posted October 11, 2007 at 17:43 in NFL Articles

The Chargers racked the Broncos last Sunday and now, all of a sudden, most NFL betting aficionados believe that they are the team they were supposed to be coming into the season.

I’m not buying it. Not yet. Not when an Oakland Raider team coming off of a bye is getting 10 points.

Yes, the way that San Diego just destroyed the Broncos was impressive. But, they are facing a very different team this Sunday. First, the Raiders have a much better defense than the Broncos do. Second, the Raiders get back Dominick Rhodes, who, when he is healthy and ready, can do damage to almost any defense in the NFL. Third, the Raiders always play their AFC West rivals tough.

It wouldn’t be wise to read too much into the Chargers win over the Broncos last Sunday. Charger fans and those who desperately want to believe that their 14 and 2 record last season wasn’t the product of a soft schedule, would have all of us more sane individuals thinking that the Chargers just needed to get out of their funk.

That makes absolutely no sense. It’s the same logic that would have Saints fans believe that their team is exactly the same from last year and that they have lost due to defensive and offensive errors and that it has nothing to do with the lack of important players on either the defensive or offensive sides of the ball.

The San Diego Chargers problems were masked last week by the Denver Broncos terrible pass defense. Denver is ranked near the bottom when it comes to defending against the pass. Because of that, Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, and Antonio Gates looked like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Brent Jones.

Jackson and Rivers in particular have absolutely no chance of mirroring what they did last in this Sunday’s game versus the Oakland Raiders.

This weekend the San Diego Chargers have to face two shut-down corners in Nnamdi Asomugha and Fabian Washington. LaDanian Tomlinson is going to be shadowed by Raider linebacker Thomas Howard or Kirk Morrison all day. Antonio Gates will have to beat Thomas Howard for most of the game. Howard already has three interceptions this year.

Now, I’m not saying that this is a slam dunk for the Raiders, but 10 points is ridiculous. Every NFL bettor has to think about wagering on this game for the simple fact that no matter how much you may think of San Diego Charger linebackers Shaun Philips and Shawn Merriman, nobody in the NFL can stop the Raiders from running the ball.

Now, they get Dominick Rhodes. That is enough for me.

The BetUS football line is Oakland Raiders on the road + 10 against the spread. Bet the Raiders and watch as the Chargers crumble again.

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