POLL: What Is The Bolts' Main Problem? (+ Post - Week 3 Discussion)

[Biggestfan]

Neither had to do with turnovers?

I'll say that the turnovers were really bad. But this team looks flat. They were flat against Cincy and easily could have lost. They surprisingly started out pumped against KC then went away from the game plan. Yesterday absolutely flat and seemingly unmotivated. And they still have tackling issues apparently. You can't tell me that with a very good coaching system in place they wouldn't be 3-0 right now.

[beachcomber]

looking @the snap counts, the only thing eye see on O is that KJ Hill took half of MW's snaps and apparently did next to nothing, and did not look NFL ready according to the some of you, and of course which Jolt so gleefully pointed out.... (recall that you were a safety back in your day, so trust that's where you learned to backpedal, as am sure you will after Hill establishes himself as a solid NFL vet).

on D, would surmise we missed JJ as Tillery flat out is not much of a run stopper. it is also clear that Murray and Harris have replaced Perryman and King.... is there a noticeable dividend there ?? am suspicious that there is something personal there between the HC and the two latter mentioned, albeit obviously there were/are health concerns w/Denzel and performance concerns w/King from last season.

Trent Scott played over half the snaps @LT, they had a first time starter @guard who played every snap, and some pretty much journeymen guys at the other Oline positions, and.... what did we do w/that, and how did Carolina make our Oline look so porous/unprepared ??

Meyer vs. Campen.... how you like me now ??

we had no Trai Turner, they had no Okung.... we had no SupaMel, they were without Short.... don't see where the excuses lie, other than game planning and preparation.... did we get outcoached/outschemed ??

[beachcomber]

defensive takeaways were obviously the biggest differential in the game....

injuries were a factor, youth was a very big factor, playing an 0-2 team was prolly a consideration as well, not to mention their QB and some of their younger defenders are perhaps better than some are giving them credit for.

our Dline didn't get it done, our Oline didn't get it done, and....

am def more of a pundit, and apparently therein my football is on the stupid side, and.... watching KC execute their O, and watching us execute, am wondering if we can do better by our OC/HC and their game plan ??

....dunno ??

[Biggestfan]

defensive takeaways were obviously the biggest differential in the game....

injuries were a factor, youth was a very big factor, playing an 0-2 team was prolly a consideration as well, not to mention their QB and some of their younger defenders are perhaps better than some are giving them credit for.

our Dline didn't get it done, our Oline didn't get it done, and....

am def more of a pundit, and apparently therein my football is on the stupid side, and.... watching KC execute their O, and watching us execute, am wondering if we can do better by our OC/HC and their game plan ??

....dunno ??

I have my issues with the defense but right now offensive play calling and execution have been the bigger factor contributing to losses. You have plenty of teams dropping 25 to 35 points each week. Chargers are among the bottom in points scored

[like54ninjas]

I'll say that the turnovers were really bad. But this team looks flat. They were flat against Cincy and easily could have lost. They surprisingly started out pumped against KC then went away from the game plan. Yesterday absolutely flat and seemingly unmotivated. And they still have tackling issues apparently. You can't tell me that with a very good coaching system in place they wouldn't be 3-0 right now.

I can tell you if we had committed 0 turnovers we would be 3-0 right now.

[like54ninjas]

defensive takeaways were obviously the biggest differential in the game....

injuries were a factor, youth was a very big factor, playing an 0-2 team was prolly a consideration as well, not to mention their QB and some of their younger defenders are perhaps better than some are giving them credit for.

our Dline didn't get it done, our Oline didn't get it done, and....

am def more of a pundit, and apparently therein my football is on the stupid side, and.... watching KC execute their O, and watching us execute, am wondering if we can do better by our OC/HC and their game plan ??

....dunno ??

Agree on the play of both of our lines. Tillery got worked this game. Groy & Bulaga/Pipkins didn’t get it done.

Our offense put up almost 450 yards so I fail to see the failure here other than points. We can obviously move the ball so getting better with situational football is the key. Turnovers and a few failures of our playmakers to make the plays when given opportunities were/are the issues. I do think we need to stay more committed to our ground game regardless of the score through at least the first 3Qs.

[Critty]

Well if Tyrod does typical Tyrod things and was 100% healthy. Then there are likely zero turnovers from the QB position yesterday.

And since those two were converted into FG.
And team lost by 5. I think the veteran QB makes enough of a difference to change the outcome.

Not to mention the interception happen inside Panther territory with scoring opportunity to at least try a FG. So instead of 3pts for Chargers on that drive, it went the other way and 3 pts for opponent.

Tyrod is not the future. He is not a franchise QB talent and he doesn't have JH10 arm talent or size. But he knows how to play QB better right now during this early part of the season. So I give Tyrod the 19-18 win if he was 100% and started yesterday.

Lynn a solid coach. His gameplan was a winning gameplan yesterday. I think a 100% Tyrod executes a bit better than the rookie QB did. And Lynn team final call was perfect, just slightly botched by 2 of the hardest workers on team Allen & Ekeler. It was a great call to win the game. If your the HC isn't those two guys the ones you want running that play.

Im not 2nd guessing Lynn. He was trying to do what Reid did. Play a game manager vet QB while the new franchise rookie QB sit for 1 year. But injury chnaged the plan. And he had 2 good gameplans for his Rookie QB to win two games.

Im seeing glass half full with the HC.
I dont want to play musical coaches because ive seen that before and I have absolutely no faith in Chargers that they will actually find a better HC as the replacement. I think Lynn is a winning HC and knows how to gameplan. What he did with a rookie QB and no Derwin and missing offense lineman vs the Champs is not something, imo a bad coach can do. A bad coach gets blown out by KC with a rookie in suprise start. That didn't happen because IMO Lynn is a very good football coach.

[beachcomber]

I'll stir the pot, and say yes.... can't rule it out that we woulda won w/Tyrod @the helm, and feel for AL in that he got boondoggled w/his QB situation.

not only has Lynn lost his battle tested QB, but his philosophy is out the window and basically back to somewhat of what it was w/Rivers @the helm, as Herbert is a passer first, and def a gunslinger by nature, and of which we as fans have got to love.

the AL run game that we have been waiting for is now here.

and personally despite some claims that we are weak/shallow behind MW, personally think we run @least ten deep in pass catchers on O, between our RBs, TEs and wideouts, and unfortunately as we have no Oline to show for it, having spent our draft and FA capital on skill position players, and perhaps due in part as well that our GM and DFO were both once upon a time skill position players/receivers themselves, and more inclined to have an eye for that than the big uglies ??

things are def coming to a head.... last time our HC emerged from his 0-4 rubble to next go 22-9.... does he have another rabbit or coupla few outta his magic hat, or does his year 4 go the way of McCoy & Co. ??

[Fleet]

I think we have a lot of good ingredients. Im just not all that trusting that we have the chefs to put together a tasty enough of a meal.

We are a lucky FG miss away from being 0-3.

Can we bench Herbert for Taylor? Is that a smart move by the coach? Im not sure just asking. Its often that i feel like we are getting outcoached. Play design and execution isnt always on the players. Especially when its the little details that are getting us killed. Basics of fundamental football. Sloppy football play. Low football IQ. Make the players smarter. Educate them.

I always go back to Marty who had his teams fit and fundamentally sound. I get it in 2020 its hard with no pre season and really soft camps....but we just look sloppy. This team constantly plays down to lesser opponents. I used to go to every camp practice at UCSD and write up reports for our forum. Its so different now. Wether its league implemented or not im not sure. Its just so loose at camp from the insider reports i read and stuff i see personally. Maybe im just old school.

On the flipside....looks like my desire to grab Jason Peters was way off. That would have been a bad signing.

Im starting to see just how important Derwin and Tranquil are to the D.

4 turnovers will kill you every time. Should have been 2 ints for Herbert.

Speaking of Marty....his son sure is creative up their in Seattle. Im just concerned that this staff isnt going to be right for Herbert. And that he could develop bad habits since we are so lax on the fundamentals as it is. I like Pip so i think he is a solid coach for Herbert....but we will need to get innovative an creative going forward. And guys like Eric Bienemy should be hot names this offseason.

Josh Allen didnt really start showing his legs off until later in his initial season....i think Herbert will eventually become a similar player. If he can get the right coaching and scheme to fit his style. Time will tell.

[Boltjolt]

looking @the snap counts, the only thing eye see on O is that KJ Hill took half of MW's snaps and apparently did next to nothing, and did not look NFL ready according to the some of you, and of course which Jolt so gleefully pointed out.... (recall that you were a safety back in your day, so trust that's where you learned to backpedal, as am sure you will after Hill establishes himself as a solid NFL vet).

on D, would surmise we missed JJ as Tillery flat out is not much of a run stopper. it is also clear that Murray and Harris have replaced Perryman and King.... is there a noticeable dividend there ?? am suspicious that there is something personal there between the HC and the two latter mentioned, albeit obviously there were/are health concerns w/Denzel and performance concerns w/King from last season.

Trent Scott played over half the snaps @LT, they had a first time starter @guard who played every snap, and some pretty much journeymen guys at the other Oline positions, and.... what did we do w/that, and how did Carolina make our Oline look so porous/unprepared ??

Meyer vs. Campen.... how you like me now ??

we had no Trai Turner, they had no Okung.... we had no SupaMel, they were without Short.... don't see where the excuses lie, other than game planning and preparation.... did we get outcoached/outschemed ??

I was not the one that said he wasn't NFL ready ,.... But he didn't look that good.
I certainly want Hill to be a good one but you can't expect him to take snaps away from one of our better WRs with no TC or preseason being a 7th rounder.

[Charge!]

I am wondering if the bolded part is actually clickbait. I mean, seriously, does anyone think that a healthy Taylor would have done better than Herbert? You have got to kidding me with that post. That might be the most ridiculous post I have seen in 2020. With Taylor, we likely lose by 20+ points.

There was exactly one turnover this game that was on Herbert and Herbert led two TD drives of 75+ yards and had the team in scoring position on what would have been a 99 yard TD drive in only 1:46 with zero timeouts but for a bad pitch by Allen on the hook and ladder.

I have already explained in multiple posts how Taylor's one, two, three, kick offense started 9 drives against the lowly Bengals with 75 or more yards to go and managed exactly one FG in all of those drives combined. When Taylor was gifted with 2 turnovers against a terrible team, one of which put the team in immediate scoring positon, the team manged to come away with a win in spite of Tyrod's awful performance, but that was only because the refs called OPI to save us and the kicker's leg cramped up on a short FG attempt. 2 turnovers generated, a horrible opponent and good luck and we win by only 3.

In yesterday's game, it was almost the exact opposite in that Herebrt almost got the win for us inspite of the rest of the team's poor performance. Kelley fumbled when Herbert had the team moving. Allen fumbled when Herbert was on the verge of leading the team to victory. Herbert's OL was terrible and caused a bad call fumble--not sure what any QB can do when he is hit in his throwing motion and gets hit because of poor OL protection. The defense got zero takeaways--again--and, in fact, has never had a single takeaway with Herbert at QB, which is very different than what happened with Taylor. The special teams gave the Panthers 4 points and of, course, the INT never happens if the refs do not give our opponent a bad OPI call (again, the opposite of week 1) on the 45 yard pass to Williams to the Carolina 19 yard line.

We have seen what Taylor can do (really more what he can't do) and we have seen what Herebrt can do. Herbert is already better than Taylor. QB rating stats confirm that. Over time, that gap is only going to widen. Taylor has already developed as a QB. He is a solid backup or a bad starter and he is not going to get much, if any, better. Right now, Herbert is already in the range of being a league average starter right off the bat as a rookie even with his rookie mistakes. That's awesome! Look at what John Elway and Peyton manning did in their rookie seasons and you will get the idea.

Herbert has a chance to be a very good QB. He is absolutely oozing with potential. So far he looks very much like the best of the rookie QBs as Tagovailoa cannot beat out a low end Fitz and Burrow has obvious physical limitations as a player and we saw what he could not do in week 1. Really, the only one that can get in the way of Herbert developing into one of the better QBs in the league is Lynn if he maintains his very false "Tyrod gives us the best chance to win" nonsense.

Very well said!!!

And we all have to remember that Herbert did not experience 4 different defenses in pre-season to help with his adjustment to playing against NFL teams actually trying to hit him.....

It's much easier to look great against your own defense in practice when they are not launching themselves at you.....

Herbert has done an amazing job with the horrible protection he has gotten....

Even Lynn, who kind of threw Herbert under the bus after having a pick against KC, is coming around..... against Carolina, the blame for the loss can fall on many...and strangely Lynn had more praise for Herbert after the carolina loss than after the KC loss:

- kelly fumbling for first time in NFL after never fumbling in college....
- many stupid penalties by our DL or OL.....or ST's at eh worst moments..... like on 3rd or 4th down and less than 5 yards...... the dumbest time to jump offsides....or whatever....?
- receivers dropping balls..... Hill supposedly catches everything in practice, but he is a rookie, it happens
- Our front 7 on defense get occasional pressure and are much better at stopping the run than last year, but even though our secondary is concentrating on taking away the deep ball, it seems that whenever our opponent throws deep, our DBs are either out of position, or play the ball badly and we give up a big completion or a stupid penalty..... when is the last time our defense has intercepted a deep ball????? ...... the INT against KC does not count because mahomes saw we were off sides so he just tossed up an gamble on a free play...... even Bridgewater was able to complete 2 or 3 deep balls when he wanted to...... because our defense did not seem to believe he would throw deep balls.....

Bottom line is Herbert is a smart QB who seems to be learning quickly and not repeating same mistakes..... the Herbert era has started and win or lose, he should start every game from now on and our offense needs to worry more about scoring more TD's than using up the clock.....

Bottom line is our front 7 on defense is better than last year, but our secondary can be beaten deep(our DB's are not fast enough to stay with receivers very long) if our pass rush does not get to the QB..... if any QB escapes the pocket, our defense can be beaten badly...... keeping QB's in the pocket should be our defenses number one focus....... this is why each opponent we played was able to move the ball whenever they really wanted to.

We may lose the next two games because we will be playing better teams overall, but hopefully we still see growth..... the Chargers future appears bright....

GB is dominating so far this season...... Rodgers is great but GB has done a great job building their OL...... Rodgers sometimes has all day to look around for receivers to break wide open deep.....Chargers still need to rebuild our OL.....hopefully by end of season a few of our young OL will improve to the point of being solid....

[Velo]

I looked at Joshua Kelley's ball security in his two years at UCLA, where he played for two years after two years at UC Davis.

In 2018, his first season, he fumbled once three games in a row early in the season but didn't fumble again. He had 225 carries that season.
In 2019, he had 229 carries and fumbled once.

From game 6 of 2018 through the entire 2019 season - a span of 17 games and approx 350 carries - he fumbled once.