Chargers vs. Broncos Preview

Sunday November 22nd the Chargers head out to Denver for another AFC West showdown.  In their first meeting of the season the Bolts lost to the Broncos at home by a score of 34-23.  Denver's stifling defense and proficient offense had the Chargers in a daze of confusion.  Since that dreadful Monday night game the Chargers have won four straight games, and are now tied for first with Denver in the division.  Meanwhile the Broncos thankfully have started their yearly collapse earlier than usual.  Despite their recent losing streak Denver is still a dangerous football team .  In their last meeting Bronco quarterback Kyle Orton burned the Chargers for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Orton may be a game time decision due to an ankle injury, but if he can't play back-up Chris Simms will get the nod.  Expect the Chargers on defense to bring a heavier blitz package if Simms is indeed the starter.  San Diego's defense is showing improvement every week, and are now ranked 11th in pass defense.  Chargers need to improve on covering the opposing teams TE.  Denver's tight end Tony Scheffler had 101 yards receiving and 1 touchdown in their first meeting.  I believe that this is a statement game for the Defense, and they should be able to withstand Denver's pass happy offense.  San Diego should have no problem putting up points, as they demonstrated in their win over the Eagles.  Look for Rivers to have a bounce back game, after his lackluster performance the first time around.  Chargers running back LT gets another chance to find the end zone, after only gaining 70 yards in the previous meeting.  Tight End Antonio Gates should cash in on the Broncos weak defense, and have a huge game.  Tune in for this exciting game, and watch the Chargers take down the donkeys in Denver.  This game will be airing at 1:15 pacific time on CBS. 

Lou's Week 11 Pro Picks

Miami over Carolina
Miami’s Ronnie Brown is out for the season, so the starting job goes back to the infamous Sticky Icky Ricky. Williams has looked surprisingly strong with over 5 yards per carry on the season and more notably, no fumbles. With Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart questionable for Thursday’s game and rainy conditions predicted, the Phins could steal this one with solid running by Williams. Both teams get their star defensive player back from injury, Panther’s Julius Peppers and Miami’s Joey Porter, although I doubt either will be healthy enough to be a factor in this game.

Detroit over Cleveland
The battle of two of the most banged up and inept offenses of probably all-time face each other to find out who gets the most over-rated rookie that undoubtedly holds out for more money than he is worth next year. Cleveland’s head coach Mangini can’t make up his mind at quarterback and overall Detroit has the better weapons in RB Kevin Smith, WR Calvin Johnson and an improving Matt Stafford at quarterback.

Philadelphia over Chicago
Phili has one of the best turnover ratios in the league and Chi-town’s Jay Cutler coughs up more balls than Jenna Jameson. RB Brian Westbrook may be out for Philadelphia, but back-up RB LeSean McCoy has been effective and with strong play by McNabb, the Eagles should notch a much need win in their pursuit atop the NFC East.

Indianapolis over Baltimore
Indy puts up almost a TD more per game, has been stingier against opponent's scoring, forces more turnovers and kills the clock better than Baltimore. The Colts are still undefeated after nine games, Raven’s QB Joe Flacco hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in 3 games and LB Terrell Suggs is out. The Colts win this one at home.

Dallas over Washington
Pittsburgh over Kansas City
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
Arizona over St. Louis
Green Bay over San Francisco
Minnesota over Seattle
NY Giants over Atlanta
Jacksonville over Buffalo
San Diego over Denver
Cincinnati over Oakland
New England over NY Jets
Tennessee over Houston

Chargers' Fantasy Corner

Last week was filled with big misses, Joe Flacco and Mike Bell, and big hits, Sidney Rice and Santana Moss. However, I really nailed a lot of the Chargers’ game picks and it has me motivated for what I foresee happening this week. Before we look at the Battle for the West, let’s look at all the players who have a Dream and Nightmare Matchup this week.

DREAM MATCHUPS

Carson Palmer vs. Oakland

Palmer has been inconsistent to say the least but the Oakland secondary is allowing big plays. With RB Cedric Benson hurt, I expect the Bengals to ask Palmer to lead them to a victory. Expected Stat Line: 235 yards, 2 TDs

Rashard Mendenhall vs. Kansas City

The Chiefs are not very good on either side of the ball. Pittsburgh will get to pick their manner of attack and I expect them to decide to go heavy with the run. Mendenhall will have a very good day. Expected Stat Line: 123 yards, 2 TDs

Anquan Boldin vs. St. Louis

The Cardinals like to pass the ball and the Rams don’t play very much defense. Boldin has had a bad season so far but this is the game where he breaks out. Expected Stat Line: 6 receptions, 105 yards, TD

NIGHTMARE MATCHUPS

Matt Ryan vs. New York Giants

If you have Matt Ryan on your team, you don’t need me to tell you that he’s been playing badly as of late. The Giants have had two weeks to prepare for him and will definitely apply the pressure. Expected Stat Line: 225 yards, 1 TD, 3 Ints

Thomas Jones vs. New England

With Mark Sanchez not performing exceptionally well, the Pats will be focusing on stopping Thomas Jones. Also, the Jets have not been able to make up for the loss of Leon Washington which puts more pressure on Jones to produce. Expected Stat Line: 57 rushing yards, 12 receiving yards

Devin Hester vs. Philadelphia

Jay Cutler has been inconsistent the last couple of weeks and this matchup does not favor him or his receiving core. The Eagles have a top ten defense against the pass and were able to limit Chargers’ receiver Vincent Jackson to 1 catch. That’s too many negatives to start Hester this week. Expected Stat Line: 2 catches, 37 yards

Chargers vs. Denver

DREAM MATCHUPS

LaDanian Tomlinson (SD)- The Broncos Defense has been soft against the run the last three games, so here is LT’s chance to have a big day.

Philip Rivers (SD)- This game will probably be a battle and the Chargers will look to their leader to make the plays in the passing game

Chargers Defense (SD)- Broncos QB Kyle Orton may not play and if he doesn’t expect, the Chargers to bring it to backup QB Chris Simms.

Brandon Marshall (Den)- The Chargers D has had a lot of trouble trying to contain him, I expect this to continue.

NIGHTMARE MATCHUPS

Broncos QB (Den)- Whoever ends up playing QB for Denver will have a long day. The Chargers D is playing better and that bodes poorly for Denver.

Eddie Royal (Den)- With Marshall running the short routes there is no where for Royal to go. Expect his disappointing season to continue.

Correll Buckhalter (Den)- The Chargers’ D has significantly improved against the run and with a gimpy or inexperienced QB under center, the Chargers will prepare to stop the run.

Darren Sproles (SD)- With the possibility of LT having a big day, that should temper the expectations for Sproles.

Oggi's Mission Valley Review

Are you still stuffed from all the food you ate last week?  I am, and this week it is time to go check out a new place to watch the game and stuff my face.  The restaurant review for this week is Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Company in Mission Valley.  Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Company is located at 2245 Fenton Parkway #101 in Mission Valley; right next to Qualcomm Stadium.

     Remember I will focus on set up and game selection, food and prices, service, and environment (all scores out of five).

TV set up & game selection: Oggi’s is a great restaurant to watch all the games on a Sunday morning.  The restaurant consists of a dining area with a 360° view of every game and a bar with several TVs.  In the restaurant every game is shown, however sometimes every game is not visible from every spot and other times you get stuck watching duplicate games.  On the days that you show up early and get a good seat, it’s a heavenly day of football.

Food & Prices: Oggi’s is well known for their pizzas and the selection of beers.  Be forewarned that the menu includes pictures that do not look appetizing, yet the food is delicious and is well worth its cost.  Nothing on the menu is priced over $13.95 for one person and is pretty filling.  If you go take an opportunity to order a pizza; I would recommend the SLAM DUNK (truly delicious!).  The food is good and there is a variety of burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas.  Oggi’s definitely has a good array of sports bar food at a price that won’t set you back too much. NOTE: that there is a $10 minimum per guest; however it is not strictly enforced.

Service: As is common in every restaurant, the server that day is the person that leaves you with your impression of the service of the establishment.  With Oggi’s being a smaller establishment you get better service and more attention from your server.  The servers walk around with their favorite team’s jersey and at times stop to converse with patrons about the going ons of the games. 

Environment: Oggi’s has the feel of a sports bar with jerseys all around the restaurant.  You can find them on the walls, the servers, and, of course, the patrons.  A variety of teams are represented and you often over hear some good conversation about the games.  Oggi’s embraces the sports bar environment and that makes this a great place to enjoy the food and football. 

     Overall, I would have to say that Oggi’s Mission Valley is a solid option to watch the games and get some grub.  With great pizzas and thirst quenching brews, you can’t go wrong.  So if you want to get the San Diego Chargers Game Day experience without the tailgaiting, head out to Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Company in Mission Valley.

History is Made

Sunday November 15th was a special game for Chargers running back Ladainian Tomlinson.  Prior to the Bolts victory over the Philadelphia Pigeons 31-23 Tomlinson found out that his wife was pregnant with their first child.  An emotional LT rushed for 96 yards with two touchdowns, and surpassed Marcus Allen for third all-time in total touchdowns.  This was a huge win for the Chargers, who have tied Denver for first place in the division with a 6-3 record.  QB Phillip Rivers came to play passing for 231 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.  Philly QB had a monster game passing with 450 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.  McNabb’s numbers were a little inflated, since the Eagles were down the whole game, and he was forced to throw the ball 55 times.  San Diego never trailed the whole game, but did have a lapse on defense in the fourth quarter.  Chargers allowed the Eagles to score two touchdowns, and make the score closer than it should have been.  Philly coach Andy Reid had several red zone opportunities to narrow the lead, but elected to kick a field goal instead.  Charger fans would personally like to thank Mr. Reid for not believing in his 5th ranked offense.  The loss now drops Philadelphia to 5-4 and in second place in the NFC East.  Next game for the Bolts will determine the new division leader, as they face the Broncos at Denver.  Enjoy the win Bolt fans, because there will be more to come.