Supercharged | Pt. II (2018-): The Return of the L.A. Chargers

[weddlesbeard]

Welcome Back
L.A. Sports & Entertainment Group welcome Chargers' organization

AP - As the 2018 NFL preseason looms, the Los Angeles Chargers held their inaugural press conference, capping off one of the most hectic offseasons ever for a defending Superbowl champion.

In 2017, the San Diego Chargers had a season for the ages, posting a 14-2 record and winning the franchise's first Lombardi trophy. Their reward: a relocation up I-5 to Los Angeles.

It was a wacky relocation that could only happen in the ultra-commercial age of the NFL. The Chargers' relocation did not happen because the franchise was struggling, or because they did not have a sufficient fan base or market. Rather, they moved because they were good, because their success meant a growing fan base in Southern California's biggest market.

There was nothing surprising about the press conference; the move has been openly reported throughout the summer. Perhaps the only new revelation to come out of the inaugural press conference was that the team will be reintroducing the powder blue jerseys as their default home jersey, making the navy blue jerseys the alternate. The 1960 Los Angeles Chargers wore the powder blue jerseys as well.

The team's front office and coaching staff were silent on the news we all wanted to hear: whether reigning league MVP Philip Rivers would be making the move with the team.

While the relocation was clearly about the dollars - the Spanos family sold the franchise to Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Group for an NFL-record $1.3B - on the field, the team hopes things stay the same. But before looking ahead to the Chargers' title defense, let us look back at how the football team, not the business, has adapted and evolved over the past offseason.

Supercharged, Part I (2015-2017)

[weddlesbeard]

Table of Contents

Part I (2015-2017)
Part II: The Return of the L.A. Chargers

Prologue (2018 Offseason)
Chapter One (2018): "One More Year"

Dynasty Info

Console: XBox 360
Game: Madden 15
Sliders: JaymeeAwesome's Realistic Game Stats Sliders (M15 CFM) with personal adjustments (see spoiler below).

Spoiler

This franchise only has one house rule: every offseason I adjust my sliders as appropriate to make the game slightly more difficult and hopefully more statistically realistic. Since I get a lot of questions about my sliders, and at this point they are starting to differ more from JaymeeAwesome's great slider set I used as my base, I will update my sliders here every time I adjust them in the offseason.

2018 changes:
Player Pass Blocking (-3)
Player Interceptions (+2)
Player Tackling (-3)
CPU Pass Blocking (+5)
CPU Run Blocking (+3)

Settings:
Difficulty: All-Pro
Quarter Length: 15 minutes
Acc. Clock: 11 seconds
Game Speed: Slow

Player Skill:
QB Accuracy: 20
Pass Blocking: 22
WR Catching: 55
Run Blocking: 61
Fumbles: 6
Pass Defense Reaction Time: 40
Interceptions: 20
Pass Coverage: 40
Tackling: 35

CPU Skill:
QB Accuracy: 7
Pass Blocking: 100
WR Catching: 45
Run Blocking: 70
Fumbles: 11
Pass Defense Reaction Time: 53
Interceptions: 18
Pass Coverage: 56
Tackling: 48

Special Teams:
FG Power: 55
FG Accuracy: 30
Punt Power: 55
Punt Accuracy: 100
Kickoff Power: 60

*Game Option and Penalty sliders are unchanged from base set (see above link)

[weddlesbeard]

San Diego/L.A. Chargers Yearly Recaps
Year	Record	AFC West Pos.	Playoffs
2014	9-7	3rd	Missed Playoffs
2015	10-6	2nd	Lost Wildcard 30-27 at New England
2016	12-4	2nd	Won Wildcard 31-17 at New England Lost Divisional 24-18(OT) at Baltimore
2017	14-2	1st	Won Divisional 24-13 vs. New England Won AFC Championship 26-23 vs. Tennessee Won Superbowl 23-14 vs. San Francisco

[weddlesbeard]

Superbowl Champions
Year	Winner	Runner-Up	Score	MVP
2014	New England Patriots	Seattle Seahawks	28-24	Tom Brady
2015	New Orleans Saints	New England Patriots	29-21	Marques Colston
2016	Green Bay Packers	Kansas City Chiefs	36-14	Aaron Rodgers
2017	San Diego Chargers	San Francisco 49ers	23-14	Kendall Reyes

NFL Award Winners
Year	MVP	OPOY	DPOY	OROY	DROY
2014	Aaron Rodgers, Packers	DeMarco Murray, Cowboys	J.J. Watt, Texans	Odell Beckham Jr., Giants	Aaron Donald, Rams
2015	Drew Brees, Saints	Jamaal Charles, Chiefs	Justin Houston, Chiefs	Dexter Duncan, Titans	Keron Motes, Bengals
2016	Aaron Rodgers, Packers	Jamaal Charles, Chiefs	Bobby Wagner, Seahawks	Keon Bryant, Broncos	Craig Simmons, Falcons
2017	Philip Rivers, Chargers	Adrian Peterson, Vikings	Melvin Ingram, Chargers	Herbert Spencer, Browns	Alante Florence, Falcons

[RoundingThird]

I love it. Always wanted to see an NFL team in LA be chronicled in these parts. I especially love how it's the same Chargers team that you ad going before.

[weddlesbeard]

Prologue (2018 Offseason): Re-signings

The defending champion Chargers lost a big part of the secondary this offseason, letting cornerback Jason Verrett walk in free agency.

Chargers Offseason Recap

Re-signings:
RG Chris Watt: 6 years, $39.6M
P Chad Jenkins: 4 years, $5.2M
OLB Jerry Attaochu: 4 years, $4.0M
S Darrell Stuckey: 2 years, $2.7M
K Henry Ryan: 4 years, $2.2M
CB Tay Barksdale: 2 years, $1.5M
LG Doug Legursky: 1 year, $1.01M
LB Kavell Conner: 1 year, $920K
DT Ryan Carrethers: 1 year, $750K
DT Beau Allen: 1 year, $750K

Free agent departures:
CB Jason Verrett
WR Seyi Ajirotutu
RT Jeremy Parnell
C Nick McDonald
DE Lawrence Guy

Analysis: Overall, the Chargers' contract negotiations have to be ruled a failure as the team could not reach a deal with their biggest impending free agent, Jason Verrett. Verrett, along with Brandon Flowers, has formed one of the league's best cornerback duos over the past few years. The pair led the Chargers' second-ranked pass defense in 2017. Third-year pro Stanley Bell looks set to take over from Verrett across from Flowers. Bell is more of a traditional cornerback with the size to match up against larger receivers; his steady progression could have influenced the team's decision to let Verrett walk. However, we are led to wonder whether the team did not want to shore out the money for the large contract Verrett deserved, with the impending move to Los Angeles on the horizon.

Otherwise, the Chargers were relatively quiet with their contract negotiations. The only big contract they signed was likely their best move of the offseason, locking up guard Chris Watt to a six-year extension. The Chargers' offensive line was the team's strength en route to the Superbowl, and Watt is now set to be an anchor of that line for the considerable future. The Chargers also locked up three starters - linebacker Jerry Attaochu, kicker Henry Ryan and punter Chad Jenkins - to solid four year contracts.

[BB_Dynasty]

Pumped to see you're starting this back up. Following.

[weddlesbeard]

Prologue (2018 Offseason): Free Agency

Peyton Manning has shocked the football world, announcing his return to the NFL after two years of retirement.

Manning Returns
Peyton Manning comes out of retirement; signs with Steelers

AP - In an offseason of the improbable, the unthinkable has happened. Peyton Manning, arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time, has announced his return to the NFL. Manning, who retired following the 2015 season, signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers worth $22.5 million.

After a career chasing and surprassing Brett Favre's passing records, Manning has no pulled off a classic Favre move by returning from the grave to play one more season at age 42.

For the Steelers, on the other hand, this move immediately vaults them into AFC contention. With a formidable run defense, one of the league's best wide-outs in Antonio Brown and the two-headed monster of Le'Veon Bell and Giovani Bernard in the backfield, the Steelers were able to muster an 11-5 record and a playoff berth in 2017 despite Kirk Cousins at quarterback. Now with Manning at the helm, they are arguably the AFC favorites.