Fan Perspective w/ Didier Dubrit

December 16, 2010; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers cornerback Antoine Cason (20) prior to the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE

What’s good Boltheads?!?!  Here we go again with another Fan Perspective interview from outside the U.S.  If you think you have trouble catching the Chargers on television then you better re-think that immediately.

I have really enjoyed all of the Fan Perspective interviews that I have done, but this is one of my favorites.  For having limited opportunities, he is absolutely not limited in his knowledge of the Bolts.

This may be a slow time of year for news but I am “beating it up BoogaP style” for all the Boltheads out there starting…. oooohhh, about right now! 

Tonight will be the announcement of the contest winners of “Want to go to a Chargers Game?”, this interview, and my Chargers stat projections for the 2012 season.

In the near future, you will all be blessed by my first female Fan Perspective interview with @JENFABULOUS/Charger Girl Jen, Jenzel Jimena.  Don’t call her JENNIFER! Ask Randy about that one!  

I am in the middle of lining up some more BoltGirl interviews as well.  You’re next Cally! 

But, before that interview, the next Fan Perspective interview will really open your eyes.  I am going to be interviewing Ron Ursery.  Ron has been a fan since the beginning of the Chargers and is a true BoltHead through and through.  He has a ton of Bolt knowledge to share and I, for one, am really hyped.

Also, I am excited to announce my first “Fan Perspective Rewind” interview with Sam McCranie, or as you know him on Twitter, @BOLTSFAN1972.  He and I will go over some things that we didn’t have a chance to go over in our first interview.   

Following all of those interviews, Fan Perspective will morph into “Fam Perspective as I will interview my wife, my father, and heck, while I’m at it, I will do a Fam Perspective where I share MY Boltdom with all of the BoltBeat faithful. 

BoltBeat.com is growing quickly my friends.  Jump on board this Bolt Train that is roaring to the top NOW!!!  The sooner you get on, the better the chance that you don’t get left behind.   Chooo Choooo!!!!!! Leeeggggoooo!

My name is Didier Dubrit, as you can see, not an English name at all, and quite difficult to pronounce for English speaking people. I am 23 years old (today’s my birthday!) and I live in a small town, in the western part ofSwitzerland, which is also the French speaking part of the country (some people also speak German and Italian). I am still a student. I study sports and leisure management at the university. I tried to come to California for a part of my studies, but the place is quite popular, so it didn’t work out.

However, I came to California two years ago, in the summer. It was during the preseason, but I’ve still watched two games. First was Bears @ Chargers. I also came back to theUnited States last year, in October, and I was able to go to the Chargers @ Jets game, which was unfortunately a loss.

Best of all, I’ll come back for a trip to California in September again! I hope that I will be able to meet some Bolts fans over there!

BoogaP:  When did your love for the Bolts start and how did it come about?

I think it’s quite funny, indeed. The first football game I saw was the Superbowl between the Steelers and the Seahawks, back in 2006. Football is not broadcast in Switzerland, except for the Superbowl, so it was the only game I was able to watch at that time. I also watched Superbowls XLII and XLIII. It is after that last one that I really started to become interested in the NFL.

I bought Madden 09 in order to learn more about the rules and everything while having fun playing. I didn’t really have a favorite team at that time. I created one and put it inSan   Diego, without knowing that there was already a team there (what a shame! I know!). Then I realized there was one, and started to play with it. Then I looked at videos and articles on the Internet, about the team, and fell in love. Since that time, there hasn’t been two days in a row where I wasn’t looking for something about the Bolts!

BoogaP:  Who is your favorite Bolts player and why?

Of course I like Rivers, Gates, Mathews and all the stars of the team, but I have to say that my favorite player on the team is Antoine Cason. He is not a flashy player, he doesn’t talk a lot, but he does his job. I know he had some difficult times in 2011, even being benched for Gilchrist. In the end, he earned his spot back on the depth chart and played his best football at the end of the season. I also think he is a young talented player who can be a star if there is only a descent pass rush; which of course the Chargers didn’t have last season.

BoogaP:  If you could say one thing to the entire Chargers team in the locker room during the pregame speech, what would you say?

Play the game with passion, not for the money, not for the girls, but for yourself and all the fans that love the great game of football, all around the world!

BoogaP:  What is your favorite piece of Chargers swag?

It’s a Powder Blue #20 Cason jersey. Not a lot of people have it and since he is my favorite player on the team, the choice is easy to make. It’s also the jersey I wore the two times I’ve been to Chargers games. I just love Powder Blue. I really hope that the Chargers organization will finally move back to their former colors sooner rather than later. Only twice a season is not enough!

BoogaP:  Who is your least favorite team in the NFL?

My least favorite team in the NFL is certainly the Raiders! It can’t be anyone else. I hate the team, I hate raider nations and all the crazy fans wearing very strange outfits and always talking about their Superbowl wins that have occurred before most of them were even born! That’s just plain stupid.

BoogaP:  Least favorite player in the NFL and why?

Not a Raider here, but a former Bronco. Jay Cutler. It’s mainly because of the “altercation” between him and Rivers. Of course, Rivers talked a little trash, which is not as bad as a lot of people seem to think, but Cutler whining about this is even worse. He was also in there when Hochuli blew the call against the Chargers. I don’t have much more against him, but I just can’t stand him. Well, in fact, it might also be his “someone just shat in my cereal” face. It seems that he is whining all the time.

BoogaP:  What is your favorite moment in Chargers history?

I wasn’t even born, but I have to say the AFC Divisional Game in Miami, A.K.A.THE Epic in Miami. I have watched videos of this game and it’s just fantastic. It is one of the best Chargers teams in the history of the franchise, with Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Wes Chandler and, not to mention,  Don Coryell as the HC. It was full of drama, with the blocked field goal to go to overtime and the picture of Kellen Winslow being helped off of the field by teammates.  To my knowledge it is one of the most known in the history of the NFL.

I can also add that, in recent memory, week 15 of 2008, the comeback win against the Chiefs to keep the postseason hopes alive. San Diego, trailing 21-10 with less than 2 minutes to play in the game, came back and won thanks to a successful onside kick and a Chiefs’ missed field goal with time expiring. That was quite a game too!

BoogaP:  What was your reaction when Dean Spanos announced that Norv and AJ would be retained for the 2012 season?

Well, after the 6 game losing streak, every journalist was saying that one or both will almost certainly be out at the end of the season. It was a little bit strange for me, since I haven’t known the Chargers with another Head Coach other than Norv! My first thought was that, maybe, it was not bad for them to go, since the past couple of seasons haven’t been great at all. However, when the news came that they were retained as Head Coach and General Manager, I wasn’t angry either. In fact, I’ve never blamed Norv for the “bad” results of the team. Maybe he is not as motivational as we would like him to be, but when you see the close relationship he has with Rivers, I’m not sure it would have been a good thing to bring a new guy in there.

As for AJ, of course I haven’t been pleased with some of his draft choices and how he deals with FA or soon to be FA, but I also think he knows his job. Hopefully, the Bolts will be as good during the season as AJ was in the offseason!

BoogaP: In your opinion, what is the main reason that the Chargers did not make the playoffs last year?

It’s not something I invented. I think they had several problems. Firstly, injuries, it was just awful to see the offensive line decimated with injuries, for example. Secondly, Rivers, he sometimes tried to win the game all by himself, it didn’t work out so well for the team. Finally, I think it’s the lack of pass rush that caused the most problems. LaBoy didn’t play well at all, English was hurt (as usual), and Philips was hurt. Only Barnes showed what he was able to do. Hopefully, this will all change with our first round pick Melvin “T-Rex” Ingram!

BoogaP:  Who do you believe is the biggest threat to the Bolts in the AFC West?

I might be wrong, but I don’t buy the whole “Peyton Manning” is back story. Of course he is one of the greatest. Pardon me if I’m not drinking the Manning kool-aid. He missed a whole season and changed teams, so I think he won’t be as good as he once was before the neck injury. Moreover, he is not getting any younger and any shot at him could end his career.

In fact, I believe the Chiefs will be the major threat to the Bolts. Their team was devastated with injuries at key positions last year. With Moeaki, Charles and Berry back to business (if they can play in the same way as they did before their injuries), it will be a tough team to beat, especially at Arrowhead. However, I think they are still missing the quarterback that can lead them to a deep postseason journey.

There will be great games inside the AFC West this year.  It should be really fun to watch. I can even see two AFC West teams in the postseason. However, there are lots of question marks with players that were injured, and lots of changes. The start of the season is really too far away!

BoogaP:  Is there one game that stands out to you as a “Must See” on our schedule this year?

My favorite games are the ones against the division rivals. It’s hard to pick only one. First game against the Broncos (week 6) will show how Manning does with his new team. However I like games against the Raiders the most. It will be no different this year with the first and last game against them.

Outside the division, I’d say week 14 @Pittsburgh. The Steelers are always fun to watch, even if you don’t like them. Moreover, a lot of teams have hard times playing over there and the Chargers are no different. I hope this is the year they go and finally win the game!

BoogaP:  How difficult is it for you to follow the Chargers with the time difference and such?

It is quite hard indeed! Since the Chargers are on the West Coast, they almost always play the late games on Sunday, at around 1pm PT. Where I live, there is a 9 hour difference, so it’s already 10pm when the games start! And that is without all the prime time games they play, which means that the game begins at 2:30 a.m.

I can say I’m happy to be a student because of this and that I was lucky the past years because I didn’t have lectures on Monday morning. Generally, it’s a bad day if the Chargers lose, but with only 3 or 4 hours of sleep, the whole day is just a nightmare!

However, I try not to miss any of the Chargers games, even though people are calling me crazy! I don’t care, I just love Chargers football! No matter if they win or lose, I’ll be watching!

BoogaP:  I am very pleased with the offseason up to this point. Having a great free agency and great draft leads me to my opinion. Do you believe that the Chargers have done enough? Or, are there a couple more moves that can be made?

I am very pleased with the Chargers offseason so far, too! It’s really good to have the impression that the front office is trying to do the right things in order to win. It must be a good thing that both the GM and HC are on the hot seat. It makes for miracles to happen (at least in the offseason for now).

Honestly, this year’s draft was outstanding. Being able to get (probably) the most talented pass rusher should do miracles for the entire defense and thus the offense too. A couple of value picks at the end, a pass catching tight end that can learn with Gates. I’m really looking forward to them all developing to the next level.

As for the FA, I’m a little worry concerning the RB position. If Mathews can stay healthy, there will be no problem. He is a very talented back and will gain a lot of yards. He also has to keep the ball in his hands! I like Brinkley too, but I’m not sure if he can be effective with a lot of carries in a consistent way if Mathews gets hurt.

I also hope that the CB position will be okay. Without injuries, no problem, but otherwise, with only four CBs; we are exposed. We need to bring another CB in, but I really have no idea who that would be that could help to fill the void. Maybe we found a gem in UDFA players, who knows?

BoogaP:  It is well-known that I have predicted that the Bolts will win their first Superbowl this season. Do you have a prediction for this yr?

I always hope that the Chargers will win the Superbowl! I’m not sure they will this year, but I predict the playoffs, and at least one postseason win. After that, anything is possible!

BoogaP:  And, my favorite question, how often do you visit BoltBeat.com?

That one is easy. I visit BoltBeat.com everyday! I love the articles, even during the offseason, and, of course, I never miss a Morning Dump, even if it’s already late afternoon for me when it comes out!

If you don’t feel informed, then you must be a little bit on the “simple side” of life.  What a great job man!!

I would like to thank Didier for doing this interview.  Although I pride myself in having Bolts knowledge, it is always nice to receive a refresher on stuff that has been  “mentally” put on the back burner.

If you have been mentioned in this interview, I expect that you would leave a comment.  If you don’t do so then…. uhhhh, not worried about it! BoltHeads make sure to represent and support other BoltHeads regardless.  I know ya’ll will do so in a supportive fashion.

Thanks a lot for reading.

BoltUp!!!

BoogaP