Unpopular Opinions Watch out for the Chargers in the AFC West

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Unpopular Opinions: Watch out for the Chargers in the AFC West Published: Oct 19, 2017 at 12:00 AM NFL.com Writer UNPOPULAR OPINION: The are actually the team to beat in the AFC West. The have , and out here in Los Angeles ... the fans still don't care. But to our credit, the Lakers have an exciting young team led by Lonzo Ball, the Kings won four of their first five games and one of the local baseball teams is doing well, too. So it's going to take a little bit more to get the fans motivated. Like, say, in one of the most hostile environments imaginable: StubHub Center in Carson, California. Yeah, opposing teams have enjoyed at the ' temporary venue. This week will likely be among the worst so far, as the have a strong contingent of fans in Southern California. The best way for the to get fans on their side would be to win big games like this one. The have been victimized by a little bad luck. Well, maybe a bad kicker. But they've now taken two straight one-po se sion games, including a walk-off at Oakland on 's winner, which was an unexpected surprise. Prior to those games, the had lost the previous six one-po se sion games they'd been in, one of them (at home against the ) on mi ses by . He also mi sed a kick that would have tied the game in Denver . (Actually, he made one, but was frozen out by head coach Vance Joseph in a sneaky move I believe was made popular by former coach Mike Shanahan -- and then he .) Which is why they're sitting at 2-4, tied for last in the AFC West. But with a little better fortune (or, say, just having Novak for the full season), the could be 5-1, or at least 4-2, and right on the division-leading ' heels. They still have the talent -- with players like , , , , and -- to make Dillon Brooks Jersey some serious noise, provided things start breaking their way, while the and hit rough patches. Need more convincing? Just look back to 1992 -- when the became the only team to start 0-4 and make the playoffs (since the format change in 1990). If the are looking for a little kismet, they've got that working for them. UNPOPULAR OPINION: is the best quarterback drafted in the last two years. is probably never going to live down that moment from "Hard Knocks" when . I mean, we've all been there. Like the time my family landed at O'Hare in Chicago and my sister marveled at all of the Illinois license plates in the parking lot. Sometimes, we just have moments that we'd much rather forget. Similar to how we'd like to forget that Johnny Depp was both Willy Wonka and the Mad Hatter in two miserable films. I still feel that stigma kind of hangs over him (Goff, that is), but for my money, the second-year pro (and No. 1 overall pick in 2016) is the best quarterback drafted in the last two years. And there are a lot of celebrated quarterbacks in that group, including , , (I'm jamming him in here) and . But I'm really feeling Goff in what is e sentially his rookie season. A lot of folks out here -- fine, some folks ... fine, my buddy Norm -- feel like Goff has taken a step back after posting the third-highest pa ser rating in the NFL during the first three weeks. OK, so his numbers dipped a bit in Weeks 5 and 6 (48.5 percent completion rate, 1:2 TD-to-INT ratio, 60.4 pa ser rating). But he was also -- who have two of the best defensive backfields in the NFL. that Goff did put the in position to win against Seattle ( ), and he was equally impre sive in a more muted offensive performance in Jacksonville. Despite facing two tough opponents this season, the still have (29.8 points per game). Goff has thrown eight touchdown pa ses and just three interceptions (two of which came against the Seahawks). He certainly doesn't have the highlight plays some of the other quarterbacks have, but his performance does seem like the most sustainable. It's not like he's picked one elite receiver to target repeatedly. He doesn't have elite options. His most-targeted player is (whose 37 targets rank 42nd in the NFL). He spreads the ball around and finds the open person. That, to me, is more impre sive than launching 50-50 balls and hoping for the best. Which is kind of what Watson gets away with in Houston. I'm not going to hate on him for going after and deep, but Goff doesn't always get that luxury. Dak joined a team that was already playoff-ready, while the were being totally rebuilt when Goff arrived. And I like a lot. But the QB has a physical style that could end up taking a toll on his body. I know, these are modest complaints, but it's not like you can choose all of them to be your favorite. It's not like they're your nieces and nephews. (Though I do have favorites there. That's not weird, right? Well, ranking them on a white board I update every Monday, I Jonas Valanciunas Jersey suppose that's weird.) That said, Goff has struggled with the deep ball, as you can see in . Goff was excellent in pa ses between 10 and 20 yards, going 6 for 8. He had a pair of deep mi ses to . (A pa s to Woods was on the money, but the receiver slipped, which caused a misconnection.) So that's something he needs to work on. Well, that and . Actually, screw it. I'm going with Dak now. TEAM/COACH/PLAYER IN NEED OF A PEP TALK: . All right, -- let's start with some real talk. Things have not gone well for you in the past nine months or so. And look, it gives me no joy to talk about the lowest point of your entire year, maybe even in your franchise history. But I have to say it right here, right now: That was awful. Oh, you thought I was going to say ? That was, uh, not great. But at least it was against Brady, a player you can kind of have some begrudging respect for. Falling to Cutler, on the other hand? Oh, man. But hey, I'm here to pump you guys up. So, here goes. You should know, Sunday's Falcons- matchup will mark the eighth time in NFL history that two teams from the previous have met in a rematch the following regular season. And in those matchups, the winners have gone 5-2, so you're good. Damn it, no. Sorry. I keep doing that. But hey, here's good news: The home team has gone 5-2 in those ... wait, you're on the road, aren't you? (Looking it up ... ) All right. Let me try this once again. Grayson Allen Jersey You guys can do this. This isn't the same defense from a year ago, when they had the NFL's . New England currently ranks (26.5), , and . The Pats are still on pace to finish with 440.7 yards allowed per game, which would be the worst mark by any team since the 1970 merger. So there you go! You can go and win in New England (two teams have already done this in 2017). You can put this whole losing-to-Cutler busine s behind you. But for God's sake, if you do get a huge lead on this team, . That shouldn't be a problem, because it's one of Steve Sarkisian's hobbies, next to ruining the fantasy value of . This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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