Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Generally I’m on board with blanket pessimism; it fits my nature as a scorned fan.
With the San Diego Chargers, the hype machine has burned me far too many times during my lengthy tenure (dating back to the days of Natrone Means, google him) as a supporter. I have calloused repeatedly to just how good the Bolts can or will be, but that doesn’t mean I’m Negative Nancy about everything either.
The good folks over at the Worldwide Leader have been busy projecting anything and everything they can think of lately, and one thing that has been getting a lot of attention is their future rankings. These composite rankings evaluate everything from a team’s front office to their latest draft class and current roster.
How did the Bolts fare?
Well, as if my pessimistic optimism didn’t give it away, they aren’t very upbeat on San Diego’s future. According to these evaluations, there are only three rosters in the entire league worse than San Diego’s. The 2016 rankings have the Bolts projected 25th out of the 32 teams.
Now obviously trying to project three years down the line is difficult with a franchise quarterback who is already in his prime in Philip Rivers and other aging pieces at key positions like Malcom Floyd at wide receiver and Nick Hardwick at center. But it seems like the evaluators completely forgot about the young and already mildly successful defense that the Chargers have assembled.
The defensive line is arguably aspiring to be one of the league’s best with Cam Thomas being the oldest of the group at just 25 years of age. Corey Liuget is coming into his own while Kendall Reyes is just beginning to scratch the surface on his potential. Donald Butler headlines a linebacking corps that is solid with the addition of rookie Manti Te’o this past April in the 2013 NFL Draft. The secondary is young and unproven with a near complete overhaul this offseason, but safety Eric Weddle is still one of the league’s best at his position.
Please tell me you are following me here?
It’s not like the offense is completely washed up either as D.J. Fluker was drafted to help anchor the offensive line for the next decade while wide outs Danario Alexander, Vincent Brown, and Keenan Allen are all 24 years of age or younger.
If you want to attach the label of unproven to the team’s front office and coaching staff that’s just fine, but don’t expect me to trust your judgment of a front office based on one offseason and a coaching staff that hasn’t even conducted a training camp yet.
In short, these rankings are completely bogus. General manager Tom Telesco and head coach Mike McCoy could just as easily have the Chargers winning the Super Bowl three years from now as they could be on the hot seat.
Anthony Blake is a Senior Writer/Copy Editor for Rant Sports. You Can Follow Him on Twitter, on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
