Well, the fans have spoken: On a recent poll conducted here at BoltHype, the majority of voters wanted to see the San Diego Chargers face the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XLIII. The New Orleans Saints were the other favorites garnering 26% of the votes. But the overwhelming majority spoke, and they chose the Chargers vs the Cowboys.

Think of the storylines: Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips was the former Defensive Coordinator in San Diego. It was he who brought the 3-4 defense to the West Coast.

And lets not forget the great debate between Demarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman as NFL prospects coming in to the 2005 season. At the time, Bill Parcells, then the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, said something to the effect of "I don't have time to deal with gangbangers" in reference to Merriman. As such, the Cowboys selected Demarcus Ware over Shawne Merriman with the 11th overall pick in 2005. Forever the two will be linked: who ultimately will prevail as the greatest 3-4 outside linebacker?

And of course there are the two controversial Pro Bowl Quarterbacks and their respective lengthy storylines. Philip Rivers and Tony Romo have each experienced their share of praise and condemnation. Who will emerge as the Super Bowl winning Quarterback?

Two superstars in L.T. and T.O. will be battling it out to deliver the biggest plays. On one hand you have the brash and arrogant Terrell Owens, and on the other you have the humble and proud Ladainian Tomlinson. Together, the two are considered the top playmakers at their respective positions.

And on a side note, the Dallas Cowboys have arguably the best Cheerleaders in the NFL, but the San Diego Chargers also claim to have the best squad in football. The can you imagine the dance-off; it would be epic!

Like I said, there are plenty of storylines to connect these two star-powered team, and we'll be able to see first-hand how the two clubs stack up in the preseason. If you want tickets to see these powerhouse play eachother in person, you can still get Chargers tickets. The Chargers and Cowboys will face off in the preseason, but I for one am certainly hoping it wont be the last time these two powerhouses meet.

Subscribe to this Chargers blog

There's no doubt the Chargers are one of the NFL's elite teams. Loaded with star power, the Bolts are nasty on defense and high-powered on offense. There are few teams in the league that can match up with the talent on San Diego's roster.

Since the organization turned itself around in 2004, the Chargers have complied an impressive 46-18 regular season record. The only teams with better regular season records over the past four years are the Indianapolis Colts (51-13) and the New England Patriots (52-12).

This year, the second under Head Coach Norv Turner, the Chargers will be looking to improve across the board. The Bolts had a shaky start last season so you gotta figure they'd like to start fast in 2008.

Lets have a look at the Chargers schedule and try to predict their win/loss record for the '08 season:

Sept 7 CAROLINA 1:15 pm (This win is sewed up)
Sept 14 @ Denver 1:15 pm (Another win)
Sept 22 NY JETS 5:30 pm (Mark up a win)
Sept 28 @ Oakland 1:05 pm (Guaranteed win)
Oct 5 @ Miami 10:00 am (This could actually be a tough game)
Oct 12 NEW ENGLAND 5:15 pm (Too tough to call)
Oct 19 @ Buffalo 10:00 am (Chargers play well in Buffalo)
Oct 26 @ New Orleans 10:00 am (London) (Super Bowl type game...it'll be tough)
Nov 2 BYE (Chargers will need this bye week badly)
Nov 9 KANSAS CITY 1:15 pm (Slam dunk win)
Nov 16 @ Pittsburgh 1:15 pm (Ouch)
Nov 23 INDIANAPOLIS 5:15 pm (Chargers match up too well...but still not an easy win)
Nov 30 ATLANTA 1:05 pm (Lock)
Dec 4 OAKLAND 5:15 pm (Another lock)
Dec 14 @ Kansas City 10:00 am (Hmmm...this one could be rough)
Dec 21 @ Tampa Bay 5:15 pm (Chargers will have to travel far for this one)
Dec 28 DENVER 1:15 pm (Lets close out the season with a win)

So the way I see it, there are seven guaranteed wins on this schedule - by that I mean could play the second stringers all year long and still win seven games. Of course, there are also about nine tough games the Chargers will have to play. If you figure the Chargers make out on the winning end more often than not in those games, then that gives you another five wins. So I think a 12-4 record is very realistic.

12-4 means the Chargers will have to play some playoff games to get to the big dance. They probably wont have the luxury of first round byes and such. But no matter; ask General Manager AJ Smith and he'll tell you "just get in the tournament, and make some noise once you get there."

So my prediction for the year? 12-4 regular season, AFC West Champions, third seed in the AFC, Super Bowl XLIII Champions! What your prediction? Does anyone want to go on record with a prediction? Let's have it!

Subscribe to this Chargers blog

Hey everyone, well while Robert is going off to Thailand until May 7th I've volunteered to continue giving you guys updates on the Chargers while he is gone.

First off let me introduce myself; My name is Jake, and I'm about as big of a Chargers fan as you will ever meet. I think I have a very interesting opinion regarding the status of our team, but don't worry; I'm not one sided on anything. I understand we all have our own opinions and am open to hearing every one of them. If you guys would like your thoughts on anything regarding the Chargers, please feel free!

Anyways, as some of you may know the schedule for this upcoming season came out this afternoon, and it looks like it's one of our easiest schedules in the last five years. Judging by our opponents, I believe there is no reason why we shouldn't be at least a 13-3 team.

Games I'm looking forward to:

Week 6- New England(Now they are on our turf this season)

Week 8-New Orleans in London(Go against Drew Brees and let's see how we do with the overseas jet lag)

Week 12-Indianapolis (Always a good game and will they still have problems beating us?)

Week 13-Atlanta (How will our defense react to "The Burner" on the other side?)

Week 17-Denver (There just isn't anything better then getting Denver at home for the final game of the season.)

If you guys have any other thoughts let me know what you think.


Read: San Diego Chargers 2008 NFL Regular Season Schedule


Subscribe in a reader

AFC

WILD CARD WEEKEND
Saturday, Jan. 5

#5 Jacksonville Jaguars (11-5) at #4 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6), 5 p.m. PST (NBC)

Sunday, Jan. 6

#6 Tennessee Titans (10-6) at #3 San Diego Chargers (11-5), 1:30 p.m. PST (CBS)

#1 New England Patriots (16-0) and #2 Indianapolis Colts (13-2) have first-round byes.


DIVISIONAL ROUND
Jan. 12-13

San Diego, Pittsburgh or Jacksonville at Indianapolis

Pittsburgh, Jacksonville or Tennessee at New England


NFC

WILD CARD WEEKEND
Saturday, Jan. 5

#6 Washington Redskins (9-7) at #3 Seattle Seahawks (10-6), 1:30 p.m. PST (NBC)

Sunday, Jan. 6

#5 New York Giants (10-6) at #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7), 10 a.m. PST (Fox)

#1 Dallas Cowboys (13-3) and #2 Green Bay Packers (13-3) have first-round byes.


DIVISIONAL ROUND
Jan. 12-13

Tampa Bay or New York or Washington at Dallas

Seattle, Tampa Bay or New York at Green Bay


AFC, NFC Championships: Sunday, Jan. 20


Super Bowl XLII: Sunday, Feb. 3, 3 p.m., University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, Ariz.)

Subscribe in a reader

san diego chargers

The Chargers had an amazing season in 2006; one might even call it 'magical'

“It seems like it is magical, the way things are happening for us,” Tomlinson said. “It's just kind of going right for us. Even with the injuries we have had, things are still going right. Let's just hope it ends in a magical season.”

Fourteen wins set a new franchise record, and it was an experience no Chargers fan can say they ever felt before. The Chargers seemed to be on cruise control the entire season - on the fast lane to the Super Bowl. LaDainian Tomlinson was in the drivers seat as he rewrote the record books and piled on the accolades, including the the most prestigious award in football, the NFL MVP.

Fans went watched every game with an uncanny expectation that the Chargers would crush their opponent. And the Bolts responded with win, after win, after win. Fans were witness to the coming of next 'great one.' Philip Rivers emerged as the new face of the franchise and a guy with whom the front office, and in a sense the fans as well, would entrust the future of the team.

Shawne Merriman was unlike anything some fans can even remember seeing. Arguably the most dominant player in the NFL, 'Lights Out' has become the best sackmaster in the game with an uncanny 17.5 in the 2006 regular season. He averages more than one sack per game, a statistic no one in the NFL can match (although Shaun Phillips comes close!). In December of 06, I decided to do the math and came to the conclusion that over the past two seasons, Shawne Merriman has averaged 1.13 per start.

This is barely scratching the surface of the Chargers regular season, but it seemed that none of it mattered once in the playoffs. Indeed, in the playoffs you can throw out all the regular season accolades and accomplishments because they count for nothing. As as quickly as the Chargers entered the playoffs, they exited. With that exit came the questioning and finger-pointing and along with the Bolts' regular season record, the memory of the season seemed to be thrown out of the window.

Immediately following the playoff loss to the Patriots, Charger players and coaches reflected on the accomplishments of the season but finished with the bitterness of the loss:

“All year, things bounced our way. With that said, we still had the opportunity to win the game. We just failed to do it.” - Luis Castillo

“Our guys played their hearts out today. Obviously we’re very, very disappointed in the outcome of this football game, but this team had a hell of a year. We turned the ball over four times, and you can’t do that and expect to win.” - Marty Schottenheimer

It has been a long offseason and there is still the expectation that the Bolts will reach the Super Bowl (and ultimately win it) in 2008. But it occurred to me that maybe we as fans haven't fully appreciated what we have witnessed during the 2006 regular season, and that maybe it was time to remind ourselves that we had the great fortune to be taken on one hell of a ride.

Here's looking forward to many more rides in the future. Go Chargers!

The NFL announced the entire 2007 regular season schedule today and award the Chargers with three prime-time, nationally televised games. The season starts with a bang when the NFC Champion Chicago Bears come to town, and the following week the Chargers travel to New England in a rematch of the AFC Divisional game.

Last year I predicted a 12-4 finish and I was eerily accurate in that prediction. Had the Chargers not beat Cincinnati and Denver with back-to-back fourth quarter wins, I would have been perfect in my prognosis. Obviously I am glad to have been wrong with the Chargers posting a franchise record 14 wins.

Lets look at the Chargers 2007 regular season schedule:

Sep 9 Chicago 4:15pm
Sep 16 @New England 8:15pm
Sep 23 @Green Bay 1:00pm
Sep 30 Kansas City 4:15pm
Oct 7 @Denver 4:15pm
Oct 14 Oakland 4:15pm
Week 7 BYE
Oct 28 Houston 4:05pm
Nov 4 @Minnesota 1:00pm
Nov 11 Indianapolis 8:15pm
Nov 18 @Jacksonville 1:00pm
Nov 25 Baltimore 4:15pm
Dec 2 @Kansas City 1:00pm
Dec 9 @Tennessee 1:00pm
Dec 16 Detroit 4:15pm
Dec 24 Denver 8:00pm
Dec 30 @Oakland 4:15pm

This time around the NFL hooked up the Chargers with a Week 7 Bye, with a home game before and after the bye. This could be a crucial part of the schedule and should help with any midseason injuries the players might have.

Out of the blocks I see the Chargers cruising to an impressive 9-0 start. The first loss I see is at Jacksonville where the Jags are always tough. Playing the Ravens right after the Jags is going to be brutal, but I see the Chargers squeaking out a win at home.

However, the toll of that physical game might be too much, and Kansas City will benefit from having two weeks of game tapes where the Chargers faced great defenses. Herm Edwards and staff will use this to their advantage and beat the Chargers in KC.

The final loss I see is when the Bolts host the Broncos. Denver plays unusually well against the Chargers in December, especially here in San Diego. I could see the Broncos learning from their mistakes earlier in the season and edging out a win.

Other than two division opponents who always give the Chargers fits, the only other team that really scares me is Jacksonville. I could easily see 12 to 13 wins with this schedule, even though, on paper, it looks considerably more difficult than last year's.

My prediction is 13-3 but this MIGHT change after the draft and the end of Free Agency. But as it stands right now, I am confident the Chargers will make the playoffs with a double-digit win total.