*** Official 2013 San Diego Chargers **** (5 Viewers)

[Gr00vus]

With the Brown thing, I guess he's the guy they're going with when they do the "no huddle" thing which they went to often last night. I get not wanting to put wear and tear on Matthews, but those are "easy" sets for the RB, as opposed to the run directly into the line for 1 yard plays they were using Matthews for in the 2nd half.

 

[Tau837]

With the Brown thing, I guess he's the guy they're going with when they do the "no huddle" thing which they went to often last night. I get not wanting to put wear and tear on Matthews, but those are "easy" sets for the RB, as opposed to the run directly into the line for 1 yard plays they were using Matthews for in the 2nd half.

To me, Brown should be rostered in the event of an injury to Mathews or Woodhead, and nothing more. He should see no more than a few snaps per game.

Instead of the snap breakdown above, it should be more like this:

35 Mathews

15 Woodhead

5 Brown (e.g., giving Mathews a breather here and there)

Mathews should be getting 15 carries and 5 targets per game, minimum, and Woodhead should be getting at least 5 targets per game. One might suggest that Mathews was close to those numbers, but the problem is what has already been pointed out, that when he was in the game he almost always got the ball. If instead he got 20 opportunities in 35 snaps, it wouldn't be so predictable.

 

[fruity pebbles]

With the Brown thing, I guess he's the guy they're going with when they do the "no huddle" thing which they went to often last night. I get not wanting to put wear and tear on Matthews, but those are "easy" sets for the RB, as opposed to the run directly into the line for 1 yard plays they were using Matthews for in the 2nd half.

To me, Brown should be rostered in the event of an injury to Mathews or Woodhead, and nothing more. He should see no more than a few snaps per game.

Instead of the snap breakdown above, it should be more like this:

35 Mathews

15 Woodhead

5 Brown (e.g., giving Mathews a breather here and there)

Mathews should be getting 15 carries and 5 targets per game, minimum, and Woodhead should be getting at least 5 targets per game. One might suggest that Mathews was close to those numbers, but the problem is what has already been pointed out, that when he was in the game he almost always got the ball. If instead he got 20 opportunities in 35 snaps, it wouldn't be so predictable.

Perhaps a run outside the tackle box against one of the best d-lines in football may have been worth a shot as well.

 

[Gr00vus]

With the Brown thing, I guess he's the guy they're going with when they do the "no huddle" thing which they went to often last night. I get not wanting to put wear and tear on Matthews, but those are "easy" sets for the RB, as opposed to the run directly into the line for 1 yard plays they were using Matthews for in the 2nd half.

To me, Brown should be rostered in the event of an injury to Mathews or Woodhead, and nothing more. He should see no more than a few snaps per game.

Instead of the snap breakdown above, it should be more like this:

35 Mathews

15 Woodhead

5 Brown (e.g., giving Mathews a breather here and there)

Mathews should be getting 15 carries and 5 targets per game, minimum, and Woodhead should be getting at least 5 targets per game. One might suggest that Mathews was close to those numbers, but the problem is what has already been pointed out, that when he was in the game he almost always got the ball. If instead he got 20 opportunities in 35 snaps, it wouldn't be so predictable.

Perhaps a run outside the tackle box against one of the best d-lines in football may have been worth a shot as well.

The OLine is so bad they can't run anything like a slow developing play - and yes in this case a sweep could be considered a slow developing play.

Wade Phillips figured out in the second half that he could basically put all 11defenders within 5 yards of the line and the Chargers wouldn't be able to handle it running or throwing because the Chargers' OLine is so crummy.

 

[BoltBacker]

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Homers, what's the story with Vincent Brown? Think he's going to be a player?

I only watched half the game and saw his TD as well as a deep ball where he slipped on the route but other then that I haven't seen much of him

 

[DanFouts]

So NFL says call was in error about the penalty on the FG that was then turned into a touchdown. That was SUCH as BAD call. And the entire momentum/game changed. Seems like that (and the RIver's pick 6...lol) always cost em....

The NFL said Tuesday that the officials in Monday night’s game between the Houston Texans andSan Diego Chargers made an officiating error, marking the third time the league admitted fault with a call in Week 1.

http://tracking.si.com/2013/09/10/nfl-refs-made-incorrect-call-chargers-texans-game/

 

[Gr00vus]

So NFL says call was in error about the penalty on the FG that was then turned into a touchdown. That was SUCH as BAD call. And the entire momentum/game changed. Seems like that (and the RIver's pick 6...lol) always cost em....

The NFL said Tuesday that the officials in Monday night’s game between the Houston Texans andSan Diego Chargers made an officiating error, marking the third time the league admitted fault with a call in Week 1.

http://tracking.si.com/2013/09/10/nfl-refs-made-incorrect-call-chargers-texans-game/

Super.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Homers, what's the story with Vincent Brown? Think he's going to be a player?

I only watched half the game and saw his TD as well as a deep ball where he slipped on the route but other then that I haven't seen much of him

I personally dont

Some people love him, royal looked better to me, it is only 1 week though

 

[Gr00vus]

Homers, what's the story with Vincent Brown? Think he's going to be a player?

I only watched half the game and saw his TD as well as a deep ball where he slipped on the route but other then that I haven't seen much of him

I personally dont

Some people love him, royal looked better to me, it is only 1 week though

Brown has great hands and runs great routes - I don't think he's got above average (for NFL WR) speed and he's not a giant like Megatron (or Floyd). He got better separation Monday night than I'd seen him get so far in his Charger career. Royal drops easy passes on key 3rd downs. I'd love to see Brown get all the Royal targets and have Allen take over as the 3rd WR - or get Green Royal's reps. On a good team, Royal is a situational WR4/WR5. I don't think Brown will be an All-Pro, but he could be a solid NFL starter.

 

[Tau837]

Homers, what's the story with Vincent Brown? Think he's going to be a player?

I only watched half the game and saw his TD as well as a deep ball where he slipped on the route but other then that I haven't seen much of him

I personally dontSome people love him, royal looked better to me, it is only 1 week though

Royal looked better at times, but he also had a huge drop late. Brown had the one nice TD play, the one nice route to get open deep, and the other play on the goal line where he almost had a second TD. Considering his low number of targets, that was the most impressive game I've seen him have. I think he will likely be a solid WR3 if he stays healthy.

 

[Tau837]

Homers, what's the story with Vincent Brown? Think he's going to be a player?

I only watched half the game and saw his TD as well as a deep ball where he slipped on the route but other then that I haven't seen much of him

I personally dontSome people love him, royal looked better to me, it is only 1 week though

Brown has great hands and runs great routes - I don't think he's got above average (for NFL WR) speed and he's not a giant like Megatron (or Floyd). He got better separation Monday night than I'd seen him get so far in his Charger career. Royal drops easy passes on key 3rd downs. I'd love to see Brown get all the Royal targets and have Allen take over as the 3rd WR - or get Green Royal's reps. On a good team, Royal is a situational WR4/WR5. I don't think Brown will be an All-Pro, but he could be a solid NFL starter.

Royal is just a guy IMO. Hopefully, either Allen or Green or both can be more than that. So I'd prefer to see them getting Royal's snaps ASAP.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

I guess this is the place to park this Philip Rivers Amazon Page. I'm sure it has been posted before.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Homers, what's the story with Vincent Brown? Think he's going to be a player?

I only watched half the game and saw his TD as well as a deep ball where he slipped on the route but other then that I haven't seen much of him

I personally dontSome people love him, royal looked better to me, it is only 1 week though

Brown has great hands and runs great routes - I don't think he's got above average (for NFL WR) speed and he's not a giant like Megatron (or Floyd). He got better separation Monday night than I'd seen him get so far in his Charger career. Royal drops easy passes on key 3rd downs. I'd love to see Brown get all the Royal targets and have Allen take over as the 3rd WR - or get Green Royal's reps. On a good team, Royal is a situational WR4/WR5. I don't think Brown will be an All-Pro, but he could be a solid NFL starter.

Royal is just a guy IMO. Hopefully, either Allen or Green or both can be more than that. So I'd prefer to see them getting Royal's snaps ASAP.

I think Brown is just a guy.

really SD has a roster filled with Just guys.

 

[Gr00vus]

really SD has a roster filled with Just guys.

This is true. Weddle and Butler are the exceptions, maybe Ingram, maybe maybe Green. Rivers used to be before he became a turnover machine.

 

[BoltBacker]

So NFL says call was in error about the penalty on the FG that was then turned into a touchdown. That was SUCH as BAD call. And the entire momentum/game changed. Seems like that (and the RIver's pick 6...lol) always cost em....

The NFL said Tuesday that the officials in Monday night’s game between the Houston Texans andSan Diego Chargers made an officiating error, marking the third time the league admitted fault with a call in Week 1.

http://tracking.si.com/2013/09/10/nfl-refs-made-incorrect-call-chargers-texans-game/

Super.

Meh, it's about reason #50 they lost the game.

The easy dropped pass by Royal(who played well and fits the offense imo and earned a continued big role), the "improved" OL playing like a sieve for the entire second half, on 4th and short the SHOCKING "trick play",.... or maybe just get off the field on a single 3rd and long. I'm glad Freeney and Wright looked good in the preseason, not sure it translated into the games that actually count. It goes on, and on, and on.

It pretty much comes down to the fact they can't block on offense, and on defense they can't get off the field on 3rd and long. Same as last year. Like I've said all summer, meet the new boss same as the old boss. I give Telesco credit for finally drafting an OLman in the 1st round but as others have mentioned.... this roster is just full of "guys". Weddle/Butler are the cornerstone, you might add Liuget/Rivers into the conversation but those guys were all here last season. People like to say you can't improve the OL in one offseason.... even if that's true(and it's not) can you improve ANYTHING in an offseason? Are the DB's better? WR's? RB's? etc, etc. I challenge a Charger fan to point to a single unit on this team that looks better(during the games that count - I don't care who is an ALL-PRO in the money grab exhibition season) than it did last year. I like the addition of Cox. Didn't take a genius to finally draft a Fluker in the 1st. What else has telesco been doing? Please, please don't trot out the salary cap excuse when he's spending $7mil for Freeney.

 

[BoltBacker]

Homers, what's the story with Vincent Brown? Think he's going to be a player?

I only watched half the game and saw his TD as well as a deep ball where he slipped on the route but other then that I haven't seen much of him

I personally dontSome people love him, royal looked better to me, it is only 1 week though

Royal looked better at times, but he also had a huge drop late. Brown had the one nice TD play, the one nice route to get open deep, and the other play on the goal line where he almost had a second TD. Considering his low number of targets, that was the most impressive game I've seen him have. I think he will likely be a solid WR3 if he stays healthy.

I think they'll need a healthy dose of both Brown/Royal.

The only contribution made by Floyd was a deep ball a al the Turner era. He still seems like a fish out of water in the new offense and missed the entire preseason. Allen is a rookie WR still coming back from a major injury so my expectations are pretty low for an early impact.

Just imagine what this offense is going to look like when Brown/Woodhead are the only HB's. I think both Brown and Royal will get plenty of work if they can stay healthy.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

rome wasnt rebuilt in a day.

They went toe to toe with a pretty good team on monday night.

I expect a major ### whippin in Philly on sunday

Lets give the GM and HC more than 1 game befoe we bury them

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I expect a major ### whippin in Philly on sunday

Lets give the GM and HC more than 1 game befoe we bury them

You mean one more game AFTER Philly, right? Because the Philly itself may not signal a lot about the remaining 14 games. Short week on the east coast against an offense that takes longer than a few days to prepare for . . . this week could be really ugly regardless of whether the Chargers end up being any good this year.

 

[DanFouts]

Well, we do have this going for us....

In the past 4 seasons, the team playing Philly in their home opener has won the Super Bowl.

http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/nfl-week-1-trends-chargers-will-win-super-bowl

 

[BoltBacker]

Lets give the GM and HC more than 1 game befoe we bury them

I think the coaching was good on Monday.

As far as the GM is concerned.... it's like the last contractor was fired because the entire house was listing to one side. The foundation of the house(play in the trenches) were what everyone(even Acee for crying out loud) agreed needed fixing. So Telesco brought in a jack(Fluker) for one corner of the house and then went shopping for bathroom curtains(drafting slot receivers, nickel backs, backup QBs). Seems like madness to me whether it's been one game or not and the results were pretty predictable.

 

[Tau837]

Lets give the GM and HC more than 1 game befoe we bury them

I think the coaching was good on Monday.As far as the GM is concerned.... it's like the last contractor was fired because the entire house was listing to one side. The foundation of the house(play in the trenches) were what everyone(even Acee for crying out loud) agreed needed fixing. So Telesco brought in a jack(Fluker) for one corner of the house and then went shopping for bathroom curtains(drafting slot receivers, nickel backs, backup QBs). Seems like madness to me whether it's been one game or not and the results were pretty predictable.

So you were good with the offensive playcalling, especially in the second half? You were good with clock management at the end of the game?

Not saying the coaches should be buried, but some criticism is warranted.

 

[Gr00vus]

Lets give the GM and HC more than 1 game befoe we bury them

I think the coaching was good on Monday.As far as the GM is concerned.... it's like the last contractor was fired because the entire house was listing to one side. The foundation of the house(play in the trenches) were what everyone(even Acee for crying out loud) agreed needed fixing. So Telesco brought in a jack(Fluker) for one corner of the house and then went shopping for bathroom curtains(drafting slot receivers, nickel backs, backup QBs). Seems like madness to me whether it's been one game or not and the results were pretty predictable.

So you were good with the offensive playcalling, especially in the second half? You were good with clock management at the end of the game?

Not saying the coaches should be buried, but some criticism is warranted.

Yeah, the 2nd half was chock full of bad coaching.

 

[BoltBacker]

Lets give the GM and HC more than 1 game befoe we bury them

I think the coaching was good on Monday.As far as the GM is concerned.... it's like the last contractor was fired because the entire house was listing to one side. The foundation of the house(play in the trenches) were what everyone(even Acee for crying out loud) agreed needed fixing. So Telesco brought in a jack(Fluker) for one corner of the house and then went shopping for bathroom curtains(drafting slot receivers, nickel backs, backup QBs). Seems like madness to me whether it's been one game or not and the results were pretty predictable.

So you were good with the offensive playcalling, especially in the second half? You were good with clock management at the end of the game?

Not saying the coaches should be buried, but some criticism is warranted.

Yes. I thought it was mostly poor execution. Once they were up by 21 it only would have taken a few rushing first downs in the entire half and they could have ran down the clock and at least scored another field goal. Terrible blocking, dropped balls, big pick six... these are all due to the players not the x's and o's.

The first drive of the 4th quarter was Mathews 1 yard loss, McClain 2 yard gain, incompletion on 3rd and long.This offense isn't designed to get large chunks of yards so I don't blame them for passing on 1st and 2nd down and trying to get a first down in small chunks on the next drive when the LOS is stacked. The last possession of the game on first down, Mathews run for no gain again. That's not how it was drawn up. And I'm not saying Mathews needs to break off 9-12 yards per carry either. But he needs to keep it closer to 2nd and 6 or 7. Averaging less than a yard per carry isn't going to get it done no matter what the coaches call.

BTW I think Wade Philips is one of the best defensive coaches in the league and even if they got out-coached by Philips I don't think they coached badly.

 

[Tau837]

Lets give the GM and HC more than 1 game befoe we bury them

I think the coaching was good on Monday.As far as the GM is concerned.... it's like the last contractor was fired because the entire house was listing to one side. The foundation of the house(play in the trenches) were what everyone(even Acee for crying out loud) agreed needed fixing. So Telesco brought in a jack(Fluker) for one corner of the house and then went shopping for bathroom curtains(drafting slot receivers, nickel backs, backup QBs). Seems like madness to me whether it's been one game or not and the results were pretty predictable.

So you were good with the offensive playcalling, especially in the second half? You were good with clock management at the end of the game?

Not saying the coaches should be buried, but some criticism is warranted.

Yes. I thought it was mostly poor execution. Once they were up by 21 it only would have taken a few rushing first downs in the entire half and they could have ran down the clock and at least scored another field goal. Terrible blocking, dropped balls, big pick six... these are all due to the players not the x's and o's.

The first drive of the 4th quarter was Mathews 1 yard loss, McClain 2 yard gain, incompletion on 3rd and long.This offense isn't designed to get large chunks of yards so I don't blame them for passing on 1st and 2nd down and trying to get a first down in small chunks on the next drive when the LOS is stacked. The last possession of the game on first down, Mathews run for no gain again. That's not how it was drawn up. And I'm not saying Mathews needs to break off 9-12 yards per carry either. But he needs to keep it closer to 2nd and 6 or 7. Averaging less than a yard per carry isn't going to get it done no matter what the coaches call.

BTW I think Wade Philips is one of the best defensive coaches in the league and even if they got out-coached by Philips I don't think they coached badly.

With regard to Mathews, he gained 33 yards rushing, and 24 of those yards were after contact. The run blocking was lousy, and the Texans run defense is very good. Watching the game, I put very little, if any, blame on Mathews for not producing more.

It has already been pointed out that Mathews only played 20 snaps, and he carried the ball on 13 of them. He might have more success if there was more variation in playcalling when he is in the game, which will require him to get more snaps. Giving Brown 25 snaps to Mathews' 20 snaps (and Woodhead's 10) is a terrible decision, and that is on the coaching staff.

I do agree that there was plenty of poor execution, but the coaching was not impressive. Even in the plays you cited here, what's up with running McClain on 2nd and 11 at your own 19? That virtually guaranteed 3rd and long.

And how about the use of the Chargers' third timeout? They took their second timeout with 1:53 remaining after Houston's first down at the Chargers 32. The next play was a 6 yard gain, setting up 3rd and 4. Why not take the third timeout immediately? Then, if the Chargers had stopped that third down play, Houston would have a 46+ yard FG attempt, and the Chargers would have gotten the ball back with nearly a minute remaining. Instead, they used the third timeout to ice the kicker with 5 seconds left. Was that a smart coaching decision?

 

[Gr00vus]

Well, since week 2 isn't in the books yet, at least we still have some hope, and these.

 

[BoltBacker]

Lets give the GM and HC more than 1 game befoe we bury them

I think the coaching was good on Monday.As far as the GM is concerned.... it's like the last contractor was fired because the entire house was listing to one side. The foundation of the house(play in the trenches) were what everyone(even Acee for crying out loud) agreed needed fixing. So Telesco brought in a jack(Fluker) for one corner of the house and then went shopping for bathroom curtains(drafting slot receivers, nickel backs, backup QBs). Seems like madness to me whether it's been one game or not and the results were pretty predictable.

So you were good with the offensive playcalling, especially in the second half? You were good with clock management at the end of the game?

Not saying the coaches should be buried, but some criticism is warranted.

Yes. I thought it was mostly poor execution. Once they were up by 21 it only would have taken a few rushing first downs in the entire half and they could have ran down the clock and at least scored another field goal. Terrible blocking, dropped balls, big pick six... these are all due to the players not the x's and o's.

The first drive of the 4th quarter was Mathews 1 yard loss, McClain 2 yard gain, incompletion on 3rd and long.This offense isn't designed to get large chunks of yards so I don't blame them for passing on 1st and 2nd down and trying to get a first down in small chunks on the next drive when the LOS is stacked. The last possession of the game on first down, Mathews run for no gain again. That's not how it was drawn up. And I'm not saying Mathews needs to break off 9-12 yards per carry either. But he needs to keep it closer to 2nd and 6 or 7. Averaging less than a yard per carry isn't going to get it done no matter what the coaches call.

BTW I think Wade Philips is one of the best defensive coaches in the league and even if they got out-coached by Philips I don't think they coached badly.

With regard to Mathews, he gained 33 yards rushing, and 24 of those yards were after contact. The run blocking was lousy, and the Texans run defense is very good. Watching the game, I put very little, if any, blame on Mathews for not producing more.

It has already been pointed out that Mathews only played 20 snaps, and he carried the ball on 13 of them. He might have more success if there was more variation in playcalling when he is in the game, which will require him to get more snaps. Giving Brown 25 snaps to Mathews' 20 snaps (and Woodhead's 10) is a terrible decision, and that is on the coaching staff.

I do agree that there was plenty of poor execution, but the coaching was not impressive. Even in the plays you cited here, what's up with running McClain on 2nd and 11 at your own 19? That virtually guaranteed 3rd and long.

And how about the use of the Chargers' third timeout? They took their second timeout with 1:53 remaining after Houston's first down at the Chargers 32. The next play was a 6 yard gain, setting up 3rd and 4. Why not take the third timeout immediately? Then, if the Chargers had stopped that third down play, Houston would have a 46+ yard FG attempt, and the Chargers would have gotten the ball back with nearly a minute remaining. Instead, they used the third timeout to ice the kicker with 5 seconds left. Was that a smart coaching decision?

I wasn't criticizing Mathews, simply pointing out how ineffective he was in the second half. You should know by now that I point all blame to the "improved" OL. IMO until that's fixed everything else is arguing in circles. THEY... CAN'T... BLOCK.

I will say that too much is being made of snap distribution between the RB's. Mathews had a bad night, period. Of course it had to do with the OL. But when you are in 2nd and long and 3rd and long the entire second half there's a pretty good chance you're 3rd down back is going to be in the game. As far as I can tell Brown is the 3rd down back. Just that simple. On top of that Brown(certainly not my favorite) didn't play too badly in the game. Probably had the best night of the group. I don't understand the hysteria surrounding this but I suspect at least some of it is rooted in the popularity of fantasy football. Should I freak out that McClain got one carry on the night? I guess I'm not understanding that either. Especially when that one carry outperforms Mathews runs in the fourth quarter. Personally, I'd give McClain a rushing attempt per quarter so his one carry doesn't upset me nearly as much as it seems to upset everyone else. THEY... CAN'T... BLOCK.

What plays are you supposed to run when the defense has ten guys at the line of scrimmage and you can't block? The only running plays that will work are straight up the middle because the Chargers can't sustain their blocks for runs to the outside. I shudder at the thought of watching Clary pull to the outside against the defense as it was aligned on Monday.... can you imagine? THEY... CAN'T... BLOCK.

How effective is icing kickers? Meh, works against some kickers but not against others I suspect. The more important thing is SD had ~25 minutes of the second half to get a FIRST DOWN and couldn't. People pretending that if they just had one more minute they could have marched down the field and scored are kidding themselves imo. THEY... CAN'T... BLOCK.

BTW, on the subject of the defense they faced some people seem to be pinning their hopes on "Well, the HOU front seven is just too good!". Maybe, but people should remember that HOU was without Antonio Smith and Mercilus missed the preseason with a hamstring injury. SD didn't even face HOU's "A" game. THEY... CAN'T... BLOCK.

Same as last year. Same as the year before. Based on what I've seen from Telesco, same as will be the case next year. I assume it will be the same until someone thinks they need to address the problem with something more than King Dunlap at LT. THEY.. CAN'T... BLOCK.

 

[Gr00vus]

I wish Bolt Backer would stop playing coy and just make his point already.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Well that was a nice surprise!

Man what if week1

 

[Gr00vus]

That was a good win. It was nice to see the run game show up. I wonder if the Eagles D made the Chargers offense look better than they are, and I wonder if the Eagles offense made the Charger defense look worse than they are.

But an East Coast early game road win is a good win however you get it.

I guess it's just about Keenan Allen time.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

There might even be a wild card from the AFC West this year.

It's a good year to be playing against the NFC East.

 

[Beerguzzler]

The Philly D was pretty bad, but we also hung 4 TD's on Houston. Turnovers though are still killing us. The 2 fumbles inside the 10 were bad.

I was encouraged by the adjustments the offense made from the Houston game and they stayed committed to the running game. We really need to start running to the right more often though. Not sure if Wiz is just putting out false tendencies to exploit later on or if he really feels we are better off running behind Dunlap. In any case, it seems every short yardage play will be successful running behind Clary and Fluker.

I'd like to see them try to incorporate Vincent Brown a bit more into the game plan, but I suspect they are just taking what the D is giving them.

Royal has been a revelation so far, flashing his rookie year skills. Not sure it will continue, but I'm sure he has grabbed a hold of D coordinators attention. I expect adjustments to be made vs. the offense.

One adjustment that they can't account for is our no huddle and Rivers making adjustments at the LOS. It's such a change from Norv and his slow ### huddles with the play taking forever to get in and us barely being able to snap the ball in time. Now Rivers is purposely waiting and making adjustments on his own. So far so good. The offense is night and day compared to last season.

 

[tommyGunZ]

One adjustment that they can't account for is our no huddle and Rivers making adjustments at the LOS. It's such a change from Norv and his slow ### huddles with the play taking forever to get in and us barely being able to snap the ball in time. Now Rivers is purposely waiting and making adjustments on his own. So far so good. The offense is night and day compared to last season.

This x 1000. love, Love, LOVE the offense being put into Phillip's hands and using his smarts to make playcalls at the line of scrimmage. His mind, quick release, and accuracy are his strengths - going no-huddle a la Peyton and letting him drive the offense has him back in elite QB range.

LOL at those suggesting the Chargers would cut #17.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

good article on NFL.com

Rivers figured out the Eagles defense pretty quickly:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000246242/article/philip-rivers-mastered-eagles-d-in-chargers-victory

 

[pb17]

Would you rather have Woodhead or Mathews in a PPR league with this new offense? My league is only 1 pt per 20 yards rushing

 

[Tau837]

One adjustment that they can't account for is our no huddle and Rivers making adjustments at the LOS. It's such a change from Norv and his slow ### huddles with the play taking forever to get in and us barely being able to snap the ball in time. Now Rivers is purposely waiting and making adjustments on his own. So far so good. The offense is night and day compared to last season.

This x 1000. love, Love, LOVE the offense being put into Phillip's hands and using his smarts to make playcalls at the line of scrimmage. His mind, quick release, and accuracy are his strengths - going no-huddle a la Peyton and letting him drive the offense has him back in elite QB range.

LOL at those suggesting the Chargers would cut #17.

It really does highlight how poor Norv's coaching was for the talent on the roster the past couple of seasons. When Norv took over, the Chargers had more capable receiving options at WR, TE, and RB and a better OL. And a better running game to open up passing game opportunities. Unfortunately, the relevant talent was drained from the roster by 2011, which meant a different offense was needed. Norv wasn't willing or able to adjust the offense. It's too bad he wasn't gone 1-2 seasons sooner... if so, there may have never been any view of Rivers declining.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Norv wasn't willing or able to adjust the offense. It's too bad he wasn't gone 1-2 seasons sooner... if so, there may have never been any view of Rivers declining.

Except then they wouldn't have landed Mike McCoy, who might prove worth the wait.

 

[kd1]

i think floyd loss is going to hurt the offense a bit, unless green can emerge as a deepthreat in his stead.

rivers and the offense looked mighty kurt warner-ish sunday. also, i'm sick of reading he's succeeding because of "short, quick passes". that isn't the case, that's just residue from what these reporters heard would be the plan of attack in the preseason. sure he throws some, as do all qbs, but he's looking and throwing downfield quite a bit.

 

[Tau837]

i'm sick of reading he's succeeding because of "short, quick passes". that isn't the case, that's just residue from what these reporters heard would be the plan of attack in the preseason. sure he throws some, as do all qbs, but he's looking and throwing downfield quite a bit.

Per PFF, Rivers is tied with Brees for 4th in the NFL in deep passing attempts, with 11 (deep = 20+ yards beyond LOS in the air). And 14.5% of his attempts have been deep attempts, which is tied with Vick for 9th in the NFL.

 

[Beerguzzler]

I would argue they are more intermediate throws than anything. We just aren't seeing those 40 yard throws he always got picked off. And I'm completely fine with that.

Regarding the Floyd injury, Keenan Allen was actually pretty impressive subbing in. He obviously doesn't have the same rapport as Floyd has, but he got a significant amount of snaps in preseason with all the WR injuries so he was ready. So far so good.

 

[Gr00vus]

I would argue they are more intermediate throws than anything. We just aren't seeing those 40 yard throws he always got picked off. And I'm completely fine with that.

Regarding the Floyd injury, Keenan Allen was actually pretty impressive subbing in. He obviously doesn't have the same rapport as Floyd has, but he got a significant amount of snaps in preseason with all the WR injuries so he was ready. So far so good.

Allen has the speed to be the deep threat Floyd has been, but he's much shorter, so those jump balls might be off the table. Still, every time I've seen him (which admittedly hasn't been that much) everything about Allen's physical abilities has said playmaker. It'll come down to whether he has the head for the pro game or not (barring more injury of course).

Then again as long as nobody is covering Royal, he'll continue to get tons of targets.

 

[Beerguzzler]

He's lacking the 3 inches Floyd has on him, but he has a pretty long arms and seemingly meets the ball at it's high point. In any case, Rivers isn't throwing jump balls with regularity anymore. KA just needs to keep making those smooth cuts on his routes, preferably getting significant YAC.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

We really need to start running to the right more often though. Not sure if Wiz is just putting out false tendencies to exploit later on or if he really feels we are better off running behind Dunlap. In any case, it seems every short yardage play will be successful running behind Clary and Fluker.

For what it's worth, over the first two games, PFF has graded Fluker and Clary as good pass-blockers but poor run-blockers, while Dunlap and Rinehart have both been good run-blockers.

I don't think that accurately reflects those players' true talents, but it may accurately reflect how they've played in the first two games.

Run-blocking Pass-blocking

Fluker -3.8 +2.9

Clary -4.8 +1.5

Dunlap +0.7 -1.1

Rinehart +0.7 0.0

 

[Beerguzzler]

We really need to start running to the right more often though. Not sure if Wiz is just putting out false tendencies to exploit later on or if he really feels we are better off running behind Dunlap. In any case, it seems every short yardage play will be successful running behind Clary and Fluker.

For what it's worth, over the first two games, PFF has graded Fluker and Clary as good pass-blockers but poor run-blockers, while Dunlap and Rinehart have both been good run-blockers.

I don't think that accurately reflects those players' true talents, but it may accurately reflect how they've played in the first two games.

Run-blocking Pass-blocking

Fluker -3.8 +2.9

Clary -4.8 +1.5

Dunlap +0.7 -1.1

Rinehart +0.7 0.0

Yea I saw those, it just doesn't make sense to me with how I've seen Fluker block.

 

[BoltBacker]

Would you rather have Woodhead or Mathews in a PPR league with this new offense? My league is only 1 pt per 20 yards rushing

Well, they didn't lose confidence in Mathews after his big fumble in the red zone which bodes well for him overall. But I did think it may have been telling, at the end of the game, when they were in FG range they ultimately trusted Woodhead more rushing even against a stacked line.

Woodhead was a big key to winning the game with big first down catches at the end of the 1st and 4th quarter which leads me to believe he really has the trust of both the coaches and Rivers. Royal is getting all the headlines for his gaudy fantasy stats but those key catches in third down situations that don't matter much in the stat line but may be an indicator that Woodhead will be given opportunities in the red zone.

Personally, until I see Mathews solve ball security issues(which may never happen) I'd like to see the vast majority of his carries take place between the 20's. I'm glad they didn't bench Mathews but for some reason he just chokes in the big moment too often.

 

[BoltBacker]

One adjustment that they can't account for is our no huddle and Rivers making adjustments at the LOS. It's such a change from Norv and his slow ### huddles with the play taking forever to get in and us barely being able to snap the ball in time. Now Rivers is purposely waiting and making adjustments on his own. So far so good. The offense is night and day compared to last season.

That's a great observation.

The delay of game penalties were probably my single biggest frustration with the Norv Turner offense. Just lining up with ~15-20 seconds on the play clock has so many benefits.

- Rivers has a great hard count. It's so good in face the donkeys complain he moves his head when he gives a hard count(just like every other QB in the history of the league. Or course the donks also complain the towels in SD are too dry... but I digress. The more time Rivers has to draw an offsides penalty the better.

- I think it tires the defense more because they don't know when the snap is coming and they have to be ready all the time.

- Most importantly, it makes it more difficult for the defense to disguise a blitz. I can't count the times PHI tipped their blitz in the last game. It was shocking. Of course HOU also tipped their blitz but they have the personnel to beat you even when you know the blitz is coming. PHI obviously does not.

- Rivers is a smart guy and not only does he do a great job of giving adjustments to protection but he also gets rid of the ball faster when he can see where the blitz is coming from.

 

[BoltBacker]

LOL at those suggesting the Chargers would cut #17.

Sorry 'GunZ, Rivers is playing great right now and he's hiding a lot of the problems with the OL with pre-snap recognition and just getting rid of the ball more quickly but 17 is the key number. I just don't think anyone is going to pay a guy a top 10 nfl salary if he can't break .500, especially if they are 33yo. SD needs to make the playoffs otherwise Rivers is gone after this year imo. BTW, he could certainly earn $17mil/yr in the right circumstance but his current circumstance is less than ideal.

 

[FF Ninja]

LOL at those suggesting the Chargers would cut #17.

Sorry 'GunZ, Rivers is playing great right now and he's hiding a lot of the problems with the OL with pre-snap recognition and just getting rid of the ball more quickly but 17 is the key number. I just don't think anyone is going to pay a guy a top 10 nfl salary if he can't break .500, especially if they are 33yo. SD needs to make the playoffs otherwise Rivers is gone after this year imo. BTW, he could certainly earn $17mil/yr in the right circumstance but his current circumstance is less than ideal.

The Texans are about to be paying Schaub $13.5 mil next year. I'd trade QBs and contracts in a second if I were the Texans. I think Rivers is still the QB for the Chargers in 2014 even if they don't make the playoffs this year.

 

[Tau837]

LOL at those suggesting the Chargers would cut #17.

Sorry 'GunZ, Rivers is playing great right now and he's hiding a lot of the problems with the OL with pre-snap recognition and just getting rid of the ball more quickly but 17 is the key number. I just don't think anyone is going to pay a guy a top 10 nfl salary if he can't break .500, especially if they are 33yo. SD needs to make the playoffs otherwise Rivers is gone after this year imo. BTW, he could certainly earn $17mil/yr in the right circumstance but his current circumstance is less than ideal.

No way he is gone after this season, regardless of their record. I was saying that before the season, and the way he has played has only solidified that he will be their starting QB at least through the duration of his contract.

 

[BoltBacker]

LOL at those suggesting the Chargers would cut #17.

Sorry 'GunZ, Rivers is playing great right now and he's hiding a lot of the problems with the OL with pre-snap recognition and just getting rid of the ball more quickly but 17 is the key number. I just don't think anyone is going to pay a guy a top 10 nfl salary if he can't break .500, especially if they are 33yo. SD needs to make the playoffs otherwise Rivers is gone after this year imo. BTW, he could certainly earn $17mil/yr in the right circumstance but his current circumstance is less than ideal.

The Texans are about to be paying Schaub $13.5 mil next year. I'd trade QBs and contracts in a second if I were the Texans. I think Rivers is still the QB for the Chargers in 2014 even if they don't make the playoffs this year.

I think this is the example that kind of proves my point. The Texans have averaged ~11 wins per season and won their division the past couple of years as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Schaub is the single most important guy on the team and during this window of opportunity I would absolutely pay him $13mil without blinking an eye.

The Chargers have struggled around .500 over that span and I don't really see that changing unless they face teams that only rush 3 guys and have Cary Williams helping the SD offense as much as any SD receiver. Rivers will be 34 by the end of next season and at the pace Telesco is turning this thing around I just don't see Rivers winning a playoff game whether he's in SD for one more season or three more seasons. It just doesn't make any sense to pay a 34yo $17mil to finish with a ~.500 record.