Drew Brees is climbing up the record books these days as he is a TD away against the Chargers from breaking Johnny Unitas’ record for consecutive games with at least one TD pass (48 would be record).
Brees has spun it 191 times this season while completing 110 of them to 11 different receivers for 1,350 yards and 10 TD (5 INT).
However, Drew Brees does not line up defense for the 32nd defense in yards allowed (463.2) and 29th rated in points allowed (32.5).
New Orleans has been simply atrocious allowing opposing quarterbacks’ to throw for 276.5 yards per game, which is actually 24th in the NFL (hey, we’re making some strides here).
Philip Rivers has never been shy on the gridiron and he certainly will be mouthing off against a Saints defense that never shuts up with the trash talking, which to a certain degree is not a bad thing.
Still, Antonio Gates and the Chargers receivers have struggled so much this year that the leading receiver is currently Malcolm Floyd with 250 yards. Yes, I repeat the San Diego Chargers leading receiver through four games has just 250 yards!
Brian Hartline and Roddy White nearly did that in a half last week (Hartline had 253 for the game!), which begs the question as to whether or not these Bolts are even more overrated than the current 4-1 Arizona Cardinals?
San Diego is currently 3-1, and yet nobody is really even whispering a word about them. The reason being is that this franchise is in the AFC West and they were destroyed in their own building against the Atlanta Falcons.
While those ‘Dirty Birds’ are among the NFL’s elite (still doesn’t sound quite right), the Chargers have a long way to go before they become AFC West title contenders.
Peyton Manning was impressive last weekend against my former high school team (I mean the Oakland Raiders), but there is still a lot left on the table for Rivers and his Bolts.
San Diego defensively has been a mess, and their running back situation is still crazy. Jackie Battle is a human bulldozer and Ryan Mathews is still recovering from his broken clavicle, but they need to both produce before Rivers gets his teeth kicked in.
Sacks allowed has always been a problem and there were nearly half a dozen of games last year (actually more) in which San Diego flat out got whipped at the line of scrimmage.
They have pushed back when they run the ball and opponents’ have been able to gash them in all sorts of ways.
Look for Brees to break the record with ease finding a few guys not named Lance Moore (out with groin).
Network: NBC
Time: 8:30 p.m. Eastern
Experts Pick: Saints by 3.5
Danny V’s Pick: Saints 31, Chargers 26
