Steelers @ Chargers Pregame Discussion (wk 11)

[jamrock]

Well right now the current “facts” are showing that that’s the case.

Which facts?

He is facing less pressure this season.

Defenses are "taking it away" isn't a fact.

[Bolt4Knob]

Because they did get stopped. Therefore they had to change it up.

It was a very uneven thats for sure

Need a better effort Sunday Night - whatever it takes -- no excuses. Just win the dang game


Based on news reports from various sources via Twitter:

Joe Haden, TJ Watt Loudermilk and Kevin Dotson are out
Ben R still in COVID protocols
Minkah F is tbd with COVID

Chargers have ZERO effing excuses to lose this game
NONE

Light up that defense. Go deep - take advantage of two of their best defensive players out of the game

[jox g]

It was a very uneven thats for sure

Need a better effort Sunday Night - whatever it takes -- no excuses. Just win the dang game


Based on news reports from various sources via Twitter:

Joe Haden, TJ Watt Loudermilk and Kevin Dotson are out
Ben R still in COVID protocols
Minkah F is tbd with COVID

Chargers have ZERO effing excuses to lose this game
NONE

Light up that defense. Go deep - take advantage of two of their best defensive players out of the game

And Loudermilk is not a starter

[Xenos]

Offensive shoot out? I feel better if that’s the case given Big Ben’s age.

[Xenos]

Which facts?

He is facing less pressure this season.

Defenses are "taking it away" isn't a fact.

[jamrock]

Yes, I've seen those. Herbert is worse under pressure this year. Agreed. But what I am saying is that he's been facing less pressure this season. Do they rank 28th in pressure rate in 2021?

[cmplxgal]

[cmplxgal]

[jamrock]

Wow. So we may be missing Bosa, Tillery, Joseph and Covington? Basically the entire DL. Good luck Staley.

What about Tranquil?>

[Xenos]

Wow. So we may be missing Bosa, Tillery, Joseph and Covington? Basically the entire DL. Good luck Staley.

What about Tranquil?>

Bosa’s technically an edge rusher. We would be missing 2 of the 3 DL if Joseph and Tillery are out. Covington is depth once Jones came back.

[Bolt4Knob]

Wow. So we may be missing Bosa, Tillery, Joseph and Covington? Basically the entire DL. Good luck Staley.

What about Tranquil?>

Open up the offense - lets score some points!

Joseph out is a big deal
I have a feeling Caraun Reid, just signed to the PS - will be active this Sunday

[Xenos]

Yes, I've seen those. Herbert is worse under pressure this year. Agreed. But what I am saying is that he's been facing less pressure this season. Do they rank 28th in pressure rate in 2021?

He’s under less pressure because the left side is better but also because he’s getting the ball out quicker with those short throws to negate the right side’s issues. Lombardi is also trying to roll him out and do a bunch of things to alleviate pressure. This was from against the Eagles but it seems this is the general game plan when they face an opponent. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t always work. It seems that when Herbert is under pressure, he’s not making the same plays as he did last year. Hence why it’s such a volatile stat compared to making plays from a clean pocket.

https://theathletic.com/2950677/2021/11/11/how-the-chargers-fixed-their-pass-protection-in-their-win-over-eagles/

Watching the film, the pass protection improved because of three major developments in this game.

1. Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi leaned heavily on the quick passing game, getting the ball out of Herbert’s hand on timing routes in the short area of the field. This took a considerable amount of pressure off the offensive line, and particularly the two tackles, Rashawn Slater and Norton. Herbert averaged 2.19 seconds from snap to throw on his 38 attempts, his quickest time to throw in any game this season, according to TruMedia. Herbert is one of only seven quarterbacks this season to post a time-to-throw average under 2.20 seconds. Three of those quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr and Herbert — did so against the Eagles, so the opposition certainly played a part in executing this aspect of the game plan. The quick game helped Herbert be very efficient on early downs. As a result, the Chargers were able to avoid the dreaded known passing situations on third-and-longs. They only faced three third downs of more than 6 yards to gain. Herbert’s 0.53 expected points added per dropback on early downs ranked third in the league in Week 9.

2. The Chargers executed their chip plan more or less to perfection. They had an extra protector in on more than a third of Herbert’s pass attempts, according to my charting. On at least nine of those dropbacks, the Chargers targeted the help to Norton on the right side. On several passing plays, tight ends Jared Cookand Donald Parham chipped before heading out on their routes. On others, they stayed in to pass protect and did not run routes. Austin Ekeler, Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree also provided chip help to the edges and up the middle on passing plays. I only counted four five-man protections on Herbert’s 40 dropbacks. On all three of those plays, Herbert got the ball out to a receiver or tight end on quick timing routes. When the Chargers did get into third-and-long situations, Lombardi dialed up max protection blocking schemes that stymied the Eagles’ pressure attempts.

3. Lombardi was able to get to more quarterback-movement play calls, largely off play action. Herbert ran eight bootlegs and a sprint out in the game, and the Chargers had a lot of success when moving the pocket. One was the longest completion of the game to Mike Williams. Another was the Chargers’ opening touchdown of the game to Stephen Anderson.