**** Chargers Interminable Thread - Because No One Demanded It **** (1 Viewer)

[Jail]

Surprised and disappointed to see Sanders cut. Also surprised by Hines, but I guess if Harris is ready the moves make sense. Hines looked like he still had some speed, but the turnovers were troubling and I don’t think Harbaugh is going to be patient with that.

Hopefully Sanders clears waivers and signs with the practice squad.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Najee Harris activated from NFI. Did not see that coming.

 

[Tau837]

Najee Harris activated from NFI. Did not see that coming.

Me either. I don't see how he can be ready by week 1, unless he has been doing stuff that hasn't been reported. There have been no reports of him running full speed, wearing pads, hitting/getting hit, doing receiving drills, doing blocking drills, etc.

I hope he plays great, but I remain skeptical.

 

[Jail]

Well that didn’t take long. Sanders claimed by Cleveland with their number 2 spot in the waivers order.

I think this is going to end up as a bad decision. Very bad. I could easily see him having a more productive career going forward than Harris.

I hope I am wrong.

 

[Marauder]

Yeah, there was no way Sanders was going to clear waivers.

 

[cockroach]

Najee Harris activated from NFI. Did not see that coming.

Eye see what you did there

 

[tommyGunZ]

Color me unfazed by the loss of Sanders. I could very well be wrong, but I didn't see whatever you guys were seeing. My guess is this is the last we ever hear of him.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Color me unfazed by the loss of Sanders. I could very well be wrong, but I didn't see whatever you guys were seeing. My guess is this is the last we ever hear of him.

I think most wanted him to at least make it to the practice squad, which he would have done if Harris was NFI to start the season. Now, Sanders is on the Browns and I hope Harris really is healthy enough to play.

 

[rockaction]

Color me unfazed by the loss of Sanders. I could very well be wrong, but I didn't see whatever you guys were seeing. My guess is this is the last we ever hear of him.

I think you're wrong and just want to lodge it in print. I think especially when Roman is your OC and your whole game is centered around the run game you go with your best backs and not the guy who is a dependable special teamer. I think you're witnessing coaches that are a little stubborn and aren't seeing what sort of limitations their own style means in the modern NFL and how those coaches need to adjust for it.

Yes, I'm saying sketchy guys like Harbaugh (and I've never been a huge Roman guy) aren't bringing enough toilet paper for their own asses. I'm sure there are other ways to put it, but that seems evocative enough.

 

[Jail]

Color me unfazed by the loss of Sanders. I could very well be wrong, but I didn't see whatever you guys were seeing. My guess is this is the last we ever hear of him.

I hope you’re right.

What bothers me is that they could have placed Harris on the NFI list and gotten a chance to see what Sanders could do in the regular season for 4 games.

 

[Tau837]

Going to make a few posts about different topics here. I'm going to refer to Hortiz and Harbaugh and their staffs as the current Chargers regime. I could be wrong about this, but I am assuming that the Spanos family is generally allowing Hortiz and Harbaugh to run the show with minimal interference (e.g., on draft picks).

First topic, the OL. This regime inherited this at OL:

• LT Slater - All Pro caliber
• LG Johnson - disappointing former 1st round pick; below average guard
• C Clapp - forced into starting due to Linsley's career ending injury; below average center
• RG Salyer - former 6th round pick who started at LT in Slater's absence in 2022 and at RG in 2023; below average at both
• RT Pipkins - average to below average starter
• T Sarell - bottom of NFL caliber depth player
• G McFadden - former 5th round pick who never really earned much playing time; below average when he played
• C Jaimes - bottom of NFL caliber depth player

That is a mess. Just one quality player.

The regime also inherited a salary cap mess, and had to operate with limited resources in the 2024 offseason. Moves:

• Drafted T Alt, which was a home run draft pick. He is already All Pro caliber.
• Signed C Bozeman to start; he is average to below average but had played 4 years under OC Roman and was an upgrade on Clapp / Jaimes, though that is a very low bar. He came at a bargain price, and ultimately played 1,112 snaps last season. As much as I wish for an upgrade, this was a solid move.
• Moved Pipkins to LG, where he was below average. That said, it was still probably the best option they had available to them given how they used their draft picks.

Considering the constraints they were operating under, it made reasonable sense to take this approach and hope the coaching staff could get better performance out of Zion at LG. That didn't work out, but it was an understandable approach.

The one notable thing they did not do that is to date this regime's worst decision IMO: they did not draft a center in the 2024 draft, which is probably the most center-rich draft in NFL history. That decision is still haunting them.

So they entered the 2025 offseason with an unprecedented (for the Chargers) amount of cap space and a relatively clean slate. Moves:

• Signed Becton to play RG, which should be a significant upgrade if he stays healthy. This also upgraded depth, since it pushed Pipkins into the swing tackle role.
• Signed C James to be the backup center; he is an upgrade over last season's backup, Jaimes.
• Drafted G/T Taylor in the 6th round. IMO he is a wasted draft pick who will never play a meaningful role in the NFL. The Chargers waived him yesterday and signed him to the practice squad.
• Traded a conditional 2027 7th round pick for depth T Beculus. Not much of a needle mover, but better than what they had.

While this seems underwhelming, prior to Slater’s injury, the Chargers had swing T Pipkins, swing G and second depth T Salyer, and C James as depth. I doubt there are many NFL teams with better depth than that. That group has a lot of snaps and starts at the NFL level.

The major problem we all saw coming was planning to start Zion and Bozeman again. The problem is they are depth caliber players, not starter caliber players, at least ideally. But signing Becton for RG certainly helped the IOL. With solid depth and the Becton upgrade, it seemed like an OL plan that was less than ideal but not completely unreasonable.

Slater’s injury changed everything, and I don’t know how you can really expect the regime to foresee and prepare for that. I doubt there are many NFL teams that can lose their best OL for the season and easily withstand that with little impact.

So... I’m not letting Hortiz off the hook for not drafting a center in the 2024 draft, but otherwise I think the regime has handled the OL situation as well as they reasonably could. With hindsight, we could say other things, like they should have drafted a good IOL player in the 3rd round of the 2024 draft instead of Colson, who is trending toward a bust... but that is hindsight and isn't really a fair perspective.

I think the Chargers will have a lot of draft needs next season, but drafting a quality center should be a priority.

 

[Tau837]

I understand 6th and 7th round picks are low probability picks, and this isn’t really a fair thing to criticize. But I find this to be an interesting early track record:

• 2024 6th (181) – Drafted RB Vidal; cut in 2025; now on the practice squad
• 2024 7th (225) – Drafted WR Rice; cut in 2025
• 2024 7th (253) – Drafted WR Johnson; cut in 2024
• 2025 6th (181, from NE) – Traded to PHI to move up and draft TE Gadsden
• 2025 6th (199) – Drafted OL Taylor; cut in 2025; now on the practice squad
• 2025 6th (209) – Traded to PHI to move up and draft Gadsden
• 2025 6th (214) – Drafted S Mickens; looks like a good value
• 2025 7th (218, from MIN) – Traded to ATL for QB Heinicke
• 2025 7th (256) – Drafted DB Bridges; cut in 2025
• 2026 7th (TBD) – Traded to TEN for S Molden
• 2027 7th (TBD) - Traded for depth OT Deculus

It’s early to judge these moves, but this makes it appear that so far:

• 6 picks used to draft players with 1 likely hit (Mickens)
• 5 picks used in 4 trades to acquire 4 players with 1 definite hit (Molden), 1 likely hit (Gadsden), 1 mediocre result (Heinicke), and 1 for whom the jury is out (Deculus)

Maybe seek more trades?

 

[Gr00vus]

@tommyGunZ is probably right, but I'd still like more time with Sanders to see if he's really nothing than allocating a roster spot to Haskins for cut day. I get Haskins does special teams, but i doubt anyone would jump on him if he was available. Gamble on sneaking him through, pick up some other st drone if you don't.

They definitely could and should have spent more resources on ol depth. Protecting Herbert and opening holes for the run game are critical to success. When you're one injury away from being compromised in that regard, you haven't done enough roster building wise.

 

[Tau837]

@tommyGunZ is probably right, but I'd still like more time with Sanders to see if he's really nothing than allocating a roster spot to Haskins for cut day. I get Haskins does special teams, but i doubt anyone would jump on him if he was available. Gamble on sneaking him through, pick up some other st drone if you don't.

They definitely could and should have spent more resources on ol depth. Protecting Herbert and opening holes for the run game are critical to success. When you're one injury away from being compromised in that regard, you haven't done enough roster building wise.

There are very few NFL teams who are not one injury to their best OL player away from having problems with pass protection and run blocking.

 

[Gr00vus]

Becton now questionable for tonight with some illness. I don't know what the line is, but seems like a good time to bet on the Chiefs. Hope Herbert doesn't get yet another early season lingering injury because the line sucks again. This offseason has been another massive fail on the OL improvement front. They bring in Becton and essentially no one else to attempt to fix things. Brilliant.

 

[King of the Jungle]

Becton now questionable for tonight with some illness. I don't know what the line is, but seems like a good time to bet on the Chiefs. Hope Herbert doesn't get yet another early season lingering injury because the line sucks again. This offseason has been yet another massive fail on the OL improvement front. They bring in Becton and essentially no one else to attempt to fix things. Brilliant.

Been a rough offseason for a team that looked like it was on the up and up. Hopefully the defense continues to improve and can keep them in the hunt.

 

[Gr00vus]

Becton now questionable for tonight with some illness. I don't know what the line is, but seems like a good time to bet on the Chiefs. Hope Herbert doesn't get yet another early season lingering injury because the line sucks again. This offseason has been yet another massive fail on the OL improvement front. They bring in Becton and essentially no one else to attempt to fix things. Brilliant.

Been a rough offseason for a team that looked like it was on the up and up. Hopefully the defense continues to improve and can keep them in the hunt.

I've got concerns about the defensive front, I think they're worse than last year in terms of run stopping and pass rush. tonight is a good test.

 

[Jail]

Becton now questionable for tonight with some illness. I don't know what the line is, but seems like a good time to bet on the Chiefs. Hope Herbert doesn't get yet another early season lingering injury because the line sucks again. This offseason has been another massive fail on the OL improvement front. They bring in Becton and essentially no one else to attempt to fix things. Brilliant.

They were relatively healthy last year. Actually it was a huge improvement over prior years. I have a bad feeling that year was the fluke and now we’re back to the status quo. Hopefully I’m wrong.

 

[Gr00vus]

Very good performance. Offensive line did well pass blocking, the run blocking was pretty sad.

I thought they were on their way to another Chargering when they blew that 4th down late, but the D responded and Herbert didn't let them get the ball back. Awesome. Big win.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Very good performance. Offensive line did well pass blocking, the run blocking was pretty sad.

I thought they were on their way to another Chargering when they blew that 4th down late, but the D responded and Herbert didn't let them get the ball back. Awesome. Big win.

Yes, good win for the

I just remembered that the owner of the Detroit Pistons also owns 27% of the Chargers.

 

[menobrown]

The winner of the week one Friday night game in Brazil has gone on to win the Super Bowl every year.

 

[Jail]

Very good performance. Offensive line did well pass blocking, the run blocking was pretty sad.

I thought they were on their way to another Chargering when they blew that 4th down late, but the D responded and Herbert didn't let them get the ball back. Awesome. Big win.

Definitely.

Wasn’t it great to see Keenan back out there? Man I loved that.

I do wonder what the game would have looked like with Rice and Worthy playing. But man I’ll take any win against the Chiefs. Seems like it has been a lifetime since the last win.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Very good performance. Offensive line did well pass blocking, the run blocking was pretty sad.

I thought they were on their way to another Chargering when they blew that 4th down late, but the D responded and Herbert didn't let them get the ball back. Awesome. Big win.

Definitely.

Wasn’t it great to see Keenan back out there? Man I loved that.

I do wonder what the game would have looked like with Rice and Worthy playing. But man I’ll take any win against the Chiefs. Seems like it has been a lifetime since the last win.

Herbert and the receivers were great, and the o line deserves major props given the patchwork preseason. The corners and LBs need some work. The middle of the field was a gift all night for quick passes and scrambles. Gotta fix that. But very happy this morning to emerge with h the win and no major injuries.

 

[IHEARTFF]

Impressive. This may be the year KC relinquishes the 9 year run over the AFCW. Exciting for you guys.

 

[Gr00vus]

Very good performance. Offensive line did well pass blocking, the run blocking was pretty sad.

I thought they were on their way to another Chargering when they blew that 4th down late, but the D responded and Herbert didn't let them get the ball back. Awesome. Big win.

Definitely.

Wasn’t it great to see Keenan back out there? Man I loved that.

I do wonder what the game would have looked like with Rice and Worthy playing. But man I’ll take any win against the Chiefs. Seems like it has been a lifetime since the last win.

Herbert and the receivers were great, and the o line deserves major props given the patchwork preseason. The corners and LBs need some work. The middle of the field was a gift all night for quick passes and scrambles. Gotta fix that. But very happy this morning to emerge with h the win and no major injuries.

Definitely a lot of overreaction and loss of discipline in the defensive backfield last night. It's tough to completely stop the quick slants even when in position though, particularly when you're facing Mahomes. That guy's the best player in the NFL and it's not really close.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I know I'll be on an island here, but I'm not sure Justin Herbert isn't the best QB in the league.

The calm and poise is remarkable. Seems like the game is in slow motion for him.

Love that guy.

 

[zamboni]

I know I'll be on an island here, but I'm not sure Justin Herbert isn't the best QB in the league.

The calm and poise is remarkable. Seems like the game is in slow motion for him.

Love that guy.

Sure seems like he’s taking that playoff disaster from last year personally and using it as motivation.

 

[FarFromHome]

I know I'll be on an island here, but I'm not sure Justin Herbert isn't the best QB in the league.

The calm and poise is remarkable. Seems like the game is in slow motion for him.

Love that guy.

I think he has every tool in his toolbox to be that guy. The problem is he needs to start winning. The qb position, more then any position in sports, is directly tied to winning. Winning gives those QBs the moments that make them great. Herbert has yet to win a playoff game and create that moment. Until then he is just a heck of player that's fun to watch. Imo

 

[tommyGunZ]

My favorite Bolts podcast (“Guilty as Charged”) out with an episode absolutely glowing about Joe Alt’s performance after they watched the All-22 film. One comment about how Alt may end up being the greatest Charger player ever.

Obviously a ton of projection and the pod guys admitted it’s way too early for that kind of speculation, but even having those ideas after watching Alt for a season and 1 game speaks volumes.

 

[Jail]

My favorite Bolts podcast (“Guilty as Charged”) out with an episode absolutely glowing about Joe Alt’s performance after they watched the All-22 film. One comment about how Alt may end up being the greatest Charger player ever.

Obviously a ton of projection and the pod guys admitted it’s way too early for that kind of speculation, but even having those ideas after watching Alt for a season and 1 game speaks volumes.

So disappointed that we don’t get to see what the line would have looked like with Slater and Alt this year.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Yeah - wonder if they’ll move Slater to the right side when he returns next year?

Either way, they have really set themselves up to feast the next few years with Herbert, the bookend OTs, and suddenly a deep group of offensive weapons. Future is crazy bright.

 

[Tau837]

Yeah - wonder if they’ll move Slater to the right side when he returns next year?

Either way, they have really set themselves up to feast the next few years with Herbert, the bookend OTs, and suddenly a deep group of offensive weapons. Future is crazy bright.

I don't think Slater will ever start again at LT for the Chargers unless Alt is hurt. I think Alt is going to contend for 1st team All Pro LT this season. It is Alt's natural position, and the more important position for Herbert. Slater will likely miss much of offseason/camp/preseason, implying the Chargers will need Alt practicing at LT. Meanwhile, while we don't know how Alt's durability will play out, we do know that Slater will have missed 35+ games in his first 5 seasons... better at RT than LT.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I know I'll be on an island here, but I'm not sure Justin Herbert isn't the best QB in the league.

The calm and poise is remarkable. Seems like the game is in slow motion for him.

Love that guy.

Although the guy in Buffalo is pushing me here...

 

[rockaction]

I know I'll be on an island here, but I'm not sure Justin Herbert isn't the best QB in the league.

The calm and poise is remarkable. Seems like the game is in slow motion for him.

Love that guy.

Although the guy in Buffalo is pushing me here...

Can I pop my collar and say that I roster both in my ten-team league where you get .1 per 10 yards and 6 pt. touchdown passes with -4.5 per interception and minus points for incompletions.

The rest of my team is rough; but these two guys . . . Herbert would have scored 55 points on Thursday and then Josh comes along and gets me 66 points. Winner!

Anyway, sorry about that. I actually do think Josh, Justin, and Lamar are the best QBs in the NFL with Jayden knocking on the door but not yet, guy.

 

[tommyGunZ]

I know I'll be on an island here, but I'm not sure Justin Herbert isn't the best QB in the league.

The calm and poise is remarkable. Seems like the game is in slow motion for him.

Love that guy.

Although the guy in Buffalo is pushing me here...

I actually do think Josh, Justin, and Lamar are the best QBs in the NFL with Jayden knocking on the door but not yet, guy.

I’m pretty much in agreement with this, but I’d put Mahomes ahead of Herbert in the same tier with Allen and Jackson.

 

[rockaction]

I know I'll be on an island here, but I'm not sure Justin Herbert isn't the best QB in the league.

The calm and poise is remarkable. Seems like the game is in slow motion for him.

Love that guy.

Although the guy in Buffalo is pushing me here...

I actually do think Josh, Justin, and Lamar are the best QBs in the NFL with Jayden knocking on the door but not yet, guy.

I’m pretty much in agreement with this, but I’d put Mahomes ahead of Herbert in the same tier with Allen and Jackson.

Lots of people would. Lots of film grinders. I don't know, though. I watch Mahomes pretty much every week because he's my dynasty quarterback and two things have been really problematic for him. First, Tyreek leaving. He lost that speed, and it wasn't just deep balls it was those yards after the catch. Second, Fangio's deep Cover 2. Dropping two safeties deep and doing whatever Fangio does with his linebackers when he faces Mahomes was installed when Fangio was coaching Denver in his last year there. He totally flummoxed Mahomes and the Chiefs. And every other team copied it and teams are still running a variation of it. It makes them take all underneath stuff and stuff that's not downfield but in the flats. They totally put a wrench in the gears of the machine and cackled like a Luddite.

Now you've got Kelce aging, the team is up against the cap, and they have no weapons. And it's gotten to Mahomes. He misses too many throws and throws too many picks and scrambles with mediocre speed and gets drilled.

It's no longer pretty.

That's just my two cents on the whole Mahomes experience these days and how it got there.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Mahomes certainly isn’t lighting it up like he did years ago, but what was that streak that was broken Friday? Something like 17 straight wins in 1 score games? Somehow he keeps getting it done when it counts the most.

As a Charger homer, I still fear him more than anyone else with the game on the line.