San Diego went into the 2004 draft with glaring needs at offensive tackle, defensive line, and wide receiver: two of which were neglected until the later rounds. Sure, the Chargers pulled off the trade of the century (note: it is very early in this century) to acquire Philip Rivers, but their offensive line is either aged, young, horrible, or all three. And, their wide receiver core is pathetic at best.
Although San Diego did not really address their offensive line in the draft, they did trade for Roman Oben (left tackle). But, Oben is a band-aid for a gaping wound. Are Roman Oben and Shane Olivea (right tackle) all that much better than Damion McIntosh and Vaughn Parker? No. Leander Jordan and Carlos Joseph, a seventh round draft pick, will be the back-ups; neither of them will ever, nor should ever, be a starter. In short, San Diego needed to use an early round draft pick to solidify this position for the future, and they did not.
Moving inside to the guards, Mike Goff was a crucial signing since "perennial back-up / bust" Toniu Fonoti seems to have gained even more weight this off-season. Kris Dielman, David Brandt, and Courtney Van Buren seem to be like pinch-hitters: the coaching staff plugs one of them in wherever there appears to be a hole.
At center, Jason Ball is a stud...but he is holding out. Since, the Chargers drafted Nick Hardwick, Cory Raymer became expendable. Looks like Hardwick might be starting...but probably not. I predict that Ball and the Chargers will get a deal done before the first game of the season. If not, the Chargers are prepared to move on without him.
Back to the need at wide receiver. The Chargers thought they had their "franchise player" in David Boston, but he was more of a distraction than he was worth; hence, he was traded for next to nothing. Tim Dwight was demoted to the third receiver...two years too late. The wide receiver who catches my eye is Eric Parker; he is a former rookie free-agent who has outplayed the former round two pick, Reche Caldwell. Speaking of Caldwell, Reche will most likely lose his starting job to Kassim Osgood by the end of the season. Obviously, in infusion of talent was needed at this position. Alas....
Maybe the tight ends are better than the wide-outs, but then again, maybe not. Antonio Gates is a gem in the rough, found as a rookie free-agent a few years ago. Justin Peelle and rookie Ryan Krause are nothing special. In short, to whom is Philip River going to throw the football?
Speaking of throwing the football, I was a Brees fan. Brees was productive in college, yet not in the NFL. In his defense, he played behind a horrific offensive line in San Diego. But, what is done is done, and Philip Rivers is the starter...with the same piece-meal offensive line. Considering how well this offensive line protects, all I can say is, "Hey Phil. Watch your back." Really though, Rivers is the player who Marty Schottenheimer (head coach) wanted all along, and Marty got his man. So, I am happy for him.
The most glaring positive on the Chargers is LaDainian Tomlinson (aka LT). The guy is bar-none, hands-down, without question the best running back, and maybe the best overall player, in the entire NFL. I love to watch this kid run. The only problem is that San Diego runs LT way too much. I worry that in a few years, LT will go the way of Earl Campbell (i.e. run himself into retirement). If Marty is smart, he will rest LT on third downs and use Jesse Chatman or rookie Michael Turner instead.
