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 By Jack Lepiarz Jan. 13, 2007 On the surface, it looks like the San Diego Chargers are well on their way to winning the Superbowl. They've clinched home-field advantage, they've got the best record in all of football, and their next opponent, the New England Patriots, is a team that, despite recent success, has had a shaky season (to put it bluntly). But when one looks a little deeper, you start to see that the Chargers really aren't "all that and a bag of chips." First of all, the Chargers did not have a difficult schedule this year. They played the Oakland Raiders (2-14) twice. They played the horrible San Francisco 49ers, and a myriad of other sub-par teams. In fact, they only played one team (to whom they lost) with more than nine wins, which was the Baltimore Ravens. The best team that they beat all year was the Kansas City Chiefs, who were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, and still only had nine wins. They also lost to the Chiefs the other time they played them. Their offense is excellent, there's no getting around that. They're ranked fourth in total offense, and tenth in total defense. They're first in points scored, and seventh in points allowed. That's nothing to sneeze at, but once again, let me reiterate that those numbers are highly inflated by the laughable schedule they had this year. If you compare that to the Patriots (my pick for tomorrow afternoon), the Patriots had to play the Jets twice (three times including last Sunday), they had to play the Chicago Bears, and they had to play the Indianapolis Colts. Three excellent teams, all of whom made it to the playoffs, and all of whom had ten wins or more. The Chargers did not have a schedule like that. And then you've also got the coaching staff. The Chargers' head coach, Marty Schottenheimer is just 5-12 in the postseason. Compare that with the Patriots' Bill Belicheck, who is 12-2 in the postseason, and you begin to see a very different picture. Belicheck has won the Superbowl three times. Obviously, he knows how to lead a team to a championship. Marty Schottenheimer does not. The number one factor in this game between the Chargers and the Patriots is how LaDanian Tomlinson plays. He's had great success in their last two meetings, running for over 200 yards in their game last season (a game in which the Chargers thoroughly trounced the Patriots). However, the Patriots also possess the best front seven of any team in football--so if they can stop the run then they should put themselves in an excellent position. Also, this will be rookie quarterback Philip Rivers' first playoff game. If the Patriots can shut him down in the first quarter, it'll go a long way to getting into his head and messing up his rhythm. Overall, I predict, very confidently, a Patriots victory (and a Ravens victory as well, but that's beside the point). I wouldn't bet my house on it, because you can never say for sure in the playoffs, but statistically, there is no reason that the Patriots shouldn't trounce the Chargers. ------------ About the author: Jack Lepiarz is an 18-year-old college student at Emerson College in Boston. He also co-hosts the Katherine and Jack Show on UthTV.com and has been performing various circus talents for the past several years. Though often described as stubborn and egotistical, he tries to keep an open mind and treat others the way he would like to be treated. Email: Jackwuzhere42@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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