Sports Articles Johnson

Week 4 in the NFL

Tuesday Night’s Recap
Pick – Cubs over Marlins
Result – Win
Amount - 50 units
Season Bankroll - +$200

My 3 best bets are:
Packers -1.5 over Minnesota
Chargers -11.5 over Chiefs
Steelers -6 over Cardinals

Featured game:
Chargers vs. Chiefs

This game features two of the NFL’s elite running backs…well, they were last season. LaDainian Tomlinson won the MVP last year as his San Diego Chargers joined the ranks of the NFLs elite. And Larry Johnson of the Chiefs was a monster. Three games into the new season, a repeat performance of either seems very unlikely as both are playing for sputtering offenses.

Faced with the prospect of their first three-game losing streak in nearly four years, the Chargers hope to take advantage of the punchless Kansas City Chiefs. After winning a franchise-record 14 games last season, the Chargers were picked by many to reach their first Super Bowl since 1995. Although a surprising 24-21 loss to New England in the divisional playoffs prevented that from becoming a reality, San Diego was expected to be a top contender for a championship again this year.

While there is still plenty of season left, the Chargers have already fallen behind unbeaten teams New England, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh in the race for the best record in the AFC. San Diego is one of three 1-2 teams in the West, which Denver leads with a 2-1 record. Though the team has plenty of issues, only problem, Tomlinsons ineffectiveness is the biggest issue currently facing the Chargers. Last season, Tomlinson set NFL records with 31 touchdowns and 186 points last season, winning his first rushing title with 1,815 yards. This year, however, he has managed only 130 yards and one score in three games after he had 300 yards and three TDs at the same point last season. He is averaging just 2.3 yards per carry. Though we’d likely get hurt in the process, I’m pretty certain most of us could do the same for much less money. Last week, Tomlinson was limited to 62 yards on 22 carries in a 31-24 defeat at Green Bay, giving the Chargers the same amount of losses they had all of last season.

Historically for San Diego

As poor as they have played in three games, there is reason for optimism with the Chargers being 1-2 for the third time in the last four seasons. They began 2004 with two losses in three games before finishing 12-4. In 2006, San Diego was 4-2 and faced St. Louis without star linebacker Shawne Merriman, but a 38-24 victory in that contest started a 10-game winning streak. So they definitely have the track record and personnel to turn things around. San Diego has won nine consecutive regular-season home games since a 23-7 loss to Denver on Dec. 31, 2005. The Chargers haven lost three straight overall since Nov. 16-30, 2003.

The Chiefs are a different story. Although they are coming off their first win of the season, an anemic offense is making every game a struggle for the Chiefs (1-2), who rank 31st in the NFL in scoring (8.7). Only Buffalo (8.0) has been worse. Much like the Chargers with Tomlinson, the Chiefs offense revolves around star running back Larry Johnson, who also has struggled this season. Johnson, who finished second to Tomlinson with 1,789 rushing yards last year, has rushed for 140 yards on 50 carries, a dismal 2.8-yard average. Unlike Tomlinson, though, Johnson was expected to start slowly after a 25-day holdout helped make him the highest-paid player in team history.

Their offense is just terrible as Kansas City is one of two teams in the league without a rushing touchdown this season, and is next-to-last in the NFL with 64 rushing yards per game. Last week, after producing only 56 first-half total yards, the Chiefs had little choice but to open up their offense in the second half of Sundays 13-10 win over Minnesota. That led to their only sustained drive of the game, capped by Damon Huards 16-yard touchdown pass to rookie Dwayne Bowe with 9:23 remaining.

They also have 2 unproven quarterbacks with the mediocre at best Damon Huard being backed up by the even worse and more inexperienced Brodie Croyle. Huard is 23rd in the league with 549 passing yards and a 77.5 passer rating.

Final Analysis.

So while both teams have struggled thus far, there are plenty of hints pointing towards a breakout blowout by the Chargers. They are playing at home, they’re angry, and the Chiefs are one of the worst teams in the NFL. Plus, over the past 3 seasons, the Chiefs have lost their last three visits to San Diego, this was when their talent levels were comparable. I would take San Diego here even if the line was 20 points.

Here are the rest of the picks.

Favorite / Spread / Underdog / My Picks

Green Bay / 1.5 / MINNESOTA / Green Bay
Houston / 3 / ATLANTA / Houston
New York (NYJ) / 3.5 / BUFFALO / New York (NYJ)
Baltimore / 4 / CLEVELAND / CLEVELAND
DALLAS / 13 / St. Louis / DALLAS
Chicago / 3 / DETROIT / DETROIT
MIAMI / 4 / Oakland / Oakland
Seattle / 2 / SAN FRANCISCO / SAN FRANCISCO
CAROLINA / 0 / Tampa Bay / CAROLINA
Pittsburgh / 6 / ARIZONA / Pittsburgh
SAN DIEGO / 11.5 / Kansas City / SAN DIEGO
INDIANAPOLIS / 10 / Denver / INDIANAPOLIS
Philadelphia / 3 / NEW YORK (NYG) / NEW YORK (NYG)
New England / 7 / CINCINNATI / New England

Good luck with your action tonight!


by Johnson