QB

Phillip Rivers

(+) Rivers always plays his best towards the end of the season (18-0 record in December over the past 4 years)
(+) Brees/Warner-like in that he puts the ball in the best place for receivers to make things happen – also has the biggest WR corps in the NFL
(+) San Diego plays most of their games in warm weather
(–) Vincent Jackson is suspended for the first 3 games (because he’s a drunk) and might end up holding out for the first 10 (because he’s an idiot)
(–) The Chargers have a questionable running back situation with a rookie starter in Ryan Mathews and the Lollipop Kid in Darren Sproles
(–) For as much as LT21’s running skills have diminished, Rivers still loses one of the better pass protectors in the league
(–) He’s never worked with an offense before that didn’t have a headline player around him (LT21, VJax)

RB

Ryan Matthews

(+) Comes into a situation where RBs have succeeded in the past and has the ability to be a three-down back
(+) Has one of the easiest schedules against the run in the league
(+) With LT gone, he has no real threat to take over his position
(+) Has prototypical size, above-average speed, and the Chargers traded up in the draft to get him
(–) He’s a rookie with high expectations who comes from a small school that didn’t go up against elite talent
(–) Has dealt with a number of injury problems in the past
(–) Without Vincent Jackson for 3-10 games, defenses won’t worry about the passing game as much

Darren Sproles

(+) If Ryan Matthews is a bust, Sproles could find himself as a starting RB in a very nice situation… production would be pretty decent
(+) Darren has a flair for the big play and will be used in a significant role to spell the rookie Matthews
(–) Between Sproles and LT last year, the Chargers managed to come in dead last in yards per carry at 3.3
(–) Sproles proved last year that he cannot be a featured back – even in a productive offense
(–) Due to his size, Sproles is better suited to return kicks

WR

Vincent Jackson

(+) Jackson is one of the most skilled “big” receivers (6’5”) in the NFL
(+) His size makes him an awesome red-zone target
(+) The costs of his court-case might force him to sign his tender-offer earlier than the 10-week max…
(+) Since 2005, he has improved in every statistical category each year and finished 10th in fantasy points for WRs in 2009
(–) He’s suspended for the first 3 games of the season due to being an idiot (2 DUIs)
(–) Due to a squabble over his contract, Vincent might hold out for the first 10 games of the season

Malcom Floyd

(+) Will be the Chargers WR1 for at least the first 3 games of the year, and if VJax holds out, possibly the entire season
(+) At 6’5”, he’s an awesome red-zone target for Rivers
(+) Averaged 17.2 YPC last season, good for a tie for 4th in the NFL
(+) Has 9 TDs on just 97 receptions in his career
(–) Has never been a WR1 in his pro career
(–) The lack of a proven WR2 and a rookie starting RB may have defenses watching him like a hawk

Legedu Naanee

(+) Vincent Jackson is out for at least 3 games and with an impending holdout, trade talks regarding the #1 wideout have come up; Naanee would benefit greatly from Jackson’s departure
(–) It does seem a trade is unlikely and WRs that hold out almost always come back
(–) San Diego does not run a lot of three-WR sets, so targets could be a major concern
(–) If Jackson does move on, there is competition for that #2 slot with Craig Davis in the fold, though we like Naanee to win that one
(–) Norv Turner would love to run the ball more… and the Chargers drafted Ryan Mathews in the first round to fill that bill

TE

Antonio Gates

(+) Got his contract!
(+) No Vincent Jackson will mean more targets this year, especially in the red-zone
(+) Has only missed 3 games in his seven-year career and has always been a Top-3 athlete as a tight end in the NFL
(+) In his 6 years as a starter, he has been 1st in fantasy point 3 times, 2nd once, 3rd once, and 4th once
(+) In a time major change, he remains the only steady target for Philip Rivers
(–) No Vincent Jackson and a rookie RB might bring more double-teams his way
(–) Has battled nagging injuries the last few years

2009 Total Points Rank:           1st (146 tot pts)
2009 Average/Game Rank:     1st (9.1 pts/gm)

FR=Fumbles Recoverd, PA=Points Allowed, FP Rank=Fantasy Points Rank, FP/G=Fantasy Points per Game

2010 Chargers Defensive Outlook... 

San Diego (alias “A Whales Vagina” and no, we're not talking about LT!) has been fairly consistent in sacks over the past few years, huddling around the middle of the pack, but they really lack a dominant pass rusher, and their scheme is getting them the decent totals.  Shaun Phillips is a solid OLB and he lead the team in sacks last season with 7. 

San Diego was 11^th overall in Points Allowed last season, respectable, but Turnovers were pretty average at 18^th.  The bottom line is the Chargers don’t defend the pass well (PYRO 28^th rated pass D).  You could do worse and you could do better.

-  Stephen Cooper led the team with 102 tackles, Eric Weddle had 82
-  The Chargers had 35 sacks last season
-  Leading sacker was Shaun Phillips with 7.0
-  How can the Chargers continue to improve in 2010 and take the next step
-  Quentin Jammer led the team with 3 INTs
-  Team forced 19 fumbles
-  Team forced a total of 33 turnovers

Team PYRO is hyper about Offensive Lines!  Understanding who will be blocking for the players on your roster is vital to your teams Fantasy success.  We take many factors into account when we rank these units, including weight, height, starts together as a unit, starts per year played, rushing average, sacks allowed, draft position, contact situation, pro bowl/all pro honors, Adjusted Line Yardage (ALY) and Adjusted Sack Rate (stats found at the link below).  O-Line Rank is one more piece of the puzzle that directs us towards delivering you a Fantasy Football Championship. 

Here is another great resource for looking at O-Lines…    http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol

The fantasy lifeblood of the players sitting on your roster boils down to one EXTREMELY important stat.  Drum Roll please……………………………  ATTEMPTS!!!!  Ahhhh, there, we said it.  Before you can make a play, you gotta have the pill in your hands.  It’s pretty simple really, in the immortal words of the maligned Keyshawn Johnson… “Just give me the damn ball”.  There is no “I” in the word “team”, but don’t fool yourself, it’s in the word rotisserie twice. 

For the QB, it’s Pass Attempts, for the RB, it’s Carries, and for the WR and TE, it’s Targets.  If you look at the players in the league who are amassing large quantities of points, they are the ones who are seeing the rock come their way the most often.  Sure, you have to be good enough to do something with the p-skin when you get it, but never forget, you can’t make a play until you have the pill in your hands. 

The PYRO Offensive scheme charts aim to deliver you perhaps the most important information you could attain before and after draft day; Will my player get the chances they need to put out or will they be shut out?  It really boils down to what the offensive game plan on Sunday is.  These charts should provide some perspective on which teams are going to live by land and which are going to live by air. 

By Air

-  Phillip Rivers is continuing to develop as a QB and as a fantasy dynamo, he should continue his progression
       no matter who he is throwing to
-  The Chargers finished last season ranking 5th in the league with 4,338 passing yards
-  The Bolts will be looking to replace Vincent Jackson early in the season due to his suspension, he could also
       be trade depending on his contract dispute
-  Malcolm Floyd, Buster Davis, and Legedu Naanee will provide the depth at WR
-  Antonio Gates continues to be one of the top tight ends in the league
-  The RBs for San Diego are also very effective receivers out of the backfield especially the lightning bolt himself
       Darren Sproles

By Land

-  The Chargers finished last season ranking 31st in the league with 1,423 rushing yards
-  With the departure of long time franchise cornerstone LT the Chargers will have a new face at running back
-  Darren Sproles stays with the team but his lack of size and strength will not allow him to be an every down back
-  Sproles will serve a similar role that he did last season, being used as a third down back and as a home run threat
-  Ryan Matthews was drafted from Fresno State and figures to be the workhorse back in the mold of LT

RZ Touches (Position Rank) = The first number you see is Red Zone Touches (a pass attempt, a carry, or a target inside the 20 yard line).  The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.

% of Teams RZ Touches (Position Rank) = The first number is the players percentage of touches cut out against the total number of the Teams Red Zone plays called.  The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.  So, if Thomas Jones received a touch in 45 percent of the Jets Red Zone calls last year, and Knowshon Moreno received a touch in 38 percent of all the Broncos plays last year, Jones would be ranked higher at his position than Moreno would be.

RZ TD Success Rate (Position Rank) = The first number is the percentage of which an individual player was able to score a TD against his total number of touches.   The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.

Why Should I look at this Chart?

We couldn’t possibly take up a whole minute of your valuable fantasy football research time babbling about the importance of Attempts for your team and then leave out Red Zone Tendencies.

Yep, same drill with these charts, only a lot more important if scoring TD’s is what you’re leagues about.  The PYRO Red Zone Tendencies chart delivers a touchdown focused microcosm of the Offensive Scheme section.

To score a TD, your player needs a touch (pass att, carry, or target), and when they get a touch inside the 20, great things can happen for your Fantasy teams total points line.

It’s really easy, touches are King and converting a touch in the red is Fantasy Gold.

PYRO 2010 Charger Leaders in the Red Zone... 

1. Ryan Matthews
2. Darren Sproles
3. Antonio Gates
4. Malcom Floyd
5. Legs Naanee

Grade* = Team PYRO took this number directly from NFL.COM - not a number devised here by us, you know, your friends who don’t sleep?  In other words, proceed with caution knowing the source, but we thought it was at least a worthy effort and could help you gauge just how solid the teams draft was.  We hope it helps, we think it will.

Draft Bits...

Ryan Matthews could not have found a better place to play.  He’ll have the starting gig, a good passing offense to keep defenses honest (unlike CJ Spiller) and at least a mediocre O-Line.  Rookie of the Year honors look very likely.  IN deep leagues, he's a light nubmer one.  You could do alot worse at RB2, and he’s a great RB3 in any format.  He looks like the real deal.

Team PYRO considers our Strength of Schedule data an essential part of building you a Fantasy Championship.  This data is integral in helping us rank our players each year.  So far, so good.  We go to GREAT lengths to deliver you this PYRO nugget and we know nobody else in the industry is putting forth this type of effort, which puts you at a great advantage if you have been using us as your fantasy football research outlet.  Our SoS considers three factors when determining rankings for schedules for the upcoming year:

1) 75% weight is applied to the strength of defense from the previous season.  This is determine by fantasy points given up (run and pass).  Easy right? Here's where Team Pyro goes deep: before we get to that number, we factor in the quality of teams that these defenses had to face (essentially, a strength-of-schedule for the prior season).

 
2) 20% weight is applied to Free-Agent, Trade, and Injury Returns that will help or hurt the team for the current year.  We rank each players impact to their former team (2008), sum it all up, and then rank each team accordingly.

3) 5% weight is applied to the NFL drafincoming rookie impact.  It's a challenge to successfully gauge a rookie's effectiveness (too many Jamarcus Russells out there) which is why we valued it so low.  Some teams not only drafted highly touted defensemen this year, but will be immediately filling deficient positions from '09 with rookies, and usually, anything is an upgrade when you are starting a rookie.

Chart Key =

Ranking:  1=easiest  32=toughest

QB's, WR's, and TE's

(INDY) Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark have the EASIEST passing schedule in 2010

(BALT) Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin, and Todd Heap have the HARDEST passing schedule in 2010

RB's

(SF) Frank Gore has the EASIEST rushing schedule in 2010

(MIA) Ronnie Brown has the HARDEST rushing schedule in 2010

July 13, 2010

Announced the NFL has suspended WR Vincent Jackson for the first three games of the 2010 season for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

July 9, 2010

Agreed to terms with LB Donald Butler and DT Cam Thomas on four-year contracts.

June 21, 2010

Released S Kevin Ellison, DT Ian Scott, FB Cory Jackson and WR Jordyn Jackson.

June 11, 2010

Signed WR Josh Reed to a one-year contract.

June 3, 2010

Signed QB Jonathan Crompton to a four-year contract and TE Randy McMichael to a one-year contract.

May 26, 2010

Signed DE Travis Johnson to a one-year contract tender.

May 17, 2010

Signed LB Boris Lee and LB Mike Nixon to two-year contracts.

April 27, 2010

Agreed to terms with WR Seyi Ajirotutu, OT Brady Bond, TE Richard Brockel, TE Dajleon Farr, WR Richard Goodman, C-G Jeff Hansen, FB Cory Jackson, WR Jordyn Jackson, OT Justin Jeffries, P Cort Johnson, LB Brandon Lang, RB Shawnbrey McNeal, OT Ryan Otterson, OT Stephan Richmond, CB Traye Simmons, WR Ernest Smith, WR Marcel Thompson, WR Bryan Walters, WR Jeremy Williams and LB Kion Wilson.

April 3, 2010

Signed RB-KR Darren Sproles to a one-year contract tender.

March 30, 2010

Signed CB Nathan Vasher to a two-year contract.

March 17, 2010

Agreed to terms with DL Ian Scott on a one-year contract.

March 8, 2010

Claimed RB Marcus Mason off waivers from Washington.

February 23, 2010

Released RB LaDainian Tomlinson.