Coach Staley Discussion - Fired

[Xenos]

Most of those 4rth downs where they went for it they had zero choice (lose or go for it); only the 3rd quarter choice was ill advised - i think reckless is an apt description.
A less flattering description would be sheer panic because he had no faith in his defense.

Calculated, in the sense that some idiot somewhere in the Charges analytics department informed him that those situations warrant it, because they have a 0.120001 % increased chance of
winning if they decide to go for it there: maybe.

I’m not talking about the 4th downs that they had to make. I’m thinking about our first TD drive for example in this game. Or when he went for it against KC on the TNF game. All analytics does is give you a binary decision of going for it or not. We still needed to call the right plays and those plays still needed to be executed.

[richpjr]

I’m not talking about the 4th downs that they had to make. I’m thinking about our first TD drive for example in this game. Or when he went for it against KC on the TNF game. All analytics does is give you a binary decision of going for it or not. We still needed to call the right plays and those plays still needed to be executed.

Agree. We were 2 for 5 against the Chiefs but could have easily converted 4 of 5 or all 5. We had the right plays called, we just didn't execute.

[Xenos]

Agree. We were 2 for 5 against the Chiefs but could have easily converted 4 of 5 or all 5. We had the right plays called, we just didn't execute.

Maybe the grey area is a situation like the 4th and 1 on the 18. Or even the one at the end of the half against KC. Even though it feels like every model said to go for it, maybe those are the situations where Staley should be more conservative?

[Bolt4Knob]

Maybe the grey area is a situation like the 4th and 1 on the 18. Or even the one at the end of the half against KC. Even though it feels like every model said to go for it, maybe those are the situations where Staley should be more conservative?

Those are the two I have a problem with

But there were others where he went for it and I thought he was making a mistake and they succeeded

You take the good with the bad I guess - but really the Raider one even more so than the Chiefs one, made zero sense. Closer to midfield, fine.

[BlackMamba]

We should view Staley's mentality and tactics in terms of the long game here. As others have said, it ultimately comes down to playcalls/execution - criticizing the decisions themselves are a distraction from that. But when we have the pieces and comfort within the system to actually go out and convert some of these short yardage plays with ease, and it just becomes ingrained and like a habit, similar to teams like the Chiefs? This is going to be a WHOLE different offense. You have to take him at his word, though, that this is who he and the team are going to be regardless of outside noise, and the players need to start getting used to that mindset. I think the foundation was laid this past season.

[BlazingBolt]

I am definitely not as High on Staley as I was after the 4-1 start, I have some concerns but it was his first year and I liked his influence on the draft and feel like some players got coached up to career years but I am not 100% sure if he always has the right players on the field and as much as it has been sexy sighting analytics and going for it I feel like these decisions are still inconsistent and worry some of this game managing isn't the best.

[Fouts2herbert]

What has me most concerned about Staley is the systemic issues we saw all season long that did not seem to be addressed or improved. To me, the decisions to go for it on fourth down, calling time outs, kick or go for 2, those are all examples of real-time decisions and sometimes the wrong choice is made. We all do it in our lives, some of us more than others. Those Staley will learn from, I believe.

However, it's the systemic shit that leads to real trouble and to me there is no better example of that than all of the penalties this team incurs. Penalties are a product of coaching and culture. Pure and simple (as are the poor tackling, bad angles, guys out of place, unpreparedness, etc.) and while I am willing to give him a year to fix that, Staley really needs to look into how he runs his day to day and figure some shit out.

Are we any better than last-year's 9-7 team? I think that Lynn team would have a shot against this team and probably beat them. That team got better as the year went on, this team went the other way.

I agree, his team came out downright flat at times and looked overwhelmed either from a confusing gameplan or one that they simply didn’t buy into. The defense being shit was the single biggest eye opener for me, we did better in pass coverage but everything else from tackling to stopping the run deteriorated and it never got better as the season wore on. If the chargers spend heavy amounts of draft capital on rebuilding the defense the way Staley wants it built and he continues to struggle against the run because of his scheme, he should get yanked quick. It’s inexcusable for a team with one of the top 4 quarterbacks in the NFL to miss the playoffs because you can’t produce middle of the road results on defense. Herbert plus the #15 defense in the NFL is good enough to contend for a title. The guy was hired because he coordinated the number one defense in the NFL in 2020 for pete’s sake!

[Critty]

Those are the two I have a problem with

But there were others where he went for it and I thought he was making a mistake and they succeeded

You take the good with the bad I guess - but really the Raider one even more so than the Chiefs one, made zero sense. Closer to midfield, fine.

It's ultra aggressive.
Ekeler on the duo to the left which is the strength of the line.
But the thing is, it's 4th down because you struggle to execute the other plays. But a punt there will put your defense right back out there and Raiders likely start with great field position.

But if Staley had an Ariaza as his punter. I think his mindset is I have a weapon that can push them much further back on a punt. IMO. It does change how he decides what to do there.

[Fouts2herbert]

I am definitely not as High on Staley as I was after the 4-1 start, I have some concerns but it was his first year and I liked his influence on the draft and feel like some players got coached up to career years but I am not 100% sure if he always has the right players on the field and as much as it has been sexy sighting analytics and going for it I feel like these decisions are still inconsistent and worry some of this game managing isn't the best.

Yes, he sat guys at times for no apparent reason, in situations were it hurt the team, Davis, Samuel, White, and Tranquill, all took turns in the penalty box at times when they weren’t injured which makes you wonder if he’s mature enough to handle grown men in the NFL.

he also flat out bull shitted us in press conferences a few times, saying that kenneth murray is our best coverage linebacker is a slap in the face to anyone that knows anything about the team. There were several of those types of statements during the year. The guy might have a career in politics with the way he can look into a camera and say shit like that with a straight face.

[Bolt4Knob]

It's ultra aggressive.
Ekeler on the duo to the left which is the strength of the line.
But the thing is, it's 4th down because you struggle to execute the other plays. But a punt there will put your defense right back out there and Raiders likely start with great field position.

But if Staley had an Ariaza as his punter. I think his mindset is I have a weapon that can push them much further back on a punt. IMO. It does change how he decides what to do there.

Thats a good point about punting. Ty Long is not the best punter. In fact, I think net punting he is the worst. Granted, punt return coverage is not good. So Staley knows this as well. So you punt from your 15, Raiders get the ball probably still at midfield

I really want the Chargers to draft Araiza but my guess, Telesco wouldn't pull the trigger in R2

[Xenos]

I agree, his team came out downright flat at times and looked overwhelmed either from a confusing gameplan or one that they simply didn’t buy into. The defense being shit was the single biggest eye opener for me, we did better in pass coverage but everything else from tackling to stopping the run deteriorated and it never got better as the season wore on. If the chargers spend heavy amounts of draft capital on rebuilding the defense the way Staley wants it built and he continues to struggle against the run because of his scheme, he should get yanked quick. It’s inexcusable for a team with one of the top 4 quarterbacks in the NFL to miss the playoffs because you can’t produce middle of the road results on defense. Herbert plus the #15 defense in the NFL is good enough to contend for a title. The guy was hired because he coordinated the number one defense in the NFL in 2020 for pete’s sake!

We got better against the run after the bye because Staley started loading up the boxes more and we got Justin Jones back. However, we started giving up more explosive passing plays. I’m giving Staley the benefit of the doubt his first year here since it did seem like he was using duct tape at the time. With that being said, defense should be a priority this offseason.

[Xenos]

Yes, he sat guys at times for no apparent reason, in situations were it hurt the team, Davis, Samuel, White, and Tranquill, all took turns in the penalty box at times when they weren’t injured which makes you wonder if he’s mature enough to handle grown men in the NFL.

he also flat out bull shitted us in press conferences a few times, saying that kenneth murray is our best coverage linebacker is a slap in the face to anyone that knows anything about the team. There were several of those types of statements during the year. The guy might have a career in politics with the way he can look into a camera and say shit like that with a straight face.

So you’re misremembering things about the benching. That only happened earlier in the year when we were winning and there were no injuries. Davis, White, and Tranquil also never got benched.

Staley benched Samuel against the Browns because he was playing horribly. But I believe that was the only time.