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*** Official 2018 Chargers Thread **** (1 Viewer)

sucks.....takes that offense from top3 in the league down quiet a few notches.....I'm sure they bring back Antonio if he wants to come back. but hes pretty old and sucks at blocking. More opportunities for Mike Williams now....I cant even tell you who the backup TE is.

 
bicycle_seat_sniffer said:
I cant even tell you who the backup TE is
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Right now, the TEs are Green and Culkin. If they don't sign a veteran, Gates or otherwise, Green would be the blocking TE and Culkin the receiving TE. I think Culkin has potential, so there is at least a chance that he can be okay.

They also drafted WR Cantrell in the 6th round, and there has been speculation that he could play a receiving TE role, since he is 6'3" with good hands and runs good routes, but is slow for a WR. He is only 205 lbs, though, so he would presumably need to bulk up a bit. Not sure he can really be counted on to convert to TE in his rookie season.

This probably also means a bigger role for the #2 and #3 WRs, Tyrell and Mike Williams. As it was, one of them was not going to have a lot of targets (barring injury), since one of them would have been behind the other, Allen, and Henry. In particular, Mike Williams was reputed to be a great red zone player when he was drafted, so he will get more of a chance to prove it now.

I really like Henry a lot, but I think the team can survive this injury as long as there are no other significant injuries to the offensive skill positions.

 
bicycle_seat_sniffer said:
ILB is pretty weak still IMO, Hankins still out there
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I don't think ILB is weak. Perryman should start at MLB. He isn't great, but he is solid. Brown should start at Will LB. He was really good in 2016 and played hurt last year. I think he will be solid. He has also bulked up a bit and could also play MLB. The team drafted two players (James, White) who can play Will LB in nickel/dime. So... while it is conceivable to upgrade LB, I do not see it as a priority.

Hankins apparently wants too much money, which is why he remains unsigned. I am not optimistic that the Chargers will ultimately be the franchise to sign him, but I would love to be wrong on that.

 
The FBG Chargers team page is up. I must say, it is better quality out of the gate than in past years. However, there are issues:

RUNNING BACKS
Starter: Melvin Gordon 
Backup(s): Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson [R], Andre Williams
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Williams is not on the Chargers' roster. He was a ERFA this offseason, but the Chargers did not tender an offer to him, so he became a UFA and has not been signed.

TIGHT ENDS
Starters: Virgil Green
Backups: Sean McGrath
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Two issues here.

  1. McGrath is not currently on the roster. He was a RFA this offseason, and has not been signed. Personally, I would have re-signed McGrath as the blocking TE rather than giving Green the $8M contract they did, but that is history. I suppose they could still bring McGrath back, but that is certainly not a foregone conclusion, and they really need a receiving TE more than a blocking TE at this point due to Henry's injury.
  2. Sean Culkin seemed likely to make the final roster even before Henry's injury, even more so now, and he isn't mentioned.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Starters: LCB Jason Verrett, SS Jahleel Addae, FS Derwin James [R], RCB Casey Hayward
Backups: CB Trevor Williams, CB/FS Desmond King, FS Adrian Phillips, CB/FS Jaylen Watkins, SS Kyzir White [R]
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Comments:

  1. I don't see Verrett starting over Williams to open the season. Williams was great last year, and Verrett hasn't played a healthy game since 2015. Furthermore, apparently Verrett was unable to pass a physical by the start of the league year on March 14, since otherwise I think he would have been released to get out of his $8.5M salary. Assuming he could not pass by that time, it is an open question as to whether or not he can get and stay healthy enough to earn a significant role this season.
  2. Hayward played LCB last season and was the best CB in the league, so I think he will stay there, and Williams will start at RCB, just like last season.
  3. S Rayshawn Jenkins isn't mentioned, but should be expected to make the roster. He won't carry fantasy impact without significant injuries ahead of him.
  4. CB/S Tony Brown also isn't mentioned, but IMO will make the final roster. He will probably only play on special teams, though, so no fantasy impact.

 
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Was listening to 1090 in the car yesterday afternoon. Apparently they're now going to be the Rams station, carrying Rams games and various Rams shows. Somehow the Chargers forgot to lock in any media presence in SD after they left, and now the Rams will be dominating their former market.

Charger management is so incredibly bad.

 
Gr00vus said:
Was listening to 1090 in the car yesterday afternoon. Apparently they're now going to be the Rams station, carrying Rams games and various Rams shows. Somehow the Chargers forgot to lock in any media presence in SD after they left, and now the Rams will be dominating their former market.

Charger management is so incredibly bad.
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I typically listened to the other AM station with Hardwick when the Chargers were in SD. Then that station just stopped talking much at all about the Chargers, despite having Hardwick on their primary morning show. That was disappointing, and I just moved on to general ESPN radio. Agree on the bolded.

 
From today's FBG email:

16. LAC - Justin Jackson on track to make team

Source: Chargers.com - Ricky Henne

Los Angeles Chargers RB Justin Jackson appears to be the leading candidate for the No. 3 running back job entering training camp.

[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ FOOTBALLGUYS VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

Versatility and consistency are the hallmarks for Jackson's game from his days in college at Northwestern. Jackson rushed for over 1,000 yards in four years of college ball, and he caught 122 passes during that time. Measuring in at 5'11" 190 pounds, Jackson runs larger than his size and has great vision for finding lanes others don't see. He'll compete for a roster spot behind starter Melvin Gordon and change-of-pace back Austin Ekeler. We love Jackson in dynasty leagues.
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I don't see the optimism to justify the bolded. He is clearly #3 on the depth chart, and we know Gordon will be with the Chargers at least two more seasons.

 
Sorry guys:

Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet

Sources: Nightmare again for the #Chargers, as CB Jason Verrett suffered an injury during the conditioning test that likely will cost him the season. Brutal luck on reporting day.

10:37 AM - 27 Jul 2018 from Dearborn, MI

 
Slapdash said:
Sorry guys:

Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet

Sources: Nightmare again for the #Chargers, as CB Jason Verrett suffered an injury during the conditioning test that likely will cost him the season. Brutal luck on reporting day.

10:37 AM - 27 Jul 2018 from Dearborn, MI
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If this is true, it is the least surprising news of the offseason. And it actually might be a positive, just like his injury last year was a positive, since it allowed Trevor Williams and Desmond King to both emerge. If Verrett plays this season, he would necessarily take snaps away from them. The team should never have picked up his 5th year option in the first place.

 
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they have really good depth at CB, but you have to wonder if they have an issue with their medical and/or strength and conditioning personnel.

 
pbandy1 said:
they have really good depth at CB, but you have to wonder if they have an issue with their medical and/or strength and conditioning personnel.
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Not because of Verrett you don’t. Verrett dealt with injuries in every year of his college career. The big question about him when he came out of college was whether or not his body would be able to hold up. Obviously, it hasn’t. 

 
Slapdash said:
Sorry guys:

Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet

Sources: Nightmare again for the #Chargers, as CB Jason Verrett suffered an injury during the conditioning test that likely will cost him the season. Brutal luck on reporting day.

10:37 AM - 27 Jul 2018 from Dearborn, MI
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I did not not see this coming.

 
From today's FBG email:

5. LAC - CB Jason Verrett may have torn Achillies'

Source: ESPN - Adam Schefter

Updating an earlier report, Los Angeles Chargers CB Jason Verrett (Achillies') likely suffered a torn Achilles' during a conditioning test Friday, July 27, although he is still undergoing tests to confirm the seriousness of the injury.

[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ FOOTBALLGUYS VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

This is a terrible development for a player that will have played 25 games in the first five years of his career. Verrett is a legit CB1, but just can't stay healthy. The Chargers have Trevor Williams and Desmond King so it's not crippling for their secondary, but it makes the jump to the elite less likely. No team seems to have more bad injury luck than the Chargers.
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The bolded seems to imply that the Chargers' secondary cannot be elite without Verrett. I don't know who wrote that, but the Chargers' secondary was elite last season without Verrett. The only secondary that may have been better was the Jags. The Chargers added S Derwin James with the #17 pick of the 2018 draft, and the entire defense will be in its second year under Gus Bradley. So that FBG view seems to be off base.

 
Gr00vus said:
The run D to start the game was horrific.
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I don't expect the run defense to be a lot better this year. With respect to the interior DL, which was the weakest unit on the defense last season, the team added just Jones, a 3rd round DT who many felt was a reach. Meanwhile, Mebane was awful last year and is a year older, and Liuget will miss the first 4 games.

The best light to put it in is that it is a conscious prioritization of resources. If you break the game into run offense, run defense, pass offense, pass defense, and special teams, run defense arguably seems like the least important of those.

 
Just Win Baby said:
I don't expect the run defense to be a lot better this year. With respect to the interior DL, which was the weakest unit on the defense last season, the team added just Jones, a 3rd round DT who many felt was a reach. Meanwhile, Mebane was awful last year and is a year older, and Liuget will miss the first 4 games.

The best light to put it in is that it is a conscious prioritization of resources. If you break the game into run offense, run defense, pass offense, pass defense, and special teams, run defense arguably seems like the least important of those.
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James better be ready to make a lot of tackles in run support.

 
Gr00vus said:
James better be ready to make a lot of tackles in run support.
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I assume he will, but the Chargers have an interesting quandary in the back 7.

Based on last season:

  • Hayward and Williams will be the outside corners, and King will be the slot/nickel corner. They all played great in those roles.
  • Addae has always been a SS, and he has played quite well the past 2 seasons in that role. So he will start at one safety spot.
Under Pagano, the safety roles were somewhat interchangeable, so it can be said that Addae played some FS. But in Bradley's defense, those roles are not interchangeable, at least not to the same degree. So let's assume that James and Addae start at safety. Who is SS and who is FS? Both of them are better suited to play SS.

Barring injuries, this is how I expect it will play out:

  • In base defense, the 4 DBs will be Hayward, Williams, Addae, and James, and the LBs will be WLB Brown, MLB Perryman, and SLB Emanuel or Nwosu.
  • When they move from base defense to nickel, King comes in for a LB.
  • When they move to dime, someone - Jenkins? - comes in at FS for either a LB or DL, Addae is SS, and James moves to a dime LB role.
It doesn't seem to leave a lot of snaps for rookie White. I guess he will spell Brown and Perryman (where White plays WLB and Brown moves to MLB)... unless the team stubbornly keeps Pullard and he spells Perryman.

In a way, it is a good problem to have. But it also highlights the type of challenge that can come with drafting BPA and it results in drafting a player at a position with a good starter. In this case, James is really a SS... but so is Addae.

The Chargers can get out of Addae's contract next offseason with just $1M in dead cap, so I will be surprised if he is on the team next season, unless James flops. At least in Addae's case, they may be able to trade him for some value. Then, if Jenkins successfully grows into a part-time FS role this year, he can start there and James can start at SS.

 
Was bouncing around the L.A. sports talk radio shows this morning on the way in to work. Multiple incidences of Chargers as a legit Super Bowl contender talk - if they can get the kicker thing figured out.

 
I know better than to put too much emphasis on preseason games, but last night was an alarmingly bad performance by the Chargers. I realize a decent amount of the starters didn't play, but apart from their running game they looked completely awful. The Saints backups absolutely crushed the Charger back ups. I'm hoping they just weren't showing anything and were half assing it.

Neither of the likely backup quarterbacks are in any way capable of winning an NFL game. They may as well dump them both, keep the rook on the roster as the "backup" and see what's floating around in FA if Rivers gets hurt. Spending a roster spot on Geno Smith is a waste.

I think they need to kick the tires on Gates. I realize the TE targets are mostly going to evaporate, but it'd still nice to have a guy you could depend on to get you 5 yards at TE when you have to have 5 yards.

 
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Gr00vus said:
I know better than to put too much emphasis on preseason games, but last night was an alarmingly bad performance by the Chargers. I realize a decent amount of the starters didn't play, but apart from their running game they looked completely awful. The Saints backups absolutely crushed the Charger back ups. I'm hoping they just weren't showing anything and were half assing it.

Neither of the likely backup quarterbacks are in any way capable of winning an NFL game. They may as well dump them both, keep the rook on the roster as the "backup" and see what's floating around in FA if Rivers gets hurt. Spending a roster spot on Geno Smith is a waste.

I think they need to kick the tires on Gates. I realize the TE targets are mostly going to evaporate, but it'd still nice to have a guy you could depend on to get you 5 yards at TE when you have to have 5 yards.
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When the Chargers' first string offense was on the field, even without Gordon, they moved the ball right down the field twice, scoring one TD and going for it on 4th down from the 5 and not getting it. So the first team offense looked great.

The Saints were blitzing heavily against the Chargers' second string offense, and their OL backups couldn't deal with it, and that made the rest of the night on offense a struggle. Geno has looked pretty good prior to last night, and should be the backup. I'm fine with that. He should be an upgrade on Clemens and Jones, though the season is over regardless if Rivers goes down.

 
Just Win Baby said:
The Saints were blitzing heavily against the Chargers' second string offense, and their OL backups couldn't deal with it, and that made the rest of the night on offense a struggle. Geno has looked pretty good prior to last night, and should be the backup. I'm fine with that. He should be an upgrade on Clemens and Jones, though the season is over regardless if Rivers goes down.
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Geno is awful. He's worse than Clemens or Jones. If the season is truly over if Rivers goes down, then (like I said) its pointless to carry these guys anyway, use the roster spots on something else.

 
Gr00vus said:
Geno is awful. He's worse than Clemens or Jones. If the season is truly over if Rivers goes down, then (like I said) its pointless to carry these guys anyway, use the roster spots on something else.
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I disagree. Geno is much better than Jones and Clemens. Jones has no business on an NFL roster, and Clemens really didn't either.

ETA: I mean, that is a really low bar. But Geno is over the bar. And your suggestion to drop both Smith and Jones is unrealistic.

 
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Just Win Baby said:
I disagree. Geno is much better than Jones and Clemens. Jones has no business on an NFL roster, and Clemens really didn't either.

ETA: I mean, that is a really low bar. But Geno is over the bar. And your suggestion to drop both Smith and Jones is unrealistic.
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Unrealistic? You're the one that's saying season's over if Rivers goes out. Which is right. So why bother with a couple of dead end backup QBs at all? Its a waste of roster space and money.

 
Gr00vus said:
Unrealistic? You're the one that's saying season's over if Rivers goes out. Which is right. So why bother with a couple of dead end backup QBs at all? Its a waste of roster space and money.
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Yes, the season is over if Rivers goes down. As is true for the vast majority of NFL franchises. That does not mean that GMs and HCs are willing to admit that and forego backups. They want to maintain a hope, however slim it may be, that the backup could come in and win games if necessary. That will never go away. Given that perspective, Geno is the guy. :shrug:  

 
Well, the Chargers are down to 53. Comments:

1. I do not understand Anthony Lynn's fascination with Cardale Jones. Looks like the team is going to keep 3 QBs, which wastes a roster spot. :thumbdown:  

2. The team currently has only 2 TEs -- Green and Culkin. It seems obvious that they will add a TE, presumably Gates.

3. I am mildly surprised that they kept 4 RBs (not including FB Watt) and 6 WRs, though one of those players will presumably be cut for Gates.

4. I am really hoping they sign Hankins.

 
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