This game will come down to the Chargers special teams

[lightningbolt]

Hello, from a Chargers fan. It's been a while since the Chargers have played the Pats so I haven't gotten a chance to post here for a long time. Anyways, my prediction might seem obvious to chargers fans but Pats fans might not accept it as much. In my opinion, the only thing that will determine this game is how well the chargers special teams play.

If we have no special teams mistakes then the Chargers will win in my opinion; we have a red hot offense and our defense is better than the Pats defense so while it might turn into a shootout, the Chargers should win the game, especially since we're at home. If this game were in Boston I wouldn't give it to the chargers but the fact that we tend to play very well at home will give us the edge as long as our special teams doesn't commit anymore costly errors.

 

[SuperPatsFan]

Welcome back!

Opinion noted.

Best of luck Sunday.

 

[ALP]

i saw the thread title and thought: man, another pats fan w/o belief? dont we have enough? its not just our ST that are better than SD, but offense, and defense too

and then i realized its a SD fan

 

[lightningbolt]

i saw the thread title and thought: man, another pats fan w/o belief? dont we have enough? its not just our ST that are better than SD, but offense, and defense too

and then i realized its a SD fan

Yea The Pats are a great team this year; much better than the Chargers but if you take away the Chargers special teams mistake this year, we'd be 6-0 and not 2-4 because every game we've lost so far has involved horrible play on the part of our special teams. So, maybe it's too much to ask for 0 special teams errors but if that can happen then I think we should win.

 

[lightningbolt]

Welcome back!

Opinion noted.

Best of luck Sunday.

Thanks! Same to the Pats. Hopefully we have an injury free game.

 

[Patspsycho]

I am not so sure. There is a lot of inconsistency as far as the Chargers are concerned. Blaming it all on ST is stretching it a bit too thin. From what I see.. Rivers can drive it down the field, but seems to have trouble finishing it.

 

[GroganCountry]

Gates health is also going to be a factor.

 

[lightningbolt]

I am not so sure. There is a lot of inconsistency as far as the Chargers are concerned. Blaming it all on ST is stretching it a bit too thin. From what I see.. Rivers can drive it down the field, but seems to have trouble finishing it.

Rivers doesn't have trouble finishing a drive; he's tied for second most TDs of any QB and the leader only has one more TD than him:

Top 4 QBs by touchdown:

Peyton Manning - 13
Philip Rivers - 12
Drew Brees - 12
Tom Brady - 10



We aren't as good this year in the redzone due to not having Vincent Jackson as an extra weapon but we certainly aren't doing bad.

 

[lightningbolt]

Gates health is also going to be a factor.

True. Last time he had a toe injury he wasn't as effective afterwards for several games and I expect that to be the case this time as well.

 

[xmarkd400x]

I'm crossing my fingers for the pats D to hold an opponent under 20 points. If that happens, I think the Pats win, special teams or not.

That being said, special teams is a big focus for this game since it has played a big part in NE wins and SD losses. I'm just hoping the D does well enough that special teams doesn't matter. =)

Am I dreaming too much?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I'm finding it hard to believe that this team has a top caliber offense and defense. Stats do lie. There is simply no way you lose to the Rams, Raiders, Seahawks, and Chiefs with that kind of dominance, regardless of how bad the special teams plays.

A few factors to note here:

-The best team the Chargers have played: Kansas City. Their schedule has been a cakewalk, yet they are 2-4. They dominated Arizona and Jacksonville. The Patriots have arguably beaten three better teams than the Chargers have played: Miami, Cincinnati, and Baltimore. Any decent team would rank near the top of offense and defense with the Chargers schedule. But even an average team would be 3-3 or 4-2 versus the garbage they've played.

-Beyond the stats, New England is coming off huge wins against Miami and Baltimore in two games where no one picked them to win. The team chemistry is their highest since 2007. The Chargers are a train wreck right now. If you don't think that's a factor, you don't realize that football is a game highly based on team concepts.

-I'm sick of hearing about how much talent the Chargers have. Clearly they lack depth, or their special teams play would not be such a nightmare. It's obvious that they also lack solid young players based on their drafts for the last five years. The Chargers draft based on need, which according to Bill Belichick, is a bad idea, because if you miss, you have two holes instead of one. The Chargers drafted Ryan Matthews to replace LT/Turner and drafted Larry English to replace Merriman. I believe their franchise is about to hit a tailspin after hitting the lottery with a plethora of home run draft picks in the mid-decade.

-If you don't think the loss of Malcolm Floyd and the injury to Antonio Gates will be factors, you're nuts. Nate Kaeding's injury does not make me think the special teams will magically resolve itself.

-The Patriots will win this game. I don't know the final score, but it doesn't matter. The Chargers have always been an undisciplined bunch with a shoddy head coach that gets by with talent. This year, I don't see it happening. Chargers fans seem to think that because they've turned it around in the past, it's just a matter of time. Well, they should have hit the panic button because with their schedule, this is a sign of a bad team, not a good team off to a slow start. The Patriots are a borderline elite team. They will win.

 

[redsx8827]

Chargers have an explosive offense this season, but not a consistent one. They are 18th on 3rd down %, while the Patriots are 3rd. The patriots hae also played the two best defenses in the NFL, while the Chargers haven't played a team that will finish above .500 this year (nor a really good defense). How many 3 and outs did the Chargers have against Oak and Stl? The patriots will win this game because SD can't convert on third downs. The Chargers are much worse on defense than the ever-improving Pats defense. Don't kid yourself into thinking the chargers would win a zero turnover game without any big special teams plays on either side.

Rivers doesn't have trouble finishing a drive; he's tied for second most TDs of any QB and the leader only has one more TD than him:

Top 4 QBs by touchdown:

Peyton Manning - 13
Philip Rivers - 12
Drew Brees - 12
Tom Brady - 10



We aren't as good this year in the redzone due to not having Vincent Jackson as an extra weapon but we certainly aren't doing bad.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Let's sum this up:

Pats offense- clearly good enough to score against good defensive teams, especially during critical moments in the game

Chargers offense- clearly NOT good enough to score against BAD defensive teams, especially during critical moments in the game

Pats defense- clearly good enough to stop good offensive teams, especially during critical moments in the game

Chargers defense- clearly NOT good enough to stop BAD offensive teams, especially during critical moments in the game

Pats special teams- spectacular

Chargers special teams- joke

Pats coaching- best head coach in the NFL

Chargers coaching- best head coach in the NFL at almost getting fired

Verdict- you figure it out

 

[WhiteWesWelker88]

Rivers doesn't have trouble finishing a drive; he's tied for second most TDs of any QB and the leader only has one more TD than him:

Top 4 QBs by touchdown:

Peyton Manning - 13
Philip Rivers - 12
Drew Brees - 12
Tom Brady - 10



We aren't as good this year in the redzone due to not having Vincent Jackson as an extra weapon but we certainly aren't doing bad.

"Stats are for losers.... the final score is for winners" BB the Legend

YouTube - Fitzy Presents: Philip Rivers' FANalyst Funhole!

 

[Patjew]

Yea The Pats are a great team this year; much better than the Chargers but if you take away the Chargers special teams mistake this year, we'd be 6-0 and not 2-4 because every game we've lost so far has involved horrible play on the part of our special teams. So, maybe it's too much to ask for 0 special teams errors but if that can happen then I think we should win.

Pats would be 5-0 and not 4-1 if their offense didn't crap the bed for one half.

But I can live with 4-1.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Pats would be 5-0 and not 4-1 if their offense didn't crap the bed for one half.

But I can live with 4-1.

Why stop there? If the Patriots had just played well in the second half last year, played all their games at home, and not played Baltimore in the playoffs, that 19-0 dream redemption would have been completed.

 

[Dufflebagz]

It won't be a ST "mistake" when Tate takes 1,2, maybe 6 to the house. Just pure Patriot domination leaving your ST with no chance.

 

[DaBruinz]

Hello, from a Chargers fan. It's been a while since the Chargers have played the Pats so I haven't gotten a chance to post here for a long time. Anyways, my prediction might seem obvious to chargers fans but Pats fans might not accept it as much. In my opinion, the only thing that will determine this game is how well the chargers special teams play.

If we have no special teams mistakes then the Chargers will win in my opinion; we have a red hot offense and our defense is better than the Pats defense so while it might turn into a shootout, the Chargers should win the game, especially since we're at home. If this game were in Boston I wouldn't give it to the chargers but the fact that we tend to play very well at home will give us the edge as long as our special teams doesn't commit anymore costly errors.

Gee.. Whoda thunk it??? Chargers fan predicting a Chargers win while blatantly ignoring facts. Typical of a Chargers fa.

Here are some facts that you clearly ignored. Malcolm Floyd is out. Gates has already missed 2 practices and Turner is already game-planning for him to not be there. Matthews has done squat this year. Tolbert has a couple of good weeks and hasn't done squat since. Vincent Jackson doesn't return until next week.

The Chargers special teams has been horrible to this point. Especially on punt coverages. Opponents are getting 24.4 yards per punt return... That is only slightly behind the 25.1 YPR that the Chargers have been allowing on Kick Returns. Also, Brandon Tate is still the #2 KR in the league with his 32.6 YPR average.

The Chargers defense hasn't face a team that has as dynamic an offense as the Pats. Not with Welker, Branch, Tate, Hernandez, Gronkowski, Edelman, and Woodhead.

Oh.. another thing that should have the Chargers fans worried.. That their O-line has given up 18 sacks through 6 games. They are going to get Rivers killed...

So, you'll have to color me unimpressed with the Chargers. They are a team that just lost to two of the worst teams in recent history. And lost soundly. The only reason that the Chargers have two wins is because Arizona doesn't have a QB and Jacksonville's O-line is still in shambles and they have no WR beyond Mike Sims-Walker.

I expect the Pats to win this one. And it could very well be another blow-out like we saw against Miami. Mainly because the Chargers have so many injuries.

 

[BTTA]

Chargers moved several starting offensive and defensive players into the special teams units this week, according to media reports. That will do two things:

1. Further disorganize the team coverages, as like all teams, special teams need to be coordinated and know what the other guys are going to do under certain situations.

2. Gas those units further in the 4th quarter.

I think the Pats own the second half in this game, much like the Miami game.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

If the game comes down to special teams...I like NE's odds.

Chargers have the #1 offense and #1 defense, yet have a 2-4 record cause their special team absolutely suck.

New England on the other hand has won games on the play of special teams.