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Thought it would be interesting to see what people in San Diego are saying about Sunday's matchup.
Chargers scouting report: Patriots - SignOnSanDiego.com
Chargers scouting report: Patriots - SignOnSanDiego.com
Here’s a switch.
The Chargers are in much the same position that the Chiefs, Raiders and Rams were when the Bolts came a'callin'. Which is to say, they’re an exasperating, strugglesome team with dismal prospects, preparing for a visit from one of the NFL’s premier teams. Here come the New England Patriots , and for their sake, the Chargers better hope they learned something in K.C, Oakland and St. Louis about getting their act together to knock off a presumed contender.
Seven weeks into the season, the Patriots are the first opponent that should be favored over San Diego, though the home-field factor still has oddsmakers picking the Chargers by a field goal to be kicked by heaven only knows who. Not only has the New England game been circled as the Sunday when the Chargers’ season really begins -- cough, cough -- the Patriots are coming off a highly impressive victory over Baltimore that has folks saying the Pats are starting to look like the Pats back when they were winning Super Bowls and going through a regular season unbeaten.
As a reverse of the Chargers, the Patriots have made it through a difficult early schedule with a 4-1 record, but they’re similar to San Diego in that they’ve been unbeaten at home and far less impressive on the road. Now get this. While their offense and defense have had their up and down moments, the most surprisingly impressive part of their game has been special teams, including the overtime field goal by Stephen Gostkowski that beat the Ravens.
Though ranked no higher than 10th in the NFL in total offense --San Diego remains first with an average of 432.7 yards -- the Patriots are first in scoring at 30.8 points. (You can probably figure out why they’re again are among the very best on third-down conversion at 49.2 percent.) Conversely, New England’s 25th in points allowed at 23.2 ppg.