Film Study: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[NoMoreChillies]

Welcome back diehards, if you are reading this then you are ready to get hurt again,
Sometimes it does feel like this :banghead:
Anywho lets dive in


The Good:
2nd Quarter 9:19 on the clock ball on 1yrd line.
This is quality Herbert but i also wanted to showcase some others. Sneaky play design from Lombardi forcing Chiefs to adjust at the last second. Alas Ek did not get open enough or Herb didnt like the window so he tucks and runs. Big shoutout to Pipkins for blocking the edge man upfield and out of the play. Good pump fake from Herb to confuse the coverage and Ek tryin to get a piece of the last defender near his QB. Everyone tryin and giving their all i like

The Bad:
2nd Quarter 0:15 on the clock ball on 3yrd line
Cook motions and gets the confusion and separation he needs. Herb throws a little high, Cook cant hold onto ball for easy TD and 2 score lead. Chargers came away with nothing on this drive. I dunno who to blame the most: Herb with off target or Cook cant catch...

The Ugly:
Yeah this one hurts. We have seen this movie many times and still doesnt get any easier. Kelcie shredding in big time moment. When he catches the ball there are 3 Chargers (Adderly, Davis , Tranquill) all within 5 yrd of him and nobody makes a tackle. The salt in this wound is Trey Marshall taking awful angle and getting juked.
please make the bad tackling movie stop

Honorable Mentions:

Hon1
Opening kickoff. yeah this was fun to watch

Hon2
Shoutout to Storm Norton and Michael Schoefield for great blocking on this Justin Jackson run

Bonus Content:

Is this pass interference?

As always luv ya
-Chillies

[Xenos]

Welcome back diehards, if you are reading this then you are ready to get hurt again,
Sometimes it does feel like this :banghead:
Anywho lets dive in


The Good:
2nd Quarter 9:19 on the clock ball on 1yrd line.
This is quality Herbert but i also wanted to showcase some others. Sneaky play design from Lombardi forcing Chiefs to adjust at the last second. Alas Ek did not get open enough or Herb didnt like the window so he tucks and runs. Big shoutout to Pipkins for blocking the edge man upfield and out of the play. Good pump fake from Herb to confuse the coverage and Ek tryin to get a piece of the last defender near his QB. Everyone tryin and giving their all i like

The Bad:
2nd Quarter 0:15 on the clock ball on 3yrd line
Cook motions and gets the confusion and separation he needs. Herb throws a little high, Cook cant hold onto ball for easy TD and 2 score lead. Chargers came away with nothing on this drive. I dunno who to blame the most: Herb with off target or Cook cant catch...

The Ugly:
Yeah this one hurts. We have seen this movie many times and still doesnt get any easier. Kelcie shredding in big time moment. When he catches the ball there are 3 Chargers (Adderly, Davis , Tranquill) all within 5 yrd of him and nobody makes a tackle. The salt in this wound is Trey Marshall taking awful angle and getting juked.
please make the bad tackling movie stop

Honorable Mentions:

Hon1
Opening kickoff. yeah this was fun to watch

Hon2
Shoutout to Storm Norton and Michael Schoefield for great blocking on this Justin Jackson run

Bonus Content:

Is this pass interference?

As always luv ya
-Chillies

On the potential PI call, if Herbert had thrown it more inbounds then it would have been called IMO. But I think it was deemed uncatchable because it ended up going out of bounds, hence no call.

[FoutsFan]

On the potential PI call, if Herbert had thrown it more inbounds then it would have been called IMO. But I think it was deemed uncatchable because it ended up going out of bounds, hence no call.

It should have at least been holding or illegal contact. The Chef retard his arms around Allen's waist for about 15 yards, then knocked him down.

Oh and Cook needs to catch that ball. It wasn't a great throw but if you can get 2 hands on the ball it is a drop, no ifs, ands, or buts.

[jubei]

It should have at least been holding or illegal contact. The Chef retard his arms around Allen's waist for about 15 yards, then knocked him down.

Oh and Cook needs to catch that ball. It wasn't a great throw but if you can get 2 hands on the ball it is a drop, no ifs, ands, or buts.

and cook continues to drop balls. it was high but IMO was catchable...JH didnt gun it at him.

[CivilBolt]

It should have at least been holding or illegal contact. The Chef retard his arms around Allen's waist for about 15 yards, then knocked him down.

Oh and Cook needs to catch that ball. It wasn't a great throw but if you can get 2 hands on the ball it is a drop, no ifs, ands, or buts.

I agree. There was early contact. Atleast a 5-yard penalty and a first down. They would have called it if that was Hill.

[CivilBolt]

and cook continues to drop balls. it was high but IMO was catchable...JH didnt gun it at him.

Anderson would caught that and ran it in.

[Rugger05]

Great work as always. Popper did a breakdown of Pipkins against the Chiefs. I think everyone was surprised how well he did


Rookie left tackle Rashawn Slater, who was named to the Pro Bowl on Wednesday, missed the Chargers’ Week 15 loss to the Chiefs while on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Third-year tackle Trey Pipkins started in Slater’s place, and this was a major concern entering the game.

Pipkins struggled mightily in eight starts over his first two seasons in the league. He was drafted in the third round in 2019 out of Division II Sioux Falls as a developmental project, and he looked like exactly that when he was called into action because of injuries in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, Pipkins was an afterthought on this roster through the first 14 games of the season. When right tackle Bryan Bulaga went down with a core muscle injury in Week 1, it was Storm Norton who took his starting spot. Pipkins worked in as a sixth offensive lineman in jumbo packages through the first six weeks of the season, but he lost that job due to underwhelming play and was inactive for four straight games after the bye week.

And yet on Thursday night in prime time, in the Chargers’ biggest game of the season, with the first place in the AFC West on the line, Pipkins showed up. He played the best game of his NFL career so far. He held his own in pass protection. The Chargers helped him with chip blocks and designed pocket movement, but he was left on an island on multiple occasions and won nearly all of his one-on-one reps. In the run game, Pipkins was polished and physical.

He looked very much like a professional offensive tackle.

Pipkins displayed tremendous growth in pass protection. He is clearly a more confident and sound player in that area. In particular, he was stronger and stouter when both setting and anchoring. He was quicker in his get-off. And he did a great job of mixing up his techniques and being aggressive with his punches in certain situations to throw off the Chiefs edge rushers.

On this rep early in the first quarter, the Chargers faced a fourth-and-goal from the Chiefs’ 5-yard line. Pipkins was matched up with Chiefs pass rusher Frank Clark one-on-one.



As Justin Herbert took the shotgun snap, Pipkins surged out of his stance and was in good position.



Clark attempted to bull rush Pipkins, and Pipkins withstood Clark’s initial move.



Herbert hit the bottom of his drop and stepped up. Clark tried to beat Pipkins around the edge.



But Pipkins reset and walled off Clark again.



This gave Herbert plenty of time to deliver an accurate ball to Donald Parham in the end zone. (Parham suffered a scary concussion on the play when his head hit the turf, and the pass fell incomplete.)



Here is another example late in the first half. The Chargers faced a second-and-8 from the Kansas City 43-yard line. Pipkins was matched up one-on-one with Chiefs pass rusher Mike Danna.



As Herbert received the snap, Pipkins took a more aggressive horizontal set and shot his hands into Danna’s chest.





The changeup from Pipkins stunned Danna, and he lost his balance.



By the time Danna regained his momentum, Herbert had identified the one-on-one matchup downfield. Mike Williams was single-covered on a go route down the right sideline.



Herbert had plenty of time to deliver the throw. He was not hit on the play. And Williams won the 50-50 ball for a 27-yard gain.





Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi’s game plan was fantastic, and he did plenty schematically to take pressure off Pipkins.

Early in the second quarter, the Chargers faced a second-and-6 from their own 44. Lombardi dialed up a play-action shot play with max protection, keeping eight Chargers in to pass block. He also helped Pipkins out with a chip block on the edge.

Herbert faked the handoff to running back Joshua Kelley before rolling to his right on a half boot.







As Herbert rolled right, Kelley chipped Danna on the left edge. You can see the eight players in pass protection.



Herbert had a clean pocket and plenty of time.



The play was designed for Williams on a go route down the left sideline. But the Chiefs had the route covered with safety help over the top.



Herbert went to his second read and hit tight end Jared Cook for a 12-yard gain.





The Chargers only gave up six pressures in the game, according to Pro Football Focus. And a crucial factor in that was how the Chargers ran the ball. The Chargers ran for 195 yards on 39 carries, and they were able to run the ball effectively early in the game. That kept the Chiefs front off balance and took a ton of pressure off the Chargers offensive line. The successful ground attack kept the Chargers mostly out of known passing situations on third-and-longs.

Pipkins played a big part in the successful rushing performance. He was solid in pass protection, but he really shined as a run blocker.

On this second-and-4 from the Kansas City 12-yard line in the second quarter, the Chargers came out in a spread formation and had a numbers advantage up front. The Chiefs had five players in the box. The Chargers, with Herbert’s running ability, had seven players factoring into the run math, giving them a two-man advantage.



As Herbert took the shotgun snap, Pipkins steamrolled forward and drove Clark off the line of scrimmage.



Justin Jackson took the handoff, and largely thanks to Pipkins’ seal block on the edge, the Chargers offensive line created a massive hole.



Jackson saw the cutback lane and exploded ahead for an 8-yard gain and a first down. The Chargers scored a touchdown on the next play.



At this stage of the season, especially with the COVID-19 surge, contending teams need depth players to step up.

Pipkins did exactly that. He is showing signs that he can turn his elite physical traits into productive play. The Chargers coaching staff — especially offensive line coach Frank Smith and assistant offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett — deserve a ton of credit for the work they have done with Pipkins.