Chiefs at Chargers Week 2 Pre Game Discussion

[FoutsFan]

There are a bunch of comments here that are in my view completely misguided.

The direction Lynn says he wants to go in with this team leads to the conclusion that Tyrod is the type of QB he wants.

In the NFL, more games are lost then are won.

This makes all the predictions, all the comments here about the aesthetics, the statlines of Tyrod's play completely off point.

Not completing passes, not throwing to open receivers just because they are in the middle of the field, going three and out over and over because its "cool" leads to more losses than turn overs. Ask any team that has gone with stretches of bad QB play.

There is more to being a QB than just not throwing INT's. If that was it there would be no more room at the HOF for QB's as it would be full.

[FoutsFan]

Tyrod = Phil Simms.
Lynn = Parcells.

The cycles of football.

One difference Simms cold pass the ball.

[Xenos]

[Xenos]

[AK47]

Ekeler and Keenan need to have big games. I'd give Taylor the green light to run up the pocket given the slightest pressure off the edge. I'd give Lynn the green light to go for it on 4th downs. Ingram needs to put in a sack or 2. Bose needs to use his other good arm to take down Mahommie. Joe Reed needs to show those KC midgets he can return too. Tillerly needs to show he's a worthy poor man's Chris Jones. Vigil to spy on Mahommie like a Russian hacker. Denzel to use one more big time hit on their RBs before he goes out for a few games. And Rivers not get INTs.......

If we can do all that I predict we have a 50% chance of winning LOL!!!

[Fleet]

I'm absolutely positive that getting in an aerial shootout with KC is the last thing the HC wants. Taylor keeping his composure, let the D limit KC's offensive success and capitalize on good opportunities. If we lose, we lose but don't give it away. Taylor gets off track, it's Herbert time.
Taylor will stick with the script if he wants to be Lynn's starting QB.

Im not saying that. Im saying if we are playing from behind he will need to abandon script. Not if its just 7 points. But if its big. Its KC man. They score at will. Lets see what happens.

I expect to see a totally different look from us. More flavor.

[sonorajim]

Im not saying that. Im saying if we are playing from behind he will need to abandon script. Not if its just 7 points. But if its big. Its KC man. They score at will. Lets see what happens.

I expect to see a totally different look from us. More flavor.

I think the script stays intact. Taylor has to do a better job hitting the open man. They will break out a more sophisticated O scheme but will depend on crisper execution rather than riskier throws. Taylor will have solid opportunities. He needs to make the throw.
Taylor being the savior is Taylor making the plays Steichen calls.

[powderblueboy]

Im not saying that. Im saying if we are playing from behind he will need to abandon script. Not if its just 7 points. But if its big. Its KC man. They score at will. Lets see what happens.

I expect to see a totally different look from us. More flavor.

Maybe they might show more flavor; but i'm still expecting a grind it out mindset.

If KC is up big, the game is over...they won't win.
f KC scores 30 + points, they'll lose; as a strategy, the Chargers have to assume the defense will hold KC's offense down: there is no
contingency plan for the defense getting kicked in the teeth.

Even if down by two scores, they have to assume those are the last points KC will score....
& they'll grind out a victory establishing the running game, tightening the score, and winning at the end when KC panics.

The offense cannot go toe to toe with anyone, much less KC.

[Xenos]

Popper's breakdown of Bradley's defense against the Chiefs. Granted this is based on past data. And given that Reid faced a similar defense in the Super Bowl, we may see something different in the future. With that being said, I feel like we'll do okay for three quarters and just be gassed by the 4th unless the offense can do more than they did last week.
Sidenote: Bradley's defensive scheme is great at stopping the big plays. My wish isn't that he suddenly becomes blitz hungry. We've seen coordinators like Bowles and Greg Williams get burned a ton because they're so one dimensional in using the blitz so often. My wish is that Bradley balances it out more instead of being at the bottom so much. Ultimately, it's about using it at the right times.

https://theathletic.com/2074604/2020/09/17/the-chargers-have-a-pretty-good-blueprint-for-slowing-down-the-chiefs/

The Chargers have a pretty good blueprint for slowing down the Chiefs

By Daniel Popper Sep 17, 2020

How the hell do you stop the Chiefs?

That has been a prevailing question around the NFL this offseason, after Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City to its first Super Bowl in 50 years. Mahomes turned 25 on Thursday and already is the best quarterback in football. (Sorry, Seahawks fans.) He is only going to get better. Mahomes is coached by one of the most innovative offensive play callers in the history of the game, Andy Reid, and he is surrounded by one of the scariest and most explosive groups of skill players ever assembled, one that only grew more frightening in April when the Chiefs used a first-round pick on LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

As such, there is no real answer to that overarching question. Truly stopping the Chiefs’ offense is impossible. It is comparable to one man standing on train tracks and attempting to stop a runaway freight train with nothing but his bare hands and body weight. Defenses can only hope to slow down the Chiefs.

One team, though, has proven better than the rest at achieving this goal: the Los Angeles Chargers, who face the Chiefs in their home opener Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium.

Consider the numbers:

• Since taking over as the full-time starter in 2018, Mahomes has been held under 6.0 yards per passing attempt in only three games. Two of those were against the Chargers, both last season — Week 11 in Mexico City and Week 17 in Kansas City.

• In total, the Chargers have held Mahomes to 7.2 yards per attempt in their four meetings since the start of the 2018 season. That is the lowest average among any team to play the Chiefs multiple times over that span.

• The Chiefs were held to less than seven explosive plays — rushes of more than 12 yards or passes of more than 16 yards — in only six games with Mahomes at quarterback in 2018 and 2019. He was playing the Chargers in two of those games, including Week 17 of last season, when the Chiefs mustered just four explosive plays. The Chargers have given up an average of 6.75 explosive plays in their four games against Mahomes.

“We do have the athletes to compete with those guys,” safety Rayshawn Jenkins told The Athletic this week.

But the Chargers’ relative defensive success against the Chiefs is more layered.

At the crux of their approach is defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s philosophy. Bradley comes from the Seattle defensive tree, and his scheme — like others who coached for the Seahawks, including Falcons head coach Dan Quinn and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh — revolves around preventing explosive plays. Bradley achieves this by calling a heavy dose of Cover 3 zone, which has one defender covering each third of the deep part of the field.

Since Bradley took over as Chargers defensive coordinator in 2017, the Chargers have allowed the second-fewest explosive plays (287) of any team in the league.

Patrick Mahomes has had some challenging games against the Chargers. (Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)

The defensive system, by nature, isn’t aggressive. Bradley’s defenses have regularly ranked among the bottom of the league in blitz percentage. And that trend has been evident in the Chargers’ matchups with Mahomes. In their four games against the Chiefs in 2018 and 2019, the Chargers’ 9.8 percent blitz rate is second lowest for any defense. Only the Bengals have blitzed less against the Chiefs, in Week 7 of 2018.

This would, on its face, appear counterintuitive. Rattling Mahomes and getting him off his spot would seem to be the more apt strategy. But the real key in slowing down the Chiefs is preventing them from hitting on explosive plays. That is what makes them so incredibly dangerous.

“Andy Reid is looking for the big plays,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins added that it is crucial to “discourage” Mahomes from looking to push the ball down field.

“Every time they have check it down or get a 5-yard, 6-yard gain, that’s not who they want to be,” Jenkins said. “As long as we can get them to be that team, to check it down, then I feel like we, as a defense, can have success as an entire unit.”

That is easier said than done, of course. But the Chargers have that prevent mentality built into their scheme. It is inherent to the way Bradley calls defensive plays. And that, more than anything, has led to the defense’s success.

“They try to get the ball in their playmakers’ hands and they’re always, in our terms, just big-play hunting,” Jenkins said. “So we just got to keep the big play off of us and I think we’ll be fine.”

The other key in containing the Chiefs’ high-powered offense is disguise. And that responsibility falls mostly on the shoulders of Jenkins as the deep safety on most snaps.

“We do understand how our defense works and how people are trying to attack us,” Jenkins said. “So we just try to set traps.”

Jenkins did a quality job of that in the Chargers’ two games against Kansas City last season. He picked off Mahomes in their Week 11 matchup in Mexico City when he baited the Chiefs quarterback into throwing a deep ball near the right sideline.

“In professional football, you know that the quarterback, when he comes out, the first thing he looks at is the safety, to see if it’s single high or a Cover 2 shell. And then they just try to play you from there,” Jenkins said. “I try to just mix it up. I might show like I might be coming down sometimes. I might be going back, or I might be back and coming down sometimes or I might be left going right or right going left. I just mix it up like that, man, and just try to keep the quarterback guessing, because the more you can do that and keep them out of a rhythm — that’s the big thing, keep them out of of a rhythm — then you have much better success when you’re playing them.”

The Chargers also attacked their offseason with the Chiefs in mind. They signed Chris Harris Jr. — a player very familiar with Reid and Kansas City from his decade with the Broncos — to add more variety and versatility to their secondary. They lost some of that depth when safety Derwin James went down in training camp with a season-ending knee injury. But Harris’ presence as the slot corner still allows Bradley to move pieces around in his defensive backfield, including Desmond King and Nasir Adderley, who both rotated in at safety in the Week 1 win over the Bengals, with King at strong and Adderley at free.

Harris is an excellent slot coverage defender. But just as importantly for this matchup with the Chiefs, Harris is a sound and physical tackler in space. As Jenkins put it, Reid is always “trying to find the matchups” to get his playmakers the ball in one-on-one situations. Harris can consistently win those head-to-head battles in space.

“You throw one more guy in our bag of tricks,” Jenkins said of Harris. “Everyone is going to get their one-on-one matchup at some point during this game. You just have to win it. And we have faith in all of our guys in our back end.”

History dictates that the Chargers will be able to keep Mahomes and the Chiefs in relative check. Tyrod Taylor and the offense will be tasked with controlling the ball, keeping Mahomes off the field and limiting turnovers. Despite their solid defensive performances against Mahomes, the Chargers are 1-3 against him all time, largely because they have committed 10 turnovers in those four games.

You can’t stop the Chiefs. But you can slow them down.

“This is the time to showcase your talents,” Jenkins said.

[sonorajim]

I like our D to limit KC's offense, get 1+ takeaways.

For the win, STs need to do a great job on field position.
Offense, capitalize on opportunities, do a lot better on 3rd dn. Give our D some bench time, score in the red zone.

I believe our D is very good with a chance to be great.
Not so, O & STs. Decent role players might have a chance. We'll see.

[Topcat]

Ekeler and Keenan need to have big games. I'd give Taylor the green light to run up the pocket given the slightest pressure off the edge. I'd give Lynn the green light to go for it on 4th downs. Ingram needs to put in a sack or 2. Bose needs to use his other good arm to take down Mahommie. Joe Reed needs to show those KC midgets he can return too. Tillerly needs to show he's a worthy poor man's Chris Jones. Vigil to spy on Mahommie like a Russian hacker. Denzel to use one more big time hit on their RBs before he goes out for a few games. And Rivers not get INTs.......

If we can do all that I predict we have a 50% chance of winning LOL!!!

Rivers?

[AK47]

Rivers?

If you can guarantee there will be no Rivers INTs against KC this Sunday, you can sell 100 Washington bills for $100 to Eskimos under a bridge. What say you Topcat?

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