Broncos vs. Chargers: Inside The Villain’s Venue

The Denver Broncos are home to host the San Diego Chargers this week, so I made sure to ask Ernie Padaon some questions about the team that he knows best. Ernie runs Bolt Beat which is the best Chargers site out there. Let’s go Inside the Villain’s Venue with Bolt Beat. 

The Chargers are notorious for their slow starts and fast finishes. They’re currently 3-1, so what has been the difference this year?

The record of the team’s that we have beaten this season is a combines 1-11. The 1 win came last week because the 0-3 Vikings played against the 0-3 Chiefs. Someone had to win that game. That definitely is the main reason why we have the wins, because the team had not been firing on all cylinders for all those games.

Do you anticipate the Chargers taking the AFC West or will the Raiders be a major barrier?

I think we take the West, but the Raiders will be a hurdle that we need to take care of. The Raiders beat us twice last year and didn’t lose a game in the AFC West last season. Their brand of football has always played us tough and it should be a battle that we will eventually win.

Despite losing Ron Rivera in the off season, the Chargers haven’t lost much on defense. What do you attribute this to?

We brought in a coordinator that was familiar with our system. Greg Manusky was the linebacker coach for the Bolts before he left to become the coordinator with the 49ers. We brought him back this year and he runs the same system as Ron Rivers did. It has worked well so far.

What is the Chargers biggest weak spot?

Injuries are killing this team right now and our defense is hurting the most. In the secondary, we lost Bob Sanders for the season (who woulda guessed?) and CB Quentin Jammer is bothered by a hamstring injury. On the front line, Luis Castillo is out for a while and the rookie Corey Liuget and Jacques Cesaire have been battling through injuries. We need to get healthy!

Your prediction for Sunday’s game?

It won’t be easy. AFC West battles seem to be closer than I like and we have not made anything easy this season. Philip should get his groove going and Ryan Mathews is starting to become the all-around back we wanted. Chargers 27 – Broncos 17

Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler, and Kyle Orton get into a bar fight. Who wins and why?

I love the question! First off, Cutler is a crybaby and would probably fake an injury and peace out of the bar as soon as possible. Philip is a good old catholic boy, so he would do everything but fight and probably get knocked out in the process. Kyle Orton just had something mysterious and something tells me he would kill a man if he needed to. WINNER:Kyle Orton

Make sure to follow Predominantly Orange on Facebook and on Twitter.