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Originally posted by Ghost of Quacksaw
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Shit happens. -
ST was still significantly better than 2020 IMO and was getting better as the year went on. It wasn't a great unit, but it seemed headed in the right direction. Hopefully we see continued improvement this year.Originally posted by Ghost of Quacksaw View PostComment
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I know. The setup was just hanging there........Originally posted by Ghost of Quacksaw View PostComment
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I wonder if Staley played favorites by hiring his old Bears buddy Swinton...previous to the Bolts, Swinton only had ONE season as a head ST coach--with the Niners in 2016...they went 2-14 that year...oops...not exactly a glowing resume...Originally posted by Ghost of Quacksaw View PostLast edited by Topcat; 05-19-2022, 09:49 PM.Comment
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Melvin Ingram couldn’t beat NortonOriginally posted by equivocation View Post“Less is more? NO NO NO - MORE is MORE!”Comment
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IMO, Swinton's firing was more likely about the 'chemistry' he had with the coaching staff, than it was about what took place on the field on special teams.Originally posted by Topcat View Post
In a situation like the NFL, where teamwork really is everything, the coaching staff can't afford to model having problems working together in front of the players. Definitely not the "all in" culture Staley is attempting to build.Last edited by Ghost of Quacksaw; 05-20-2022, 10:58 AM.Comment
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Staley has no excuses this yearComment
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LOL! Weell there's always football.Originally posted by jamrock View Post
Clearly if everyone is healthy and there are no outrageously bad calls by officials.....
LAC should be a playoff contender.Comment
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AJ left a mess because he also went all in in 2012. Hopefully the results are better this year than in 2012.Originally posted by sonorajim View PostComment
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Only a playoff contender ?Originally posted by sonorajim View Post
I see it bigger than you.
At least, a long run in playoff !Comment
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Over the past two months, the Chargers have reshaped their roster with one of the most aggressive offseasons in recent team history.
Typically, general manager Tom Telesco has used free agency and trades as a way to supplement his existing talent. But with Justin Herbert on a rookie deal and heightened pressure to contend for a Super Bowl in 2022, that philosophy changed to a degree. The Chargers targeted big fish in their makeover. They were not just looking for role players. They were looking for starters, cornerstones and stars to push this roster over the hump.
The pieces have been assembled. Now the question becomes: How exactly do those pieces fit into Brandon Staley’s team?
I watched last season’s film from five of the Chargers’ most important offseason acquisitions — edge rusher Khalil Mack, cornerback J.C. Jackson, defensive linemen Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson and tight end Gerald Everett — to find the answer.
Khalil Mack
The trade for Mack in March was the Chargers’ first big addition of the offseason. In hindsight, it was a clear indication of the organization’s mindset. The Chargers had cap space, and they were going to use it to acquire what they viewed as impactful, difference-making players.
On a simple level, Mack will replace Uchenna Nwosu as the Chargers’ starting edge rusher opposite Joey Bosa. Mack, of course, is very familiar with the position and its role in the scheme from his time with the Bears in 2018, when the Staley was the outside linebackers coach there under Vic Fangio.
On a broader level, Staley felt like he needed more playmakers on defense heading into 2022. The Chargers defense was bottom-five unit in the league in 2021 based on TruMedia’s EPA per play metric. In Mack, the Chargers think they have acquired a defender who can make the type of game-breaking plays Staley’s unit was missing in his first season as head coach — both as a pass rusher and against the run.
There is one concern hovering over Mack, though: How much does he have left in the tank?
He turned 31 in February and is coming off a season in which he played just seven games because of a foot injury. He has not topped nine sacks since 2018. And over that three-season span, Mack’s pressure rate numbers have also declined, according to data from Pro Football Focus. In 2018, he pressured the quarterback on 14.5 percent of his pass rushing snaps. In 2019, it dropped to 13.2 percent. In 2020, it dropped to 11.5 percent. And last season, in a small sample size before his injury, it was 12.5 percent.
Is Mack going to return to form as the best defensive player in football? Probably not. But the Chargers did not make the trade expecting that. If Mack can come back from this injury, stay healthy and be 75 to 80 percent of what he was at his peak, this is a good deal that will make the Chargers defense much, much better.
And from what I saw on film, that is a very realistic expectation. Mack is still a complete edge rusher. He is an excellent run defender. And he can dominate as a pass rusher, especially when he gets one-on-one opportunities against tackles — something he should see plenty of with Bosa rushing on the opposite side. Mack proved both those things even while battling the foot injury that ultimately ended his season.
Let’s start with the pass rush. Mack is still a ridiculous athlete. He can win with speed and bend on the outside. He has a great feel on stunts when he peels to the inside. But the thing that jumped out to me the most is just how powerful he is. If a tackle hesitates even for a second or is not sturdy in his initial anchor, Mack will deliver a ferocious bull rush and run right through some of the biggest men on the field.
This rep from the Bears’ Week 6 loss to Packers is a great example.
It was second-and-7, and Aaron Rodgers was in an empty shotgun formation. Mack was lined up as a standing edge rusher on the left side.
At the snap, the tight end to the outside of the right tackle — Marcedes Lewis, No. 89 — took off on a seam route. Without Lewis chipping Mack on a double team, and without a running back in the backfield to help protect, Mack is one-on-one with Packers right tackle Billy Turner.
Mack recognized this matchup and immediately attacked Turner on a bull rush.
Mack knocked Turner off balance and had a clear path to Rodgers.
Robert Quinn, rushing against the left tackle, just got around his man and dove for Rodgers. Because of Mack’s successful bull rush and positioning, Rodgers had no where to step up.
Quinn got home for the sack.
The buzz around the Chargers’ trade for Mack has always focused mostly on what he will bring to their pass rush. But I think Mack’s presence as a run defender has been overlooked. The Chargers had one of the worst run defenses in the league last season. A lot of that was from a lack of physicality and stoutness on the interior. Some of it, too, was from inconsistent edge defending. Mack will help the Chargers’ run defense significantly.
In Week 5 against the Raiders, Mack and the Bears set up to defend a fourth-and-1. Mack was a standing edge rusher on the outside right. The Raiders lined up in I formation and called a run to Josh Jacobs up the middle behind fullback Alec Ingold.
Derek Carr took the snap and handed to Jacobs. Raiders left tackle Kolton Miller set forward and engaged Mack on the edge.
Jacobs took the handoff and looked for a crease on the interior. Mack withstood Miller’s initial block.
As Jacobs approached the line of scrimmage, Mack took a step to the side to create space between himself and Miller.
Then he swiped Miller’s arms away and penetrated toward the ball.
Mack wrapped up Jacobs and stopped him short of the sticks, with some help from his teammates, for a turnover on downs.
This is exactly what the Chargers traded for: a key play in a crucial moment.
J.C. Jackson
The Chargers signed Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million contract with a specific vision in mind. They needed a No. 1 cornerback who is thrives in man coverage. Jackson fits that mold perfectly.
Jackson comes from a Patriots defense that played the fourth-most man coverage of any defense in the league last season, according to TruMedia. And Bill Belichick trusted him enough to have him to travel with opposing offense’s No. 1 receiver. That is something that appealed to Staley. Jackson traveled with Stefon Diggs in both games against the Bills. And he traveled with Mike Evans in the Patriots’ Week 4 loss to the Buccaneers.
Jackson’s matchup with Evans was particularly impressive because of the size difference. Jackson is a taller corner at 6-foot-1. But he was giving up four inches and over 30 pounds to the towering Evans. Despite that, he stuck with Evans at all three levels of the field. Evans caught seven of his 12 targets. The only explosive play the Patriots allowed to Evans in the game came on a 28-yard completion on an over route in the first quarter. Jackson was playing outside leverage and it appeared to me like he was expecting help on the inside. The two Patriots defenders on the inside bit on the running back’s flat route, leaving the middle of the field wide open.
Otherwise, Evans was not an imposing factor in the game. Jackson sniffed out a wide receiver screen later in the first quarter for no gain. He locked down Evans one-on-one on a go route down the left sideline in the fourth quarter on an incompletion. And then there was this rep in the first quarter.
The Bucs faced a first-and-10 from their own 29-yard line. Jackson was matched up one-on-one with Evans to the offense’s outside left. The Patriots were in a single-high safety shell.
Tom Brady faked the handoff to Leonard Fournette on play action. Jackson was in lockstep with Evans, who released vertically down the numbers. Jackson was shaded to the outside with safety help to the post.
As Brady settled into his drop, Jackson was in Evans’ hip pocket, practically running the route for him.
With safety help over the top, Brady tried to hit Evans on a 15-yard comeback route. He threw early in an attempt to beat Jackson on timing. Jackson, though, felt Evans stopping his route and turned his eyes back to the quarterback to find the ball.
He jumped in front of Evans and broke up the pass.
The Chargers now have a weapon in Jackson they can deploy against top wide receivers. Put him on an island and let him go to work.
Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson
I grouped these two together because they were signed for similar reasons: stuffing the run.
Staley wanted bigger, longer, stronger and more versatile interior defensive lineman who could eat up blocks. He found those players in Joseph-Day and Johnson. They are the starters on the interior and can play a variety of alignments. Both can line up as a nose tackle over the center or line up further from the ball. And the Chargers hope they will help elevate the porous run defense.
Joseph-Day was a standout in Staley’s Ramsdefense in 2020. And he continued that level of play in 2021 under new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris after Staley took the Chargers job. Joseph-Day was having an outstanding season before he tore his pec and missed the second half of the regular season.
Joseph-Day is both physical and savvy when defending the run on the interior. And his strength really jumps out on tape.
On this first down against the Giants in Week 6, Joseph-Day lined up in a 2 alignment, meaning directly over the guard, in this case right guard Will Hernandez.
Quarterback Daniel Jones took the shotgun snap and prepared to hand off to running back Devontae Booker. Joseph-Day engaged with Hernandez.
As Jones handed off, Joseph-Day used his upper-body strength to bench press Hernandez away and create separation.
Then with a violent rip, Joseph-Day threw Hernandez away and located the ball carrier.
He wrapped up Booker after a 2-yard gain.
Johnson, meanwhile, caught Staley’s attention when the Chargers faced the Giants last year at SoFi Stadium in Week 14. And I can understand why.
This play in the fourth quarter jumped out.
The Chargers faced a second-and-goal from the Giants’ 3-yard line. Herbert was in shotgun with running back Justin Jackson split to his left. Johnson was lined up in the B gap between left guard Matt Feiler and left tackle Rashawn Slater.
Herbert took the snap, and Slater engaged with Johnson.
As Herbert handed off to Jackson, Johnson was able to straighten his right arm and gain leverage over Slater, the All-Pro.
Jackson tried to explode through the B gap, but Johnson maintained that straight right arm and created an angle on the running back.
And he stood Jackson up short of the goal line.
The Chargers interior defensive line looks much different heading into 2022. Joseph-Day and Johnson — along with rookie Otito Ogbonnia — were added to help shore up the run defense. They have proven to be adept at exactly that.
Gerald Everett
The Chargers’ offseason focused primarily on adding talent to the defense. But they also added a key offensive weapon in Everett, who crossed paths with Staley on the Rams in 2020 and spent last season with the Seahawks.
The Chargers signed Everett to be their TE1 ahead of Donald Parham Jr. and Tre’ McKitty, and they have a vision to further unlock him as a yards-after-the-catch weapon.
Everett showed that last season with the Seahawks, setting a career high in yards after the catch with 249, according to TruMedia.
The Seahawks used Everett in a variety of ways from all over the formation. They featured him in the screen game. They featured him in quick-game routes to the flat. And they even used him on jet sweep motions, sending him on wheel routes. He produced as a yards-after-the-catch receiver in all three of these concepts.
But I wanted to focus on one flat reception in particular, because it looks very similar to the routes Jared Cook ran last season, and also shows how Everett should be able to bring an extra dimension to the play with his athleticism and finishing strength.
The Seahawks faced a first-and-10 from their own 9-yard line in Week 10 at the Packers. Everett lined up to the outside of the left tackle.
Russell Wilson took the shotgun snap and shoulder faked as if he was going to hand off. As he did that, Everett shot into the flat.
Wilson fired quickly, but Packers safety Darnell Savage read the play and was in good position to cut off Everett.
Everett received the pass and turned upfield, with Savage right on his inside shoulder.
As Everett got to the corner, though, he stiff-armed Savage.
Then he spun out of an arm tackle to pick up first-down yardage.
With Herbert throwing Everett the ball, the former Ram and Seahawk could be due for a career season in Joe Lombardi’s tight end-heavy offense
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