San Diego Chargers Information
The San Diego Chargers have been members of the NFL since the merger from the AFL in 1970, and over those 30-plus years, they’ve won five division championships and made seven playoff appearances. Their only Super Bowl showing came in 1994 when they were beaten by the San Francisco 49ers. The Chargers haven’t made the playoffs in 10 years, but the team is optimistic they can bounce back from their 4-12 2003 season. The Chargers had the first pick in the 2004 draft, and they chose Eli Manning, a quarterback from the University of Mississippi. Manning is the younger brother of Peyton and son of Archie, both successful QBs in the league. However, Manning told the team he wouldn’t play for them and demanded a trade. The Chargers chose to trade him to the New York Giants in exchange for rookie QB Philip Rivers, a 2004 third round pick, and 2005 first and fifth rounders. Rivers, out of NC State, was even on the board with the Chargers, so they felt they were walking away winners in the deal. In addition to acquiring an enthusiastic young star that wanted to play for San Diego, the Chargers also got draft picks they can use to build a team around Rivers.
Marty Schottenheimer, the head coach of the Chargers, will handle the responsibility of tutoring Rivers in his first year, most likely spent on the bench for most of the season. Drew Brees is capable of leading a team while Rivers adjusts to the system, but the team would like to work Rivers in sooner than later. LaDainian Tomlinson might be the best running back in the league, but he gets absolutely no coverage playing in San Diego. Tomlinson rushed for 1,645 yards on a 5.3 yards per carry average (longest was 73) with 13 touchdowns. His best rushing stat might be the fact he had zero fumbles. He also caught 100 balls out of the backfield for another 725 yards and four more touchdowns. As good as “LT” has been over the last few seasons, he might need to be even better since the team traded away receiver David Boston to the Miami Dolphins. Boston had the capability to post a 1,500 yard receiving season, but he simply never worked out in San Diego and the Chargers felt they needed to move him this off-season. Tomlinson has basically been carrying this team on his back for the last two seasons, leading the team in rushing and receiving statistics, but he’ll get more help in 2004.
Donnie Edwards led what was a disappointing defense during the 2003 season with his 162 tackles (126 solo). Naturally, he also recorded a team high 6.5 tackles for loss. Adrian Dingle had six sacks to lead the Chargers in that category and Jerry Wilson forced three fumbles to lead there. Quentin Jammer, out of the University of Texas, led the Chargers with four interceptions and 13 passed defensed. He’ll team up again with 2003 secondary partner Sammy Davis to form one of the best young defensive groups in the league.
Obviously, the selection of Philip Rivers via trade from New York was the highlight of the draft for the San Diego Chargers, but they didn’t stop after that move. They had another 10 picks, and with their next one, they selected Igor Olshansky out of Oregon. The pick was the 35th overall, and Olshansky is a defensive tackle that should really help out in his new San Diego home. With the third round pick acquired in the Manning/Rivers deal, the Chargers selected Nate Kaeding, a place kicker out of Iowa. Kaeding showed last year that he was the best kicker in the nation, and he’ll likely start in his rookie season with the Chargers. Six of their last eight picks in the 2004 draft were used to select lineman on both sides of the ball, so the Chargers are hoping Brees or Rivers will have better protection in 2004.