Will Tomlinson follow Brees to Super Bowl?

First, Drew Brees; next LaDainian Tomlinson?

Seems like yesterday’s trash for the San Diego Chargers turns out to be a treasure for someone else.

By now, we’re all more than familiar with how the Chargers discarded Brees … only to see him win a Super Bowl four years later with the New Orleans Saints.

Tomlinson could become the next Chargers reject to win a Super Bowl elsewhere. We’ll see where he goes next season, and certainly what happens.

Rodney Harrison was still a popular Charger when he went to New England and won a couple of Super Bowls. Will Tomlinson follow in his footsteps; not to mention those of LT’s good buddy Brees?

The problem with the Chargers appears to be that whenever they get rid of a veteran player/coach, the front office is so clumsy in doing so.

Do the names Donnie Edwards, Marty Schottenheimer and Lorenzo Neal ring a bell – along with the abovementioned and Junior Seau?

Drew Brees is Exhibit A of a disturbing pattern in San Diego. Notice how he has a Super Bowl trophy, while the Chargers don’t even have a Super Bowl appearance in the past 15 years?

Draft analysis: AFC West gaining on Chargers?

Time is starting to run out on the Chargers, so they hope for immediate results from their 2008 draft picks.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders are gaining on the Chargers; thus San Diego better take advantage before the Chiefs and Raiders become solid contenders by 2010.

Certainly, the Chargers took care of their need at cornerback by taking Antoine Cason (Arizona) in the first round and DeJuan Tribble (Boston College) in the sixth round.

Whether they fully made up for the loss of Michael Turner and Lorenzo Neal by drafting running backs Jacob Hester (LSU) in the third round and Marcus Thomas (UTEP) in the fifth round is debatable.

But there’s no debate the big need is at offensive tackle, and waiting till the seventh round to take an OT (Corey Clark, Texas A&M) may prove to be a big mistake.

After all, the last time the Chargers failed to make the playoffs in 2005, it was due to lack of depth on the offensive line when injuries occurred. Unless they pick up a proven veteran OT before the season, it could prove to be their downfall, also, in 2008.

Meanwhile, NFL draft expert Mel Kiper of ESPN certainly thinks Kansas City and Oakland can sneak up on the Chargers within a couple years, based on this year’s picks. Here are some comments by Kiper on the AFC West picks:

Kansas City: (Grade: A) The rebuilding process is on. The Chiefs started the draft with 13 picks, and they made them count. After getting defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey -- the No. 1 player on my Big Board -- with the fifth overall pick, the Chiefs grabbed tackle Branden Albert, although he will be a work in progress. Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers would have been a mid-first-round pick if he had run better 40 times at the NFL combine. On Day 2, RB Jamaal Charles and Tennessee TE Brad Cottam -- who has untapped ability -- will be nice complements on offense. Cottam could be a diamond in the rough.

Oakland (Grade: B-) We all know what Darren McFadden can do. I really liked Oakland's second-round pick, Connecticut CB Tyvon Branch. He can help out in the return game, and also has great catch-up speed. Wide receiver Arman Shields hurt his knee early in the season and fell off the radar, but he's a developmental receiver.

Denver (Grade C+) Ryan Clady is the left tackle the Broncos needed to help Jay Cutler, and Clady should start right away. Eddie Royal is a decent slot receiver who has some return skills, Kory Lichtensteiger was one of the top centers in the draft and Arizona State's Ryan Torain is an interesting pick at running back because he has the potential to prosper in Denver.

San Diego (Grade: C+) Antoine Cason played a lot of football at Arizona, which at times works against a player in terms of being overevaluated. Cason doesn't have great recovery speed, but he has good technique in coverage and good ball skills. Jacob Hester could make up for the loss of Michael Turner. Hester was a fullback at LSU, but isn't a prototypical lead-blocking fullback. UTEP RB Marcus Thomas has some ability and was a good fifth-round pick; CB DeJuan Tribble did not have great workouts, but he flashed second-round potential early in the season. One thing I didn't like about the Chargers' draft is they didn't really address their need at right tackle.

If Kiper is correct, the rest of the AFC West may be gaining on the Chargers.

Chargers: Status quo good enough?

The Chargers are making it clear that status quo is good enough for them.

It was good enough to give them the No. 1 seed in the 2006 AFC playoffs; good enough to get them to the 2007 AFC Championship game.

But will it be good enough to get them to an eventual Super Bowl? We’ll see.

The team did the expected Thursday by cutting fullback Lorenzo Neal and free safety Marlon McCree. It was not so expected when offensive tackle Shane Olivea, who started much of last season, was also released.

The Chargers are banking that their current roster, plus the addition of linebacker Derek Smith from the San Francisco 49ers, will be enough to lead them to the promise land in 2008.

They’re certainly going to lose cornerback Drayton Florence and running back Michael Turner to free agency. Back-up quarterback Billy Volek can also hit the open market … and the Chargers may be best to let him go and elevate Charlie Whitehurst to the No. 2 QB slot.

The Chargers are down to just four picks in the 2008 NFL draft. Apparently, what they already have is believed to be enough by General Manager A.J. Smith.

Time will tell …

Chargers should tame Lions

Jamal Williams and Shawne Merriman are out with injuries.

There goes the heart of the Chargers’ defense.

Lorenzo Neal is out for the regular season, at least.

There goes a heart of the offense.

Philip Rivers is gimpy.

That’s another important offensive component.

That being said, the Chargers still have an excellent chance to clinch the AFC West when they host the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Look at it this way: The Lions are coming off a game they led the entire way until falling at the end to the powerful Dallas Cowboys.

Sound familiar to what Baltimore did against the New England Patriots two weeks ago?

Don’t forget, Baltimore came out completely flat last Sunday when it got beaten up by Indianapolis.

You shouldn’t be surprised if Detroit suffers the same fate this week; even considering how banged up the Chargers appear to be.

Prediction:

Chargers 30, Lions 17