***2015 San Diego Chargers - Offseason News, Notes, & Analysis*** (1 Viewer)

[saintfool]

with stevie coming back, what's the passing offense look like now? Allen, Gates,Woodhead, Stevie, Floyd?

 

[BoltBacker]

I don't know what's wrong with Flowers, but he's really struggling.

I think he has caught a bad case of contractitis. At his age I'm not sure you bounce back from that.

 

[BoltBacker]

Grading major Chargers offseason moves so far (yes, it is early):

The good:

- Emmanuel in 5th round

- Signed Patrick Robinson

- Replaced Novak with Lambo

The bad:

- Extended Rivers

The ugly:

- Traded up and drafted Gordon in 1st round(Even if he was a solid starter.... it's a part time running back in a limited role in this offense. Completely absurd unless he starts running as fast as a young Chris Johnson and can actually break away for long TD's like he did in college)

- Ignored NT and DT other than 6th round project Philon, who is now on IR

- Ignoring obvious need at DE as well and overpaying for Liuget to be a very average player

- Signed Jacoby Jones

- resigning Flowers[said at the time that either P.Cox(TEN) or C.Culliver(WAS) would be a better value on a younger player, still feel that way]

- Committed to Watt as starting C("These are not the droids you are looking for." is the only way I can explain the blind optimism on a guy that was part of the weakest part of the team last year)

- Drafted Mager in 3rd round(and I normally LOVE drafting CB... too many other holes all around the roster at the time of the draft)

- Ignoring depth at the S position... what a bunch of stiffs now that Weddle is hurt. Now we are really going to see how bad they are.


Jury's out:
- Signed Barksdale(I was all in on this move but it's still early to tell)

- Ditto for Dunlap(Not many other choices)

- Moved Fluker to G(Was expecting a bigger bump but it's early)
- Drafted Perryman in 2nd round(too early to tell, you have to look at some of the other guys they passed on in the second round... especially OLman)
- Signed Franklin(want to see him completely healthy before I decide... his resume buys him more time)

 

[Faust]

Mark Fabiani says Chargers will file for relocation to Los Angeles in January:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13956421/san-diego-chargers-mark-fabiani-says-team-file-relocation-losangeles-january

 

[BoltBacker]

I can't wait to hear the positive spin from 'Gunz on this one.

- The beer was colder than usual.

- Gordon played his best game as a pro(because we all know teams sell out on a draw when they are up by five scores).

- Well, at least parking will be less of a pain moving forward.

 

[Bucky86]

I can't wait to hear the positive spin from 'Gunz on this one.

- The beer was colder than usual.

- Gordon played his best game as a pro(because we all know teams sell out on a draw when they are up by five scores).

- Well, at least parking will be less of a pain moving forward.

They played like ####, but at least it wasn't liquid diarrhea. More of a chocolate mousse consistency.

 

[BoltBacker]

I can't wait to hear the positive spin from 'Gunz on this one.

- The beer was colder than usual.

- Gordon played his best game as a pro(because we all know teams sell out on a draw when they are up by five scores).

- Well, at least parking will be less of a pain moving forward.

They played like ####, but at least it wasn't liquid diarrhea. More of a chocolate mousse consistency.

That's only because Rivers got to play against a prevent defense for most of the second half to drag his yards/attempt above 5. If he eclipses 6y/a will he think he's underpaid again and think $22mil/season is too low? Maybe they can't afford to keep him in.

 

[Tau837]

I can't wait to hear the positive spin from 'Gunz on this one.

- The beer was colder than usual.

- Gordon played his best game as a pro(because we all know teams sell out on a draw when they are up by five scores).

- Well, at least parking will be less of a pain moving forward.

They played like ####, but at least it wasn't liquid diarrhea. More of a chocolate mousse consistency.

That's only because Rivers got to play against a prevent defense for most of the second half to drag his yards/attempt above 5. If he eclipses 6y/a will he think he's underpaid again and think $22mil/season is too low? Maybe they can't afford to keep him in.

There is enough to complain about without complaining about Rivers. Get over your stance on extending him.

 

[Gr00vus]

What happens first - Chargers move or Telesco gets fired?

 

[BoltBacker]

What happens first - Chargers move or Telesco gets fired?

I vote both.

The franchise moves and tells everyone in the organization about the move except TelesGO. TelesGO keeps showing up to his office in SD and wonders where everyone went. He later offers a 4th round pick to anyone who will answer his calls.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

What happens first - Chargers move or Telesco gets fired?

both happen in January

 

[BoltBacker]

I can't wait to hear the positive spin from 'Gunz on this one.

- The beer was colder than usual.

- Gordon played his best game as a pro(because we all know teams sell out on a draw when they are up by five scores).

- Well, at least parking will be less of a pain moving forward.

They played like ####, but at least it wasn't liquid diarrhea. More of a chocolate mousse consistency.

That's only because Rivers got to play against a prevent defense for most of the second half to drag his yards/attempt above 5. If he eclipses 6y/a will he think he's underpaid again and think $22mil/season is too low? Maybe they can't afford to keep him in.

There is enough to complain about without complaining about Rivers. Get over your stance on extending him.

Were you even watching the game? One of the reasons the Chargers got blown out in the first half at home against the Raiders was BECAUSE of Rivers. Can you honestly say Rivers looked like a $22mil QB in the first half on Sunday!? He was barely at a qb rating of 40 before he made some progress against the prevent defense the raiders employed in the second half.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/quarterback/

I suggest you get over your stance that Rivers counting more against the cap than either Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady is anything other than completely absurd. Especially when he gets badly outplayed at home against David Carr and the raiders defense.

 

[Tau837]

That's only because Rivers got to play against a prevent defense for most of the second half to drag his yards/attempt above 5. If he eclipses 6y/a will he think he's underpaid again and think $22mil/season is too low? Maybe they can't afford to keep him in.

There is enough to complain about without complaining about Rivers. Get over your stance on extending him.

Were you even watching the game? One of the reasons the Chargers got blown out in the first half at home against the Raiders was BECAUSE of Rivers. Can you honestly say Rivers looked like a $22mil QB in the first half on Sunday!? He was barely at a qb rating of 40 before he made some progress against the prevent defense the raiders employed in the second half.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/quarterback/

I suggest you get over your stance that Rivers counting more against the cap than either Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady is anything other than completely absurd. Especially when he gets badly outplayed at home against David Carr and the raiders defense.

Rivers played a poor first half, but it just illustrates that the team cannot succeed if he doesn't play great. His teammates and coaches didn't help much.

Rivers is leading the NFL in pass attempts, completions, passing yards, and passing yards per game; he is 2nd in TD passes; he is 4th in completion percentage; and he is 7th in passer rating. This despite playing 5 games without Gates; having one of the bottom 5 running games in the NFL; and playing behind a bad and injury-plagued offensive line that had allowed Rivers to be hit 45 times entering week 7, which was 2nd highest in the NFL.

In both games the Chargers won, Rivers led game winning drives. Against much better teams on the road at CIN and GB, he kept them in the games until the end. He led the Chargers on a drive to take the lead with 3 minutes to go in the PIT game, and the defense then allowed PIT to drive 80 yards with Vick (and Bell) at QB to win the game. Rivers didn't play well at MIN but that was the game the OL crumbled and he had to be pulled for his own safety. He also didn't play well Sunday, but who on the team did play well before garbage time?

Meanwhile, the Chargers have arguably the worst defense in the NFL, and their combined coverage and return teams are also arguably worst in the NFL.

Rivers is earning his salary and playing well overall while having to carry the team. The problem isn't how much Rivers is getting paid, the problem is that too many of his teammates and coaches aren't earning their salaries.

It is tiresome how you constantly ignore the realities of how NFL salaries and the QB market work. Like many other Chargers fans who complain about him, you will be pining for Rivers and his salary after he is gone and the team has to suffer through years of mediocre (or worse) QB play.

 

[Tau837]

IMO Pagano and either McCoy or Reich should be fired today. If McCoy fires Reich and Pagano, McCoy should take over play calling on offense and elevate Nolan to DC. If McCoy won't fire Reich and Pagano, then he should be fired, and Nolan elevated to interim HC.

Why today?

1. Reached the season midpoint, and the Chargers are possibly the worst team in the NFL, despite being #1 in total offense. They have the worst defense in the NFL and possibly the worst special teams, and McCoy and his staff have made no adjustments. (Well, at least no positive adjustments.) The team is on track to have its worst season since 2003.

2. The handling of the RBs the past two weeks has been a complete debacle. It was stupid to sit Gordon in the first half last week and then play him in the second half, and McCoy had no rationale for it that made sense. Then it was even worse to phase Woodhead out of the game plan this week in favor of heavy usage for Gordon, especially when he wasn't making any plays with his extra touches. For me, this was the last straw with McCoy.

And, barring an unexpected miracle turnaround, IMO Telesco (and McCoy if he remains) should be fired at the end of the season. I certainly don't want to see them involved in another draft for this team.

Norv and AJ were fired after this 6 season run under Norv:

2007 - 11-5, 1st in division, made playoffs

2008 - 8-8, 1st in division on tiebreakers, made playoffs

2009 - 13-3, 1st in division, made playoffs

2010 - 9-7, 2nd in division, no playoffs

2011 - 8-8, 2nd in division on tiebreakers, no playoffs

2012 - 7-9, 2nd in division, no playoffs

McCoy and Telesco to date:

2013 - 9-7, 3rd in division, made playoffs on tiebreakers

2014 - 9-7, 3rd in division on tiebreakers, no playoffs

2015 - 2-6, 4th in division, no playoffs

Is the roster better overall right now than it was in 2012? Have the McCoy/Telesco results been better than the Norv/AJ results that got them fired?

Also, Jacoby Jones should be released today. His signing has been a disaster, and him watching that punt roll to the 3 yard line yesterday was the last straw.

 

[loonzilla]

IMO Pagano and either McCoy or Reich should be fired today. If McCoy fires Reich and Pagano, McCoy should take over play calling on offense and elevate Nolan to DC. If McCoy won't fire Reich and Pagano, then he should be fired, and Nolan elevated to interim HC.

Why today?

1. Reached the season midpoint, and the Chargers are possibly the worst team in the NFL, despite being #1 in total offense. They have the worst defense in the NFL and possibly the worst special teams, and McCoy and his staff have made no adjustments. The team is on track to have its worst season since 2003.

2. The handling of the RBs the past two weeks has been a complete debacle. It was stupid to sit Gordon in the first half last week and then play him in the second half, and McCoy had no rationale for it that made sense. Then it was even worse to phase Woodhead out of the game plan this week in favor of heavy usage for Gordon, especially when he wasn't making any plays with his extra touches. For me, this was the last straw with McCoy.

And, barring an unexpected miracle turnaround, IMO Telesco (and McCoy if he remains) should be fired at the end of the season. I certainly don't want to see them involved in another draft for this team.

Norv and AJ were fired after this 6 season run under Norv:

2007 - 11-5, 1st in division, made playoffs

2008 - 8-8, 1st in division on tiebreakers, made playoffs

2009 - 13-3, 1st in division, made playoffs

2010 - 9-7, 2nd in division, no playoffs

2011 - 8-8, 2nd in division on tiebreakers, no playoffs

2012 - 7-9, 2nd in division, no playoffs

McCoy and Telesco to date:

2013 - 9-7, 3rd in division, made playoffs on tiebreakers

2014 - 9-7, 3rd in division on tiebreakers, no playoffs

2015 - 2-6, 4th in division, no playoffs

Is the roster better overall right now than it was in 2012? Have the McCoy/Telesco results been better than the Norv/AJ results that got them fired?

Also, Jacoby Jones should be released today. His signing has been a disaster, and him watching that punt roll to the 3 yard line yesterday was the last straw.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

don't worry they probably broom everyone this off season and then move to LA

 

[bfan85]

From the UT:

The official count from the Chargers sideline was left tackle King Dunlap, defensive end Corey Liuget, tight end Ladarius Green, guard-tackle Chris Hairston, wide receiver Stevie Johnson, guard-center Chris Watt, wide receiver Keenan Allen — inhale — cornerback Jason Verrett, cornerback Patrick Robinson, running back Branden Oliver, safety Darrell Stuckey and safety Jahleel Addae.

Twelve.

Twelve players exited Sunday with an injury at one point. Some returned. Eight didn’t. And that dozen could be a baker’s if including cornerback Brandon Flowers, who played intermittently and had his right knee iced after the game.

...

Dunlap injured his left ankle on the second play of the game and was carted from the sideline to the locker room. That bumped left guard Chris Hairston to tackle and Kenny Wiggins off the bench to left guard. Hairston then injured his knee. That moved right tackle Joe Barksdale to left tackle, right guard Kenny Wiggins to right tackle and reserve Chris Watt off the bench to left guard. Watt was injured on his second play. Undrafted rookie Tyreek Burwell became Rivers’ left tackle, and Wiggins moved to left guard as Barksdale returned to right tackle. Hairston reentered the game, subbing out Burwell.


Make it through all of that?

The Chargers somehow did. That alone happened in the first half.

So did Liuget’s left foot injury, which had him carted off minutes after Dunlap was. On the final offensive play of the half, Allen fell hard when completing an acrobatic touchdown catch in the back-left corner of the end zone. He dealt with muscle spasms and, like Liuget and Dunlap and Green (ankle) and Stuckey (leg, unspecified) and Watt (shoulder) and Robinson (concussion) and Oliver (toe), did not return.

Injuries have been a story all year for the Chargers, especially the o-line, but yesterday was in a league by itself. Hard to win under those conditions, but once again they made it close. They're not a good football team right now...they're a play here and a play there from a 5-3 record, possibly even 6-2, and good teams make those plays that get them over the hump instead of losing on the final play of the game. But you can't entirely discount the injuries. Perhaps they those games wouldn't have had to come down to the wire.

 

[Tau837]

From the UT:

The official count from the Chargers sideline was left tackle King Dunlap, defensive end Corey Liuget, tight end Ladarius Green, guard-tackle Chris Hairston, wide receiver Stevie Johnson, guard-center Chris Watt, wide receiver Keenan Allen — inhale — cornerback Jason Verrett, cornerback Patrick Robinson, running back Branden Oliver, safety Darrell Stuckey and safety Jahleel Addae.

Twelve.

Twelve players exited Sunday with an injury at one point. Some returned. Eight didn’t. And that dozen could be a baker’s if including cornerback Brandon Flowers, who played intermittently and had his right knee iced after the game.

...

Dunlap injured his left ankle on the second play of the game and was carted from the sideline to the locker room. That bumped left guard Chris Hairston to tackle and Kenny Wiggins off the bench to left guard. Hairston then injured his knee. That moved right tackle Joe Barksdale to left tackle, right guard Kenny Wiggins to right tackle and reserve Chris Watt off the bench to left guard. Watt was injured on his second play. Undrafted rookie Tyreek Burwell became Rivers’ left tackle, and Wiggins moved to left guard as Barksdale returned to right tackle. Hairston reentered the game, subbing out Burwell.


Make it through all of that?

The Chargers somehow did. That alone happened in the first half.

So did Liuget’s left foot injury, which had him carted off minutes after Dunlap was. On the final offensive play of the half, Allen fell hard when completing an acrobatic touchdown catch in the back-left corner of the end zone. He dealt with muscle spasms and, like Liuget and Dunlap and Green (ankle) and Stuckey (leg, unspecified) and Watt (shoulder) and Robinson (concussion) and Oliver (toe), did not return.

Injuries have been a story all year for the Chargers, especially the o-line, but yesterday was in a league by itself. Hard to win under those conditions, but once again they made it close. They're not a good football team right now...they're a play here and a play there from a 5-3 record, possibly even 6-2, and good teams make those plays that get them over the hump instead of losing on the final play of the game. But you can't entirely discount the injuries. Perhaps they those games wouldn't have had to come down to the wire.

They are also a play here and a play there from being 0-8. They have the worst defense in the NFL and possibly the worst special teams, and those issues cannot be explained away due to injuries. Until yesterday, there had not been an abnormal number of injuries on defense, they had mostly been concentrated on the OL and in the receiving group (WR/TE).

 

[zamboni]

Anything on Keenan's injury in terms of potential missed time?

 

[bfan85]

From the UT:

The official count from the Chargers sideline was left tackle King Dunlap, defensive end Corey Liuget, tight end Ladarius Green, guard-tackle Chris Hairston, wide receiver Stevie Johnson, guard-center Chris Watt, wide receiver Keenan Allen — inhale — cornerback Jason Verrett, cornerback Patrick Robinson, running back Branden Oliver, safety Darrell Stuckey and safety Jahleel Addae.

Twelve.

Twelve players exited Sunday with an injury at one point. Some returned. Eight didn’t. And that dozen could be a baker’s if including cornerback Brandon Flowers, who played intermittently and had his right knee iced after the game.

...

Dunlap injured his left ankle on the second play of the game and was carted from the sideline to the locker room. That bumped left guard Chris Hairston to tackle and Kenny Wiggins off the bench to left guard. Hairston then injured his knee. That moved right tackle Joe Barksdale to left tackle, right guard Kenny Wiggins to right tackle and reserve Chris Watt off the bench to left guard. Watt was injured on his second play. Undrafted rookie Tyreek Burwell became Rivers’ left tackle, and Wiggins moved to left guard as Barksdale returned to right tackle. Hairston reentered the game, subbing out Burwell.


Make it through all of that?

The Chargers somehow did. That alone happened in the first half.

So did Liuget’s left foot injury, which had him carted off minutes after Dunlap was. On the final offensive play of the half, Allen fell hard when completing an acrobatic touchdown catch in the back-left corner of the end zone. He dealt with muscle spasms and, like Liuget and Dunlap and Green (ankle) and Stuckey (leg, unspecified) and Watt (shoulder) and Robinson (concussion) and Oliver (toe), did not return.

Injuries have been a story all year for the Chargers, especially the o-line, but yesterday was in a league by itself. Hard to win under those conditions, but once again they made it close. They're not a good football team right now...they're a play here and a play there from a 5-3 record, possibly even 6-2, and good teams make those plays that get them over the hump instead of losing on the final play of the game. But you can't entirely discount the injuries. Perhaps they those games wouldn't have had to come down to the wire.

They are also a play here and a play there from being 0-8. They have the worst defense in the NFL and possibly the worst special teams, and those issues cannot be explained away due to injuries. Until yesterday, there had not been an abnormal number of injuries on defense, they had mostly been concentrated on the OL and in the receiving group (WR/TE).

Weddle has been out for 2 games. He's pretty important to the defense. Te'o and Perriman were also out prior to yesterday. They're not a good defense, to be sure, but without the other injuries I'm not sure it matters as much.

 

[Tau837]

From the UT:

The official count from the Chargers sideline was left tackle King Dunlap, defensive end Corey Liuget, tight end Ladarius Green, guard-tackle Chris Hairston, wide receiver Stevie Johnson, guard-center Chris Watt, wide receiver Keenan Allen — inhale — cornerback Jason Verrett, cornerback Patrick Robinson, running back Branden Oliver, safety Darrell Stuckey and safety Jahleel Addae.

Twelve.

Twelve players exited Sunday with an injury at one point. Some returned. Eight didn’t. And that dozen could be a baker’s if including cornerback Brandon Flowers, who played intermittently and had his right knee iced after the game.

...

Dunlap injured his left ankle on the second play of the game and was carted from the sideline to the locker room. That bumped left guard Chris Hairston to tackle and Kenny Wiggins off the bench to left guard. Hairston then injured his knee. That moved right tackle Joe Barksdale to left tackle, right guard Kenny Wiggins to right tackle and reserve Chris Watt off the bench to left guard. Watt was injured on his second play. Undrafted rookie Tyreek Burwell became Rivers’ left tackle, and Wiggins moved to left guard as Barksdale returned to right tackle. Hairston reentered the game, subbing out Burwell.


Make it through all of that?

The Chargers somehow did. That alone happened in the first half.

So did Liuget’s left foot injury, which had him carted off minutes after Dunlap was. On the final offensive play of the half, Allen fell hard when completing an acrobatic touchdown catch in the back-left corner of the end zone. He dealt with muscle spasms and, like Liuget and Dunlap and Green (ankle) and Stuckey (leg, unspecified) and Watt (shoulder) and Robinson (concussion) and Oliver (toe), did not return.

Injuries have been a story all year for the Chargers, especially the o-line, but yesterday was in a league by itself. Hard to win under those conditions, but once again they made it close. They're not a good football team right now...they're a play here and a play there from a 5-3 record, possibly even 6-2, and good teams make those plays that get them over the hump instead of losing on the final play of the game. But you can't entirely discount the injuries. Perhaps they those games wouldn't have had to come down to the wire.

They are also a play here and a play there from being 0-8. They have the worst defense in the NFL and possibly the worst special teams, and those issues cannot be explained away due to injuries. Until yesterday, there had not been an abnormal number of injuries on defense, they had mostly been concentrated on the OL and in the receiving group (WR/TE).

Weddle has been out for 2 games. He's pretty important to the defense. Te'o and Perriman were also out prior to yesterday. They're not a good defense, to be sure, but without the other injuries I'm not sure it matters as much.

Here is the starting defense, with how many games they have missed this season:

0 DL Lissemore

0 DL Liuget

0 DL Reyes

0 OLB Ingram

1 OLB Attaochu

3 ILB Teo

0 ILB Butler

1 CB Flowers

1 CB Verrett

3 S Addae

2 S Weddle

Key backups:

0 DL Mathews

0 DL Carrethers (he was inactive for 2 games but not due to injury)

0 OLB Emanuel

1 ILB Perryman

0 ILB Conner

0 CB Williams

0 DB Wilson

0 DB Robinson

0 S Stuckey

That is 11 games missed by the starting defense and only 1 game missed by the key reserves in 8 team games. Also, they were the worst defense in the NFL before yesterday, and 3 of the 12 missed games were yesterday. So before that, it was 9 missed player games in 7 team games.

Do you view those numbers as abnormal in the NFL? I don't.

Injuries are not a valid excuse for their awful defensive performance this season. The fault for that lies with Telesco and the coaching staff.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

From the UT:

The official count from the Chargers sideline was left tackle King Dunlap, defensive end Corey Liuget, tight end Ladarius Green, guard-tackle Chris Hairston, wide receiver Stevie Johnson, guard-center Chris Watt, wide receiver Keenan Allen — inhale — cornerback Jason Verrett, cornerback Patrick Robinson, running back Branden Oliver, safety Darrell Stuckey and safety Jahleel Addae.

Twelve.

Twelve players exited Sunday with an injury at one point. Some returned. Eight didn’t. And that dozen could be a baker’s if including cornerback Brandon Flowers, who played intermittently and had his right knee iced after the game.

...

Dunlap injured his left ankle on the second play of the game and was carted from the sideline to the locker room. That bumped left guard Chris Hairston to tackle and Kenny Wiggins off the bench to left guard. Hairston then injured his knee. That moved right tackle Joe Barksdale to left tackle, right guard Kenny Wiggins to right tackle and reserve Chris Watt off the bench to left guard. Watt was injured on his second play. Undrafted rookie Tyreek Burwell became Rivers’ left tackle, and Wiggins moved to left guard as Barksdale returned to right tackle. Hairston reentered the game, subbing out Burwell.


Make it through all of that?

The Chargers somehow did. That alone happened in the first half.

So did Liuget’s left foot injury, which had him carted off minutes after Dunlap was. On the final offensive play of the half, Allen fell hard when completing an acrobatic touchdown catch in the back-left corner of the end zone. He dealt with muscle spasms and, like Liuget and Dunlap and Green (ankle) and Stuckey (leg, unspecified) and Watt (shoulder) and Robinson (concussion) and Oliver (toe), did not return.

Injuries have been a story all year for the Chargers, especially the o-line, but yesterday was in a league by itself. Hard to win under those conditions, but once again they made it close. They're not a good football team right now...they're a play here and a play there from a 5-3 record, possibly even 6-2, and good teams make those plays that get them over the hump instead of losing on the final play of the game. But you can't entirely discount the injuries. Perhaps they those games wouldn't have had to come down to the wire.

They are also a play here and a play there from being 0-8. They have the worst defense in the NFL and possibly the worst special teams, and those issues cannot be explained away due to injuries. Until yesterday, there had not been an abnormal number of injuries on defense, they had mostly been concentrated on the OL and in the receiving group (WR/TE).

Weddle has been out for 2 games. He's pretty important to the defense. Te'o and Perriman were also out prior to yesterday. They're not a good defense, to be sure, but without the other injuries I'm not sure it matters as much.

Here is the starting defense, with how many games they have missed this season:

0 DL Lissemore

0 DL Liuget

0 DL Reyes

0 OLB Ingram

1 OLB Attaochu

3 ILB Teo

0 ILB Butler

1 CB Flowers

1 CB Verrett

3 S Addae

2 S Weddle

Key backups:

0 DL Mathews

0 DL Carrethers (he was inactive for 2 games but not due to injury)

0 OLB Emanuel

1 ILB Perryman

0 ILB Conner

0 CB Williams

0 DB Wilson

0 DB Robinson

0 S Stuckey

That is 11 games missed by the starting defense and only 1 game missed by the key reserves in 8 team games. Also, they were the worst defense in the NFL before yesterday, and 3 of the 12 missed games were yesterday. So before that, it was 9 missed player games in 7 team games.

Do you view those numbers as abnormal in the NFL? I don't.

Injuries are not a valid excuse for their awful defensive performance this season. The fault for that lies with Telesco and the coaching staff.

we knew coming in that they had the worst front 7 in football. It awful.

Throw in that Weddle is hurt and Flowers cant cover anyone. Ugh

 

[Ladsud]

Flexed out of Sunday night in favor of the Bengals vs the Cards. LT's jersey party will have to wait until next year.

 

[zftcg]

So what's the consensus on who in the receiving game will be the biggest beneficiary of all the injuries? I own Gates on one team, Woodhead on another, and Stevie on both. If he stays healthy, I could see him becoming the possession guy to Floyd's deep threat and having a lot of PPR upside.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Keenan Allen was one of Rivers' security blankets, along with Antonio Gates, on short and intermediate routes. Steve Johnson will probably get more of those looks now (still along with Gates).

Malcom Floyd and Dontrell Inman are used more as deep threats. Their roles may not change much. (Inman gets more underneath routes than Floyd does.)

Ladarius Green will probably be on the field more. (Note that Gates and Green are both banged up as well, though.)

Add Woodhead to the list of underneath receivers who could take on a bigger role in the passing game, but I don't really know what's going on with how the RB reps are being divided. There's no reason not to use Woodhead more, but that doesn't mean it will happen. The Bears could provide Melvin Gordon his first big game...

 

[zftcg]

Keenan Allen was one of Rivers' security blankets, along with Antonio Gates, on short and intermediate routes. Steve Johnson will probably get more of those looks now (still along with Gates).

Malcom Floyd and Dontrell Inman are used more as deep threats. Their roles may not change much. (Inman gets more underneath routes than Floyd does.)

Ladarius Green will probably be on the field more. (Note that Gates and Green are both banged up as well, though.)

Add Woodhead to the list of underneath receivers who could take on a bigger role in the passing game, but I don't really know what's going on with how the RB reps are being divided. There's no reason not to use Woodhead more, but that doesn't mean it will happen. The Bears could provide Melvin Gordon his first big game...

So is Stevie. He came back in last week after hurting his shoulder, but I haven't heard any updates. As of now, it sounds like all will play.

 

[zeeshan2]

Alex Marvez

✔@alexmarvez

The @Chargers will finish the season with as many players on IR as the active roster. Brutal year. https://twitter.com/Chargers/status/661649472200437760 …

3:02 PM - 3 Nov 2015

 

[Bucky86]

So, we're probably looking at a Top 5 pick. Get a franchise LT? Stud pass rusher? Shutdown Corner? May also need a WR to complement Allen.

 

[Tau837]

When all were healthy, Allen, Floyd, and Stevie all started and played most of the snaps. Inman hardly played except when one of those guys was injured. Now he will start. So Inman gets the biggest bump in playing time.

Targets to date:

Allen - 89 in 8 games = 11.1 per game

Gates - 32 in 3 games = 10.7 per game

Woodhead - 50 in 8 games = 6.3 per game

Stevie - 37 in 6 games = 6.2 per game

Green - 37 in 7 games = 5.3 per game

Floyd - 40 in 8 games = 5.0 per game

Inman - 18 in 7 games = 2.6 per game

Partial games skew those averages a bit, but this provides a loose baseline.

I don't see the targets for Gates going up significantly; he is already averaging almost 11 per game, and more than 20% of Rivers' targets in the games he has played.

The Chargers have averaged 44.25 passing attempts per game, which is on pace for 708 attempts for the regular season. On the one hand, there are no signs that the defense or OL or running game will improve, which could mean it continues. On the other hand, that would be the second highest total in NFL history. I'll project 41 attempts per game the rest of the way. Assuming full health for all of these players the rest of the way ( ), I'd expect that to break down like this:

9 Gates

7 Stevie

6 Woodhead

5 Floyd

5 Inman

5 Green

2 Gordon

1 Oliver

1 Phillips

 

[Tau837]

So, we're probably looking at a Top 5 pick. Get a franchise LT? Stud pass rusher? Shutdown Corner? May also need a WR to complement Allen.

#1 priority is still NT IMO. (Assuming the team sticks with the 3-4 base defense.) I don't think historically there is a need to use a top 5 pick on the top NT in the draft, so how about trading down to pick up picks for a change, and using the first pick on a NT? Then use the 2nd, 3rd, and other pick(s) gained by trading down to draft nothing but DL and OL.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

JWB has to be super happy now

Jacoby Jones released Tue Nov 3, 05:59 PM

The San Diego Chargers released WR Jacoby Jones Tuesday, Nov. 3.

 

[Tau837]

JWB has to be super happy now

Jacoby Jones released Tue Nov 3, 05:59 PM

The San Diego Chargers released WR Jacoby Jones Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Baby steps. But at least in the right direction.

 

[Gr00vus]

So people will be fired soon - right? Unfortunately we can't fire the owners. They're awful. Probably not too early to start firing the trainers and strength & conditioning folks. Having this many injuries is not just pure bad luck.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

So people will be fired soon - right? Unfortunately we can't fire the owners. They're awful. Probably not too early to start firing the trainers and strength & conditioning folks. Having this many injuries is not just pure bad luck.

yeah losing to the bears is unacceptable.

start with Pagano and Telesco

They need to go full-on Martha Ford though. its a bye week. Time to clean house

 

[Tau837]

It is the first day of the bye period. If the team was going to make changes, today is the day. I would fire Telesco, McCoy, and Pagano today, elevate Nolan to interim HC and let Reich stick as OC. I'm not a fan of Reich, but too hard to fire everyone in midseason. I would then fire the rest of the coaching staff at the end of the season, unless Nolan is extremely impressive in his 7 game stint as interim HC and earns the right to stay, in which case I would let him make the call on the assistants.

If Spanos doesn't approve any mid-season firings, then I'd fire Telesco and the entire coaching staff the day after the regular season ends.

I don't expect any of this to happen.

There is a lot of talk on Chargers radio about the Spanos family being a fundamental part of the problem. Not as much Dean Spanos as his two sons, who are Presidents of Business and Football Operations. I don't see how anyone could feel that either Business or Football Operations are going well for the Chargers, but I assume neither of those two will ever be fired. Which suggests that the organization may be mired in mediocrity (or worse) forever.

 

[Gr00vus]

There is a lot of talk on Chargers radio about the Spanos family being a fundamental part of the problem. Not as much Dean Spanos as his two sons, who are Presidents of Business and Football Operations. I don't see how anyone could feel that either Business or Football Operations are going well for the Chargers, but I assume neither of those two will ever be fired. Which suggests that the organization may be mired in mediocrity (or worse) forever.

They are the problem. And I think Dean is just as much a problem as his progeny. Until they're gone, or get brain replacement surgery, the Chargers aren't going to be championship contenders. Tomlinson and Rivers have carried this franchise for the last 15 years. They got lucky in the draft from 2003-2006, but they couldn't sustain it. I don't see much to look forward to when Rivers is gone.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

There is a lot of talk on Chargers radio about the Spanos family being a fundamental part of the problem. Not as much Dean Spanos as his two sons, who are Presidents of Business and Football Operations. I don't see how anyone could feel that either Business or Football Operations are going well for the Chargers, but I assume neither of those two will ever be fired. Which suggests that the organization may be mired in mediocrity (or worse) forever.

They are the problem. And I think Dean is just as much a problem as his progeny. Until they're gone, or get brain replacement surgery, the Chargers aren't going to be championship contenders. Tomlinson and Rivers have carried this franchise for the last 15 years. They got lucky in the draft from 2003-2006, but they couldn't sustain it. I don't see much to look forward to when Rivers is gone.

just wait till they move to LA and play in a half empty new stadium

 

[tommyGunZ]

Maybe

There is a lot of talk on Chargers radio about the Spanos family being a fundamental part of the problem. Not as much Dean Spanos as his two sons, who are Presidents of Business and Football Operations. I don't see how anyone could feel that either Business or Football Operations are going well for the Chargers, but I assume neither of those two will ever be fired. Which suggests that the organization may be mired in mediocrity (or worse) forever.

They are the problem. And I think Dean is just as much a problem as his progeny. Until they're gone, or get brain replacement surgery, the Chargers aren't going to be championship contenders. Tomlinson and Rivers have carried this franchise for the last 15 years. They got lucky in the draft from 2003-2006, but they couldn't sustain it. I don't see much to look forward to when Rivers is gone.

Maybe Archie and Eli were right.

 

[Gr00vus]

Maybe

There is a lot of talk on Chargers radio about the Spanos family being a fundamental part of the problem. Not as much Dean Spanos as his two sons, who are Presidents of Business and Football Operations. I don't see how anyone could feel that either Business or Football Operations are going well for the Chargers, but I assume neither of those two will ever be fired. Which suggests that the organization may be mired in mediocrity (or worse) forever.

They are the problem. And I think Dean is just as much a problem as his progeny. Until they're gone, or get brain replacement surgery, the Chargers aren't going to be championship contenders. Tomlinson and Rivers have carried this franchise for the last 15 years. They got lucky in the draft from 2003-2006, but they couldn't sustain it. I don't see much to look forward to when Rivers is gone.

Maybe Archie and Eli were right.

The results seem to support their case. I wonder if Rivers is second guessing signing that extension. Probably not, since they'd have just franchised him, but still, I bet he's wishing he was somewhere with a clearer shot at a title right now. Instead he's got idiots wasting picks on part time running backs instead of putting a legitimate offensive line in front of him. Got to give him credit for being a great team player. I never hear him say a bad thing about his teammates, the coaches or even management even when many of them richly deserve tons of criticism.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Maybe

There is a lot of talk on Chargers radio about the Spanos family being a fundamental part of the problem. Not as much Dean Spanos as his two sons, who are Presidents of Business and Football Operations. I don't see how anyone could feel that either Business or Football Operations are going well for the Chargers, but I assume neither of those two will ever be fired. Which suggests that the organization may be mired in mediocrity (or worse) forever.

They are the problem. And I think Dean is just as much a problem as his progeny. Until they're gone, or get brain replacement surgery, the Chargers aren't going to be championship contenders. Tomlinson and Rivers have carried this franchise for the last 15 years. They got lucky in the draft from 2003-2006, but they couldn't sustain it. I don't see much to look forward to when Rivers is gone.

Maybe Archie and Eli were right.

The results seem to support their case. I wonder if Rivers is second guessing signing that extension. Probably not, since they'd have just franchised him, but still, I bet he's wishing he was somewhere with a clearer shot at a title right now. Instead he's got idiots wasting picks on part time running backs instead of putting a legitimate offensive line in front of him. Got to give him credit for being a great team player. I never hear him say a bad thing about his teammates, the coaches or even management even when many of them richly deserve tons of criticism.

its sucks, because really they had a contender. the whole AJ v Marty feud, while I don't think Marty would of won a superbowl, the hiring of Norv to be AJ yes man was basically a terrible move and the whole world knew it. (sigh)

 

[Gr00vus]

its sucks, because really they had a contender. the whole AJ v Marty feud, while I don't think Marty would of won a superbowl, the hiring of Norv to be AJ yes man was basically a terrible move and the whole world knew it. (sigh)

Yes, ####### Marlon McCree. That was their year. Then, the whole fiasco with Marty, which was bad enough in and of itself, but the timing of finally letting him go ended up in them missing out on some better coaching prospects and ending up with Norv. Didn't Harbaugh become HC of the Ravens that offseason? I thought he was one of the guys we were talking about as a possible replacement. Imagine if they had landed him instead of Norv.

ETA: Harbaugh became coach of the Ravens in Jan 2008. So the Chargers could have tried to sign him after they dumped Marty. They just went with Norv. Idiots.

 

[Tau837]

Three Bad Things From The Bears Game

I could pick out a few subjects that have made the 3 Bad Things list over the Bolts first 9 games and list them again right here, because we saw them again Monday Night. The fact that we are still seeing stuff from this team that have been identified as problems 60 days ago, is yet one more damming indictment of the poor performance of Charger Management. We have several options here, but none of them are good:

• The coaches have been unable to identify the team's problems, or
• The coaches do not know how to fix the situations identified as problems, or
• The coaches cannot effectively communicate the proper fixes to the players, or
• The players are not responding to coaching communication, or
• The players are just not good enough to implement the correct fixes, properly communicated to them, which they are willing to implement.

I suspect that it is a combination of all of the above. All but the last situation is on McCoy and the rest of the coaching staff. And about the last situation...

If there is a deficiency in talent and ability, that is on the GM and the front office. The only remaining players on this team from the former regime are ones that have been retained (often at top dollar) by the current GM. I have already speculated that the current coaching staff is unable or unwilling to coach the team they have, but instead are coaching with the team they WISHED they had. Of course, it could be that the GM, coaches, and most of the players just don't care and they are taking their cue for that from the very top of the organization.

Since the ownership is silent in this bye week about making the type of changes that have already been done in Miami and Tennessee, it is obvious that the Spanos family just does not care about the quality of the product they are putting on the field. The fact that I can repeat myself in these columns is a fairly good indicator that the root cause for this organization's trouble is a deep seated dysfunction. If the Chargers were a person, I would suspect that they need an exorcism, an enema, and some intensive psychological therapy administered simultaneously.

 

[Bucky86]

Looking good for a top 3 pick.

 

[tommyGunZ]

#1 overall pick if season ended today.

Fire EVERYBODY.

 

[ydoc]

gonna be easy to hate them in LA...

 

[Gr00vus]

They really need a whole new regime in place before the draft - you can't let these guys near the #1 overall pick if you want any shot at getting out of the cellar any time soon.

And now I think dealing Rivers has to be back on the table. This thing doesn't get put back together in one offseason, and he's not going to last long behind that offensive like. I'm thinking mostly for his sake he'd be better off elsewhere.

 

[Tau837]

I went to the game yesterday. What a debacle. The Chargers were terrible in every phase of the game. The team quit in the second half.

This performance at home against a division rival coming off the bye week is inexcusable. People should be fired. Now.

 

[Tau837]

They really need a whole new regime in place before the draft - you can't let these guys near the #1 overall pick if you want any shot at getting out of the cellar any time soon.

And now I think dealing Rivers has to be back on the table. This thing doesn't get put back together in one offseason, and he's not going to last long behind that offensive like. I'm thinking mostly for his sake he'd be better off elsewhere.

I disagree with this. The team has grossly underperformed this season. With a better coaching staff, this team could/should have won 6-7 games even with the injuries.

They don't need much of a makeover on offense:

• They have a great QB.
• If Dunlap, Franklin, Watt, Fluker, Barksdale can get and stay mostly healthy for long enough to gel, the OL play will improve with no further additions. IMO they should still seek to upgrade at center and push Watt back to being a good depth player. Their other depth players are getting reps now that can help them going forward.
• If Allen and Stevie are healthy next season, that is a great start at WR. They could use a deep threat to complement them, leaving Ingram as the #4 guy.
• They are locked in with Gordon, for better or worse, and they still have Woodhead and Oliver. So they are set at RB.
• Gates and Green are free agents. I'm guessing Gates will be back for at least one more season.
• So IMO they need to upgrade at center and they need a deep threat WR. That isn't a major overhaul. The biggest thing they need on offense is better coaching. All of that can be addressed in a single offseason.

They need more help on defense:

• They desperately need improvement on the DL. If they are going to stick with the 3-4, the #1 priority must be NT. If they consider moving to 4-3, they still need DT and DE help more than anything else on the team. IMO they need to sign/draft at least 2 starting caliber DL, with one being a NT if they stick in the 3-4.
• If they do that, the LB play will improve. It will also improve when they release Butler this offseason. With better DL play, Teo, Perryman, and Conner might be good enough as a ILB nucleus.
• Attaochu and Emanuel will be back at OLB. Ingram is under contract for 2016, but his cap number jumps up a lot. If Telesco and McCoy stay, I'm sure Ingram will stay. If Telesco and/or McCoy are gone, Ingram may also be gone. His value also depends on whether they consider moving to 4-3. If Ingram stays, this group is tolerable for next year; again, their play should improve if the DL play improves. I would prefer that they move on from Ingram and upgrade at his OLB spot.
• If I were the Chargers, I would re-sign Weddle. If that happens and Flowers and Verrett are healthier, the secondary is fine. If Weddle is out, then they obviously have to upgrade there.
• They also need more fire and veteran leadership on defense.
• So defense is harder. IMO they need 2 starter-caliber DL, an upgrade at OLB/pass rush, and they should re-sign Weddle. And they need better coaching. All or most of this is doable in one offseason.

My plan:

1. Fire Telesco and his staff.
2. Fire McCoy and his staff. The whole staff. No more keeping guys like Pagano around for the next staff.
3. Release Butler.
4. Release Ingram.
5. Re-sign Weddle. His market value should be lower after this season than it would have been to extend him entering the season.
6. Re-sign Gates if the price is reasonable.
7. Re-sign Green if the price is reasonable. If Gates retires, this becomes a higher priority.
8. Re-sign Barksdale.
9. Sign veteran free agent center to start ahead of Robinson, moving Watt back to guard. Watt and Franklin can battle for the starting LG spot.
10. Sign veteran free agent deep threat WR. Or trade for one. Not talking a superstar here, just as Floyd wasn't a superstar.
11. Sign veteran free agent pass rusher. Not a superstar, a passing down specialist.
12. Sign veteran free agent DL (another one if the pass rusher was a DE). One of these free agent DLs needs to be a strong leader.
13. Given the Chargers' #1 pick will be high, trade down to add extra high draft pick(s).
14. Draft best DL with #1 pick.
15. Draft best remaining DL with #2 pick.
16. Draft best remaining DL/OL with #3 pick.
17. Draft BPA the rest of the draft.

From a roster perspective, this requires them to re-sign up to 4 of their own players; sign 4 free agents, none superstars; and have a smart draft. That can all be accomplished in one offseason. There will be other moves needed of course, but this is the core of a plan that can get this team back into playoff contention next season.

Unfortunately, I doubt the team will fire Telesco or McCoy, which means most of the rest of this will not happen either (or at least it won't happen smartly).

 

[Gr00vus]

Dude, both lines stink. There's not anything like a pro-bowl quality player among them. I think it'd be a stretch to call more than one or two replacement level quality actually. That's an 8 player plus rebuild right there.

Gordon was a gigantic whiff. He's actually regressing - his running instincts are getting worse, and they didn't seem to translate well to the pro game in the first place.

Gates is done. You can't point to that guy as a cornerstone of your offense. Maybe the next coaching staff can figure out what to do with Green if he stays.

Allen is a good receiver. He's not great. Johnson is above average.

In the secondary they've got Verrett and nothing else - and he only seems to be good for around 8 to 12 games a year. Weddle is old and not making plays anymore.

Attaochu and Perryman might be worthwhile, Ingram shows up every now and then, but the rest of the LBs suck.

There is very, very little talent on this roster. The only guy I'd consider as a pro-bowl level quality player is Rivers. You're not going to win much with a team like that.

 

[Tau837]

They won 9 games each of the last two years with bad OL and bad DL and the same coaching staff.

It seems the coaching staff has regressed and lost the team, but I think there is enough talent that one good offseason can turn things around.