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San Diego Chargers training camp
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By Jason Cole
July 31, 2010
Between the Chargers being pretty good and investigating Reggie Bush and all the benefits he received while at USC, I know San Diego better than most cities I’ve lived in. More importantly, there have been some hysterical moments along the way, such as the time Charles Robinson and I were searching for the 1996 Impala that Reggie bought while he was in college with money he received from Lloyd Lake and Michael Michaels. Reggie had the car pimped out at an auto shop in Pasadena and the car was nice enough to get photographed for a spread in Dub magazine.
Anyway, Robinson and I were dumb enough to think we might actually find the car somewhere. In our eagerness, we stopped one time to look at an Impala that was sitting on the street. Hey, you gotta check every lead. As we’re looking at the car in the middle of the day along a busy street on
So what’s really here?
With four prominent players (WR Vincent Jackson, RB Ryan Mathews, LT Marcus McNeill and LB Shawne Merriman) not here, there is a huge question about whether the San Diego Chargers will be competitive. In the past, that may not have been as big an issue because the Chargers of the previous two or three years were loaded with talent throughout the roster. These days, age, injuries and a few busted draft picks have caught up with San Diego. The Chargers are still the class of the division, but they don’t exactly look like some electric team you can easily imagine in the Super Bowl. Last year, Antoine Cason was a backup to the extremely talented Antonio Cromartie. LB Larry English was taking reps against backups instead of starters. WR Buster Davis (the team’s first-round pick in 2007 who has yet to do anything) was working against third-stringers and looking decent at times in the process. Now, Cason, English and Davis are starters expected to take on significant roles. Cason is a solid player who might have the most upside of all of them. If everything goes right, he could be a Pro Bowler one day. At worst, he’ll probably be a solid starter for years, along the lines of Quentin Jammer. As for English, he’s more of a finesse rusher, lacking the power that once made Merriman so great early in his career. If the Chargers’ defensive line were better, you could see English having a better chance for success. Unfortunately, the line is in decline after the recent defections of NT Jamal Williams and DE Igor Olshansky. In other words, English isn’t going to see as many easy runs to the quarterback, meaning his technique had better be perfect. As for Davis, who is still running behind the likes of Malcolm Floyd and Legedu Naanee, you can see the athletic gifts, but he’s just not very physical.
What do you eat?
What do you think? It’s Mexican food all the way here and a classic burrito place is roughly one long block from the Chargers’ facility. El Roberto serves up a piping hot, gigantic burrito. Throw in some chips and fresh-made salsa, which is heavy on the cilantro and best when combined with the hot sauce, and you’ve got a great cheap meal. But the best part about Roberto’s is that it’s your classic combo hole-in-the-wall Mexican place. Formica tables and no frills. It’s just what I grew up with in Los Angeles. Can’t beat it.
Song of the morning
Partially inspired by a conversation with Jonathan Zaslow of 790 The Ticket in South Florida, who was playing the RHCP version of “Higher Ground” before my segment with him, I’ve been thinking about the great cover songs in rock. Obviously, my Etta James suggestion of “Take it to the Limit” from earlier in the trip qualifies. This morning I listened to Reel Big Fish doing “Take On Me,” an awesome cover of A-Ha’s original. The best part of this cover is that Reel Big Fish actually makes this song listenable. A-Ha’s version was awful. Anyway, I’ll throw in RHCP’s version of “Love Rollercoaster,” Neil Young’s version of “Imagine” and Mary J. Blige’s version of “One” and await the suggestions from other readers about top covers.
Best spot to go along the road
There are a lot of great towns and spots along the way in the NFL. San Francisco has the entire city, Buffalo has Niagara Falls, Denver has the Rocky Mountains and there’s pretty much all of Detroit (just making sure you’re paying attention). However, there might not be a better place to unwind in all of the NFL than Torrey Pines State Park just north of downtown San Diego. If you go up to the sand cliffs that rise above the beach, it’s truly magnificent. At sundown, it’s absolutely stunning.
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