2009 Opponents- San Diego Chargers

The Eagles will face the teams from the AFC West this regular season and on Sunday, November 15th they head to the West Coast to play the San Diego Chargers. This should be a good challenge for the Birds as San Diego is one of the most solid teams in the AFC, especially at home where they are 20-4 over the past three seasons.

The Chargers are definitely the cream of the crop in the AFC West winning the division the past three seasons. In 2006 they compiled the best regular season record in the league going 14-2. In 2007 they slipped to 11-5, and last year actually won the division with an 8-8 record. While last year’s regular season record was considered a disappointment, they did manage to knock Indianapolis out of the playoffs and gave the Pittsburgh Steelers, eventual Super Bowl Champions, all they could handle before losing in the second round 35-24.

On offense the star power is still there with QB Phillip Rivers, WR Chris Chambers, TE Antonio Gates, and the most dangerous player of all RB Ladainian Tomlinson. They can put points on the board in a hurry as well as grind it out down the stretch. They Eagles will have to come up with a scheme that can shut down the running game as well as defend against the long ball to keep all these stars in check.
The Charger coaching staff is no stranger to the Eagles, as head coach Norv Turner and defensive coordinators Ron Rivera both have strong ties to the NFC East. Turner spent seven season as head coach of the Washington Redskins and seven seasons with Dallas as their offensive coordinator. Rivera was the Eagles’ linebacker coach for five seasons, learning all the tricks of the trade from defensive coordinator, Jim Johnson.

I expect the Chargers to be back on top in the AFC when the Eagles come to town in week 10. You never know, this could be lining up as a potential Super Bowl preview. With two- a- days not even started at Lehigh, it may be a bit early for that kind of speculation, but it doesn’t hurt to dream.