Problems in San Diego

An up-and-down season has fans asking: what’s going on in San Diego? By Danielle Berman

(AP Photo/Stephen Savoia)

QB Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers are 4-4 at the halfway point of the season. How did that happen? The Chargers aren’t even sure themselves. After losing to the Green Bay Packers 45-38 at home, the Chargers are asking why.

According to Rivers, turnovers have been a killer. ''Obviously, you can't turn the ball over. That was the difference in the game, turning it over,” he said in a postgame interview with the Associated Press. “That's something I need to keep working on and do a better job of. We gave ourselves a chance and never quit. But there's no consolation when you lose.''

Denver Changes QB

 Is Tim Tebow the answer for the Broncos, or just the flavor or the week? By Danielle Berman

(AP Photo/Joe Mahoney)

Last week, Denver Broncos head coach John Fox made the decision to start QB Tim Tebow over veteran QB Kyle Orton, and the media immediately began speculating. How would Denver fare against the Miami Dolphins with Tebow as a starter? How long will Tebow’s starting career last?

Tebow has had haters since the day he was drafted in 2010. People claimed he would be a better tight end than quarterback, that he was too inexperienced to lead a team and too cocky to really pan out. Tebow showed a glimmer of hope for Broncos fans last year against the Houston Texans when he led his team to a 24-23 comeback victory.

Two Faced Ravens

Although they may be proving a somewhat dominate team, the Ravens have proven streaky on the offensive side of the ball. By Danielle Berman 

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

 
    The Baltimore Ravens have proven themselves dominant so far this season. Since they completely tore apart the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens have put away opponents including the St. Louis Rams, the New York Jets, and the Houston Texans.

    Unfortunately, another thing the Ravens have proven to be is offensively inconsistent. In week 2, the Ravens suffered a 26-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans. In that game, the Ravens offense displayed a completely different identity than they showed against their archrival Steelers.

NFC North and West: Week 5

With the first four week in the books, a look ahead to the week 5 match-ups in the NFC North and West. By Eugene Francis Lanzoni

 
NFC North

Detroit Lions (4-0): There's been a lot of hoopla about their perfect start. But let's be honest here, they didn't exactly play stellar teams. And now, they go up against the toothless bears. Expect the Lions to remain unbeaten.
Prediction: Lions over Bears by 14

Green Bay Packers (4-0): Those cheeseheads up north are beginning to look like the only constant in an extraordinarily volatile league power structure. Expect the Green Bay dominance to continue against the woefully underwhelming Falcons.
Prediction: Packers by 10

Detroit Lions Hoopla

After a perfect start against suspect teams, are the Detroit Lions for real? At least we know Megatron is. By Eugene Lanzoni

The Detroit Lions bandwagon has grown more and more crowded in the past couple of months as expectations have soared for the not-so-under-the-radar “sleepers”. Now, four weeks into the 2011 NFL season, the Lions are fulfilling all the Detroit preseason hopes and hoopla with a flawless 4 and 0 start to the season. But is this rags to riches tale unfolding before our eyes too good to be true? Are the Detroit Lions for real? Or will this storybook beginning prove merely a false premise for yet another lackluster year in the Motor City?

Many of the individual moving parts on this Lions team cannot - and should not - be doubted. Calvin “Megatron” Johnson is the real deal. Matthew Stafford, when all of his bones are intact, is the real deal. These two studs have hooked up for two touchdowns in every game through the first quarter of the season, adding up to a grand total of eight touchdowns. Chris Carter is the only other receiver in league history to record four consecutive two-touchdown performances, and this week’s matchup against a relatively toothless Bears secondary indicates that Johnson has a splendid chance of distancing himself from Mr. Carter. With Stafford slinging him the pigskin, Johnson is a stone cold lock as a top five receiver and has quite possibly surpassed mainstays such as Larry Fitzgerald and the other Johnson (Andre Johnson) as the new top dog.

AFC North QB Questions

In seesaw-like fashion, QBs in the AFC North are enigmatically inconsistent week to week.  By Danielle Berman

(AP Photo/Chris Park)

Baltimore Ravens
   QB Joe Flacco has had mixed reviews that go as far back as his first game as a Raven. He is called the next great signal caller one week only to be criticized as inexperienced and unreliable the next. This past weekend against the New York Jets, Flacco’s play was less than extraordinary. On offense, Flacco was fumbling, scrambling, and throwing interceptions, and the media started buzzing with questions and critiques. Luckily, the Ravens defense forced four turnovers, with three of them resulting in touchdowns, and they ended getting the win.

   Head coach John Harbaugh and his teammates have faith in Joe Flacco and believe he is the best guy for the job. The Ravens head into their bye next week, but it will be interesting to see which Joe Flacco shows up against the Houston Texans in week 6. If the Ravens want to beat QB Matt Schaub and company, “Joe Cool” better be ready to throw the ball.