2024 Chargers News | Acquisitions | Transactions | Injuries

[Formula 21]

The Bolts last year had an EPA per rush of -.17. Their D stunk. Yet Herbert is not clutch because he couldn’t do it all himself. Insane.

And Edward’s had an EPA per rush of -.06. That’s not encouraging either.

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[Formula 21]

He was a thin guy coming out of college which could have affected his tackling effort/technique. The analysis also says that he has room to grow muscles and the Chargers might feel confident they can get him there:
193 pounds is small for safety, particularly if you are 6'2". Maybe, they like him ..... not having drafted a safety.
They had a few opportunities to do so.

Other than Alohi Gilman, no rookie improved under Staley's coaching staff, offense or defense. Alohi Gilman comes from Notre Dame and is a less athletic / more cerebral type: Staley's confusing defense
probably gave him a big advantage over other Charger dbs.

At 6-2, 193 pounds, your tackling technique better be perfect, because you’re not running anybody over.

[powderblueboy]

Just thinking.. What’s more important to a franchise QB, receivers or offensive line with a strong running game? It becomes obvious to me that a strong and competent offensive line, especially at offensive tackle can have much more positive impact for an already elite QBs.

I was on that train of wanting Harrison, but the more time I’ve had to think about it, the more I like the Alt pick. Harbaugh is way smarter than most about this very thing. He hasn’t wavered on the importance of the offensive line, which I respect. He has a vision that I am ALL IN on!

It probably depends on the QB and a number of other factors.
If your coaching staff's game is physical football ... you have to bring in those types of players.

Imagine Staley returning for his final contract year: who would have been purged on defense this year?
It could have been anyone.

The moral to the lesson is that Staley never really figured out who to bring in to match his mental conception of his style of defense.
Give him a 2nd contract and he'll still kick that can down the road.

Harbaugh knows.

[FoutsFan]

The Bolts last year had an EPA per rush of -.17. Their D stunk. Yet Herbert is not clutch because he couldn’t do it all himself. Insane.

And Edward’s had an EPA per rush of -.06. That’s not encouraging either.

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While I am happy to have the new RB room, we have to be honest and not blame the RB's for all the failures last season. The O line blocking was trash and so was the scheme.

The new RB's, plus new scheme, and new coaches will all go together to make a much better running game.

[Topcat]

He was a thin guy coming out of college which could have affected his tackling effort/technique. The analysis also says that he has room to grow muscles and the Chargers might feel confident they can get him there: 193 pounds is light for safety, particularly if you are 6'2". You can add to the mix the fact that nobody tackled well on Brandon Staley's defenses.
Maybe, they like him ..... not having drafted a safety.
They had a few opportunities to do so.

Other than Alohi Gilman, no rookie improved under Staley's coaching staff, offense or defense. Alohi Gilman comes from Notre Dame and is a less athletic / more cerebral type. Staley's confusing defense
probably gave him a big advantage over other Charger dbs.

Yep...Staley's Pattern Match Defense required almost a quantum computer-like memory to instantly adjust based on pre-snap formation, motion and formation at the snap...then to have to switch from zone to press D and vice-versa...no wonder guys like Derwin and K9 thrived in the Gus defense, but failed under Staley...
(K9's was an epic fail...Derwin was an occasional fail...)

[charger1_sj]

So we lost the game due to bad defense. Thank you

you can cherry pick whatever drive or score or whatever you want - the fact is they were 15th in points scored and #1 in points allowed. This is a stupid debate, to be honest.

No we lost the game because both the offense and defense failed.

The 15th team in points scored, drove the length of the football field in OT to win the game over the what 2nd or 3rd ranked D?

Open your eyes and pay attention to the games and not the stats which are often not a good indicator of W-L.

[Bolts4ever213]

60 minutes takes a full team effort. Look what happened to the Niners in the last Super Bowl, no first downs in the 3rd quarter, three or four 3 n outs by the offensive. I’ll tell you this, even the best defense can get gassed if the offense doesn’t sustain drives. Complicate it by dividing sides. When in the end, it’s one team.

[dmac_bolt]

No we lost the game because both the offense and defense failed.

The 15th team in points scored, drove the length of the football field in OT to win the game over the what 2nd or 3rd ranked D?

Open your eyes and pay attention to the games and not the stats which are often not a good indicator of W-L.

I watched the games. For the last 3 years, our defense has been worse than our offense. Much worse. It’s visible with the naked eye, stats simply confirm what we can see.

the #1 KC defense stopped BAL and held them to a FG, allowing their offense to go on the field and win the game with one drive in OT. KC scored all of 19 points in regulation time, you can call that an offensive juggernaut if you want to redefine the word but its not, It was great defensive play to keep them in the game.

If Chargers defense had only allowed 19 points each game last year, we would have won 10 games. We won 5.

I’m not anti-offense, i want to win on both sides of the ball btw - but your thesis that good defense doesn’t matter is not found in actual facts or data.

[AK47]

I’ll tell you this, even the best defense can get gassed if the offense doesn’t sustain drives.

I'd hope that 80% of teams we face would struggle stopping our run. Of the remaining 20% who have stout run defense, 50% would struggle to contain Herbert's pass game. The remaining 50% I'm banking on our Special Teams/Coaching to give is a win from sheer talent/ sound coaching/ execution.

My hope is you'd better have superior talent or get lucky beating us in 2024.

[wu-dai clan]

Where are these posters getting their numbers ?

I am 51% certain that the numbers are skewed.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

At 6-2, 193 pounds, your tackling technique better be perfect, because you’re not running anybody over.

Just think about how un-natural it must be to try to tackle, say, Derek Henry. Every instinct you have says "Get out of this guy's way!!!"

Tackling, in general, is not natural. You are often sacrificing your body in the process, when every instinct you have is screaming for you to mitigate the damage you'll sustain bringing the ball carrier to the ground.

There were All-Stars in baseball who took the day off when Nolan Ryan was the opposing pitcher. It was just too un-nerving for them to face Ryan's heater, particularly if you were a right handed hitter.

My point is, it's not rare for sports to require the athlete to do things that the body is wired to AVOID doing. And not everyone can make the adjustment.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

While I am happy to have the new RB room, we have to be honest and not blame the RB's for all the failures last season. The O line blocking was trash and so was the scheme.

The new RB's, plus new scheme, and new coaches will all go together to make a much better running game.

When absolutely NO running back looks even decent, there's a strong likelihood that the O-line stinks. I think it's true in the case of the 2023 Chargers, for sure.

I *will* be curious to see if Austin Ekeler puts up a good season for the Commanderskins. But I'm more interested in seeing what kind of run game the Bolts will be able to generate with a reinforced O-line and new group of backs.

I suspect that the offensive objective will be to routinely create 2nd and short, and 3rd and short opportunities. Those particular down-and-distance parameters force the defense to commit to stopping the run, which will present the passing game with the opportunity to capitalize. If the defense guesses wrong? Huge chunks of yardage surrendered.

I'm satisfied that the O-line has been sufficiently fortified for the task. I'm *not* convinced yet that the Bolts have the right running back(s) to make this work, but clearing THAT up is what TC is for.