Key To Revamping the Line is to Find Our Center of the Future! Nick Wardick’s Leadership is Missed

Watching Pro Bowl Quarterback Philip Rivers have MVP type seasons year after year is starting to get real old for us Chargers Fans. Rivers isn’t getting any younger and the Chargers management needs to start thinking of how they can protect their investment in Rivers. They need to build a stout line to protect Rivers and prolong his career. The best way to build an offensive line is to start with the Center because he is the leader of the line, he is the guy making all the calls at the line of scrimmage. The Bolts haven’t had a leader on that line since Nick Hardwick who was injured a lot during his last few years. The Chargers recently showed Rivers the money when they resigned him to a 4 year deal worth 85 million dollars. He is the leader of this team but he can’t continue to take the hits he’s taking and we need to develop a run game so he doesn’t have to throw the ball a million times like we watched during the Packers game. Rivers will take what the defense gives him so if he sees something he likes he will take full advantage of that. If that means throwing it 50 times than so be it but it would be very nice to see a running back shoulder some of the load like .

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We had a back like that in Ladainian Tomlinson. Obviously we can’t replace LT but every high profile running back we draft tries so hard to be like LT when nobody will be like LT, Gordon needs to bring his style to the game. He has looked okay at times but he rarely gets to run through gaping holes. Melvin Gordon can’t do it by himself he needs a line that can give him a crease and we need to keep the defense off balance because right now they are expecting Rivers to throw it on every down. No matter how talented a running back is there are only as good as the offensive line. LT had an outstanding line during his prolific career. A sub par line just won’t fly to be a Championship caliber team.

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The biggest area of need on the offensive line is the Center position. After having Nick Hardwick quarterback the offensive line for a better part of the last decade the Chargers need to draft a young, smart center that can make all the calls on the line. They have struggled so much on the line and communication on the line all season. They need a leader to step up. The Center is one of the most critical position after the blind side tackle. Philip Rivers would appreciate Tom Telasco drafting a good, young, tenacious center in the draft. That will help tremendously in the passing game and definitely Melvin Gordon will benefit from having a talented center out there to help with the run scheme. The Chargers have only drafted one offensive lineman in the first round in the last 15 years and that was DJ Fluker. They need to start focusing on keeping Rivers on his feet and opening up holes for our running back of the future, Melvin Gordon.