When NFL betting fans look over the past five years and look for successful franchises they would likely to point to teams like the Indianapolis Colts, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers and maybe even the New York Giants as the best in the best of the past decade of the football betting action.

But one team that is conspicuously absent from this list and that better NFL betting record than almost all those teams is the San Diego Chargers. On paper, the Chargers have everything they need to be an NFL betting success but no team in the NFL odds competition has done more to acquire the label of ‘underachiever’ than this Bolts squad.

The offensive unit is a fantasy football dream come true with the likes of Pro Bowl QB Phil Rivers, former NFL MVP LaDanian Tomlinson and All Pros Vincent Jackson at WR and Antonio Gates at TE. But despite all the talent on the offensive side the defense has always been a step behind and no matter how hard they tried this team simply couldn’t win the big game when they needed to and despite reaching the NFL betting playoffs almost every year, the team has yet to play in the Super Bowl in the New Millennium.

But the Chargers and their NFL betting fans are hoping that might all change this season. Rivers is back and better than ever. LT is gone and in his place is rookie RB Ryan Mathews. Jackson will also be returning and looking to build on his recent success in the football betting action.

But for the Chargers the NFL betting song remains the same just a different verse as the team will enter the season with plenty of question marks on defense.

Former All Pro Shawn Merriman is nowhere near the player he once was and no longer dominates. And unfortunately for the Chargers they’ll be unlikely to get anything of trade value for him before his contract expires. There aren’t many other stars on this side of the ball and in all the years that Rivers has been producing outstanding stats against the NFL betting opponents and hanging up TD after TD this unit has been a constant liability. That’s not likely to change in the 2010 NFL odds action either.