The San Diego Chargers may surprise you!

Don't expect the 2001 San Diego Chargers to be the doormat in the AFC this year. After a devastating 1-15 season last year, this team has nowhere to go, but up.

The only win they could manage in the 2000 season was in week 13 against their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, by a score of 17-16.

Believe it or not, that wasn't the best game they played last year, thought. In week 10, they rolled up 398 yards in net yards against the Seattle Seahawks, but lost 17-15. In their win against Kansas City, they managed just 201 total net yards on offense.

So what makes San Diego a formidable opponent this year? One reason is new general manager, John Butler. He came over from the Buffalo Bills and has turned the organization inside-out since his arrival. The only thing he didn't do upon his arrival was fire head coach Mike Riley.

The first positive thing he did, was bring in coach Norv Turner from the Washington Redskins to run the offense. The second thing he did, was trade troubled quarterback Ryan Leaf to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He then brought in quarterback Doug Flutie from the Buffalo Bills, acquired some other promising players, like defensive end Marcellus Wiley from Buffalo, cornerbacks Ryan McNeil from Dallas and Alex Molden from New Orleans, and kicker Wade Richey from San Francisco, and then cut kicker John Carney loose.

He's a man that's not afraid of change or public sentiment. He did the unthinkable, by trading away their first overall draft pick to the Falcons, who chose quarterback Michael Vick. That took some guts.

Instead, he chose probably the best running back in all of college in 2000, LaDainian Tomlinson, from Texas Christian University.

Tomlinson rushed for over 2,000 yards in his final year at TCU, leading the nation in rushing. He just recently signed a contract, which caused him to miss a lot of training camp, so don't expect too much from him until he learns the plays and bonds with his fellow teammates. He should be able to learn quickly, though.

General manager John Butler made QB Drew Brees of Purdue his second pick in the NFL draft. Brees was considered by many, to be the most qualified quarterback in this year's NFL draft.

In his senior year at Purdue, Brees completed 286-473 passes for 3,393 yards and 24 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he threw for 3,983 yards and 39 touchdowns. Two of Brees' many nicknames, were "Cool Brees" and "Hurricane Brees." Once he learns San Diego's system and gets his feet wet, he should be awesome.

Expect Drew Brees to step in right away if Doug Flutie falters in any way. Brees had an excellent debut in the preseason game against the Miami Dolphins last week, which San Diego won in overtime, 23-20. He threw for 194 yards and one touchdown, while completing 15-24. He seems to have his timing down with his receivers and he looks comfortable in the pocket.

Butler made a some other solid selections including defensive back Tay Cody from Florida State, who is a tremendous blocker, and linebacker Carlos Polk, from Nebraska.

To enhance his offensive line, he chose Washington offensive tackle Elliot Silvers, who is huge at 6-6, 321 pounds.

Linebacker Junior Seau returns to anchor the defense. He's in his 12th year in the NFL, and shows no signs of slowing down. He's around the ball on every play it seems.

If first round pick LaDainian Tomlinson doesn't live up to the Chargers expectations of being one of the premier running backs in the NFL this season, you can look for second year running back Ronney Jenkins, to take control of the running game.

He's also a talented kickoff returner. He was ignored most of last year, but offensive coach Norv Turner sure won't forget about him.

As for receivers, tight end Freddie Jones should catch a lot of passes from Flutie or Brees. Curtis Conway will be very busy if healthy. Reggie Jones should have more opportunity this season to showcase his talent.

The Chargers signed return man, Tim Dwight, away from the Atlanta Falcons.

San Diego also will be helped by their easy schedule in 2001, if you can call any NFL schedule, easy.

They open the season Sept. 9th against the Washington Redskins at home, then get a bye the very next week. After that, their next three games are against Dallas, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Of course, being in the AFC West, they do have to face Oakland and Denver twice in the season, certainly not an easy task.

If this team starts out slowly against the soft part of their schedule, head coach Mike Riley won't be around long. Then look for offensive coordinator Norv Turner take over.

The prediction here is that San Diego will finish the regular season at 8-8 or better, which is quite an improvement over last season. They won't bend and break so easy this year. You can count on that.

See you at the game.