I’ve always felt a little sorry for August. It’s the only month where even the Hallmark guys have nothing to do.
It May Not Look Like Much, But This Is Going To Be The Greatest Month in Chargers' History
January you’ve got New Year’s. February Valentine’s Day. March Spring Break. April Easter. May Memorial Day. June Father’s Day. July 4th. September Labor Day. October Halloween. November Thanksgiving. December Christmas.
August? Just 31 regular old days. No holidays, birthdays, or legendary honorees. Not a three-day weekend in sight.
But this year, finally, after all these decades of being overlooked and unloved, August is big. Huge. The best ever.
August 2009. The greatest month in the history of the San Diego Chargers!
How, you ask? Because in August 2009 — this very August that is just a few days old – we can dream anything we want to about our beloved Bolts. And we’re not the only ones.
The Computers Say The 2009 Chargers Will Easily Surpass Even These Guys
Over the weekend a website called Football Outsiders proclaimed — over a month before the season has even started — that the Chargers will win the Super Bowl.
And that’s just the beginning.
The website went on to breathlessly note that the “statistical projection for the (2009) Chargers is so off the charts that it may endanger the boundaries of reality.”
Furthermore, the Outsiders claim that in their six years of doing preseason statistical analysis, the only NFL team that was even in the same ballpark as San Diego was the ‘07 New England Patriot squad that ended up going 18-0 before its shocking Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.
Yep. That’s right. We are all about to enjoy what will no doubt go down in history as the greatest football season ever witnessed.
See? These are the kinds of things we can do in August. And believe me, we’re going to keep doing them.
Already we believe (we know!) that LaDainian Tomlinson, one of the greatest running backs ever to play the game, is going to be back at full strength — and free of injury, ready to resume dominating the NFL the way no 30-year-old back has ever dominated before.
We’re also well aware that Antonio Gates, slowed last season by a bum toe, is going to return to his rightful place atop the list of not only the group of current tight ends but also above any tight end who has ever played the game.
Majors Will Have No Chance Against the Rebuilt Shawne Merriman
Need more to make August ‘09 fantastic? How’s this? Shawne Merriman, the most disruptive defensive player anywhere on the planet has had everything reconstructed and — after a year off — will be so powerful that not even the Six Million Dollar Man (Lee Majors, anyone?) will be able to contend with him.
Not only all of that stuff, but as we look ahead to the upcoming season — at this point — we can see quarterback Philip Rivers climbing off the charts and resting comfortably in the rarefied air of super-stardom. And the elusive Darren Sproles twisting at least six or seven teams into one big Sunday afternoon pretzel.
In August we can forsee Jamal Williams standing on every running play as the Rock of Gibraltor in the middle of the defensive line. And Mike Scifres landing every single punt this season inside the five (don’t even think about trying to tell me he can’t do it).
Quiet, Please! Genius At Work
August of ‘09 even allows the mind to dance with images of Norv Turner making previous Charger juggernaut creators like Gillman and Coryell seem almost pedestrian. (Heck, at this point, I can even foresee Norv actually getting a challenge call to go in our favor).
Antonio Cromartie will break the all-time single-season record for interceptions. Vincent Jackson will catch every pass thrown his way (and not take flight in his Ferrari every time he tips back a few too many). Larry English will turn out to be the steal of the draft.
Kynan Forney and Jeromey Clary will allow the Chargers to actually run the ball to the right side of the formation. Eric Weddle will lay out a dozen or so receivers who dare come across the middle. Luis Castillo will look like a guy who deserved every penny of those $14-million dollars.
And, when it’s all over, the headline that tops this story will be written again.
Care to argue? Sorry, but we can’t do that. Because this is August. And at this point, every bit of it possible.
Of course, the real key to the Chargers’ upcoming season, is whether or not August 2009 will turn out to bear any kind of resemblance at all to January 2010.
– Ello
