked by Kaeding. So that’s good. If you’re into that sort of thing.

So, we beat up on a bad team in the first game against Green Bay. We got beat up by a good team in the second game. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Until, of course, we plug in that one Running Back guy that’s pretty good. Then I think we’ll be pretty all right. Pretty damn all right, indeed. Go Bolts!!!

Why Yes, Thank You, I Am Ready...

Ready indeed... for some... Well, you can read the title of the previous post if it weren't obvious by now! Yes, I think the energy is everywhere. You can feel it- people are ready. Heck, I even like the song. I know it may not be popular around here, but I like the Hank Williams one, and I even like the Mr. Faith Hill highlight piece. Maybe it's just because I'm so exited for the season. Maybe I just like montages of recent games set to country music, with an overlay of computer enhanced audio of the hits. Maybe I just like country music. I think I should quit before I dig deeper. Anyway, the point is, sports viewing is about to get a WHOLE lot better again.

[Side note about good sports viewing: Don't forget about the U.S. Open -- yes, that is probably the first time Tennis has been mentioned in this blog, and I'm proud to be the one to bring it! Don't pile on me, Tennis rules. If you're afraid to admit it, maybe you have your own issues to deal with, pansy -- starting at the end of this month. Andre Agassi's farewell tourney, going out in style at in Flushing Meadows. Watch it! It will be good.]

Ok, sorry, back to football... The first efforts of our talented team preparing for their campaign have been well covered here. I'm very fired up at the thought that the next effort may be watched together by the authors here! At a hopefully really kick ass party! Yeah! Ok, actually seeing the game on TV (I think there will be 5 or 6 available) will rely on that dreaded blackout situation again (we know how I feel about that), but hey if it does sell out... I think that getting together with lots of friends on a weekend and watching football together and toasting good plays will kick this fever up another notch. Cheers, and GO CHARGERS!

Footballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootball....

Well, well, well. It seems that we may be happening on what is affectionately known as football season. Not to get too hyped up for the upcoming mother fu…football season, but well, it’s time to be happy about it. I’d like to send out a big time thanks to the irreplaceable Max Colossus for making this place neat and tidy in my absence, and for bashing Tim Sullivan so the rest of us can focus our attention on Nick Canepa. Don’t worry Nick, I don’t have any complaints tonight, you’re safe for another week.

Friday night, begot football. My first fix of the upcoming year, as my offseason has been obscenely marred by wedding festivities in the USC area with alumni galore, complete with marching band. Tommy Trojan and that freakin’ horse were last seen vomiting in the corner of the west wing of the estate after I slipped mickeys into their tequila. I managed to suppress my inevitable disdain, and even restrain myself from making any unnecessary jabs at the cultural abnormality that is USC.

I opted to skip the Green Bay shenanigans for local music night for a couple of reasons. First and foremost the previously mentioned ownership debacle of blacking out preseason games, and second, the outrageousness of a full priced ticket for half price entertainment, but with the boys out in Chicago to battle the newest version of the Monsters of the Midway, the televisions were dialed in, and I wanted to get my first look at #17.

Comfortably settled into a familiar chair, I was able to witness in full high def detail my first view of #17 completing a pass. It was well thrown, right on the money, problem was he hit one Paris Urlacher in the numbers and the score was quickly not in our favor. My first view of 17 did not start out as initially planned. After jamming a fork into the neck of the first person that felt obligated to make a Mr. Brees reference as Paris skipped into the end zone, I relaxed and settled in for Bolts light. It was football, but it was restrained football as Martyball was in full effect, with the offense being LTD free and very luke warm. No doubt that things will be different with the touchdown maker in uniform. Worries be gone…

Monday brought my first experience with the Reggie Bush experiment that is New Orleans. The One Armed Bandit, handed the ball off well in his first series hushing all naysayers that his surgically repaired limb is fine and dandy. His second series brought a couple of passes, one of which was intended for a Cowgirl defender and if it weren’t for a case of masonry fingers, he would have been doing his Urlacher impression all the way to the locker room. Drew did complete some passes, short, careful routes and didn’t show anyone whether or not he can throw it down the field, but hey, it’s preseason and who knows what will happen from here on out. Perhaps he’s fine and we made a tremendous mistake by releasing our rights to him as our squadleader, or perhaps not. We won’t know for some time, and I for one will not be hitting the panic button during the preseason. Who knows how he will survive against the likes of Atlanta, Tampa and Carolina’s defenses twice this year. I hope New Orleans took some lessons from the events of 2005 and got themselves some insurance…

So we swing into Week three of cocktease football, and we’re back online over here. Max Colossus has done a remarkable job of entertaining us in the interim and we’ve added a couple of new elements over here. New voices are in the mix and we’re set for Football 2006. It makes me think of that God awful Hank Williams song that plays relentlessly on Monday nights, and it brings a little emotion along with it. It’s football time. It’s really almost here and damned skippy I’m ready for some…

These San Diego Writers Are Killing Me...Again.

Sure seems like like San Diego Union Tribune sportswriter Tim Sullivan is getting a kick out of stirring the pot lately. First there was the article that hazily accused players in the Padres clubhouse of believing that management was being set up by upper management. His exact statement was as follows:

"Some of them have pondered the possibility that General Manager Kevin Towers and field manager Bruce Bochy are being set up to fail in order to justify an offseason housecleaning."

Now, in a situation where you team has gone from Shinola to shit in record time, you can expect some of the players to be less than happy with the direction of the club, and Sullivan has some anonymous quotes to prove that this is indeed happening. The preceeding statement, however, backed not by a single quote, seems awfully shady to me. I can imagine Sullivan the Instigator secretly interviewing anonymous player:

TS: Do you think that Sandy Aldersen didn't do anything to make the team better at the trade deadline because he wants an excuse to run Towers and Bocky out of town after the season?

AP: No, I think John Moore's is a cheap bastard.

TS: So you don't think my scenario is possible?

AP: Well, anything's possible.

See, that player totally pondered that possibility.

Now Sullivan has charged us with the following question. Did Junior Seau know when he gave his empassioned farewell speech, that he was not actually retiring at all? Was he already, in fact, negotiating with Bill Belichek to become a Patriot? Did he dupe the trusting fans of San Diego?

There's no actual reason to believe that is the case, but who cares? It's controversial! Let's call into question the honor of one of this city's greatest athletes. A man who stood as a leader in the community as well as on the field during his tenure here. To call Seau's integrity into question is classless. But should I expect more? Should any of us expect more from the paid writers in this town?

The truth is, even if this turned out to be true(I don't believe it myself) , so what? If he was in negotiation, there was no way he knew it was a sure thing. And if Seau wants to sign on as a hired gun for five more years to try and get his ring, more power to him. He deserves that shot, just as all great players do. Should he suffer for the mistakes of Bobby Beathard and the NFL in general that kept him from achieving the ultimate prize? He chose loyalty over glory for all those years and I say he has the right to chase the latter now. Go Junior. We're still gonna steamroll ya in the playoffs, though. Sorry. Go Bolts!!!

P.S. Don't quote Cheap Trick, Sullivan. They're much to cool for you.

Time To Drop Some Friday Knowledge!

Who knew the chick from Buffy the Vampire Slayer* spent a year as a Charger cheerleader? I did! I did! And now you know. And knowing is half the battle**.

We are so winning the Superbowl this year. Go Bolts!!!

*I totally just nerded out for your entertainment.

**I totally just did it again. Happy Friday!

I gotta Admit, I Didn't See That Coming.

Just heard on the local squawk box that it seems Junior Seau has had a hard time dealing with retirement and is on his way to New England to sign with the Patriots. Okay. Hey Junior, can I have some of your crack? I really bought the whole retirement thing after your Southern Baptist Minister farewell speech. I was truly moved. Well...um...Welcome back.

All kidding aside, I like Junior. Even met him once for a sec, and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. I'll never forget what he meant to this team, especially our one and only Superbowl team, so good luck Junior. See ya in the playoffs. Sorry we'll have to steamroll ya. Go Bolts!!!

Update! Here's a link.

Anything But The Lung!

So, it turns out that preseason bright spot Vincent Jackson has a scratched lung and will likely miss most, if not all, of the rest of preseason. I know you're all thinking, "Great, he's not going to miss any real time at all. Good thing there are four preseason games(I'm lookin' at you, Bro Sweets)!" Well, I'm thinking pretty much the same thing. But deep in the back of my twisted brain lurks another, more sinister thought. Tim Dwight. Now, I don't remember dates and times, and I'm far too lazy at this time of day to look them up, but I do know this. Years back, as a Charger, Tim Dwight suffered a collapsed lung from a vicious hit he took over the middle. He spent some time in the hospital and eventually returned to the team. The thing is, Tim Dwight never really seemed the same to me. The agression and fearlessness that were the Tim Dwight hallmarks always seemed dialed down a notch or two from that point on. His crazy up-the-middle kickoff returns suddenly seemed hesitant and he never really sold out in the middle of the field again. I know that there is a huge difference between a collapsed lung and a scratched one, but- Wait! No I don't. How the hell do you scratch your lung anyway? I mean, cornea? Sure, I've heard of that. Uvula? Unlikely, but at least it's not totally contained deep within your body. Scratched lung sounds like a porn star affliction or a prison yard euphemism. Let's just hope that when the big guy gets back on the field, we've heard the last of this injury. And Vinny, watch out for that pancreas!

In other injury news, most of you know by now that Darren Sproles, or Mighty Mite as I like to call him, was placed on the injured reserve list yesterday. While I think this is something that the team can over come, I know I'll miss watching him zip around the field like a Lightning bug. Also, I hate to expose Michael Turner, Back-up Extraordinaire, to kick off returns.

Lastly, it looks as though Donnie is about ready to come back to practice after a couple weeks of back problems. There has been a fair amount of speculation that Donnie has been playing up his injury and not practicing due to his disdain towards A.J. Smith. Well, I certainly hope so. Go Bolts!!!

I've Still Got Tour de France Fever!

Sorry to take so long to get something in. Being the raging sportsaholic that I am, I decided to cycle my ass up to the burrito place on Sunday. During my impromptu training run I was nearly mowed down by an anonymous person in a pick-up truck (Most likely French, I presume). My only recourse was to slam on the brakes and perform a sweet Endo into Wrist plant. Snap! No really, snap. Spent the rest of the day on ice and yesterday on pain killers, so this is my first chance to post on what I saw Saturday at Jack Q. Murphy Stadium.

I'm sure you all know by now, that my boys looked awfully impressive against an admittedly oft-dominated Green Bay Packers team. The "Magnificent Seven" (Not too sure I care for that moniker) seemed to live up to the hype, providing plenty of pressure right out of the gate. Dare I predict an even more ludicrous sack total than last year? Oh, what the hell, I dare indeed.

Cromartie had a sweet, sweet takeaway late in the game, which is heartening to say the least. What?! Okay, so by that time I'm not even sure I was still in the stadium, but I read about it, and it sounded pretty outstanding. Nobody pays me to write this stuff, people. Cut me some slack.

I liked seeing a whole lot of Philip Rivers. He did not disappoint. I was a big fan of going right back to Big Vinny Jackson and getting it right the second time around. Six points, and a possible sign of a fun tandem to watch in the coming years, perhaps? Whose to say? Me, that's who. They will break all Quarterback to Wide Receiver records in existence. Pumped yet?

Let's talk more about Rivers. Good poise and a great stat line. The O-line had some shaky moments, but mistakes were pretty much non-existent for our new handler. I hear Jay Posner wrote a column where he pulled out the old, "Ryan Leaf was good in preseason too." Well, Jay, I'm pretty much over trying to explain all the differences between Ryan Leaf and Philip Rivers at this point in their respective careers, so I'll leave you with this: You are a Nazi.

This friday we've got Chicago, and this one's on TV, so I get to watch from the comfort of my favorite barstool. Don't get me wrong, I love making my way out to the JQM for some live Charger action, but seeing that it's preseason and all, I'd just as soon go ahead and save a couple hundred bucks. Go Bolts!!!

You're Damn Right I Can Hold A Grudge

First off, I want to thank Deadspin for the attention. It's always flattering when people notice the hard work we're doing over here. You know, using someone else's photoshop as content for our site. Hey, it ain't going to go and post itself and come up with a half-assed snappy headline to boot.

The sentiment is there, though. We here in San Diego can hold a grudge. Not so much that we'll sell out a Sunday night game against ShEli and the Giants, but a grudge just the same. About anything, really. Hell, I may even be petty enough to boycott a bar that kicked me out for making fun of cripple, so don't be surprised to find me pissing on ShEli's grave if I live that long. And not just him, the whole damn family. Anybody catch The Living Choke light it up for a series last night in a meaningless preseason game versus the hapless Rams defense? I especially like the part where Peyton (which is a girl's name, I'd like to point out) kept on throwing the ball inside the ten yard line until he got his touchdown. Wouldn't want to see how the new running game works in the red zone, would we? It's not like I'm surprised. Anybody else think that Ole Edgerrin is looking forward to actually getting a shot at the TD record with a quarterback who doesn't worry so much about padding his stats in the red zone. But I say keep it up Ms. Manning, cause I never get tired of watching those end zone turnovers in the big games.

And what is the deal with Archie Manning? How did we all come to the universally accepted notion that Archie was a great QB on a bad team? The stats don't back it up. I've never seen any astounding game film of Saints receivers dropping perfect pass after perfect pass, or Saints defenders pick up fumbles and running them the wrong way down the field into their own end zone. I did find an old clip where they had a monkey riding a unicycle as a safety, but I'm pretty sure that was faked.

So, suck it, Mannings. You can sit up there in your mansions with your fancy schmancy wine and foie gras, whatever that is, but know in your hearts that Maximum Colossus is displeased with you exploits. Go Bolts!!!

You can't watch your own scrubbies

This football team wants to play here, they want to be good, and they want the fans to see them. Also, the fans WANT to see them, they want them to play here, and the want them to be good (duh).

There is a ton of money to be made by linking up those two sides, so why is that so hard???

In the next installment of blunderings by some strange force that wants to deter the countless people from Tijuana to LA who want to watch a Chargers team play well that wants to play well in San Diego... the first pre-season game is... blacked out? Blacking out a preseason game, you say? Huh? Is that normal? Well, hm, what do other markets who black out their games do during preseason? Oh that's right, other market's don't black out their games! They don't throw a wet blanket over brewing fan excitement and support, not to mention gobs of TV advertising dollars. Blacking out games in the home market is such an inane concept, and blacking out a preseaon game just looks ridiculous.

Did I want to watch Philip not underthrow passes? Yep. Did I want to watch Cromartie pick off Mr. Favre? You bet. Did I want to watch LT stiff arm some fools? (ok- no, not that last one. We know you're a badass, 21, you relax and wait til the 11th). But it's preseason, so I'll just have a few more beers and wait til the 10:30 replay... punters! I hope for the sake of this blog, that I don't have to respond to any regular season F*%ing blackouts.

Go CHARGERS!

Everybody Knows.

Killing Me.

This is going to be a short one because I'm sick of talking about and if you don't know how I feel by now, you are obviously not paying attention. I came by this little nugget in Jeffri Chadiha's Chargers' training camp postcard:

Donnie Edwards isn't shy about discussing his bitterness towards Chargers general manager A.J. Smith. After failing to get the Chargers to give him a contract extension this offseason, the linebacker has been searching for a trade over the last few months. He says his agent, Tom Condon, has found some willing suitors but Smith's high asking price -- a second-round pick, according to Edwards -- is killing interest. "I would've liked for things to be different here but they aren't," says Edwards, an 11-year veteran who has led San Diego in tackles in each of the last four years. "We had permission to seek a trade, we found some offers and now I'm ready to put this to rest. It's time for a change. [Smith] has made this a very difficult environment to work in and I'm ready to just go some place where I'm appreciated."

Do you get the feeling that A.J. Smith does this sort of garbage to prove a point? "Hey Donnie, if you're so great, why can't I get a second round pick for you? Now shut up and go do your job." What a complete a-hole. Not that I want him to go, but I hope Donnie ultimately winds up in a place where he can be happy. I hope it's outside of the west, though, because I get the feeling if he's ever given the chance he's going to make A.J. eat this crap. Go Bolts!!!

Random Reporter May Be Right.

So, in case you haven’t figured it out, CJ and I didn’t quite make it to training camp over the weekend. We called each others bluffs, got thoroughly hammered Friday night and an early morning rainy day Charger workout just wasn’t in the cards. Be that as it may, don’t be worried that we haven’t had our ears to the ground on this stuff. I, myself have gone so far as to gather up all the hearsay and speculation I can handle.

Let’s start with Roman Oben. His health has been a big concern this off-season. As he goes, so seems to go our O-line production. Well, too bad. His foot is hurt. How’s that for in depth coverage? His foot is hurt and they don’t know for sure how long it will hurt. The kind of in depth coverage you’ve come to expect from this web log. The team has been pumping up Oben’s back-up last year, Leander Jordan, but that’s to be expected. The good news is that second round pick Marcus McNeil has apparently been quite impressive. Of course, his back has been hurt in the past. It doesn’t seem to hurt now, but it could hurt later. It’s science, people. More on all that crap as it develops.

How about that Rashaun Woods pick up we made a month or so back? You remember, when we swapped disappointing former first rounder Sammy Davis, for San Fran’s disappointing first rounder, Woods? Well, I don’t know how 'likely future pro bowler' Davis is doing over there in Frisco, but Woods is gone. That’s right, gone. Within four days of the start of training camp, it seems Woods was unable to set himself apart from the likes of Malcolm Floyd and Greg Camarillo. If you don’t know who those guys are just pop your head in to the closet of any true Charger fan and perhaps the sight of an authentic No.4 or No.13 jersey will refresh your memory.

Coming on the heels of the clear-cutting of the Woods (BAM!) story is convenient news that Vincent Jackson, third round last year if I’m not mistaken, is a total stud at receiver. Don’t believe me? Well, check it out, Schottenheimer had this to say: “He’s a very gifted player.” In your face, TO!

And for the news I know you’ve been waiting for…What’s the deal with Phillip Rivers? The answer…No idea. I haven’t heard squat. But I did send this little tidbit to myself just now.

Random reporter from made up news rag says:

“Watching Phillip Rivers take control of the offense brings to mind names like Montana, Elway, Unitas and Graham. Unflappable as Favre and with a release that rivals Marino, the Chargers appear to be in the most capable of hands. Their run at Super Bowl glory has not stalled with this driver behind the wheel. In fact, if anything, more horses have been thrown under the hood of this Lightning fast Bolt machine.”

Wow, random reporter! Relax. I’m sure young Phillip appreciates the praise, but a man of such great humility as Mr. Rivers craves not haughty accolades as these, no matter how well deserved. Go Bolts!!!