Wow my thread has been hijacked...HELP
WFT vs Bolts Pre Game Discussion
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Originally posted by Topcat View Post
Dude, now THAT is a GREAT POINT!!! And if I may, I'd like to also add:
1. Vizzy's Potent Pierna producing frequent TB's keeps our ST players healthier with less injuries from high-speed collisions...
2. Vizzy's Potent Pierna producing frequent TB's keeps our defensive players less gassed, especially in the 4th quarter where we lost a lot of games last season due to a tired D...
3. Vizzy's Potent Pierna producing frequent TB's greatly reduces big gainer runbacks, resulting in poor field position...
4. Vizzy's Potent Pierna producing longer figgies gives us points we normally would not get...
Yep...a lot to like with Vizzy's Potent Pierna...
I’ll believe #3 when I see it. The leg strength is definitely there, just hope he can tune his craft.Our quarterback is a golden god.
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Popper’s mailbags for Sunday’s game:
Also: Thoughts on Nasir Adderley's growth and role in the new defense and how well Justin Herbert has learned Joe Lombardi's scheme.
The Chargers open their season Sunday at the Washington Football Team. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. PT.
After months of speculation and optimism, we will finally get to see this Chargers team in action, led by new head coach Brandon Staley. The Chargers will be leaving for D.C. on Saturday morning — a change from how the organization operated under Anthony Lynn, when they left for East Coast games Friday.
You ask. I answer.
This is the mailbag.
As we did last season, we will be doing these mailbags every Friday to preview that week’s game.
The OL is much improved but still a work in progress. Are they going to be able to hold up against the best defensive line in football on Week 1? — @bruinrob11
This, to me, is the biggest storyline entering the season opener. The Chargers overhauled their offensive line this offseason, bringing in four new starters through the draft in free agency. Rookie left tackle Rashawn Slater, left guard Matt Feiler, center Corey Linsley and right guard Oday Aboushi join Bryan Bulaga, the returning starter at right tackle. We have yet to see all five players together in a game. Linsley and Bulaga sat out the entire preseason. Slater only played 20 snaps in the opener before missing the next two preseason games while he dealt with a minor back injury. Feiler and Aboushi played 16 snaps each in the second preseason game. They were the only two starting offensive linemen to play a single snap together in the preseason.
So, yes, “work in progress” is one way to describe this unit. I prefer the word “unknown.” The group has played together in practice. But both Slater and Bulaga were missing for the two joint practices with the 49ers — which were the most competitive days of camp. We really do not know what this group is going to look like or how they are going to perform.
But that will all become clear Sunday. Washington boasts the best defensive line in football. The starters are all first-round picks — Chase Young and Montez Sweat at defensive end and Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne on the interior. They also have elite depth with players like Matt Ioannidis and Tim Settle, who could start on other teams in the league.
This will be a fascinating battle, both in the run game and pass protection. The Chargers ranked the 31st in rushing efficiency last season, according to Football Outsiders. Can that improve with more talent? The Chargers also ranked 31st in ESPN’s pass block win rate last season. Can that improve with more talent?
If the Chargers offensive linemen can perform against this defensive front, they can do it against anyone. That is why Sunday will be such a telling litmus test. Did general manager Tom Telesco and Staley do enough this offseason to turn around what has been one of the organization’s biggest weaknesses over the past two seasons?
How do the Chargers receivers, tight ends and running backs match up against the Football Team’s back seven in the passing game? — @jjafranco
Washington upgraded at cornerback this offseason by signing William Jackson, who had an excellent start to his career in Cincinnati. Keenan Allen went up against him in last season’s opener against the Bengals and had one of his worst games of the season, catching four of his eight targets for 37 yards. Some of that, of course, was Tyrod Taylor playing quarterback. Still, Jackson vs. Allen will be an interesting matchup in this one when they do face off with each other.
Overall, I think the Chargers will have a distinct advantage against the Washington secondary with Allen, Mike Williams, Joshua Palmer, Austin Ekeler, Jared Cook and Donald Parham. Ekeler is questionable with a hamstring injury, but Staley said Friday he is expected to play. Ekeler will be lining up all over the formation, including in the slot and outside.
Starting strong safety Landon Collins is returning from a ruptured Achilles. He was not particularly adept in coverage before that injury. In nickel packages, Washington will likely have a rookie third-round pick at outside corner in Benjamin St.-Juste, with Kendall Fuller moving into the slot. The safety rotation next to Collins will be some variation of Kam Curl, a 2020 seventh-round pick, and Bobby McCain, who signed a cheap one-year deal with WFT this offseason. There could be some weak points to exploit in the passing game if the Chargers offensive line can protect Justin Herbert. That is a big if, obviously.
How would you characterize Nasir Adderley’s camp? Should we be excited? — @Twincoop
I am really in wait-and-see mode with Adderley. The defensive environment should be much better suited for his skills in terms of scheme, play style and identity. Staley’s defense is more aggressive and more multiple than Gus Bradley’s was, and that should allow Adderley to play faster, move around more to different positions and be around the ball more. That popped up at times in training camp. He made some plays, including a remarkable one-handed interception in seven-on-seven. But I would not go as far as to say Adderley was a camp standout.
By all accounts, Adderley is more engaged this season. Derwin James told Staley that Adderley is just “different” this year. A lot of that has to do with his role in the defense. As a free safety in Bradley’s scheme, Adderley was playing center field almost all of the time. He was not around the ball on a snap-to-snap basis. I remember talking to Rayshawn Jenkins about that position before the Chiefs game last season. “You got to be patient back there because the ball is going to come to you,” he told me. “It may not seem it. They may try to draw you to sleep. But the ball is gonna come, so you’re just going to have to make the play when it comes to you.”
Adderley struggled to find that balance, and it showed in his play. Staley will use him differently and try to tap into the talents that made Adderley a second-round pick in 2019.
“So much of being a young player is finding that confidence,” Staley said of Adderley this week. “It’s one thing to have the talent to play in the NFL — Nas has a lot of talent — but that talent never expresses itself when you don’t have full confidence in what you’re doing. Not only your own scheme, defense, having command of your techniques and schemes, but then what’s on the other side of the football. I think he’s come a long way.
“He’s learned a lot more ball. You see a lot more confidence out there on the field. I think that you can measure that with his communication, and then post-snap, what his play style looks like. ‘Hey, is he running all over the place when he should just be calm?’ Or, is he calm when he should be running fast somewhere. You can measure his play style. I feel like he’s starting to assimilate nicely with how we want to play. We expect big things from him this year and on Sunday. He’s doing a really good job from a communication standpoint, which allows us to play the way we want to play in the secondary — moving guys around. The big thing about him that is to be determined is how well he’s going to tackle when it’s live. So much about defensive players is how they’re going to tackle when it’s live. We’re going to find out about that on Sunday. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
Everyone in the conferences says that Justin Herbert is learning every day, but as someone watching him regularly, is he actually learning Joe Lombardi’s system? — @Nick_Mills1
Herbert is absolutely learning and mastering this offensive system. He felt comfortable enough to remove his play-calling armband for the scrimmage at SoFi Stadium in August. I think having a full offseason to really delve into the playbook, with no distractions, has really helped Herbert, who has outstanding study habits and a brilliant capacity to retain information.
Lombardi is bringing this scheme over from the Saints, and the system in New Orleans was notorious for having really long play calls. Lombardi actually said this week that the staff shortened some of the verbiage when they relayed it to Herbert.
But do not be mistaken: The Chargers did not dumb anything down for Herbert. If anything, they overloaded him in training camp with every facet and detail of the system.
“When we installed everything, it was all on the front half and there was a lot of mistakes made,” Herbert told me in August. “Everything was put in, and guys were drowning.”
Those mistakes, though, led to substantial and rapid growth, Herbert said.
Another element in this: just how much more advanced Herbert is in reading defenses and adjusting protections. He took the onus on himself. Herbert has all the physical tools, but he wants the mental parts of his game to be just as strong. He wants to operate at the line of scrimmage like the greats in the game.
“Last year, when we’d call a protection, it was really only a six-man protection where I’d flip it,” Herbert said. “If we called, like, a play-action pass, (center) Dan (Feeney) would point (out the mike) and he’d worry about it. I’d do the play-action fake and I’d get the ball out. If we were hot, I would dump it off to Ek. But I think this year, more was explained and I had to get a better understanding of all of the protections, all of the runs, so that if they bring pressure off one side, we move the mike. And I think that takes a lot of time, because there’s a bunch of protections that we put in.
“It was more of a just worry about throwing, go out there, handle what you can, because we did a lot at Oregon with our protections, but it was pretty basic six-man protections. In the NFL, it’s a lot more under center, a lot more play-action stuff. So that was kind of new, and we didn’t really have a whole lot of time to really install it. So it was more of, you just got to go.”
This is all part of why I think Herbert will continue to ascend.
Will Derwin play more near the line of scrimmage or deeper? — @BenLoPrimo
The beauty of how Staley plans to use Derwin James is that James will not be pigeonholed to one position. He will be playing everywhere. He will play deep-field safety. He will line up in the slot in the Chargers’ big nickel package. He will play money backer in dime packages. He will blitz from deep. He will rush the passer from the edge. He will cover tight ends one-on-one. All while calling the plays in the huddle.
The word unique gets overused. But James is truly unique. And Staley is keenly aware of that fact.
Your honest expectation for Kenneth Murraythis year? — @rj_mccall
I think Murray will look more like a first-round pick in 2021. Like with Adderley, I do not think Murray was being used in the correct role last season. The Chargers thought they could groom Murray into a Bobby Wagner-typemiddle linebacker. But Murray did not have the run-pass recognition or coverage skills to excel at the position.
He improved as the year went on, particularly in diagnosing play action and covering crossers and over routes in the middle of the field. Murray was particularly good in this area over the final four games. But he is at his best when he is playing downhill, using his speed and violent hitting to make impact plays sideline to sideline. Staley will attempt to maximize this part of Murray’s game. I expect Murray to be blitzing more this season. And I think we will see a player who is thinking less and acting more on his instincts.
Beyond the obvious of better O-line play, what does success look like for the Chargers offense this year? — @StevenIHaglund
The Chargers must, must, must be better on first down in 2021 if they want to have a successful offense. That was their primary hindrance last season. They ranked 31st in the league in first-down success rate — which is defined as any first-down play that gains 40 percent of the yardage necessary for a first down or a score. At the same time, they posted the ninth-highest first-down rush rate of any team in football. So how do the Chargers perform better on first down? Put the ball in Herbert’s hands more often. Throw more. Be more aggressive. That is how the Chargers will find success offensively. They will face more reasonable third downs, and Herbert will not be forced to regularly make miraculous off-platform throws while escaping pressure on third-and-long.
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Originally posted by dmac_bolt View Post
Its a racist name. RED SKIN. Do you call Asians Yellow Guys? Do you call Mexicans Brown Boys? … pick any race, its the same answer - always no. I’m180deg from woke PC cancel shit, i find modern micro aggressive hallucinations and speech codes ridiculous and bizarre, bordering on mental illness.
Other Native American inspired names are fine. Chiefs, Braves, even tribe names (such as my beloved Aztecs). Nothing wrong there. But denoting your team is native Americans by calling out the color of their skin is just not cool in 2021. This one is fucking easy for me. I don’t care what anyone else thinks or says, its black and white, or should I say red and white?
but yeah i was joking about our visitor being a racist. He just doesnt see it as he was born into being a redskin fan. But everyone needs to get over the loss of that team name. Pick a new name, start getting used to it, move on.
At UCLA I learned terms like "milieu" and "sitz im leben". They are great terms as you come to understand that no meaningful evaluation of a person or group is worth squat if you don't understand their cultural context. As someone who comes from another country, and with the nature of my childhood I had a head start understanding. The Washington "Redskins" certainly in my ear sounds quite off-putting now. In the mileu of the 70's 80's, probably 90,'s...it offended nobody (that I ever recall). The folks from DC imagined themselves native Americans who wanted to figuratively scalp those whiteSkinned settler folks, the Cowboys.
I will leave it there as I'd like to get back to talking football with the brothers/sisters here...and our welcome guest. Thanks for your other thoughts and comparison to Chiefs/Braves. :-)Last edited by DragonIce; 09-10-2021, 10:26 PM.
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I dated a Native American girl in high school. I made many trips onto the rez. Never once did I refer to anyone on the rez as a "Redskin". I would have gotten punched in my big fat mouth. Y'all are misguided, at best.Protect the QB
Run the ball
Play great defense
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Originally posted by Boltnut View PostI dated a Native American girl in high school. I made many trips onto the rez. Never once did I refer to anyone on the rez as a "Redskin". I would have gotten punched in my big fat mouth. Y'all are misguided, at best.
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We saw how to beat the WFT front four during the Bucs post-season win. Get the ball out in 2.5 seconds. We do that and we'll win by 10 or more.
To occasionally take some deep shots (needed) we could go to max protect or use a moving pocket.Last edited by DragonIce; 09-10-2021, 10:27 PM.
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Originally posted by Redskins1 View Post
First of all I have been saying redskins since 1974 when I got into football,second in my heart of heart I dont see it as offensive...
End of Discussion my friend...Now, if you excuse me, I have some Charger memories to suppress.
Let’s win one for Mack.
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