Just Win Baby

Agree. As a Chargers fan, if it would help him at all to recover better for the rest of the season, I'd prefer that he miss the game this week and not even make the cross country trip.

It's only been 5 games, but right now: Staley should be a contender for COY Herbert should be a contender for MVP... but I think if Brady stays healthy, he will win it, since I fully expect him to break the single season TD record if healthy Slater should be a contender for OROY... but I'd be surprised to see it awarded to an OL, even a LT Williams should be a contender for 1st team All Pro, if he stays healthy IMO Staley winning COY seems most likely at this point.

So potentially down 7 starters on Sunday: RT Bulaga RG Aboushi WR Williams IDL Jones LB Tranquill LB Murray S Adderley Tough to be down 4 defensive starters against such a strong rushing offense.

Agree 100%. The team's depth at Edge isn't great. Nwosu is okay. Fackrell is okay. A rotation of those two across from Bosa at least keeps them reasonably fresh... but leaves no one to spell Bosa. They need to institute a rotation that keeps Bosa fresher for the 4th quarter.

I will take this stuff any day over Derwin James breaking his foot in training camp.

I think the Chargers may be better suited to face a great rushing offense like the Ravens than they were against the Browns. The Chargers biggest weakness is up the middle, and Jackson seems to get most of his yards to the outside, not up the middle like the Browns. I'm sure the Ravens will have a good rushing game, but probably not as good as the Browns were last week. I haven't seen it talked about much, but the Chargers passing defense was bad last week. The design of the defense is to prevent explosive plays, particularly explosive passing plays, but they gave up several last week. The rushing performance allowed by the Chargers defense was talked about a lot but the pass defense was arguably a bigger problem. Could be something for the Ravens to exploit. It's a cross country game for the Chargers with a 1 pm EDT start. Historically, that has not been great for the Chargers. They beat WFT in week 1 -- though not by much -- in that scenario, but I think the Ravens are better. As the line implies, I think it's a toss-up. If either team ends up +2 in turnovers, I think that team will win. If the Chargers are no worse than -1 in turnovers and don't have any major special teams mistakes (like multiple missed FGs, a kick/punt return allowed for a TD, etc.) and no major injuries, they could win a close game. I predicted a loss at BAL in this thread several days back, and it was the only one I predicted for the rest of the regular season (I did predict a handful of toss-ups, including the Browns game). So I could see this going either way.

Who else in this thread has said that? No one is dragging you into this thread to read and post in it, since you seem to find it so unsatisfying.

I'm not sure if you are referencing their Receiving Direction data, but that is about where he was targeted and/or his route ended on the field, inside the numbers or outside the numbers on the left or right. I don't think that correlates fully to where he lined up (slot or wide), but I'm not completely sure about that. His PFF grades are definitely best outside right, but he only has 9 targets in that area, so the sample is small. Interestingly, his PFF grades were weakest for outside right last season and were similarly strong for outside left and between the numbers. Maybe that shows that this data is not predictive... or more likely it reflects the fact that the offense is different under the new coaching and he has been used differently.

Chargers fans post in a Chargers thread to talk about the team. Some of that will be positive, some will be negative. If you like to delve into detail about the team, which I do, it leads to posting about the 53rd vs. 54th roster spot. I'm pretty sure I am in the top 2-3 in posts in this thread, and without going back I think fewer than 20% of my posts since the draft have had negative comments, and I have written or linked a lot of positive comments/posts. I just posted last week that I now expect 11-13 wins this regular season, for example. Perhaps there are others in this thread who are more negative, but I understand it -- Chargers optimism has regularly been high since 2004, but good seasons have been rare. If the positive results continue, others will come around to more positivity.

You paint with too broad a brush. Speaking for myself: What I was right about: I liked most decisions the Chargers made in the offseason, including: Coaching staff Signing veteran free agents Linsley, Feiler, Aboushi, Daniel, Fackrell Decisions on Chargers veterans -- both those who were kept and those who were let go The entire draft other than the 3rd round picks The entire 53 man roster other than one decision (see below) Selecting Vizcaino over Badgley at PK OL depth, IDL depth, and safety depth were all roster weak points that were not addressed well in the offseason -- the first two issues have definitely been problem areas so far What I was wrong about: I didn't think they should pay Mike Williams his 5th year option salary; I hope he maintains this level of performance the rest of the season I didn't like one roster decision -- waiving WR Tyron Johnson; he ended up on a new team (JAX) in a new offense, so will be interested to see if he earns a useful role there, but it hasn't hurt the Chargers Jury is out IMO: I didn't like the 3rd round draft picks and posted so at the time. I still think that was a poor use of draft capital, which continues Telesco's pattern of 3rd round reach picks that haven't panned out since 2013 when he drafted Allen in the 3rd. I thought they should have kept Henry. I don't think there is any way to draw a conclusion on that so far. They had the cap room to do it and could have. Cook and Parham have played well so far, and I posted at the time that it could work out if Parham developers into a starter-caliber player. Could go either way IMO. I know you disagree with this. I did not complain about Linsley's salary. So I was positive about most of the team's decisions and posted that both here and in several Chargers forum posts I linked here. I was wrong about one significant decision -- keeping Williams on his 5th year option salary. I'm very happy I was wrong about it. I was right about most of the rest. IMO it's a pretty solid track record IMO. You seem to just zero in on whatever criticisms fans have and blow it out of proportion. For example, saying that no one "wants to wallow in this unjustified misery" in this thread. There is no misery here. I have no idea who your favorite team is, but I wouldn't go into that team thread and presume to know more about your team than you do. Maybe you should consider that.

Thanks for explaining how all of this works to those of us who clearly don't understand it. The team had a great offseason overall and is having a great season. I'm very happy about that and have said so. The team could have made some different decisions that would have been even more beneficial both short and long term. Chargers fans know enough to make informed comments about it, and this Chargers thread is the place to do that. I don't really understand why some non-Chargers fans feel the need to come into the Chargers thread and criticize that.

I'm not sure why you would say that about the Browns, Ravens, and Patriots. The only reason I can think of is that today those teams seem committed long term to QBs who are not as good as Herbert. But obviously the game is much more than just the QB position. I don't see how anyone can say the Chargers' future is clearly brighter than those teams at defense, special teams, or, very importantly, coaching. Or, very importantly, ownership and front office. So how does the calculus of "bright future" work out? The Chargers could be better than all of them long term, but I wouldn't assume that. Yes, it is a huge reason for optimism through the end of next season. At that time, if he continues to perform similarly, he will probably sign a contract extension bigger than Mahomes, and his salary will start to impact the cap significantly more than it does now. That's why it is so important to win this year and next year, while they have that advantage.

@Joe Bryant, what I bolded in his post is a strawman, period. If you disagree, please point to where anyone said anything close to the bolded. I would also take issue with 'unhappiness.' PTSD as a Chargers fan doesn't equate to being unhappy with the current team and its performance. It's more being apprehensive of waiting for the next rash of serious injuries, or the next rash of 'Chargering' away multiple games. I mean, look it up... Chargering is a thing. Aside from that, there is no doubt the Chargers have a bright future right now. But we are 5 games into a new coaching regime that seems like a sea change. After 8 years of Anthony Lynn and Mike McCoy and 6 years of Norv Turner before that, it should be forgivable for Chargers fans to be cautious in their optimism. There is no need for anyone to be critical of that. As for what teams have a brighter future than the Chargers, that is impossible to say. Contenders for that would seem to include the Bills, Chiefs, Browns, Cardinals, and Rams... maybe the Ravens, Patriots, and Cowboys. Also whatever team Russell Wilson is on next season. Keep in mind, some of these teams have paid their standout QB already, some (including the Chargers) have not.

This warranted its own post, especially since @Joe Bryant liked it. The bolded part of your post is a strawman. No one has said that. No one has implied that. There is no need for you to come into the Chargers thread and throw out snarky strawmen. So I'll ask you to refrain from doing so in the future. The Chargers had a great offseason, agreed. But, if you follow the team, you see opportunities for greater improvement. Easy example. Entering the draft, OL depth, IDL rotation/starters/depth, and S depth were known issues. The Chargers used a 3rd round pick on WR Palmer and another 3rd round pick on TE McKitty. Neither WR nor TE were needs for the Chargers, and neither player has really contributed. Palmer has made a minor contribution that could have been made by others; McKitty has made no contribution. On top of that, the Chargers have plenty of cap room left that could have been potentially applied to help the team. Do those things diminish the good things the Chargers did? No. Do they indicate areas the Chargers could have done more? Yes. Could those things have had a positive impact on this roster and this season? Yes. Both things can be true -- that the Chargers had a great offseason, and yet it could have been even greater.

Yes, woohoo!!!! This one is easy. Consider last season: Pipkins played 554 snaps at LT; the combination of Bulaga and Norton should be an upgrade 1174 snaps at RG were played by Trai Turner (536), Cole Toner (279), Ryan Groy (271), Tyree St. Louis (79), and Quessenberry (9); Schofield should be an upgrade Feeney played all 1174 snaps at C; Linsley is a massive upgrade Lamp played all 1174 snaps at LG; Feiler is a massive upgrade 1164 snaps at LT were played by Tevi (1015), Norton (134), and Pipkins (15); Slater is a massive upgrade Anthony Lynn's coaching staff was running the offense; Staley's coaching staff is a massive upgrade Yet Herbert passed for 4336/31 last season, despite Ekeler missing 6 games. In other words, the team made it work last season despite the OL being much, much worse than it should be this season without Aboushi. If the team suffers more injuries to the OL, especially Slater, Feiler, and/or Linsley, I'll be very concerned. But for now, they should be fine. Schofield played 70 snaps at RG yesterday, and the offense rolled. I agree. The roster clearly had 3 problems entering the season IMO: OL depth; DL depth/rotation; and S depth. These were all known issues entering the offseason. The team addressed other issues, some of which were significant, some of which were not (e.g., 3rd round picks). It is generally working out so far, but there are definitely risk areas that could result in big issues. I would love to believe the Chargers would actually consider trading for DL help before the trade deadline, assuming they could actually acquire a veteran, perhaps on an expiring contract, from a team that is not contending. It hasn't been Telesco's MO in the past, but perhaps this is different... a real contender. Not holding my breath. This is definitely true. But I have broken through and have reoriented myself to severe optimism.