Bolt Beat Monday Mailbag: Philip Rivers and the fourth quarter

Question 7: I have been a Chargers fan for most of my life and every year seeing them either knocked out of the playoffs or not getting there was heartbreaking! But even more so was seeing the team move to Los Angeles. To me, they will always be the San Diego Chargers; it just sounds better to me. Now with talk of a Super Bowl run coming up I would love for my Chargers to win one. Rivers has been our guy through thick and thin and he definitely deserves a championship after all these years so for him and the other guys I really want them to win one. But at the same time I would love for the Chargers to get back to San Diego. Hence my dilemma, because if the Chargers win a Super Bowl this year or the next in Los Angeles then they’ll stay there for years, decades possibly. Am I the only one caught in this dilemma? Will the Chargers ever return to San Diego? I hope they do. -Eliya

They’re not coming back buddy, not for a long time.

As a long-time Chargers fan (my dad tried to raise me a Raiders fan), I have always been able to “stay Switzerland” on the Los Angeles versus San Diego thing because I live in Orange County. But I understand how important this team was/is to you and many San Diegans, on a personal level I could never comprehend; nowhere was this more apparent than at the (so we thought) final game at Qualcomm against the visiting Dolphins.

I’ll never forget the groups of distraught, sometimes crying fans holding up posters and signs of love and support. Fathers with their sons, and their sons, attending a game for the final time of what had once been a yearly tradition for the them. I saw the emotions, and I wish I could tell you the Chargers were coming back home; but they’re not.

As it stands, they have a 20-year lease with the Rams in Inglewood, followed by four five-year options to extend. If the Chargers can win more, and I believe they can, there’s a fanbase around here (somewhere) waiting to support a winning team. The Rams, by any comparison, went from an abysmal 4-12 embarrassment to a local and national sensation in just one year.

Sorry Eliya, this team is here to stay in Los Angeles for quite some time. If you’re young enough, you could very well see a return to America’s finest city. For now, continue to support your team as a true fan. Love ’em as you always have, wish the team all the best, and hang in there!

Question 8: Daniel Jeremiah is pretty plugged into the league and he says the word is Chargers take a QB on Day 2. Which Day 2 QB would you want them to take if that’s the route they go? -Missing SD

Taking a QB this year seems to be the general consensus, although I can remember years where Teddy Bridgewater and Marcus Mariota were sure-fire Chargers according to many draft pundits. Nope. That being said, there’s a lot of merit surrounding the Bolts taking one in the second or third round this year. They could certainly use one behind Rivers to groom for a few years. I would have said Lamar Jackson or Mason Rudolph, but I’m convinced at least one goes in the first and the other either in the first or very early in the second. Assuming the Chargers make no draft-day moves, that puts those two out of reach. What do we have left?

• Kyle Lauletta, Richmond
• Luke Falk, Washington State
• Mike White, Western Kentucky

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Lauletta and Falk are your third-round picks on Day Two, and I’m including Mike White because I’ve heard a lot of buzz through other media outlets about him. I think he goes on Day Three though. I feel there is a significant drop-off in quarterback talent after Rudolph and Jackson, so for any of you not wanting a QB in the first two rounds, you may be in luck. However, if you’re hoping for a guy like Rudolph, you’re likely going to have to see the Chargers trade up significantly to get him. This will be one of the most fascinating second days of the draft in recent memory, because as you mentioned manypundits have a strong feeling the Chargers take a QB. In a few days, you’ll find out!

Thanks again for the great questions. As I said before, I expect a majority of the topics this week to surround the NFL Draft. So get your submissions in!

Here’s a little bit of a challenge for anyone willing to try:

Who is going to be our third-round selection on Friday?

Anyone who answers in the comment section and gets it right will get a shout-out on next week’s mailbag. Have a great rest of your week, and I can’t wait to see who the Bolts pick!