Could San Diego have won Super Bowl XL?

Without a doubt.

The San Diego Union-Tribune's Nick Canepa echoes thoughts eerily similar to those running through my head during this year's Super Bowl.

Is there any reason, if quarterback Drew Brees recovers from shoulder surgery, that he can't quarterback a team to a Super Bowl? Is Brees not capable of performing better than Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger did Sunday night? The Brees critics – and they are numerous – should study that. They also should be keenly aware Brees hardly was the reason the Chargers lost that playoff game to the Jets last season. Do the Steelers have a running back close to LaDainian Tomlinson? No. Do they have a tight end like Antonio Gates? No. They have a very good front seven, but so do the Chargers, and San Diego has better pass-rushers. Pittsburgh's big advantage is on the offensive line, where the Chargers must improve. San Diego's cornerback situation may not be the best, but the Steelers don't have Hall of Famers there, either. Holmgren had quarterback Matt Hasselbeck go after them early. Pittsburgh's cornerback situation is no better than San Diego's. The difference in the secondary is safety Troy Polamalu, who is a playmaker, and there's no question the Chargers need one back there. Teams must be aware of Polamalu. Quarterbacks look at safeties. And the good safeties create turnovers, which the Chargers' guys have not been able to do. You look at the personnel of the two Super Bowl finalists and then study the Chargers and there is not much gap.

With a couple of breaks during the regular season, it could have been San Diego hoisting a trophy in Detroit. I thought that at about the midpoint of the season and I continue to believe it. The combination of brutal schedule, youth and inexperience, poor coaching, and sub-par offensive line play and pass defense conspired to prevent this year's model from even making the playoffs, in spite of the fact that you would be hard-pressed to find a more impressive showing than San Diego's butt-kicking of then-undefeated Indianapolis. On the flip side, I witnessed the season finale debacle in Kansas City, too. With $20M to spend this offseason, more experience and a bitterness about this season under their belts, look for the Bolts to go places in 2006.