Why the Chargers had No Chance in 2020

[DragonIce]

It seems that Chargers have been one of the most injury prone teams ever which is strange since they used to play on natural grass.

I'm curious to find injury data prior to 2019.

If it happens year after year...it's definitely something beyond luck. Is TT trying to find a draft or acquire a free agency "bargain", refusing to note medical data that scares other teams off? Are they not getting good health analytics? (Chargers are way behind the league in analytics, for which Spanos must be blamed). Is the health/fitness staff deficient?

Coming over as a Cowboy fan I can say that Dallas fans felt the same way about their team: snake-bit w/injuries. Last year it was true in Dallas, but many years it wasn't truly that bad. Fans tend to notice their own team's injuries more and think they're team is unlucky. But here in LAC's case...the last two years data really is flat bad.

[SuperCharged]

Talking about injuries, I’m hoping the Bolts upgrade their training staffs/training techniques along with the new coaching staff.

I've said that for years. Why not change our name to the LA China Dolls. Boggles my mind every year.

Get someone in there that can motivate the players to put in work rather than emailing a sick notice from the NFLPA. For the money they make they should be in the gym and honing their craft daily and that MEANS CARDIO....... So sick of 4th quarter tap outs because theirs nothing left in the tank. It ALWAYS was a simple equation with my prior coaches. If you can't finish physically then add more conditioning. It is unacceptable to me to see someone paid like Bosa who i love! And watch him run to the sideline after one play in the 4th quarter. I haven't done the math but I bet he makes somewhere near 20 or 30k per snap.

[DragonIce]

It is unacceptable to me to see someone paid like Bosa who i love! And watch him run to the sideline after one play in the 4th quarter.

I've lost count of the times I've seen posts like this on the Cowboys site.

One thing to realize: The league has changed in one important respect. There is a lot of very planned and deliberate rotation in the NFL that didn't happen ten years ago. It's particularly true with RBs, runners, receivers, LB's and D-line. These players, even elite ones, are in a rotation where they don't play every down.

Teams have learned that keeping players fresh until the end of the game yields greater production, and it happens even with the most well conditioned players.

You'll notice for instance that there are now almost zero teams that don't split the running back carries between two backs.

[Boltjolt]

Something to look at for sure.

But even more so, it's something that needs to be driven into the minds of management during player acquisition. Availability is attribute #1 when assessing ability.
-Older players miss far more games than young players (that's why free agency can be trouble)
-Previously injured players have higher risk

This can be argued.

How old is older? Verrett got injured just stretching on the field with is, finally had a productive season last year.... where Rivers retired playing in some 250 straight games.

Adderley missed his rookie year, Ingram missed his sophomore season. Keenan was injured more when he was younger and missed pretty much two seasons. Vincent Jackson missed a lot of games his first two seasons, then was pretty durable, and in Tampa Bay for the most part til his last year.
Junior played almost 20 years, no major injuries.

I don't think it's an age thing. Skills decline from age by taking hits all those years.
Andrew Whitworth is still playing at 39. Brees just hung em up at 41. He had injuries when he was younger and older.

Frank Gore tore two ACLs in college, no major injuries in the NFL. Still playing at 36 as is Peterson but don't have the same skills.

And Herbert has had a major injury. He broke his femur in High School as a Junior.

[NoMoreChillies]

injuries happen, not much can be done.

Good to see someone recognise their impact and not just blame coaches for poor play

[DragonIce]

This can be argued.

How old is older? Verrett got injured just stretching on the field with is, finally had a productive season last year.... where Rivers retired playing in some 250 straight games.

Adderley missed his rookie year, Ingram missed his sophomore season. Keenan was injured more when he was younger and missed pretty much two seasons. Vincent Jackson missed a lot of games his first two seasons, then was pretty durable, and in Tampa Bay for the most part til his last year.
Junior played almost 20 years, no major injuries.

I don't think it's an age thing. Skills decline from age by taking hits all those years.
Andrew Whitworth is still playing at 39. Brees just hung em up at 41. He had injuries when he was younger and older.

Frank Gore tore two ACLs in college, no major injuries in the NFL. Still playing at 36 as is Peterson but don't have the same skills.

And Herbert has had a major injury. He broke his femur in High School as a Junior.

Number of replies:

-Football is a collision sport, lots of players are going to get hurt. But statistically older players get hurt more often. Hundreds...thousands of hits accumulate, previous injuries stack up, and father time is undefeated.

-You won't disprove it with a few anecdotal examples

-I could easily give you a list of 50 star running backs that were going great guns, until they hit their 4th or 5th year. The league has learned: don't give RB's a big 2nd longterm contract.

-As I said earlier in the thread...o-lineman have longer lifespans than other positions, so you might see a greybeard like Witworth. O-line is not fast twitch business.

-QBs like Brady, Rivers & Brees playing in their late 30's and early 40's have extremely limited athleticism. They exceed because of the football IQ they bring to the position. They aren't going anywhere as scramblers.

-As a general rule Premium fast-twitch athleticism peaks around 22-27 (for those not taking 'roids). Rare is the olympic medalist 100m sprinter outside these years.*

-I don't view a broken leg as a major injury. It certainly can ruin a season, but breaks like that fully heal 100%. It's complicated joints like the knee, shoulder and hip, or spinal issues that concern the most...and most readily can cause longer term issues

*In contrast to endurance running or cycling, where peak comes later and lasts longer.

[DragonIce]

Good article on NFL positions, peak performance and age:

https://socalledfantasyexperts.com/aging-curve-nfl-offensive-players-every-single-position/

[ghost]

What do these 2020 NFL Teams have in common in 2020?
49ers
Patriots
Eagles
Jets
Cowboys
Chargers
Broncos
Giants

All of them had losing records, true. What else?

This is the list of the top 8 teams in AGL. What is AGL you ask? Adjusted Games Lost. It's not a list you want to be high on! It's a ranking of how many games your key players lost to injuries and Covid.

It's pretty simple: if you can't put your talented players on the field...you can't win.

Who graded lowest in AGL? The Tampa Bay Bucs, of course.

What say you? I'll be following up with more thoughts in subsequent posts.

Why the Chargers had No Chance in 2020

1) I believe that it was Coach Staley who pointed out 67% of the Chargers cap ended up on IR.

2) From a production standpoint, The Chargers also had a rushing average of 1.8 yards in situational rushing, 3rd & 4th downs, due to the
low efficiency of the offensive line play.

3) Lastly, Anthony Lynn fielded the worst Special Teams unit in league history. The special teams were weaponized against Justin Herbert throughout the season.

[FoutsFan]

injuries happen, not much can be done.

Good to see someone recognise their impact and not just blame coaches for poor play

In our case both were very prevalent last couple of years.

[DragonIce]

In our case both were very prevalent last couple of years.

Definitely. I started watching a lot of Chargers action this last season and the predictability/run prevalence on first down started to make my stomach churn.

That, and the mindless late game decisions, time management and special teams...

Coaching was horrific in 2019.

We won't see that in 2021.

[Attack]

Definitely. I started watching a lot of Chargers action this last season and the predictability/run prevalence on first down started to make my stomach churn.

That, and the mindless late game decisions, time management and special teams...

Coaching was horrific in 2019.

We won't see that in 2021.

Gotta ask. Are you still a Cowboys fan? If not, why? When did you start following the Cowboys? Did Herbert make you want to follow the Bolts?

[Leslie Grossman]

I go way back to 09 to the AFC Championship game in NE. Rivers plays on a torn acl and no LT.
May have won it all that year if healthy.
Guessing the Chargers may be the most injured team since then?