Chargers at Bengals Game Day Thread (WK 1)

[richpjr]

The same group of fans who thought Joe Burrow and Bengals would pass all over us are same one's upset that we won. This team is trying to make the playoffs not feel bad about a week 1 road win. Would you all have been happier we blew a large lead like many other teams this week?

Who is upset we won?

[powderblueboy]

Maybe Tua. But Herbert was always going to have to wait because he had so many bad coaches. He finally worked on his fundamentals this past offseason.

Last i heard, Tua was a hot mess in training camp.

Interesting that you say he had so many bad coaches. I know he had a lot of coaches (& that might be the problem), but all were bad?
I thought Nike could afford assistant coaches.

[powderblueboy]

Per Pat Kirwan,
SXM NFL Radio,
one hour ago,
the OPI on AJ Green,
was called correctly.

More significantly,
Kirwan was very impressed
with Burrow's NFL debut,
and he says
this will put great pressure
on MIA/LAC
to put Tua/Herbert
out there PRONTO.

Chaincrusher is furiously sending message to Pat Kirwin right now.

[chargers_22]

You were responding to a post with both Tyrod and Herbert mentioned so I thought you were talking about Herbert lol.

All good just bustin chops and I can see where the misunderstanding. Now let's not get into Hebert That's another story

[Formula 21]

'The old pulled calf': Ex-kicker Lawrence Tynes throws shade at Randy Bullock over FG miss

Dave Clark
Cincinnati Enquirer
View Comments

0:12
2:16
Former NFL kicker Lawrence Tynes suggested with a tweet late Sunday that he "never tried" the "old pulled calf" after a field-goal miss, accompanying video of Cincinnati Bengals kicker Randy Bullock's failed 31-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.


NFL Network's Michael Silver also questioned Bullock's injury on Monday afternoon.

"I hope Randy Bullock's okay. Something tells me that that injury is akin to - like you're in a race, and you realize like it's not going well," Silver said. "And then you pull up with the hammy, like right around then. And you're like, 'Ah, it just doesn't feel right.' You were gonna lose anyway, but now I've got a twitch. I hope it's not serious."

Bullock had limited participation in practice on Monday, with his injury listed as "calves."

"For whatever reason during the kicking motion, my left calf grabbed real hard. No excuse ... it was a freak deal," Bullock said after the game. "I let the team down and I'm real frustrated and disappointed."

[Bolt-O]

Per Pat Kirwan,
SXM NFL Radio,
one hour ago,
the OPI on AJ Green,
was called correctly.
....

I agree, Green created separation with his arms. Hayward might have embellished a little, but he got the attention of the official. In general, I think OPI should be called more often, but DPI has too severe of a penalty on long passes.

[Xenos]

Last i heard, Tua was a hot mess in training camp.

Interesting that you say he had so many bad coaches. I know he had a lot of coaches (& that might be the problem), but all were bad?
I thought Nike could afford assistant coaches.

Expensive coaches doesn’t always mean good coaches lol.

[Xenos]

Popper's seven observations broken up into seven different posts. Because why not? lol

https://theathletic.com/2064756/2020/09/14/seven-observations-from-the-chargers-season-opening-victory-vs-the-bengals/

1. This was the blueprint for Anthony Lynn


All offseason, as the Chargers retooled their roster, moved on from Philip Rivers and handed the quarterbacking reins to Tyrod Taylor, I kept harping on one basic point: The fundamental pillar of Lynn’s coaching philosophy is protecting the football and winning the turnover battle. This part of his approach was always at odds with Rivers’ gunslinging mindset. But now the Chargers have a quarterback in Taylor who is historically good at not throwing interceptions, and on Sunday he did exactly what was asked of him — protect the football at all costs — even if the offense looked stuck in the mud for pretty much the entire first half.

This was more or less Lynn’s vision heading into the season. Obviously, he would prefer some more efficiency on offense. But his priority was winning the turnover battle. That meant limiting turnovers on offense and forcing them on defense. Lynn was determined to avoid the type of backbreaking interceptions from Rivers that were this team’s downfall last season. The Chargers were tied for the worst turnover differential in the NFL in 2019 at minus-17.

The Chargers had two takeaways Sunday, both in the fourth quarter. First, Denzel Perryman forced Bengals running back Joe Mixon to fumble when he got his helmet to the ball early in the fourth quarter. On the next defensive possession, after a field goal put the Chargers ahead 16-13, Melvin Ingram sniffed out a Bengals screen and picked off Joe Burrow, who attempted a shovel pass to a running back. They finished with a plus-2 turnover differential in the game, as the offense did not give the ball away.

In 2019, the Chargers won the turnover battle in only two games. They won both of those contests.

“We won today because we were 2-0 in the turnover column,” Lynn said.

[Xenos]

2. Why was the offense so disjointed?


The Chargers’ offense looked discombobulated for most of the first half. It was difficult to watch at times. The Chargers punted on their first three possessions before turning the ball over on downs on their fourth possession. Most notably, they struggled to convert on third down, a problem that really persisted over the duration of the game. They finished 6-for-16 on third down. They also went 0-for-2 on fourth down.

“Early on in the game,” Taylor said, “(we were) a little out of sync.”

“We kind of came out slow,” said tight end Hunter Henry, who led the Chargers with 73 receiving yards. “We weren’t really clicking early on.”

Remember, the Chargers made significant scheme changes to their offense this offseason. They are doing things that they never or rarely did when Rivers was the quarterback — zone read and other designed QB runs, plays out of the pistol formation and an offensive approach that revolves around play action, just to name a few. The Chargers were 27th in the league in play-action percentage last year. I don’t have the numbers yet from Sunday’s game, but I can guarantee you the play-action percentage was higher than 9.9 percent of scrimmage plays, which was the Chargers’ rate in 2019.

This is all to say that sloppiness and a general lack of chemistry is expected and even understandable at this stage.

Taylor could not be more different than Rivers in terms of his playing style, and that’s something his receivers, tight ends and running backs will have to adjust to.

Taylor had to help orchestrate these major scheme changes without any OTAs, minicamp or preseason games, and with an abbreviated training camp.

Sunday was literally the first time any of these players played in this offense during a live football game. It’s going to take time for all the pieces to jell and get comfortable with the new concepts. The encouraging part for the Chargers is that the offense got smoother as the game went on, and while I expect some scattered struggles, I think we will see overall improvement as the season progresses and as players and coaches get more live reps.

Tyrod Taylor completed 16 of 30 attempts for 208 yards. (Joseph Maiorana / USA Today)

[Xenos]

3. Jerry Tillery will be a major factor this season


Defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, the Chargers’ 2019 first-round draft pick, made it a goal this offseason to get stronger and faster.

“I wanted to transform my body to be in better shape to play the game,” he told me during training camp.

That was his primary issue as a rookie. After missing time in the spring and summer because of shoulder surgery, Tillery wasn’t physically ready for the demands of playing interior defensive line in the NFL. But after working out in Orange County and making those changes to his body, he looks like a different player. He flashed in training-camp practices, and that translated to Sunday’s game.

Tillery sacked Burrow on the second possession of the game, shedding a blocker before bottling up the rookie QB. Later, in the second quarter, Tillery showed his quickness and anticipation, winning at the line of scrimmage before crushing Burrow in the backfield just after he handed off the ball. If Tillery had been a millisecond faster, he would have sacked Burrow on a run play. Still, his penetration allowed linebacker Kyzir White to tackle Mixon for a loss.

“I seen Jerry grow up right before my eyes, man,” Ingram said. “It was a great thing because Jerry has been working so hard in camp. And to see him be rewarded for his hard work, it was dope. And I think the sky is the limit for him. He’s only going to get better.”

Tillery was even working at defensive tackle on first and second downs, something he rarely did in 2019, when the Chargers used him almost exclusively in pass-rushing situations. If he keeps playing like he did Sunday, especially in the first half, he will be a big part of this defense in 2020.

[Xenos]

4. Joshua Kelley provides a spark


Running back Justin Jackson suffered a quad injury Sunday, which opened the door for rookie Joshua Kelley, who had entered the game as the third running back on the depth chart.

“When my number gets called, I have to make the most of my opportunities,” Kelley said after the game.

That’s exactly what he did. Kelley broke off a 26-yard run on his third carry of the game, making one cut at the line of scrimmage before speeding ahead into the second level of the Bengals’ defense. He finished the game with 60 yards on 12 carries and scored the Chargers’ lone touchdown when he capped a 10-play, 55-yard drive with a 5-yard run. Kelley also showed his strength and physicality when he ran over Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt on a 4-yard rush late in the third quarter.

“It would have been hard to win that game without Joshua today,” Lynn said.

Kelley was a star in training camp. Now he is proving he can do the same thing in games — torching opposing defenses with a blend of speed and hard-nosed running.

“He showed us, and everyone else, what he’s capable of doing,” Taylor said.

[Xenos]

5. The safety rotation


With Derwin James out, both Desmond King and Nasir Adderley rotated into the game at safety. King was playing strong safety, mostly on early downs, with Rayshawn Jenkins remaining at free safety. Adderley was playing free safety when he was in, mostly on third down, with Jenkins moving to strong safety.

It seems, at least initially, that the Chargers will play both players at safety depending on matchups and situations.

“Right now, it’s based on personnel with those two and how we rotate them,” Lynn said of King and Adderley. “But maybe we’ll get to a point where one guy stays out there. We’ll see.”