Sports

The LA Chargers ‘Charged’ to Take the AFC West

Published

2 years ago

July 15, 2021

Jonathan Grilli

Can the Los Angeles Chargers streal the AFC West away from the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021-2022 season?

If you remember last season, the LA Chargers handed the Kansas City Chiefs a 38-21 loss on January 3^rd.

This was one of just two losses for the recent Champs and back-to-back Super Bowl participants. The other came at the hands of Jon Gruden’s Las Vegas Raiders, the black sheep of the AFC West.

The other game the Chargers played against the Chiefs went right down to the wire as well. In Week 2, the Chargers and their stud of a rookie QB took KC into overtime and lost 23-20.

One thing is for sure, even if the Chargers don’t win the division this year, this is a team that is coming up in a big way.

Odds on the AFC West

The market from top bookmakers at Illinois opened with the betting lines showing the Kansas City Chiefs at -455; the LA Chargers at +525; the LV Raiders at +1400; and the Denver Broncos at +1500.

These lines showed that sportsbooks around the globe thought the Chargers were poised to be the second-best team in the AFC West and significantly more likely to win the division than the Raiders or Broncos.

But even though no announcements have been made, bookmakers believe that Aaron Rodgers will find his way to Mile High in 2021. So much so that the Denver Broncos have jumped the Chargers on the boards at most betting outlets and currently hold that No. 2 spot. The Broncos now have odds as short as +400 to win the west.

But how much will it matter? Even if Aaron Rodgers does move to Denver, the offensive line isn’t great—rated by Pro Fantasy Football at No. 25 in the league—and Rodgers still doesn’t have the most outstanding targets. Sure, the potential is there, and some experts are touting the Denver receiving corps as high as No. 6 in the NFL … but let’s be honest, Cortland Sutton missed most of the season, and we are not sure what the Broncos will be getting back at this point. Then there are two highly touted young receivers in K.J. Hamler and Jerry Jeudy but what we have seen from them is just handfuls of dropped passes—or figurative handfuls, because they can’t keep the ball in their hands.

As far as the O-lines are concerned, the Chargers look much better than Denver. Bryan Bulga is back and healthy and is continually graded at 75.0 or better. On top of Bulga being back to top form, the Chargers grabbed another former Green Bay big-man in Corey Linsley. This snapper was, in many eyes, the top free-agent center on the market.

The Chargers also have some solid back-ups on the line, namely Brenden James. The young guard needs to work on his run-blocking but is a solid pass protector, which is just what Justin Herbert needs when Oday Aboushi takes a breather or goes down with a stinger.

Although the Chargers are far from boasting the best offensive line in the league, they may have the most improved line in the entire NFL.

If the Chargers win the games they need and split wins with the KC Chiefs again; they could take the AFC West. After all, the LA Chargers are tied for the 3rd most manageable schedule in the league when the SOS is based on current season win projections—using the win/loss over/under totals for each team on the schedule instead of last season’s record.

Will they actually win the AFC West? Probably not; the Chiefs are loaded. But hey, you never know. That said, I believe the Chargers are poised for a wild card berth in 2021-2022, and this team will continue to surprise with upset wins over teams that are better on paper.

What are the odds that the Chargers will get nine wins and make a solid run on the division but fall short to a 12-wins Chiefs squad? We will find out.

Sports

The Soccer Master Who Became MMA Legend – Pawel Kozlowski

Published

2 months ago

January 14, 2023

Jonathan Grilli

Pawel Kozlowski was born in 1992, in Gniezno, Poland. The footballer-turned-MMA fighter was born to rule the ring. He was destined to achieve greatness, and he did that in style. Early in his life, at 17, he played soccer to mesmerize the world with his natural talent, but his love and passion for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) never faded. His life took a significant turn during a break from soccer training, triggering an unrelenting interest in MMA. Taking advantage of his football break, he enrolled in a club with facilities for boxing, Thai boxing, wrestling, and Jiu Jitsu. It was a decisive moment in his life. After playing soccer for nine years, he decided to make a professional career in MMA.

The Shift – Training For MMA

When preparing for a professional MMA fight, Pawel takes a strategic approach, planning all the tactics eight weeks ahead of the event. Usually, he trains 2-3 times a day and maintains a balanced and nutritious diet for this purpose. Before going into the ring, he follows a special diet to maintain weight.

The MMA Early Days – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

In 2010, Pawel Kozlowski started training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After a year of toil and hard work, he finally tasted success at the Austrian National Championship. Since then, he has never looked back, winning the World Pro Jiu Jitsu Trials and the European Championship. In 2016, Paweł Kozłowski became the national champion of Poland and Austria in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. At the WKF World Championships in Italy, he won the runners-up medal in the Sanda category and a Bronze Medal in the MMA category. He also won the Qualification for the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championship, which took place in Abu Dhabi. BJJ Fanatics website lists Pawel among the three best BJJ players from Poland for 2016. In 2014, he joined the Vienna edition of the charity action “You will not keep the Master – Sportsmen for Children.” In July 2016, he established the Alpha Jiu-Jitsu Academy to train aspirant individuals.

Greatest Achievements

Pawel’s most significant career moments came at the WKF World Championship, where he won Silver in Sanda and Bronze in MMA. He is a multiple Austrian and Polish National Champion and has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam twice. In MMA, he has 5 professional bouts, all of which he won in the first round and all by Submission. Pawel has also defeated the 2012 European champion twice.

The Pride Of His Parents

Pawel’s father always wanted him to become a soccer player, and he was not very happy with him not playing football anymore. Still, he continued to make a name for himself in MMA, making his parents proud of his unprecedented achievements.

Fighting with an injured knee

The most challenging fight for Pawel was the fight in the final of the Open Championship, held in Croatia in 2012. It was his first fight after sustaining a knee injury, and he only had 10 days to prepare for it. In the final, he was leading his opponent with a 2:0 score line. Unfortunately, his stamina was running out, and the opponent took full advantage and won back-to-back points to lead with a 2: 6 score line. However, he got two more points and eventually won the fight with a 7:6 score line, with only 10 seconds to go for the final whistle.

Pawel Kozlowski – The Legend

At pro-MMA, Pawel Kozlowski is unbeaten with a record of 5-0-0, securing all his wins in the first round. He is also a six-time European Championship medalist in Jiu Jitsu, having won over 400 matches with another 500 Jiu Jitsu fights worldwide. He has won three European titles and the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, the most prestigious tournament in this sport. Pawel released an instructional DVD about a technique he has developed called the “GremlinLock,” thus becoming a legend of the sport.