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One of the best teams in the NFL has gotten even better.

No, we’re not talking about the New England Patriots here. They’re the ones making all the headlines after acquiring Randy Moss and others to bolster their receiving corps. New England may now be the runaway Super Bowl favorites at +225, but looming in their rear-view mirrors are the San Diego Chargers at +550. The stats say the Chargers were better than the Pats last year, and given the moves San Diego made in the offseason, the pecking order might not change in 2007.

San Diego was the only team to win 14 games during the 2006 regular season. Both losses were on the road, at Baltimore and Kansas City. The Ravens led the league in team efficiency, according to the proprietary DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) analysis performed by Football Outsiders. San Diego was second, while New England came in fifth – the Chiefs were 13th.

The Chargers were so good heading into the postseason that oddsmakers made them 5-point favorites at home against the Patriots in the Divisional round. That’s where things fell apart. New England won 24-21 as quarterback Tom Brady drove the team downfield twice in the last five minutes, getting a touchdown and a field goal to bounce San Diego from the playoffs.

Thus, the first, and probably most important, offseason adjustment for the Chargers. They fired Marty Schottenheimer, a respected architect on defense who won Coach of the Year honors in 2004. But Schottenheimer wasn’t the most well-liked person in the front office, and when the loss to the Pats ran his postseason record to 5-13, that’s all the reason the Chargers needed to let him go.

The reasoning behind the firing may be suspect, but as they say, the ends justify the means. Norv Turner is Schottenheimer’s replacement, and the Chargers should be better off for it. Turner was the man responsible for the second-most efficient offense in the league last year, having installed the current system during his brief tenure as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2002.

Turner’s return to the San Diego sidelines is a boon for Philip Rivers. The present and future of the franchise, Rivers had a marvelous 2006 campaign; his first as a starter after two years holding the clipboard for the resurgent Drew Brees. Rivers threw 22 touchdown passes with just nine interceptions in a performance reminiscent of Dan Marino. His development should continue smoothly under Turner, a former quarterback with the Oregon Ducks and a successful offensive coordinator at several stops, including the dynasty Dallas Cowboys of the early 1990s.

The Chargers’ brass has also gone to the well to surround Rivers with more talent on the field. They were already in excellent shape coming out of 2006, with a fearsome offensive line, league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson putting up monster numbers at running back, and Antonio Gates cementing his status as the best receiving tight end in the NFL. Joining the party in 2007 are first-round draft pick Craig Davis at wideout and fourth-rounder Scott Chandler at tight end. Davis was a bit of a reach at No. 30 overall, but has the jets and the hands to make an immediate impact at what was the team’s weakest position last year. Chandler is a solid all-around tight end who, at 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds, will provide matchup nightmares on short routes.

San Diego’s defense was not quite as impressive last year, finishing 14th overall in efficiency and just 22nd against the run. Change is once again the mantra; there is a new defensive coordinator in Ted Cottrell, a veteran coach who is well versed in the 3-4 defense the Chargers used under Schottenheimer. The Chargers showed Cottrell some love at the draft by aggressively trading up into the second round to land safety Eric Weddle. He’s a favorite of scouts, despite standing just 5-foot-11 - the main, and perhaps only, reason Weddle was available in the second round.

There’s more on defense where that came from. San Diego also grabbed a pair of linebackers in Anthony Waters and Brandon Siler, and made a splash in the supplemental draft by taking cornerback Paul Oliver out of Georgia. The Chargers are now deep at every position on the field – and they didn’t have to pay big bucks on the free-agent market to do it, like the Patriots did.

Would you pay twice the price to grab the Pats on the Super Bowl futures market when the Chargers also look like championship material? That’s up to you to decide. As always, caveat emptor.

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