Tweet
I'd bring back Tevi.
-
-
What about the OLine coach?
I think he was a TE coach last year.Comment
-
Can you imagine starting the season with Pipskins and Norton at OTs ?Last edited by Maniaque 6; 08-22-2021, 09:05 PM.Comment
-
I'll take Harper over Pip at RT, and Tevi over Norton at LT...as backups...Originally posted by Maniaque 6 View PostComment
-
Need to wait for roster cuts. Got to be someone who gets cut who is better than Tevi,Pip and Norton.Originally posted by dmac_bolt View Post
Hec I heard Greg Little got traded for a 6th or 7th rounder. We can go that route too.Comment
-
He was a TE coach with the Bears and Raiders. And before that he was an assistant OL coach for the Saints.Originally posted by Bolts&noles View PostComment
-
I mentioned this in the Free agency thread but I never felt this offseason there was enough OL depth- especially at OT.Originally posted by dmac_bolt View Post
Kelly is gone
I think Rick Wagner is out there, Mitchell Schwartz, Larry Warford could play OG and you can move Feiler toRT -
Russell Okung
if David DeCastro were healthy would pick him to plug in as OG depth and again move Feiler to RT
Staley pretty much slammed Pipkins and Norton in his post game
As for QB - I am calling the head football coach of the team in AL/FL as Stick and sign him to the PS.Comment
-
Telesco needs to take a hard look at his evaluation process to determine how he could sign off on Pipkins 3rd rd. 2019 draft compared to Brenden Jaimes 5th rd. 2021.
what changed?
who evaluated who?
can you see the lightComment
-
Apparently, Staley and his new staff brought a whole new set of eyes to recommend players TT and the Old Guard Staff & Scouts may have overlooked...and may well have strongly recommended against TT and Old Guard drafting others who would have been reaches and busts...Originally posted by TexanBeerlover View PostComment
-
Good point. Lynn was very high on Murray and I think Josh KelleyOriginally posted by Topcat View Post
Now - one or both can still work out but based on what I saw of Lynn - wouldn't trust his evaluation process in scouting.Comment
-
Popper’s preseason 2 observations:
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Chargers lost the 49ers, 15-10, in their second preseason game Sunday evening at SoFi Stadium.
Here are my takeaways.
1. With tackles Bryan Bulaga and Rashawn Slater sitting out, Storm Norton started at left tackle and Trey Pipkins started at right tackle. They both struggled. Easton Stick started the game at quarterback, and he was running for his life against a talented San Francisco front seven. Norton and Pipkins looked overmatched. Pipkins, in particular, had a really poor showing. Scott Quessenberry, who started at center in place Corey Linsley, was also inconsistent in pass protection.
I counted four pressures on the six-play opening possession, which ended in a punt. Stick’s second drive ended with a sack on a third-and-13. On the third possession, Stick was sacked in the end zone for a safety. This was Pipkins’ worst rep of the evening. Niners defensive end Jordan Willis beat Pipkins cleanly off the edge and had a clear shot on Stick. The San Francisco defense finished with five sacks, six additional tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits on the night. Pipkins also had a holding penalty in the second quarter.
“Those two guys were able to see where they’re at with their game,” coach Brandon Staley said of Norton and Pipkins. “Those two guys got a really accurate picture of where they’re at.”
Some context is important here. In a regular-season game, the Chargers coaching staff would have done more to aid their tackles against a front like San Francisco’s. They would have called more max protection and given Pipkins and Norton help with chip blocks from tight ends and backs. The Chargers did not do that in this game. Part of it, based on Staley’s comments, was an attempt to get a sober evaluation of Norton and Pipkins, who are battling for the swing tackle spot. There are ways to mask deficiencies when the games actually matter, so I do not think this situation is as dire as it looked Sunday evening.
Still, offensive line depth has been one of my biggest concerns on this roster throughout the spring and summer. And that has not changed. The Chargers selected Pipkins in the third round in 2019, and he has not lived up to that draft slot. He has not developed into an NFLplayer.
“Tackles are hard to find in the league,” Staley said. “I think that we’ve got two guys that are capable. … I’m confident in both of those guys, comfortable with both those guys. They’re both improving, and against a front like that, you’re going to have to give guys some help, no matter who it is. So I feel like those are going to learn a lot from this tape, and we need them to so that we can see who that third guy is going to be.”
Left guard Matt Feiler, who started Sunday’s game, has tackle flexibility. So if the Chargers do lose a starting tackle at some point this season, they could move Feiler out to tackle, bring on Brenden Jaimes as a starting guard, and avoid playing Norton or Pipkins.
The Chargers have options — not just in terms of personnel, but also in terms of how they scheme their offense if either Norton or Pipkins is forced into action.
The concern with the tackle depth remains, though.
2. After playing in the second half of the preseason opener last weekend, Stick got his chance to play with some of the Chargers’ better offensive players in his start Sunday. And he performed admirably. He avoided any turnovers despite the leaky pass protection. He engineered a touchdown drive in the second quarter that he capped off with an impressive scramble-drill throw to Joshua Palmer in the low red zone. Stick rolled right on a designed play-action boot and did a fine job of keeping the play alive. He drew the defense in by faking like he was taking off running, then pulled up and lofted a pass to a wide-open Palmer in the back of the end zone.
Stick’s greatest asset is his athleticism, and he led all Chargers rushers with 15 yards on the ground on three attempts. But he also showed off his arm in this game. On the possession after his touchdown, Stick put together a field goal drive that extended the Chargers’ lead to 10-2 late in the first half. On the first play of the series, Pipkins got blown off the ball on a run play, and Joshua Kelley was dropped for a 2-yard loss. Stick responded by delivering perhaps the best throw of his young career, dropping a deep ball into Jalen Guyton on a go route down the right sideline for a 39-yard gain.
Daniel entered in the second half and really never stood a chance. The blocking, both in the run game and the pass game, was abysmal. Darius Harper was at right tackle. Pipkins was at left tackle. And Nate Gilliam was at center. The Chargers only mustered 43 yards of total offense.
It is hard to pin this on Daniel — though he did throw a bad interception in the third quarter when he did not see 49ers safety Jared Mayden sitting underneath a K.J. Hill route.
“Both Easton and Chase were under pressure tonight, and I thought that both of them handled it pretty well,” Staley said. “I thought Easton in the first half was outstanding avoiding trouble and keeping us on schedule. And Chase, I felt like, gave us a chance in the second half, and it was tough sledding out there.”
Stick certainly gained some ground with his performance. But I do not believe Staley or the rest of the Chargers coaching staff will put a ton of weight in how Daniel fared Sunday. Staley said after the game that practice performance is a crucial part of his evaluation because “you can control a lot of the variables that may hold a quarterback back from expressing himself.”
“The second half of this game is a good example of it,” Staley said.
Stick was in a similar scenario last week against the Rams, but the 49ers had a lot more talent on the field in the second half than the Rams did in that preseason opener.
I still see Daniel as the leader in the competition for the backup job behind Justin Herbert. I do not think the Chargers will keep all three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster.
3. Michael Badgley outperformed Tristan Vizcaino during the joint practices this week. And Badgley followed that up with a solid showing in this game.
Badgley connected on a 50-yard field goal late in the first half. He had plenty of distance to spare on this kick. Badgley, of course, has struggled on longer field goal attempts in his career. He is 7-for-18 lifetime on kicks longer than 45 yards. So this was a very encouraging sign. So were his two kickoffs, both of which resulted in touchbacks.
Vizcaino had a stranglehold on this competition heading into the joint practices. But Badgley, now, has fought his way back into contention. He might even have a slight lead.
“I thought Badgley competed really well this week in the practices and in the game,” Staley said. “I felt like he got plenty of lift on the field goal, and both of his kickoffs were where we expect them to be. … Competition is bringing the best out of that position. I thought both guys competed well this week, and we’re just going to see where it goes. I’m happy that this is happening for our football team, because I think it’s bringing out the best in both guys.”
4. Kyler Fackrell had an excellent game Sunday and has emerged as the likely starting edge rusher opposite Joey Bosa, ahead of Uchenna Nwosu. Fackrell had two pressures on the Chargers’ opening defensive series. He followed that up with a second-quarter sack on a third-and-5.
5. Rookie linebacker Nick Niemann led the Chargers in tackles for the second straight preseason game. He had seven tackles last week against the Rams and eight Sunday against the 49ers. Niemann also started on all four core special teams units — kickoff, kick return, punt and punt return. One tackle jumped out in particular. On a first-and-10 late in the third quarter, 49ers running back JaMycal Hastytook a handoff from Trey Lance and reached the second level. He had an open cutback lane, but Niemann was able to drag him down after a 5-yard gain. If Niemann didn’t make this tackle, Hasty might have scored.
“He was kind of lonely, he was kind of on an island,” Staley said of the tackle. “It’s one of these tackles from the side where had he not made it, the ball would have gone a decent amount. He’s done that for us, and he’s learning a lot every time he goes out there.”
6. Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga suffered a sprained AC joint on his first series of defensive action. We will see how severe the injury is, but this could pose a major roadblock in Ogbongbemiga’s attempt to make the 53-man. He had been trending in that direction in recent weeks.Comment
-
I have, what I think, is a legitimate question (or maybe concern?): are there problems with this offensive system? I wasn't too worried about the lack of production in these two preseason games, but then I read that multiple 49er players during the joint practice referred to the Chargers offense as soft and weak. Most of the plays and the scheme I have seen has been rather bland and frankly pretty soft and weak. Now, usually I would say, "well, it is vanilla because it is the preseason." But to have a 49er player mention the system in joint practice and then it being reflected in the preseason does have me worried.
Also, I checked for a comparison, and the Saints offense in preseason week one was about 350 yards of total offense against the Ravens. Chargers -- supposedly running a similar offense -- in week one against the Rams had about 250 yards of total offense, and last night about 160 yards. The average yards per pass is like 4 yards or something too. There has been no running game -- which I would expect when you are relying on Pipkins and Norton. Anyway, not too inspiring at this point; not to be a negative Nancy...Last edited by AKFlyFisher; 08-23-2021, 09:57 AM.Comment
Comment