Official Chargers News - Injury Updates

[Lightningwill_420]

If the oline is improved via FA and draft as our bloody GM wants this season but we do not fortify the defense we will win games we barley lost last season at least but not much more. If we get better play from who we have on oline but improve the defense we will be a lot more competitive IMO. Yes with a better Oline and running game we will put up more points but we also badly need to prevent teams from scoring more than 21 points/game so the idea is to do both and that may take the whole offseason. Remember teams cut players good aging players after the draft when they draft that players replacement.

If we get a guard and a center and have a decent line, then Philip Rivers will put up 4 touchdowns per game. We'd be in the post season even with last year's defense.

If all we do is get a couple defenders, then we are wasting the best quarterback in the league. We'll still be losers.

And, dude, if we really want to fix the defense, we need pass rushers. I have yet to see the primary need of the defense addressed this offseason. It's the same issue we had on defense last year and the year before.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

I don't think everybody is taking the line as seriously as they should. How the fuck can I get excited about signing a safety, a receiver, and a defensive lineman when all I picture right now is the same thing I saw the last two years - Philip Rivers getting slaughtered? We have the best fucking quarterback in the universe and we're fucking wasting him. Get him a goddamn line. That's priority number 1. Everything else matters only once the line is fixed.

No offense, but you have to be kidding me. Anyone who has watched this team for the last two years realizes how important the OL is for the success of this franchise, esp with Rivers at QB. Your analysis is flawed in the sense that you seem to believe that if priority 1 is OL then you should sign FA OLs (since that's all that we've been able to do so far) and not do anything else until the draft. That's silly. If you don't want to tie up so many cap dollars on OL then you target them in the draft. That appears to be the strategy. It can still be priority one, you just address it later in the process. My #1 guy is Tunsil. I would love if he fell to us. Doubt it's happening but you never know. If he's gone, then you go to next guy on your board or trade out. If next guy on your board is not an OL and you think he's a Pro Bowler then you don't trade out and you go after an OL as soon as you can after. I agree...I hate counting on guys that have been injured multiple times in the last few years. But that actually wasn't the biggest problem. The biggest problem was we didn't have adequate depth to replace guys if they went down

[Lightningwill_420]

No offense, but you have to be kidding me. Anyone who has watched this team for the last two years realizes how important the OL is for the success of this franchise, esp with Rivers at QB. Your analysis is flawed in the sense that you seem to believe that if priority 1 is OL then you should sign FA OLs (since that's all that we've been able to do so far) and not do anything else until the draft. That's silly. If you don't want to tie up so many cap dollars on OL then you target them in the draft. That appears to be the strategy. It can still be priority one, you just address it later in the process. My #1 guy is Tunsil. I would love if he fell to us. Doubt it's happening but you never know. If he's gone, then you go to next guy on your board or trade out. If next guy on your board is not an OL and you think he's a Pro Bowler then you don't trade out and you go after an OL as soon as you can after. I agree...I hate counting on guys that have been injured multiple times in the last few years. But that actually wasn't the biggest problem. The biggest problem was we didn't have adequate depth to replace guys if they went down

Is Tunsil going to solve our guard and center problems?

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

If we get a guard and a center and have a decent line, then Philip Rivers will put up 4 touchdowns per game. We'd be in the post season even with last year's defense.

If all we do is get a couple defenders, then we are wasting the best quarterback in the league. We'll still be losers.

And, dude, if we really want to fix the defense, we need pass rushers. I have yet to see the primary need of the defense addressed this offseason. It's the same issue we had on defense last year and the year before.

#1 if Philip Rivers is throwing 4 TDs a game then we are likely on the losing end of a lot of ballgames.

#2 We do need pass rushers. We need to add to what we do have, which isn't nothing. But we also needed an interior D to keep us from being gutted up the middle like we were last year. Unable to stop the running game, we committed a lot more players to stopping the run, which then opened up the passing game for opponents. Continued development from Perryman should help as well. Ingram showed some flashes last year (along with one bonehead penalty per game) and Attaochu looks like a player. Emanuel's a prospect. So if we add another guy to the mix I think we're headed in the right direction. The D actually was the more productive unit of the team at the end of last year. They could get stops and then the O just sucked.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Is Tunsil going to solve our guard and center problems?

No. But since C is such a priority maybe we should overdraft Kelly and take him at #3. Or maybe we should have given Alex Mack $28M guaranteed and paid him $9M a year. I get that you want an instant fix. And I get that even better than an instant fix would have been stronger efforts to fix 2,3, 5 and 7 years ago. But we are where we are. That we were stupid in the past doesn't mean we should continue to be stupid.

[Steve]

I think the problem is that people think that FA signings are the sure thing, and draft picks are the low risk signings. I understand the thinking, since FA are known commodities, but there is a reason their teams let them be FA in the first place. It just doesn't happen to be true, since you uproot the players and put them in new environments, and give them a lot of money to make them feel like they have arrived. They are no longer motivated to prove themselves and let up, and their careers just disappear.

The idea that you hit on a higher percentage of FA then complete bullshit. Just look at any seasons FA signings and you see that FA are the high risk/low reward path. Add in that the poor FA crop of OL, the odds were stacked against us to begin with. FA was never going to be the answer of our OL problems.

Fans, players and agents love FA because it satisfies that basic american ideal that you should be paid for your efforts. but that is not how you are paid in the NFL. NFL contracts represent what will you be paid for your FUTURE production. And ask any accountant or money guy, past performance is no guarantee of future production.

I kinda like how the FA thing has been playing out, if you have to try and play the game that is. Of the guys we have signed, we avoided the big name, big singing bonus, long term deals. Those are almost always a disaster, so don't even try. The guys the Giants signed will probably all be out of the NFL in 3-4 years, and any that are left will probably be playing for close to league min. Big contracts are the kiss of death to most guys careers, so unless you have to piss away money like the Jags and Raiders, better to avoid them altogether.

The higher percentage FA guys are the 2-4 year deals that have relatively little money up front, and the players know they have to keep proving themselves. Still fairly high risk compared to draft picks, but it's not like you are throwing it away with no hope like with the high priced guys. If you look at the guys we signed, they all fit this mode. It is still a fairly poor mode of operation, but we are still suffering from years of poor draft performance and the injury thing, so some desperation in FA (signing FA at all) has to be expected, no matter how low the probability of it working is.

As far as the draft this season, I think we are positioning ourselves nicely. We may land one of the top 2 OT. We don't really need an OT, since we have 4 already (Dunlap, Barksdale, Fluker and Franklin), but adding a good OL never really hurts. But even if we don't add an OT in the top of the 1st (or trade down some), we have another pick where there should be a lot of good OL. There are some OT types who we could move inside, plus most of the top C types will start to look attractive in this area of the draft. While it is not that common for rookies to step in and play early as an OT if you are not a 1st round pick, it is fairly common for inside players to be taken and be day 1 starters inside. And that same logic is likely to apply in the 3rd round too.

[Lightningwill_420]

No. But since C is such a priority maybe we should overdraft Kelly and take him at #3. Or maybe we should have given Alex Mack $28M guaranteed and paid him $9M a year. I get that you want an instant fix. And I get that even better than an instant fix would have been stronger efforts to fix 2,3, 5 and 7 years ago. But we are where we are. That we were stupid in the past doesn't mean we should continue to be stupid.

I'd rather we sign a free agent center than "overdraft" anybody. The draft is already a big enough crap shoot; let's not bend the odds further out of our favor.

[Lightningwill_420]

Super Bowl Champion Denver Donkeys

Quarterback - free agent
Running back - drafted
Fullback - drafted
Wide receiver - free agent
Wide receiver - drafted
Tight end - free agent
Left tackle - drafted
Left guard - free agent
Center - drafted
Right guard - free agent
Right tackle - drafted

Defensive end - drafted
Nose tackle - drafted
Defensive end - drafted
Linebacker - drafted
Linebacker - free agent
Linebacker - free agent
Linebacker - drafted
Cornerback - free agent
Cornerback - drafted
Safety - free agent
Safety - free agent

55% of the team was drafted. The rest were free agents.

2016 San Diego Chargers

QB - drafted
RB - drafted
TE - drafted (okay - undrafted, but has always been with us)
LT - free agent
LG - free agent
C - drafted
RG - drafted
RT - free agent
WR - drafted
WR - free agent
WR - drafted (undrafted)

DE - drafted
DE - free agent (I think we traded for him actually.)
NT - free agent
LB - drafted
LB - drafted
LB - drafted
LB - drafted
CB - free agent
CB - drafted
S - free agent
S - free agent

San Diego currently has drafted about 59% of its starters.

* editor's note - I labeled players as drafted if they started with their current team and "free agent" if they started their careers on some other team. There were some traded-for or undrafted players mislabeled, but I think you get the point.

[Lightningwill_420]

After finding out that it is possible to win a Super Bowl with one more free-agent signing as a starter, I say we do this. Get free agent starters at center and guard to replace Watt and Fluker. Fluker stays on as a backup, and Watt gets to fight for a spot on the team.
Draft a new starter to play defensive end, replacing a player we didn't draft.
At that point, we'd have 10 free-agent starters, the same number that won the Super Bowl last year.
Problem solved.
I wonder if Telesco thinks about this shit.

[Antonio's Gates]

I'd rather we sign a free agent center than "overdraft" anybody. The draft is already a big enough crap shoot; let's not bend the odds further out of our favor.

Glad you're not the GM.

[Steve]

Super Bowl Champion Denver Donkeys

Quarterback - free agent
Running back - drafted
Fullback - drafted
Wide receiver - free agent
Wide receiver - drafted
Tight end - free agent
Left tackle - drafted
Left guard - free agent
Center - drafted
Right guard - free agent
Right tackle - drafted

Defensive end - drafted
Nose tackle - drafted
Defensive end - drafted
Linebacker - drafted
Linebacker - free agent
Linebacker - free agent
Linebacker - drafted
Cornerback - free agent
Cornerback - drafted
Safety - free agent
Safety - free agent

55% of the team was drafted. The rest were free agents.

2016 San Diego Chargers

QB - drafted
RB - drafted
TE - drafted (okay - undrafted, but has always been with us)
LT - free agent
LG - free agent
C - drafted
RG - drafted
RT - free agent
WR - drafted
WR - free agent
WR - drafted (undrafted)

DE - drafted
DE - free agent (I think we traded for him actually.)
NT - free agent
LB - drafted
LB - drafted
LB - drafted
LB - drafted
CB - free agent
CB - drafted
S - free agent
S - free agent

San Diego currently has drafted about 59% of its starters.

* editor's note - I labeled players as drafted if they started with their current team and "free agent" if they started their careers on some other team. There were some traded-for or undrafted players mislabeled, but I think you get the point.

I don't know what this proves other than you are guessing who is going to start (and keeping it to yourself) and presumably that Denver is going to repeat (?).

An awful lot of the players you have listed as FA are not FA. Your methodology is flawed. Players listed as FA need to have been FA, not players signed off the street or traded for. I really can't tell because you don't list who is who. Demarcus Ware was not a FA for Denver, he was cut by the Cowboys and signed off the street. Guys who get cut from other teams are pretty well motivated. Flowers was cut by by KC, played well, then signed a FA contract and he sucked, which proves my point.

We also don't know who is starting for either team, yet. I am guessing that you have Clady listed as the Denver LT, but they just signed Okung and Clady is about to get cut if Denver can't find a trading partner. Until the Clady thing works it's way out no one really knows.

Second, and far more importantly, we don't know if any of the new bunch are any going to play well. Our starting LG was a true FA, but he was fucking AWFUL. He was easily the worst player on our starting OL. He also only played a few games, so we had guys playing off the street last year. Franklin is one of the players that proves my point most clearly. He was, and will be a starter for us in 2016 because of his contract. We are paying him way to much money to sit him and bring in a player who will push him. But the team would be a whole lot better off if Franklin was competing for his starting job. FA is a problem because for NFL teams because it robs them of the ability to allow players to compete.

The other 3 things that would be much more relevant is:
1). since not too many teams repeat, last years teams. It also allows you to put in things like Robinson over Watt, which shows were we were weak (either the injury thing for Watt or that Robinson was a backup forced to start almost the entire season);
2). list the players who actually play, starters are not the guys who play. Denver, like just about every other team in football only plays it's base D less than 20-25% of the time. Roby was the 11th starter on D. And Denver left one of their S off the field a lot of nickle downs, in favor of extra CB;
3). before you rely too much on 2 isolated cases, maybe look at FA as a whole. Denver is an exception because they have the pick of all FA, and everyone knew they were playing for a SB. Look around the league and you will see a different story.

Look at other rosters and you see most of the top teams are not big players in FA and are built through the draft. Carolina and Cinci are both teams that have been built through the draft, and are positioned for long term success. For the most part, teams like us, Miami and NY Giants, who keep relying on FA will continue to suck until they find ways to get the most of their drafts and stop using FA to compensate. Look at ESPN bloggers and the consistent theme around the league is that most GM know that continued success comes from the draft, not from singning FA, because they know it is like pissing upwind.

[bonehead]

After finding out that it is possible to win a Super Bowl with one more free-agent signing as a starter, I say we do this. Get free agent starters at center and guard to replace Watt and Fluker. Fluker stays on as a backup, and Watt gets to fight for a spot on the team.
Draft a new starter to play defensive end, replacing a player we didn't draft.
At that point, we'd have 10 free-agent starters, the same number that won the Super Bowl last year.
Problem solved.
I wonder if Telesco thinks about this shit.

He does.....just not as much as you do