The Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers have had up and down seasons so far this year.  The Eagles have looked very good at times this season with a lock down defense and a high powered offense led by quarterback Donovan McNabb, but you never seem to know what Eagles team you are getting on a weekly basis as one week they look like a title contender and the next they lose to the Oakland Raiders.  The Chargers have been very similar to the Eagles as they have also looked like very good at times and not so good at other
times.
 
Before this NFL season began the Chargers were favored to go to the Super Bowl out of the AFC and that is really saying something considering the amount of talented teams in that conference, but things really haven’t turned out the way the football critics predicted in the preseason as San Diego really struggled to start the season.  The one thing the San Diego Chargers have struggled with over the last few seasons has been staying healthy.  Quarterback Philip Rivers and running back LaDainian Tomlinson or LT have been battling injuries over the last couple seasons, more so LT due to the fact that Rivers has been able to play through his injuries.
 
At one point in time LaDainian Tomlinson was considered the best running back in the NFL and quite possibly the best running back to play the game.  Not only was LT as versatile as they come at running back with the ability to run, catch and throw he was a nightmare to opposing defenses, but once LT started to really get effected by his nagging injuries the Chargers started to suffer.
 
Fortunately for the Chargers they have had some success with backup running back and kick returner Darren Sproles who is about as fast as they come in the NFL these days.  The Chargers like what Sproles did in place of LT during the playoffs last season that they signed him to deal this past offseason that actually paid him more money than what LT was scheduled to make this season.  Obviously this is not going to make a player of LT’s caliber very happy and talks of LT getting traded started to float around the league, but nothing came of it as LT stayed in San Diego and vowed to prove that he wasn’t over the hill after hitting 30 years of age which most people believe is when a superstar running back’s number start to decline.
 
Despite the promise of a rebirth of sorts for LT this year he has been on the sideline for the majority of the season and basically been a nonfactor for the Chargers and will most likely be on his way out at the end of the season. The Philadelphia Eagles on the other hand took a huge gamble in the offseason by signing troubled quarterback Michael Vick to a two year deal to play backup quarterback for Donovan McNabb.  Many people believed that there would be a lot of bad press for whichever team decided to take a chance on Vick this season, but the Eagles haven’t really suffered for signing Vick and are now sitting at 5-3 and in second place in the toughest division in football in the NFC East.
 
Despite no real negative press for signing Vick yet, the Eagles haven’t really gotten him involved enough in the offense in Philly to justify signing him.  At times head coach Andy Reid throws Vick into the mix in a Wildcat formation, but he hasn’t really made any game changing plays like he used to in his limited time at quarterback. The Eagles have had their fair share of troubles this season, but so far they have been relatively successful as they are still legitimate contenders to make a playoff run if they can limit their losses from here on out. The Dallas Cowboys are atop of the NFC East right now after beating the Eagles 20-16 last week in Philly, but the Eagles aren’t that far behind and could easily regain the lead in the division as the season rolls on.
 
The Chargers are coming off a huge win over another NFC East opponent in the New York Giants who have really struggled as of late.  It took Philip Rivers to lead his Chargers down the field late in the fourth quarter and throw a game winning touchdown to beat the Giants 21-20, but a win is a win and now San Diego is back alive in the AFC West title chase with the Denver Broncos.
 
This will be close game which could come down to the wire like it did for both teams last week, but in the end I believe the Philadelphia Eagles will be too much for the San Diego Chargers to handle.

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