Bolts: Not That Good Of A Defense?

[like54ninjas]

"Letting Adderley and Jenkins" compete is a good idea, but easier said than done, seeing as how we have "Loyal Lynn" as our HC. He is already on record as saying Jenkins is playing at an "elite level", so until Adderley starts playing at a "super elite" level, or unless we play a Cover-2 with two deep free safeties on occasion, I doubt we see much of Nasir unless Rayshawn gets injured...

Our 3 - safety big .05 has a ton of options as well as our .10 package.
Derwin or Rayshawn as our DLB with the other as the SS and Nasir over the top.
K9 clotheslining people sideline to sideline.

[Topcat]

Our 3 - safety big .05 has a ton of options as well as our .10 package.
Derwin or Rayshawn as our DLB with the other as the SS and Nasir over the top.
K9 clotheslining people sideline to sideline.

Yep...I think DLB or SS is a better match for Rayshawn's skillset than FS...

[like54ninjas]

Yep...I think DLB or SS is a better match for Rayshawn's skillset than FS...

I believe Rayshawn played very well in his first season as our starting FS and he will retain that job this season. We do play sub packages the vast majority so getting Nasir, incredible talent, on the field with both Derwin & Rayshawn seems logical.

[sonorajim]

We have a lot of DB talent. It'll be interesting to see what Gus & assistants can do with them in packages and scheme changes with same personnel on the field. You won't want to confuse the Chargers DBs, but pushing the envelope is the essence of winning. Let's see what they have.
It would be a damn shame to not be near the top in Ints, PDs as a team.
Coaching is going to be a key (as always). Top talent should equal top production.

[like54ninjas]

The praise for the Chargers’ defense just keeps coming. This time, they make Bleacher Report’s latest list of the top seven defenses in the NFL.

From seventh to first, here are their top units:

7.) New Orleans Saints
6.) Los Angeles Chargers
5.) Denver Broncos
4.) San Francisco 49ers
3.) Chicago Bears
2.) Pittsburgh Steelers
1.) Baltimore Ravens

Sixth isn’t too shabby, but some could argue that they deserve to be higher than one or two teams currently ranked above them.

Author Chris Roling starts his blurb on the Chargers with the sentiment “...the pass rush rules all.” which gives us an idea of why teams are ranked where they are. The Broncos currently have Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, and Jurrell Casey. The Bears have Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, and newly-signed Robert Quinn.

While those are formidable trios up front, I’m not sure how the Chargers don’t get the edge due to their stacked secondary. The Bears have Eddie Jackson and Kendall Fuller. The Broncos have Justin Simmons and AJ Bouye. But the Chargers have twice as many elite defensive backs as either of those teams. Based on that alone, I can’t agree with this ranking.

However, it’s the secondary’s lack of production that likely keeps them out of the top five.

“The unit only mustered 30 sacks (fifth-fewest) with 11 interceptions and surrendered 21.6 points per game,” says Roling. “Los Angeles worked to better surround the star duo (Bosa and Ingram), though.”

Roling’s also a huge fan of the additions of Linval Joseph via free agency and Kenneth Murray Jr. from the draft. Joseph provides a monolithic presence in the middle of the defense while Murray adds a level of athleticism not seen at the second level for the Bolts in some time.

Add in a healthy Derwin James - who said his football IQ is higher than ever on Wednesday - and you’ve got yourself an extremely potent defensive cocktail that no offense will be willing to drink in 2020.

“Most important of all, elite safety Derwin James—who received a 88.3 PFF grade as an All-Pro rookie in 2018—should be able to play more than the five games he appeared in last season. James’ presence alone could make this a top-10 defense, though the organization’s additions seal the big leap

[Formula 21]

The Bolt's D played soft last year. 3rd down wins were pathetic. Hopefully they're a lot tougher this year. They have the talent.

[sonorajim]

The Bolt's D played soft last year. 3rd down wins were pathetic. Hopefully they're a lot tougher this year. They have the talent.

The defensive team we have today didn't play last year.
Some individuals, yes. Many, not much. Others, not at all.
We have some serious talent with a chip on their shoulders.
It's definitely a new year.

[Steve]

The rankings are just someone opinion. It all comes down to how well our LB and DT end up playing. We have guys at the other positions that do play at high to very high levels. We just can't have positions on the field that aren't contributing much. We have two of the best DE in football, but if the QB can just step up in the pocket, then the offense has an easy solution to them. Same with the LB, if the other positons fill their gaps, and the LB aren't filling their gaps and tackling, then the rest of the spots are wasted effort. Football is the ultimate team sport, but everyone has to hold up their end of the bargain.

Joesph is a nice addition, but at his age, he can't do it by himself. He is not going to be able to play 40 quality plays per game. Tillery and Jones need to hold up their end of the bargain, and at least stuff the run. Ingram can continue to add inside rush at DT, but he is already playing plenty of snaps at DE and LB (goalline), but there are limits to what he can do too. It comes down to quality draft picks need to play up to their potential.

[sonorajim]

U always want strong up the middle.

Linval is an upgrade on Mebane. How much? We'll have to see.
Jones and Tillery are improved and getting better.
It could get interesting if somebody from Broughton, Smith, Fehoka beats out Square.

Perryman is healthy and Tranquill may take a lot of his snaps anyway.
Murray may contend for DROY.
White, Vigil, Nwosu, Egbule compete for SAM & assorted LB depth

We're clearly better at DT - LB.
How much is a legit question.
IMO? Significantly - but it's just a majority opinion. They absolutely need to settle questions on the field vs their 2020 sched.

[Steve]

I agree, we will be better. I am worried about how much.

Murray will probably be the one LB who gets a ton of snaps in our D. It really just comes down to him. We need one every down LB. The rest need to play well, but again, teams don't carry enough blocking TE and FB to worry about needing to have great talent to matchup against them. He should be in the running for ROY.

The romantic attachment so many people have to playing LB, I just don't see us sitting our probowl caliber DB in King and Harris to make room for Tranquill and Nwosu/White. So, while the rest of the LB corp is going to be somewhat better, they are just situational role players. Besides, with all the new zone read, outside zone toss stuff SF showed last year, and the RPO's, we want as much speed on the field, not going back to using plow horses (LB).


If Nwosu can step up his game and get more pressure, then we can start spending more time sliding Bosa and Ingram inside on 2nd and 3rd downs. Rochelle has flashed some ability as an inside rusher, so if we can find a way to give him some snaps inside, fine, but this is probably not a year where we can experiment unless there are a lot of injuries. Rochelle and Nwosu can help the situation somewhat as DE, but we really still need a DT to step up and be at least a solid player. They can help the rotation and give us some flexibility moving poeple around some, but in the end there is only so much window dressing that will help.

So, the key will then really be about the DT.

No matter how well Joseph plays, he is not going to be on the field so much that we can live without at least one of the others stepping up. It doesn't matter who it is, but Jones and Tillery are the most likely candidates. Both have played at a high level during their college careers, but neither has done more than flash ability in the NFL. However, if one of the others can do it, it really doesn't matter who it is. But they did a putrid job keeping OL off the LB and DB last year, and they only made up for it by being just as bad or worse vs the pass. They have to get better.

[wu-dai clan]

I like Graziano better than Rochell.
Graziano...grintoso.

[like54ninjas]

I agree, we will be better. I am worried about how much.

Murray will probably be the one LB who gets a ton of snaps in our D. It really just comes down to him. We need one every down LB. The rest need to play well, but again, teams don't carry enough blocking TE and FB to worry about needing to have great talent to matchup against them. He should be in the running for ROY.

The romantic attachment so many people have to playing LB, I just don't see us sitting our probowl caliber DB in King and Harris to make room for Tranquill and Nwosu/White. So, while the rest of the LB corp is going to be somewhat better, they are just situational role players. Besides, with all the new zone read, outside zone toss stuff SF showed last year, and the RPO's, we want as much speed on the field, not going back to using plow horses (LB).


If Nwosu can step up his game and get more pressure, then we can start spending more time sliding Bosa and Ingram inside on 2nd and 3rd downs. Rochelle has flashed some ability as an inside rusher, so if we can find a way to give him some snaps inside, fine, but this is probably not a year where we can experiment unless there are a lot of injuries. Rochelle and Nwosu can help the situation somewhat as DE, but we really still need a DT to step up and be at least a solid player. They can help the rotation and give us some flexibility moving poeple around some, but in the end there is only so much window dressing that will help.

So, the key will then really be about the DT.

No matter how well Joseph plays, he is not going to be on the field so much that we can live without at least one of the others stepping up. It doesn't matter who it is, but Jones and Tillery are the most likely candidates. Both have played at a high level during their college careers, but neither has done more than flash ability in the NFL. However, if one of the others can do it, it really doesn't matter who it is. But they did a putrid job keeping OL off the LB and DB last year, and they only made up for it by being just as bad or worse vs the pass. They have to get better.

If we are talking speed, 20 yard burst, and agility plus size to handle TE’s or RB’s; Tranquil, Kyzir, and K9 are better options. Drue and Murray are both outright faster than King while carrying 4+ inches of height and 35#-40# of muscle on their frames. Kyzir’s long speed is closer to 4.7 but his explosion (20 yard) and agility metrics are equal or better than both King and CHJR.
Since we play in .05 the majority of time, we will see 2 of our bigger, faster LB’s on the field. I see K9 and Drue with more snaps combined than King/CHJR.

DT rotation/production will be a major factor in how our overall D plays. I agree that we need Justin Jones & Tillery need to increase their impact on both phases of the game. Jones last 6-7 games were played at a high level of assignment football. Tillery is a bigger project and I have huge doubts about his ability to be anything more than a marginal rotation guy. I didn’t like Jerry in my prospect rating but hope I’m wrong about him and he proves me wrong.