Nick Dzubnar returns an interception at Sacramento State last season. By Owen Main

Nick Dzubnar is really good at finding and tackling people. Those of us in San Luis Obispo know it. The Big Sky Conference has found out about it over the past few years. Now, the San Diego Chargers are starting to find out that Dzubnar’s nose for the ball might be something worth holding onto.

While the Chargers have something of a glut of linebackers, including former Notre Dame star Manti Te’o, the team and fans have been pleased with what they’ve seen from Dzubnar.

Last night, he led the Chargers with seven tackles, five solo, and a sack.

This ESPN.com write-up of last night’s game calls Dzubnar “a surprise performer who looks amazing.”

SDBoltReport.com projected Dzubnar making the team as the final rostered player way back in June.

Dzubnar was part of a Cal Poly defense who came up with big stop after big stop en route to a Big Sky Conference title and FCS playoff berth three seasons ago. The linebacking corps of Dzubnar, Cameron Ontko, and Johnny Millard two seasons ago was one of the most underrated around.

The Mustangs have had other linebackers too over the past few seasons — Kenneth Jackson comes to mind.

There is still a big question as to whether or not Dzubnar will make the Chargers team, but for at least a night, the NFL had the “Sasquach” unleashed. We’re all better for it.

Dzubnar had a good night last night. http://t.co/I4WnEzxtbj via @sharethis

— fansmanship (@fansmanship) August 24, 2015

Rankings, rankings, rankings. Everyone always wants to talk about rankings and for good measure as rankings normally give us a good depiction on which teams are better and who has more upside. People trust rankings and because of this rankings have become so popular especially in the NFL. Here are my team rankings for the season and some predictions for the awards that will be given out at the end of the year:

Will Russell Wilson lead the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl in 2015? Or will another team dethrone them? By andrewtat94, via Wikimedia Commons

2. New Orleans Saints: This is one of the only teams I see giving the Seahawks a scare in the NFC

3. New England Patriots: Their offseason additions put them slightly over the Broncos for now in my book

4. Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning will be Peyton Manning, but will it be enough to reach the Super Bowl again?

5. Green Bay Packers: A healthy Aaron Rodgers? Sign me up!

6. Indianapolis Colts: The growth of Andrew Luck shows again and playing in the weakest division will help the Colts, who are on the move into contention.

7. San Francisco 49ers: Their defense took a shot with the suspension of Aldon Smith but they will rebound like they always do.

8. Cincinnati Bengals: Potentially scary offense and a top-three defense that gets back Geno Atkins and Leon Hall. It’s not too bad to be a Cincy fan these days.

9. Philadelphia Eagles: Not 100 percent sold on Foles but I expect them to repeat in the NFC East

10. Baltimore Ravens: Missing the playoffs should give Flacco and company motivation to reach them again so I’m not betting against them

11. Chicago Bears: Lets see if Jay Cutler can really have an MVP-type season. If he does, the Bears can go far.

12. Kansas City Chiefs: Alex Smith has his money, but will he do enough as the quarterback to lead this defensive oriented teams.

13. San Diego Chargers: Phillip Rivers had a career year last season and if he builds on that then the Chargers could make the playoffs again.

14. Arizona Cardinals: This team is good, I mean really good. Carson Palmer is the X-factor here. This team could be top-ten or bottom-five, but will probably end-up somewhere in the middle.

15. Atlanta Falcons: A healthy Roddy White, Julio Jones and others can help the Falcons get back to the playoffs.

16. Carolina Panthers: A sexy pick last season lost many key pieces during the offseason without replacing them well.

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Lovie Smith was a great hire, plus the additions on defense may help the Bucs be relevant again.

18. Pittsburgh Steelers: They could prove me wrong but I don’t see them team making the playoffs, they are just getting too old and worn-down.

19. New York Jets: Geno Smith will have to show that he really can play in the NFL, otherwise we may see Michael Vick take the field as the starter.

20. Detroit Lions: I really like this Lions team, but Matthew Stafford throws way too many interceptions for me to rely on him as a quarterback to take a team to the playoffs.

21. Miami Dolphins: Again, I like this team and they could make the playoffs but let’s see how Ryan Tannehill does first.

22. New York Giants: They played well toward the end of last season. Maybe that will carry over into this year for Eli Manning and the Giants?

23. Minnesota Vikings: This team could surprise people with their playmakers on offense and having Mike Zimmer as the coach could help the defense

24. St. Louis Rams: Before the Sam Bradford injury, I liked this team but with Shaun Hill running things… not so much.

25. Washington Redskins: RGIII needs to be the RGIII from his rookie season if the Redskins want to do anything this season.

26. Tennessee Titans: A good young team but not enough weapons to actually compete yet.

27. Dallas Cowboys: It’s strange to see the Cowboys so low, but they were god-awful on defense last season and have only gotten worse during the off-season.

28. Cleveland Browns: Good additions to the defense, but without Josh Gordon on offense who do they have to throw too?

29. Oakland Raiders: If Derek Carr plays well, things could get interesting for the Raiders this season. He’s still a rookie, though.

30. Jacksonville Jaguars: I am hopeful that the Jags start Blake Bortles sometime in the first few weeks to at least give the fans something to cheer about this year

31. Buffalo Bills: Losing Kiko Alonso hurts the Bills defense a lot plus I am not sold on EJ Manuel, whatsoever.

32. Houston Texans: Their defense will scare some teams and may help win games but their offense will stink yet again this season. The Texans become bottom-feeders.

Postseason Awards

NFL MVP: Packers, Aaron Rodgers

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Panthers, Kelvin Benjamin

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ravens LB, CJ Mosley

Offensive Player of the Year: Seahawks, Russell Wilson

Defensive Player of the Year: Texans, JJ Watt

Coach of the Year: New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton

Comeback Player of the Year: Falcons WR, Julio Jones

Plastic props and face paint, making Raider Nation the most ridiculous fan base in California. By BrokenSphere (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

It’s obvious why Raider Nation is the most annoyingly destructive dress up party in California: A nation where skull-headed silver and black wackos drunkenly throw beers, curse and shank opposing fans with their straws. Every wannabe-hoodlum drops the baggie jeans and the side-cocked hat, replacing them with face paint and cheesy plastic side props. I’m all for the camaraderie threaded between like-minded fans, but when that fandom becomes a burlesque side show flashing gang signs and grills, it begins to get a little too weird.

2. Los Angeles Lakers

Becoming a Laker fan is a laissez faire decision. It is like being born into a wig-wearing aristocracy, where you sip soup with your silver spoon, and dance in one-of-a-kind clogs.  It’s just too damn easy. And yet Laker fans are still this annoying?

Not annoying because they win championships, but annoying because they complain, mope and point the finger at everyone else like a bunch of spoiled brats, if they don’t.

And if you don’t side with the Lakers, guess what you are? You’re a Laker Hater— the most adolescent tongue-sticking term coined by any fan base ever. Last I checked, most of us grew up and became secure enough in ourselves, not to use over simplified slander in order to be heard. But I guess that’s something Laker fans still have to learn. And oh, by the way, LeBron James is the best player post-MJ. Just sayin’.

3. USC Trojans

The University of Spoiled Children is a place where backroom deals are done like no other. From the Reggie Bush scandal  to the deflated balls incident, the Southern California Spoiled Children continue to soil their name with little to any moral remorse. And despite this, their fanbase blindly follows suit with a passion as persistent as any.

There is a time when as a fan, it is okay to walk away. My wife’s boss for instance: a longtime Dodgers fan, who after the brutal attack on Brian Stow, turned to the Giants as his new team of choice.

Maybe it is the tanning oil causing such defunctory? Maybe it is the madness of Southern California smog-infestation? Maybe it is the effects from large doses of botox bugging the brain? Whatever it is, it is hard to take serious any school like the Trojans. Each and every year the ridiculous gets more ridiculous.

4. San Diego Chargers

This ranking probably throws you off a bit. And I understand why. But anytime fans come out from the fringes when their team suddenly becomes a consistent competitor, irks me to no end. Where were you when your team was a joke?

If there was a ranking for most fickle fan in all of sports, I would rank the Chargers numero uno. I have always said that Ladainian Tomlinson literally saved the Chargers franchise by electrifying a lazy uninspired fan base into sudden outrageously inconsistent diehards.

5. San Francisco Giants*

Honestly, I had no problem with Giants fans until 2010, when it became sexy and cool to be so. Being an Angels fan made it easy for me, as I was suspended above the heated rivalry shared between Dodgers and Giants fans.

I grew up around my friends’ fathers who were lifelong fans of the Giants, and not because it was hip or cool. These men lived hours from San Francisco and told stories about greats like Willie Mays. They were far from cool. They were working men, wearing trucker hats with oil stained on their hands.

The new era Giants fan cocks a hat sideways, like a clown, and calls him/herself a real fan. Two world series in three years and being born in the Bay Area is all of a sudden a silly equation for one’s authenticity.

*My wife believes this ranking belongs to the Dodgers, because Dodger fans “kill people.”

It’s that time of the year. After 11 weeks, the NFL is full of teams whose fans still have grand playoff plans. After 10 games, here is a break-down of who is a contender and who is a pretender in this season’s NFL.

NFC:

The Bears will remain big-time contenders if they can keep Jay Cutler’s jersey cleaner when he returns. By Mike Morbeck (originally posted to Flickr as Jay Cutler) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Seattle Seahawks: Current record is 6-4, holding the final NFC playoff spot. This is a very young team that is improving each week. With wins against Dallas, Green Bay (controversial but still a W in the standings), New England and Minnesota, the Seahawks are showing the rest of the NFL they can play and play hard. With a pretty easy schedule the rest of the way, I expect the Seahawks to stay where they are. Contender

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Current record is 6-4, sitting one spot out of the final playoff spot. Not taking anything away from them, but this team has beaten up on the bad teams and lost to the better teams. They remind me of the Cincinnati Bengals of last season. With a difficult schedule the rest of the season, I predict they will fall short of the postseason. Pretender

Minnesota Vikings: Current record is 6-4, sitting one spot out of the final playoff spot as well. Other than their week 3 win against San Francisco, none of their wins have been against contenders. They have used an easy schedule to get ahead. That trend stops now as they play the Bears and Packers twice and the Texans before the season ends. Pretender

New Orleans Saints: Current record is 5-5, sitting two spot out of the final playoff spot. After making us think they were left for dead by starting the season 0-4, the Saints have climbed their way back. The real test for them is in the next few weeks with matchups against the 49ers, Falcons and Giants but I think they will be fine. Contender

AFC:

Indianapolis Colts: Current record is 6-4, sitting 5^th in the playoff spots. So far this season, the surprise success of the Colts has been the talk of the NFL, but Andrew and his team are about to run out of luck. Losing to the Jets? Jaguars? They have to play the Texans twice before the end of the year. The surprise of the NFL so far may be contenders in the future, but they won’t be making the playoffs this season. Pretender

Pittsburgh Steelers: Current record is 6-4, holding onto the final playoff spot. After a shaky start to the year, the Steelers have found themselves. But another problem has risen: Big Ben is hurt. Without him, this team doesn’t do anything. Luckily for them, it shouldn’t be too long before their quarterback returns and they took a Ravens team to the brink without him. Roethlisberger should come back in a few weeks and till then the Steelers stand pat and make the playoffs. After all they are the Steelers. Contender

Despite their cheerleaders, the Bengals are pretenders. By Chris Breeze from May’s Lick, KY, USA (Team Spirit Uploaded by Tabercil) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

San Diego Chargers: Current record is 4-6, sitting two spots out of the final playoff spot. This team is frustrating; they have so much talent yet they don’t do anything with it. With a tough schedule the rest of the way, the Chargers will fail to make the postseason yet again. Pretender

Tennessee Titans: Current record is 4-6, sitting two spots out of the final playoff spot as well. With impressive wins against Pittsburgh and Detroit, the Titans have kept themselves in the playoff hunt thus far. But bad losses and a difficult schedule keeps the Titans from making the playoffs yet again. Pretender