*** Official 2013 San Diego Chargers **** (1 Viewer)

[BoltBacker]

No Fluker, and Mike Harris starting in his place. I guess we can hope that TEN either rushes three guys or tips their blitzes several seconds before the snap like PHI did... but some how I doubt it.

Over/under on plays where Shareece Wright is several yards behind a wide open WR running down field? Vick could have lit up the secondary for another 300 yards if he just could have hit WR's in the hands as they ran down the sidelines completely open. I was really excited about the Cox signing but he had his own trouble covering Riley Cooper in single coverage so I'm starting to have my doubts on that side as well.

I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Keenan Allen(and probably Ladarius Green) on the field. One would guess with Royal drawing a lot of attention from the defense those guys would have a big chance to contribute significantly. Woodhead looked invisible in the preseason and not much to see week 1 but I hope he builds on his big game in week #2.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

I know im setting myself up for disappointment, but I expect a win today. silly me.

 

[Gr00vus]

I know im setting myself up for disappointment, but I expect a win today. silly me.

I'm thinking they lose. The Titans' defense is much better than the Eagles.

Nice to see Teo sitting out again. Really glad they traded up to get him.

 

[tommyGunZ]

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.

Apparently we're watching two different franchises. This team isn't sniffing .500 without Rivers anytime soon. He's by far the biggest and best asset wearing blue and gold. The front office is rebuilding the pieces around him and River is an absolute perfect fit in Wiz/McCoy's offense. He's the closest thing to Kurt Warner in the league right now, and like Warner he should age really well. Rivers' mind and accuracy are his elite attributes, and those are skills that age very well. I can see another 5-6 years of high performance from Rivers.

San Diego is a couple of fluke plays from being 3-0 right now, during a rebuilding season where they've been crushed with injuries and are getting their cap straightened out. The defense could be elite when a healthy Teo, Butler, and Melvin Ingram are back at full speed. Remember that Fluker and Wright were out yesterday as well.

Though disappointed in the L yesterday (hold on to the damn ball Marcus!!!!), overall I'm extremely happy thru week 3. Everything I'm seeing suggests that San Diego made great hires both in the FO and on the sidelines.

 

[tommyGunZ]

I know im setting myself up for disappointment, but I expect a win today. silly me.

I'm thinking they lose. The Titans' defense is much better than the Eagles.

Nice to see Teo sitting out again. Really glad they traded up to get him.

C'mon Grooves, writing Teo off b/c of an injury seems unfair. Why so negative on a guy everyone was raving about before the injury?

 

[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.

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.

Apparently we're watching two different franchises. This team isn't sniffing .500 without Rivers anytime soon. He's by far the biggest and best asset wearing blue and gold. The front office is rebuilding the pieces around him and River is an absolute perfect fit in Wiz/McCoy's offense. He's the closest thing to Kurt Warner in the league right now, and like Warner he should age really well. Rivers' mind and accuracy are his elite attributes, and those are skills that age very well. I can see another 5-6 years of high performance from Rivers.

San Diego is a couple of fluke plays from being 3-0 right now, during a rebuilding season where they've been crushed with injuries and are getting their cap straightened out. The defense could be elite when a healthy Teo, Butler, and Melvin Ingram are back at full speed. Remember that Fluker and Wright were out yesterday as well.

Though disappointed in the L yesterday (hold on to the damn ball Marcus!!!!), overall I'm extremely happy thru week 3. Everything I'm seeing suggests that San Diego made great hires both in the FO and on the sidelines.

Except maybe about the defense potentially being elite...

 

[tommyGunZ]

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.

Apparently we're watching two different franchises. This team isn't sniffing .500 without Rivers anytime soon. He's by far the biggest and best asset wearing blue and gold. The front office is rebuilding the pieces around him and River is an absolute perfect fit in Wiz/McCoy's offense. He's the closest thing to Kurt Warner in the league right now, and like Warner he should age really well. Rivers' mind and accuracy are his elite attributes, and those are skills that age very well. I can see another 5-6 years of high performance from Rivers.

San Diego is a couple of fluke plays from being 3-0 right now, during a rebuilding season where they've been crushed with injuries and are getting their cap straightened out. The defense could be elite when a healthy Teo, Butler, and Melvin Ingram are back at full speed. Remember that Fluker and Wright were out yesterday as well.

Though disappointed in the L yesterday (hold on to the damn ball Marcus!!!!), overall I'm extremely happy thru week 3. Everything I'm seeing suggests that San Diego made great hires both in the FO and on the sidelines.

Except maybe about the defense potentially being elite...

They were pretty good yesterday w/o Wright, Teo, and Ingram.

 

[Gr00vus]

I know im setting myself up for disappointment, but I expect a win today. silly me.

I'm thinking they lose. The Titans' defense is much better than the Eagles.

Nice to see Teo sitting out again. Really glad they traded up to get him.

C'mon Grooves, writing Teo off b/c of an injury seems unfair. Why so negative on a guy everyone was raving about before the injury?

Because in a game they really needed him to play he was a no show. But I guess I could say that about many of the Charger players yesterday.

 

[Gr00vus]

I wonder if the Colts would have given the Chargers a 1st rounder for Matthews. The Chargers obviously have no use for him.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

I don't know enough about coaching to say how it should happen, but you guys really need to get some of Vincent Brown's targets headed Ladarius Green's way.

Obviously tiny sample sizes, but I thought that was true before the season started and I think it's doubly true now that Green's shown something in a real game.

He's huge matchup problem. If teams try to cover him with a linebacker throw it to him until they put a DB back in the game. Voila. Blocking problem solved.

 

[Gr00vus]

While I agree that Green should be seeing more targets, they have bigger fish to fry than figuring out how to work him in right now. The defense is a mess and they now have a ton of injuries on the offensive line - the nightmare scenario is happening.

 

[BoltBacker]

Apparently we're watching two different franchises. This team isn't sniffing .500 without Rivers anytime soon....San Diego is a couple of fluke plays from being 3-0 right now, during a rebuilding season where they've been crushed with injuries and are getting their cap straightened out.

Ok, but they are a single fluke play(fumble recovery inside the PHI 40 yard line on a kickoff) of being 0-3 right now.

I completely agree without Rivers SD doesn't sniff .500 BUT the problem is WITH Rivers that's just what they do... sniff .500. Look, the team is what it is... it's a .500 ball club with no depth and doesn't have the OL or DB's to actually compete for a playoff spot. You can be an optimist but pretending this isn't the case is pure folly.

Please, please, PLEASE everyone stop using injuries and salary cap as an excuse for this team. The roster was assembled paper thin and now that is coming back to haunt Telesco. Some of us said it was silly to use two draft picks on Teo. Some of us said it was silly to just throw away 7th round picks when you have undrafted players starting. Oh, that's in the history, it has nothing to do with the present... as the Chargers start undrafted players on the OL and at LB. It's football. Of course there are going to be unforseen injuries and circumstances beyond what you thought would happen. Hernandez, Gronkowski, Amendola, Vereen all out. Harvin, Clemons, Okung, Browner. The good teams actually build depth for the inevitable injuries. As far as the salary cap goes if SD can afford to pay Freeney $7mil to get 1 tackle, 1 assist, and half a sack over three games then they must have had some $ to completely waste. These excuses this early in the season wear very, very thin to me.

I like what the coaches are doing, they just don't have enough talented players to work with. Can you imagine if Turner was 1-2 and a breath away from being 0-3? There would have been a roar to fire him right now. It's been the same story for several years now.... the talent simply isn't there. It was AJ's fault, and now it's Telesco's fault.

 

[BoltBacker]

I know im setting myself up for disappointment, but I expect a win today. silly me.

I'm thinking they lose. The Titans' defense is much better than the Eagles.

Nice to see Teo sitting out again. Really glad they traded up to get him.

C'mon Grooves, writing Teo off b/c of an injury seems unfair. Why so negative on a guy everyone was raving about before the injury?

Considering he played all of about three preseason plays I'm not sure who was raving and what were they were raving about?

The reason it's frustrating is Teo cost a 2nd and a 4th rounder that should have yielded two starters. So when Teo misses 3 games it's really like 6 games missed for those two picks.

 

[BoltBacker]

They were pretty good yesterday w/o Wright, Teo, and Ingram.

Wright has absolutely stunk this year when he's been on the field. Teo has done absolutely nothing yet. Ingram showed flashes due to amazing raw athleticism last year, but we'll have to wait and see what he looks like after the injury. These are all guys that haven't actually DONE ANYTHING yet. These injuries aren't nearly as crippling as you are making them out to be. It's a defense that gives up 470+ yards per game... last in the AFC. Only WAS has played worse than the SD defense. It's one step up from complete disaster.

 

[BoltBacker]

I wonder if the Colts would have given the Chargers a 1st rounder for Matthews. The Chargers obviously have no use for him.

Very funny.

Honestly, I think if they were able to get a 3rd rounder for him it would be the best move Telesco has made since becoming GM.

 

[BoltBacker]

The defense is a mess and they now have a ton of injuries on the offensive line - the nightmare scenario is happening.

No they don't.

They have a LT hurt that should have been a swing reserve in the first place. Then they have a rookie that was starting at RT injured that probably should have been eased into the NFL at G instead of RT. Too bad they didn't pay Winston the minimum(+incentives) and/or a guy like Bushrod with the money they are paying Freeney(1,1,.5) to dominate on the defensive side of the ball. Plenty of teams have suffered injuries to really good players and played through. Telesco simply chose where to allocate his $ and draft picks and as a result the depth at OL is as bad as it's ever been which is quite an accomplishment.

 

[BoltBacker]

I sure wish some Charger fans would have explained to TEN that you can't fix your OL in one offseason. The Titans completely rebuild their interior OL using the draft and FA to the tune of 6 yards per carry. And that's against a SD LB crew that looked so good in the preseason!

 

[Gr00vus]

The defense is a mess and they now have a ton of injuries on the offensive line - the nightmare scenario is happening.

No they don't.

They have a LT hurt that should have been a swing reserve in the first place. Then they have a rookie that was starting at RT injured that probably should have been eased into the NFL at G instead of RT. Too bad they didn't pay Winston the minimum(+incentives) and/or a guy like Bushrod with the money they are paying Freeney(1,1,.5) to dominate on the defensive side of the ball. Plenty of teams have suffered injuries to really good players and played through. Telesco simply chose where to allocate his $ and draft picks and as a result the depth at OL is as bad as it's ever been which is quite an accomplishment.

Rinehart missed some snaps Sunday too. I think at one point Ohrnberger, Troutman and Harris were all playing simultaneously. :X

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

I don't know enough about coaching to say how it should happen, but you guys really need to get some of Vincent Brown's targets headed Ladarius Green's way.

Obviously tiny sample sizes, but I thought that was true before the season started and I think it's doubly true now that Green's shown something in a real game.

He's huge matchup problem. If teams try to cover him with a linebacker throw it to him until they put a DB back in the game. Voila. Blocking problem solved.

no one cares about your dynasty lotto ticket, he wont even get opportunities until Gates is gone/retired.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

I don't know enough about coaching to say how it should happen, but you guys really need to get some of Vincent Brown's targets headed Ladarius Green's way.

Obviously tiny sample sizes, but I thought that was true before the season started and I think it's doubly true now that Green's shown something in a real game.

He's huge matchup problem. If teams try to cover him with a linebacker throw it to him until they put a DB back in the game. Voila. Blocking problem solved.

no one cares about your dynasty lotto ticket, he wont even get opportunities until Gates is gone/retired.

Green's not someone I own a lot -- though I wish I did.

He's just good, and your receivers -- especially Brown and Allen -- are not good.

 

[BoltBacker]

I don't know enough about coaching to say how it should happen, but you guys really need to get some of Vincent Brown's targets headed Ladarius Green's way.

Obviously tiny sample sizes, but I thought that was true before the season started and I think it's doubly true now that Green's shown something in a real game.

He's huge matchup problem. If teams try to cover him with a linebacker throw it to him until they put a DB back in the game. Voila. Blocking problem solved.

no one cares about your dynasty lotto ticket, he wont even get opportunities until Gates is gone/retired.

Green's not someone I own a lot -- though I wish I did.

He's just good, and your receivers -- especially Brown and Allen -- are not good.

Brown has been covered by some pretty good corners so far. I would have liked to see him produce more on his 7 targets vs PHI but his numbers would have been much better if he had connected in TEN on a pass in the endzone. The refs were letting a lot of contact go in that game on both sides of the ball but in most situations Verner would have been called for PI. Brown isn't bad... I'm just not sure he's a WR#1 and he's being covered that way right now. I know it's little condolence to those that have Brown on their team but if Alexander had been healthy and Brown was the #3 option after Alexander/Gates I think his production would be much, much higher right now.

The expectations for Allen were way too high based on what I've read here on the boards. He's a 3rd round rookie WR coming back from an injury. He makes rookie mistakes, like the offensive pick that negated a Royal TD. Every team in the NFL uses offensive picks and Allen loses playing time because he isn't experienced enough to make it look "incidental" rather than obvious. But he'll learn. Allen is ahead of where Green was last year at this time, imo. I give every rookie WR a mulligan. Until the last play of the last game Justin Hunter had looked like a complete bust, for instance.

Overall I agree with you, SD would be well served figuring out how to both Gates and Green at the same time. McCoy is very impressive getting the most out of the talent on the roster so it wouldn't surprise me in the least Green sees a spike in production, especially if Royal is no longer flying under the radar. I actually wished we would have seen more of Green last year.

 

[BoltBacker]

It will be interesting to finally see Te'o play.

Please refrain from making any excuses about injuries this week unless you can honestly make the case the guys missing time are any good. "Well, they were missing BOTH Clary and Wright!" are putrid excuses. Most of the guys SD is missing shouldn't be starting for any team in the league anyway. Nobody SD is missing can compare with Austin.

It may not seem like an important game but I think it is for SD. If SD wins this game they are 2-2 and a .500 team like most SD fans expected. If they lose this game they are 1-3 and staring down the barrel of a possible embarrassing loss to oak that might send this team into the death spiral that most non-SD fans expected. I think they are in for a long season if they lose this game.

 

[Gr00vus]

I don't think any single game this season is that important.

And you can't just completely discount that 3/5 of the starting offensive line may not play. That's a big hit. Beyond the obvious, what happens if/when more offensive linemen get hurt today?

I figure today will be a loss.

 

[BoltBacker]

I don't think any single game this season is that important.

And you can't just completely discount that 3/5 of the starting offensive line may not play. That's a big hit. Beyond the obvious, what happens if/when more offensive linemen get hurt today?

I figure today will be a loss.

They trot out more guys that shouldn't be starting as OLmen in the NFL. Same as opening day. As Telesco planned. Anyone complaining about the fact Clady and his brethren won't be available needs to go back and watch the 2nd half of the HOU when the "starters" were intact. Again, Austin is more talented than all the SD injuries combined and was in line for a huge game against the vaunted SD secondary. The injuries in this game help SD more than they hurt.

I think SD has a solid chance today. DAL was pretty disappointing on the road in KC. I'm not sure Bryant is even fully healthy. The game itself is important, but it's even more important because of the situation it sets up next week. If you lose to the raiders and fall to 1-4 your season is over. The way SD has looked against mobile QB's this season I think they would be in real trouble if Pryor is healthy. I think the reason football is so popular is every game is so important, unlike every other sport.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I'd rather pick up Lavelle Hawkins or any number of other guys instead of keeping Goodman.

Done.

 

[Gr00vus]

I'd rather pick up Lavelle Hawkins or any number of other guys instead of keeping Goodman.

Done.

:confetti:

And all that had to happen was for Floyd and Freeny to go on IR. :X

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Watching the Cowboys/Chargers game and it sounded like a home Dallas crowd when Lee scored on the return.

 

[BoltBacker]

Now that we are almost at the 1/3rd mark of the season, I'm curious how other Charger fans would grade the Telesco moves so far...

FA

- Freeney has to be an F- no matter how many announcers tell the stories about how he helps the DLmen in between... the... games. If they had signed him as an assistant coach and his ridiculous salary hadn't counted against the cap I would have been fine with this move.

- Cox has to be a D and I say that as someone that was excited about this acquisition. He just gives up too many big plays and often he's not even covering the opponents #1 WR. Falling well below my expectations.

- Woodhead has to be an A. I thought this move was a mistake as the team already had two finesse backs but he's one of the most important cogs in the offense already. I do agree with those that say he shouldn't be running between the tackles on obvious running situations though. I've never understood why the team won't give McClain more rushing attempts since they signed him.

Draft

- Fluker is tough to grade, but I'd give him a B so far. In general I see improvement from week to week. He's been more nimble(for the most part) than I expected and I like the fact he has a little mean streak to his game(WWF wrestling move penalized vs oak).

- Te'o probably brought himself up to a D against OAK after playing terrible vs DAL in week one. Maybe this guy will be a 3 down LB one day... I just don't see it. He's active, but unfortunately he's usually only in on a tackle at the first down marker. I think he had one play where he kept Pryor to the LOS. The raider game was a game I expected Te'o to have a bigger impact. DAL is a tougher matchup for a LB that can't cover.

- Allen seems like an A- to me. I didn't expect nearly this much from a 3rd round receiver and the best part is he seems to be growing more comfortable by the week as he gets more playing time. Before the season I would have guessed something like 400/2 from Allen but he has a solid chance of at least doubling those expectations.

Pretty mixed bag so far. Allen/Woodhead definitely seem like hits but Freeney/Cox/Te'o look like pretty big misses.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

losing to the raiders is never acceptable.

Glad I passed out when the Texans put in TJ Yates and I missed the SD/OAK Debacle

 

[BoltBacker]

losing to the raiders is never acceptable.

Glad I passed out when the Texans put in TJ Yates and I missed the SD/OAK Debacle

Yeah, you didn't miss much.

Mostly turnovers. Probably the fastest thing that will kill you. This was the first game where I thought the coaching decisions were questionable. Mike Harris was awful at LT, which is probably why nobody drafted him. It's a shame a guy like Dunlap wasn't brought in to be a backup instead of a starter.. then a guy like Harris wouldn't need to be in the game. If SD really thought Rivers was their $17mil QB I would have thought they'd be willing to give up the couple of day #3 picks it took to acquire Eugene Monroe. Keep in mind who SD drafted on day three in 2013.

As always, the best team won. Congratulations to raider fans, a lot of people were talking a lot of smack questioning whether they could even win one game or not.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Now that we are almost at the 1/3rd mark of the season, I'm curious how other Charger fans would grade the Telesco moves so far...

FA

- Freeney has to be an F- no matter how many announcers tell the stories about how he helps the DLmen in between... the... games. If they had signed him as an assistant coach and his ridiculous salary hadn't counted against the cap I would have been fine with this move.

- Cox has to be a D and I say that as someone that was excited about this acquisition. He just gives up too many big plays and often he's not even covering the opponents #1 WR. Falling well below my expectations.

- Woodhead has to be an A. I thought this move was a mistake as the team already had two finesse backs but he's one of the most important cogs in the offense already. I do agree with those that say he shouldn't be running between the tackles on obvious running situations though. I've never understood why the team won't give McClain more rushing attempts since they signed him.

Draft

- Fluker is tough to grade, but I'd give him a B so far. In general I see improvement from week to week. He's been more nimble(for the most part) than I expected and I like the fact he has a little mean streak to his game(WWF wrestling move penalized vs oak).

- Te'o probably brought himself up to a D against OAK after playing terrible vs DAL in week one. Maybe this guy will be a 3 down LB one day... I just don't see it. He's active, but unfortunately he's usually only in on a tackle at the first down marker. I think he had one play where he kept Pryor to the LOS. The raider game was a game I expected Te'o to have a bigger impact. DAL is a tougher matchup for a LB that can't cover.

- Allen seems like an A- to me. I didn't expect nearly this much from a 3rd round receiver and the best part is he seems to be growing more comfortable by the week as he gets more playing time. Before the season I would have guessed something like 400/2 from Allen but he has a solid chance of at least doubling those expectations.

Pretty mixed bag so far. Allen/Woodhead definitely seem like hits but Freeney/Cox/Te'o look like pretty big misses.

Freeney was an A before being injured. The only way to downgrade him, IMO, is if you deduct points for injuries. He was the Chargers' best player on defense this season when he played.

Also, I think Teo was just fine against both the Cowboys and the Raiders. He played only 14 snaps against the Cowboys, but he got 3 tackles and 2 QB pressures and looked fine in coverage. He got about three times as many snaps against the Raiders, and played at pretty much the same level, IMO. I'd give him about a C+ or B- if he were a veteran. Given that he's a rookie who missed most of the preseason and is seeing his first action, I'll nudge that up to a solid B.

I agree with you about Cox, Woodhead, Fluker, and Allen.

I'll also throw in that King Dunlap has been a pleasant surprise when healthy, but Rinehart and Ohrnberger have been pretty bad. Johnny Patrick and (especially) Richard Marshall have also been bad.

 

[BoltBacker]

Freeney was an A before being injured. The only way to downgrade him, IMO, is if you deduct points for injuries. He was the Chargers' best player on defense this season when he played.

I respect your opinion MT, but the only way he gets an A is if you give him credit for plays he didn't make this year.

2013......$7million.........1 tackle........(0.5) sacks

I'm not sure how you want to slice and dice those numbers. $14million per sack? $7million per tackle? No matter what you do if you can figure a way that boils down to a passing grade you are much more charitable than myself.

 

[Gr00vus]

What a crazy season already. I have no idea what to make of this team, but I think at least they might have a good coaching staff. I still can't quite figure out how the Colts couldn't take advantage of the depleted Charger defense last night.

 

[cstu]

What a crazy season already. I have no idea what to make of this team, but I think at least they might have a good coaching staff. I still can't quite figure out how the Colts couldn't take advantage of the depleted Charger defense last night.

It's a frustrating season for me. It's great to see them winning but I have a hard time seeing them get the last wild card spot. 3-3 looks good but they still haven't played the Broncos or Chiefs and that looks like 4 losses right there. 9-7 is the best case scenario and it doesn't seem like it will be enough.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

What a crazy season already. I have no idea what to make of this team, but I think at least they might have a good coaching staff. I still can't quite figure out how the Colts couldn't take advantage of the depleted Charger defense last night.

yeah its a roller coaster. Could of won the houston and titan game and be in the thick of it.

Need more playmakers on D.

I agree that McCoy is doing a nice job even with the lack of mathews involvement sometimes is weird, maybe those early season fumbles put him in the doghouse a bit.

Woodhead has his roll and the Keenan allen 3rd rounder looks like a nice addition.

Didnt really notice Manti out there last night.

 

[Tau837]

Nice wins over Indy, Dallas, and at Philly in an early east coast start. But they blew the Houston game and didn't show up in Oakland. They are 3-3, with a tough schedule remaining... 2 vs. KC, 2 vs. DEN, @MIA, CIN all seem like probable losses, and it's no given they will win @WAS. So it's looking like 6-7 wins. IMO, while not unexpected, that is still a bit disappointing.

Rivers is rejuvenated, Allen looks good, and the OL has improved. That's all good.

But the usage of Mathews continues to be hard to rationalize. Why is Ronnie Brown seeing any snaps if both Woodhead and Mathews are healthy? Mathews showed last night how well he can perform when given the opportunity.

As for defense, they need plenty of help on that side of the ball.

 

[Gr00vus]

All I can think of with Matthews is that he's not their guy, he's an A.J. leftover that they're stuck with. They obviously really like new toy Woodhead, and I can't really complain about how they're managing the backs in terms of how the overall offense is performing.

It was nice to see Laderius back in the mix a bit on offense last night.

I figured this team for about 4 wins, so 6 or 7 is better than I expected. They weren't going to get the #1 overall pick anyway, so hopefully they can do a good job of finding an impact player in the middle slots of the 1st round.

 

[BoltBacker]

I still can't quite figure out how the Colts couldn't take advantage of the depleted Charger defense last night.

I think the Indy receivers and the Indy DL were the SD defensive MVP vs Luck. I expected Luck to absolutely destroy the SD DB's but there weren't just drops, there were drops in big situations and down field. In fact I can't think of a major weapon on the IND offense that didn't have a big drop. Amazing. No wonder they got killed in TOP.

 

[BoltBacker]

I agree that McCoy is doing a nice job even with the lack of mathews involvement sometimes is weird, maybe those early season fumbles put him in the doghouse a bit.

Woodhead has his roll and the Keenan allen 3rd rounder looks like a nice addition.

Didnt really notice Manti out there last night.

I think people have just misread Mathews. He's at his best as a 10-20 carry back or he'll get dinged up or have another crucial fumble. IMO 20 carries should be his cap unless Woodhead gets hurt. Mathews played a nice game(just like the DAL game) but you definitely get diminishing returns if you try to lean on him too hard. For FF I hate RBBC but in real football it's definitely the way to go. It will be interesting to see if Mathews gets a poor-mans Reggie Bush resurgence in his 2nd or 3rd stop in the NFL. Probably depends on the market. I'd still feel lucky if some team would give up a third rounder for Mathews.

Te'o had a very nice pass defensed in the middle of the field, but also an embarrassing whiff on Richardson in the game. Perhaps worst of all, he gets pulled on a 3rd-and-6 when Butler, Johnson, Freeney, and Ingram all hurt. Remember when people thought this guy was going to be a three down LB? Giving up two starters to draft a mediocre two down LB is still looking pretty silly to me. This team still needs a lot of picks because they have so many holes, which is why they should be trying to acquire draft picks for role players like Mathews instead of bundling picks to acquire role players like Te'o.

 

[BoltBacker]

Interesting, well written article that suggests Fluker should be moved to LT for the rest of the season...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1822480-why-the-chargers-should-start-dj-fluker-at-left-tackle

Seems to be supported by the fact Fluker won "Rookie of the Week" last week when he played both RT and LT vs JAX.

I've been pretty critical Telesco but even I have to give him props for Fluker/Allen picks, in Kiper's top 35 rookie rankings Allen is #7 and Fluker is #18. Still, really wish SD would have given up a late pick for Monroe when JAX was holding that fire sale.

 

[FF Ninja]

Interesting, well written

Two things I don't expect from bleacher report!

Dunlap has been pretty good when healthy. You really wanted to give up a 4th + 5th for Monroe for a one year rental?

 

[BoltBacker]

Interesting, well written

Two things I don't expect from bleacher report!

Dunlap has been pretty good when healthy. You really wanted to give up a 4th + 5th for Monroe for a one year rental?

I don't read the bleacher report all that often so I'm not sure what the quality is usually like. In particular I liked the embedded videos to make his point. Big outfits like yahoo #### the bed when they try to embed video and even then it's mostly for pretty stupid stuff.

Not only would I have given up those picks but I would have extended him because the need is so dire. I was happy when Dunlap was signed because I had assumed he was going to be the swing tackle that backed up both LT and RT. If Monroe/Fluker were starting and Dunlap was rotating in to back up both of them and cover for injuries I would feel much better about the OL to be sure. Injuries happen every year, this certainly isn't the first.

 

[Gr00vus]

That was a pretty bad loss. Once again they looked like Norv was still coaching them.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

That was a pretty bad loss. Once again they looked like Norv was still coaching them.

woodhead at the goalline is baffling, the roll out play was even more ????. sheesh

 

[Phenix]

That was a pretty bad loss. Once again they looked like Norv was still coaching them.

whitehead at the goalline is baffling, the roll out play was even more ????. sheesh

Is Turner still running this team?

 

[Beerguzzler]

Complete unmitigated disaster at the goal line. Not sure why there werent three straight power run plays. 1 damn yard with two timeouts and a 1st and goal from inside the 1. Brutal. Not to mention we pay the fullback 3 mill for doing nothing.

 

[Gr00vus]

On another note, the defense looked horrible yesterday. The backbreaker for me was the 1st and 20 where they gave up a 27 yard pass play, but the D was crummy throughout.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

On another note, the defense looked horrible yesterday. The backbreaker for me was the 1st and 20 where they gave up a 27 yard pass play, but the D was crummy throughout.

we knew this would be an area of concern.

and BTW weddle is awful this year, I was never a big fan but hes getting abused

Overall a play here and there this team could be 6-2.

Lets get another good draft/FA period to improve the D and Oline

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Complete unmitigated disaster at the goal line. Not sure why there werent three straight power run plays. 1 damn yard with two timeouts and a 1st and goal from inside the 1. Brutal. Not to mention we pay the fullback 3 mill for doing nothing.

I thought it was a bad spot after the TD was overturned. They marked it about a full yard out. I thought it should have been more like six inches.

Either way, with two time-outs, the play calls should have been Mathews over the top or Rivers on a sneak. Repeat as necessary until fourth down. Play-action every once in a while in that situation is okay, but it should be pretty rare. An inside handoff to the scatback should be even more rare.

I usually try not to second-guess the play-calling in those situations because it's hard to do well and generally smacks of mistaking hindsight for insight. But in this case, the play-calling was pretty weird.

 

[BoltBacker]

Not to mention we pay the fullback 3 mill for doing nothing.

I agree with that, although he was signed by someone else to play in a very different offense. He's a talented player and I'm surprised there is no role for him in this offense.