Week 17 Pre-Game - Chargers (10-5) @ Oakland (4-11)

Posted by Charger_Girl

December 28, 2007 |

Hmmm, well, I ought to predict BIG things for the Chargers (after all they have won their 2nd AFC West title in 2 years and….come on, you all know the words by now…..their 3rd in 4 years!); however, being a long-time Chargers fan, things don’t always happen the way they should.

Last meeting, LaDaininan Tomlinson ran for 4 TDs in a 28-14 win by the Chargers. But that was when Oakland at least had a shot (remember, they actually led the division for, what, 15 hours?!?)

The Raiders are coming off a throttling by Jacksonville (scary, scary team….I don’t want to have to play them again….well, er, I mean I don’t want my boys to have to play them again) as the Chargers smoked the Broncos…..again! JaMarcus Russell will be getting his first start (wow, #1 pick in the draft starting in the LAST game of the season…..WTG Al Davis!) He did toss his first TD last week…..oh, along with 3 INTs in (get this) “limited play.”

Barring any stupendous 300-yd rushing game by Adrian Peterson (MIN) like he did against, oh, um, San Diego in week 9, LT ought to have the rushing title won and will probably sit most of the game to let Michael Turner and Darren Sproles (behind Andrew Pinnock - I will NEVER forget to mention him again!) run rampant on the Raiders who have practically disintegrated before our very happy eyes. Philip Rivers may get a breather should the Chargers get ahead comfortably (to me that’s about 45 points….but who knows with Norv?) to rest his injured leg. However, San Diego does not want to lose that #3 seed to Pittsburgh, because the #4 seed gets to play Jacksonville (UGH!)

The Chargers do have some injuries that need resting (Rivers, Merriman, Kaeding, Gates) and unlike the New York Giants who can rest everyone and just let the Patriots go undefeated (big whoop de doo); we do need to maintain that #3 seed.

Actually, let me digress a moment. In my grand scheme of how I want the playoffs to look (and if you’re reading this you must be as diehard a Chargers fan as I am, or you don’t like them, in which case I don’t really care what you think) I’m hoping for Jacksonville to defeat Pittsburgh, and then defeat New England (blech.) That way, once the Chargers beat either Tennessee or Cleveland, and then the Colts (again), San Diego would host the AFC Championship Game and hopefully defeat Jacksonville to meet Green Bay in the Super Bowl, and kill them.