What if you had the power to change the past? What if you could pick one moment in Chargers history http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mike-pouncey-jersey , go back in time, and change the outcome? It’s something every sports fan has fantasized about at some point in their fandom and, luckily for you, SB Nation has given us the ability to do just that with their “What if鈥?#8221; week.Granted, the Chargers have many, many moments we’d all love to change. Most fans would jump back to the infamous Marlon McCree fumble in the 2007 Divisional Playoffs, but that’s too easy. Others might go back to week 17 of the 2005 season, when Marty played Drew Brees in a meaningless week 17 game against the Broncos only to se his shoulder get mangled in the fourth quarter. Like I said, there is no shortage of moments we’d all like to change.Personally, I’d go back even farther than either of those games. For me, one of the seminal moments in modern Chargers history took place on January 8, 2005. Not ringing a bell? The Chargers hosted a very vanilla New York Jets team in a Wild Card Game played in a violent, driving rain, ultimately losing in overtime when Nate Keating missed a potential game-winning 40-yard field goal attempt.So, what if鈥?Nate Kaeding had made that field goal?For starters, a young and exciting football team would have won its first playoff game on the strength of a 7:54, 48-yard game-winning drive. Instead of being branded as the 12-4 football team that couldn’t beat arguably the worst AFC playoff team at home, they would have been seen as a plucky, resourceful young team that fought tooth and nail to pull out a nail-biter in its first taste of post season play. You can’t overstate the confidence boost a team can get from something like that.In terms of immediate changes, the Bolts would have been headed for a Divisional matchup with the Steelers the following week. It would have been the Chargers 3rd ranked scoring offense and 11th ranked scoring defense against the Steelers #1 scoring defense and 11th ranked scoring offense – Brees and LT vs. Ben and Bettis. At the time, Ben was still managing games rather than winning them and Brees was in he midst of a career year – I cant help but think Ben’s limitations come back to bite the Steelers and the Chargers win a tight one.Fresh off a tight victory over the vaunted Steelers Youth Kyzir White Jersey , the Bolts would have met the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. While I think this matchup probably favors the Chargers on paper because LaDanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates are healthy and pose serious matchup issues for the Pats, I think playing in the cold in New England against a team looking for its third Super Bowl win in four years gets the best of the baby Bolts in a fun and exciting game.Now, with the team heading into the offseason, the narratives surrounding the football team, its quarterback and its head coach are entirely different; and that change in narrative completely changes the trajectory for team, QB and coach.First of all, the Chargers are a young team fresh off a gutsy run to the AFC Title game. They pulled out a nail-biter against the Jets, beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh and gave the Pats a run for their money in New England. That sounds like the perfect jumping-off point for a run in 2005 and there is no home meltdown haunting him all offseason.Next, we get to Drew Brees. He won the first two playoff games of his career, one of them in Pittsburgh, and had a chance to win it in New England. This serves as job security for Drew. The team signs him to an extension before he ever hits the market. Drew is the unquestioned leader of the team and all thoughts of trading him, or letting him walk, evaporate overnight.And finally, everything has changed for Marty Schottenheimer. He has just engineered one of the best playoff runs in modern franchise history, including a win in Pittsburgh, and he finds he has Dean’s ear and loyalty. He feels like he’s finally shedding his choke artist reputation in the playoffs and enters the offseason without any demons lurking in the shadows. Dean steps in, forces AJ to sign Marty to an extension and finally puts the AJ vs. Marty drama to rest.With both Marty and Drew newly extended, the urge to play Drew in the 2005 finale is removed. Marty has job security and isn’t worried about getting a bonus for winning nine games. Meanwhile, Drew is the franchise, so assuming they find themselves 8-8 heading into week 17 in 2005, Marty protects his meal ticket http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-derwin-james-jersey , instead opting to play Rivers in hopes of enhancing his trade value. No shoulder injury for Drew, no yanking of his contract offer while he’s being operated on, and Drew never makes it to New Orleans.In my opinion, Kaeding’s missed kick more or less defined the Chargers for the better part of the last fifteen seasons. That loss was the beginning of the end for Marty Schottenheimer and Drew Brees in San Diego and ultimately was what gave AJ Smith the influence he needed to push both of them out the door. Had that 40-yard kick split the uprights, everything probably changes for this organization – maybe they even curry enough favor in town to get a stadium deal done.OR鈥?they roll into Pittsburgh overconfident, lay a giant egg, lick their wounds all the way back to San Diego and absolutely nothing changes at all. AJ and Marty are still at odds, the team refuses to extend Brees, Marty still gets canned after the 2007 playoffs, and we’re sitting here talking about a similar moment in the Pittsburgh game the following week, or the Marlon McCree fumble in 2007. Because, you know鈥hargers鈥?What If Marlon McCree Never Fumbles The SB Nation NFL team sites are continuing to do Theme Weeks after starting the trend during the 2017 season. This week’s theme is: “What if?”The San Diego/Los Angeles football franchise is one of twelve other NFL franchises to never win a Super Bowl. The team has played twenty-four seasons since the last time they reached the super bowl, a blowout loss at the hands of the 49ers in 1994, and have reached a total of four AFC Championships in team history. While the Chargers have been closer to winning super bowls than what they achieved in the 2006 season, most fans of the team will tell you that 2006 team had the best chance of them all.The 2006 San Diego Chargers were a juggernaut in every sense of the word, rostering a league-best eleven Pro Bowl players, an NFL record thirty-one touchdown season by hall of fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson, and an accomplished former coach of the year in Marty Schottenheimer. A ten-game winning streak to finish the season placed the Chargers firmly as the number one seed in the AFC at 14-2. The 2006 AFC Divisional round matchup between the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots was a competitive back and forth affair that found the Chargers up eight points with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Attempting to convert on fourth down, Tom Brady’s pass was intercepted by safety Marlon McCree. While returning the interception, Marlon was stripped by Patriots receiver Troy Brown resulting in a fumble recovery by the Patriots. The Chargers challenged the call and failed, resulting in an additional loss of timeout. The controversial play could have been wholly avoided had Marlon fell to the ground on his own Joey Bosa Jersey , securing possession as well as a likely Chargers win. The Patriots would eventually march down the field and score a touchdown and two-point conversion, tying the game. After another Patriots field goal with a little over one minute left, the timeout-less Chargers would attempt a 54-yard field goal as time expired that ultimately fell short, resulting in a loss.A roster as talented as the 2006 Chargers does not come along very often, leaving fans in a state of disbelief and constantly asking themselves the same question:“What if Marlon McCree Never Fumbles?”Assuming the Chargers offense drives down the field after the interception, adding additional points to the team’s total and putting the game out of reach, the Chargers would play at home (where they were previously undefeated) against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts. While it is tough to assume the Chargers would top the Colts in the AFC Championship game, the team did top a similar Colts team in the 2007 AFC Divisional round and were by far a more talented team. After beating the Colts, the Chargers would play the Rex Grossman-led Bears in Super Bowl XLI. Again, it is tough to assume the Chargers beat the Chicago Bears, but I didn’t write this article just to have them lose in heartbreaking fashion again. After demolishing the Chicago Bears, the Chargers bring the Lombardi trophy home to the city of San Diego for the first time in team history. Even though team GM A.J. Smith and coach Marty Schottenheimer didn’t have the best relationship, the massive success forces A.J. to retain Marty for another season rather than replace him with Norv Turner. The 2007 Chargers reap the benefits on their way to another 14-2 season, although still falling short in the postseason after injuries to both Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson. Marty Schottenheimer continues to coach the Chargers until he retires in 2011 and LaDainian Tomlinson never leaves, retiring a Charger. The success of winning a Super Bowl in the city of San Diego allows for massive renovations to Qualcomm Stadium, never forcing the team to relocate to Los Angeles. Philip Rivers retires in 2016 after battling injuries, knowing he’s destined for the Hall of Fame, and the San Diego Chargers select Clemson Football star Deshaun Watson in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft. The Chargers are never infamous for losing in heartbreaking fashion and are widely known as one of the league’s most successful franchises.What do you think? Is that how it would have played out?
