Coach Staley Discussion - Fired

[richpjr]

Of course, all decisions are normally collaborative and that’s best practices. However, not everything works out but if the responsibility was mine I didn’t blame people that worked for me, nor people I worked for even if they were involved in the decision.

This was ultimately Staley’s decision and he tried to squirm out of responsibility by first saying the players wanted to play and then he blamed some nebulous front office entity.

A leader doesn’t do that

His quote was literally "Those decisions are mine — obviously, we’re collaborating with our coaching staff, front office and ownership,”.

You think that comes across as blaming the front office?

[gzubeck]

How useful were Cam’s yards to the Rams? I recall a 3-score blowout by the Bolts, did I misremember something here? Teams no longer win with ground games alone. Modern Football = Stop the Pass and win the game.

It wasn’t Denver’s rush game last Sunday that did the team in, it was the long bombs to wide open receivers that Wilson connected on that were the difference. I’m not that worried about rush yards, I’m concerned with Ja’Sir and ASJ being 5+ yards behind a streaking WR on a go route because they were staring in the backfield as the WR ran by. They need to clean that shit up fast.

Maybe they didn't believe that Russell had the arm strength to do that...throw it deep downfield. Just my two cents.

[electricgold]

Litmus test for Staley on Saturday. Can he game plan a defense to throttle Jax and Doug Pedersen who took him to the woodshed in game 3? Our worst game of the season came against these Jags.

can he truly end “chargering” one of his stated goals?

Well if he can't I can name two prime time Head Coaches interviewing this year for jobs that could! 1 of them Staley may be coaching against next season in Denver twice a year!

[richpjr]

I'll just leave this here...

Chargers’ Brandon Staley is polarizing, but his defensive game planning is elite

Ted Nguyen
Jan 10, 2023

Few NFL head coaches have become as polarizing as quickly as the Chargers’ Brandon Staley. In his first season, he made waves with his fourth-down aggression, which some pundits considered too aggressive. This season, the talking point is that he might have cut down his fourth-down aggression too much. And when the Chargers were 6-6 and in danger of missing the playoffs for the fourth season in a row, his seat appeared warm. The Chargers then won four games in a row and secured a playoff berth.

Right when Staley seemed to be building public support, he played his starters longer than expected in a meaningless Week 18 game, which resulted in Mike Williams getting hurt, putting his status for the wild-card round in jeopardy.

But regardless of how you feel about Staley’s macro decision-making, he’s been one of the NFL’s best defensive game planners and play callers this season.

In what seems like a problem every season, the Chargers have dealt with numerous key injuries to both sides of the ball this season. Their prized free agent corner, J.C. Jackson, only played in five games before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 7. All-Pro pass rusher Joey Bosa was hurt in Week 3 and didn’t return until week 17. Yet from Weeks 9-18, following their bye, the Chargers ranked 10th in points allowed per drive (1.79) and fourth in expected points added (EPA) per opponent dropback.

When hiring a coach because of his success as a coordinator, the hope is that the coach can provide a constant edge by doing what they did to get hired. This season, Staley has done that. He’s been masterful at identifying tendencies and taking away what opponents do best with whatever he’s had left in his cupboard. Let’s take a look at a few game plans that stood out this season. Chiefs


In Week 2, when the Chargers’ defense was healthy, they held the Chiefs to only 20 points, their third-lowest points per drive average of the season (1.82) and Patrick Mahomes’ second-lowest yards per attempt average of the season (6.71). The Chargers played man coverage at the second-highest rate (46.3 percent) of any Chiefs opponent this season, according to TruMedia, and Staley mixed up his coverages effectively to keep Mahomes out of rhythm. The Chargers also confused Kansas City’s offensive line in key moments, resulting in quick pressures.

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Week 2, 5:32 remaining in the third quarter, third-and-1



On third-and-1, Staley gambled by blitzing Mahomes with a fire zone. Kyle Van Noy, who is a hybrid pass rusher/ inside linebacker, lined up on the second level and blitzed the A gap. Coverage-wise, the Chargers had a three-deep, three-under zone called.



The Chargers likely called this blitz away from the running back, knowing that offenses usually slide their protection away from the running back. Van Noy didn’t show any tell that he would rush before the snap. He didn’t move forward until after the snap. The line slid to the offensive left and Van Noy blitzed right up the A gap. The center didn’t see Van Noy rush until it was too late and couldn’t recover.



The Chiefs had a mesh concept called designed to get receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling open coming from the left of the image. Linebacker Drue Tranquillinitially faced the crosser coming from the right.



Tranquill did an excellent job of passing off the other crosser and getting into position to make a play on Valdes-Scantling. It wouldn’t matter because Van Noy hit Mahomes and caused an errant pass.

In this game, the Chiefs only converted 33.3 percent of third downs — more than fifteen percent lower than their impressive season average of 48.7 percent.Unfortunately for Staley, though, the Chiefs scored a touchdown off of a 99-yard interception return and the Chargers wasted a strong defensive effort, losing the game 27-24. 49ers


Ever since Staley was hired, the Chargers have ranked near the bottom of the league in rush defense by nearly every metric. Talent and scheme are both to blame. The Chargers tried shoring up their run defense in the offseason, but injuries took their toll. And schematically, the Chargers concede numbers in the box to focus on stopping explosive plays.

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But when the Chargers played the run-heavy 49ers in Week 10, they limited Christian McCaffrey to 2.7 yards per carry despite suffering multiple injuries to defensive tackles in that game. They were outmatched upfront by one of the best running teams in the NFL yet held the 49ers to only 13 points through three quarters.

“I thought from an execution standpoint, considering the caliber of the rushing attack — the best attack we have seen, certainly — I felt like, schematically, that was as good of a plan that I have ever had since I have been calling defenses,” Staley said after the game.

Staley mixed up his fronts and made things difficult on the 49ers’ blocking scheme.

Week 11, 6:51 remaining in the first quarter, second-and-3



The Chargers are mainly an odd front team (three down defensive linemen), but they effectively mixed in even fronts against the 49ers. They frequently lined up in a 6-1 front, with both of their defensive tackles lined up in the A gaps. Vic Fangio, Staley’s mentor, started using this front to defend Sean McVay’s outside zone offense in 2019. In this game, Staley tweaked it.

Here, the Chargers had four down defensive linemen with two outside linebackers on the edge and one inside linebacker on the second level. The weakside defensive tackle, Otito Ogbonnia, who was ultimately lost for the season in this game, lined up on the inside shade of the guard. Khalil Macklined up inside of the tight end.



The 49ers ran split zone to the offensive left. Because every offensive lineman was covered to that side, the right tackle was the only blocker who could get to Tranquill, the second-level linebacker, and he had a long way to go and a tough angle to make an effective block. Also, because Mack was lined up inside of the tight end, the right tackle had to help on Mack before climbing to Tranquill.

Ogbonnia did a good job of locking out the right guard, allowing him to play both the A and B gaps.



Tranquill was free to play the A gap, and Ogbonnia played the B gap.

The Chargers’ front eventually broke in this game due to attrition and injuries. The 49ers rushed for 157 yards, but it took 41 rushes. Dolphins


Before playing the Chargers in Week 14, the Dolphins looked unstoppable with a healthy Tua Tagovailova at quarterback. In the nine games that Tagovailova was healthy for before Week 14, the Dolphins ranked second in offensive success rate. But against the Chargers, they had their lowest success rate of the season — even including games they played without Tagovailova. The Athletic’s Nate Tice broke down Staley’s game plan in detail.

Essentially, the Chargers utilized press-man coverage to take away the Dolphins’ bread-and-butter play, a zone read RPO that they’ve relied on to create explosives. And on third down, the Chargers effectively mixed in two deep coverages, dropping their underneath defenders deep.

Week 14, 5:49 remaining in the second quarter, second-and-10



Before the snap, the Chargers had corner Ja’Sir Taylor in the slot and Asante Samuel Jr. outside matched up on Jaylen Waddle. But after Waddle went in motion, Taylor followed Waddle across the formation, where Michael Daviswas pressed on Tyreek Hill.



After the snap, Davis bumped out to cover Waddle running a wheel route and Taylor ended up covering Hill running an inside vertical. The safety on Waddle and Hill’s side played a deep half, and the safety away from them played with a robber technique to help on crossers. This type of defensive reaction to motion was perfect for the types of route combinations that the Dolphins have destroyed defenses with all season.

The Chargers’ 23-17 victory against the Dolphins was the first of their four-game win streak. Staley Blitzes


Though Staley isn’t known for blitzing, the Chargers have finished in the top 11 in blitz rate two years in a row, according to TruMedia. This season, the Chargers rank sixth in EPA per opponent dropback when they blitz.

Mack is still a very good player but not the elite pass rusher he once was, and as mentioned before, Bosa missed a majority of the season. The Chargers have still been able to create pressure because of Staley’s pressure designs. He’s been able to weaponize role players such as Van Noy and defensive tackle Morgan Fox. With Bosa back in the mix, the Chargers’ pressure packages should be even more difficult to handle in the playoffs. We saw a small sample of it against the Rams and Broncos.

11:06 remaining in the second quarter, third-and-6





On this pressure against the Rams, the Chargers had a stunt to the offensive right with Bosa spiking inside and Fox looping from the opposite A gap. Tranquill mugged the right A gap but twisted to the left A gap. Van Noy mugged the B gap but blitzed the opposite A gap. Got all that?



Based on the pre-snap alignment, the offensive line had to slide four blockers to Van Noy’s side. Fox occupied the center for Tranquill before looping to the opposite side.



After passing off Fox, the center couldn’t recover in time to block Tranquill.



The running back looked as if he was going to release into a route but ended up staying in to protect after seeing Tranquill unblocked. Tranquill ended up creating a pick that freed up Van Noy. Van Noy flushed quarterback Baker Mayfield out to Fox, who was free coming off his loop with Joey Bosa rushing inside. The Rams’ offensive line struggled this season, but this type of exotic design with the players that the Chargers have would be challenging for a lot of offensive lines.

In other words, Staley put his best players in position to do what they do best — just as he has all season long. The Chargers have freed up safety Derwin James to move around the box to take advantage of his elite versatility. They’re using Davis to erase and press receivers on the weakside of formations. They’re causing havoc with Van Noy as a blitzer from the second level.

Although there are still holes on the defensive roster, the Chargers have the tools to make life difficult on offenses in the playoffs, and Staley is pressing the right buttons. There are other aspects of Staley’s work as a head coach that are fair to question, but his team plays hard and he’s providing an edge on the defensive side of the ball.

[Xenos]

I'll just leave this here...

Glad you posted this instead of me. I love me so Ted Nguyen breakdown.

[jamrock]

Staley looks a little nervous on his presser. Calm down dude

[Eurobolt]

Staley looks a little nervous on his presser. Calm down dude

Telling you he has not got it...

[dmac_bolt]

Telling you he has not got it...

Yes he does

[jaguarmanftype]

Staley looks a little nervous on his presser. Calm down dude

Was there a presser today, or is this the postgame one?

[jamrock]

Was there a presser today, or is this the postgame one?

yes

[Riverwalk]

Staley looks a little nervous on his presser. Calm down dude

Nervous and defensive like he knew he screwed the pooch.

Williams has zero chance of playing Saturday and that Turkey knows it.

[Bolt4Knob]

Glad you posted this instead of me. I love me so Ted Nguyen breakdown.

Yep - agreed - thanks for posting Rich

Nguyen does a good job and that was good insight on Staley.