Chargers @ Browns Game Day Thread / Post Game Reaction (Week 5)

[wu-dai clan]

Or we coould have had Brian Daboll, an offensive mind to with with the best asset in the organization, Justin Herbert. Lots of DCs out there that could get the same middling defensive results as Staley.

Experience.
Wink doing a job too.

[Boltnut]

The only reason I excluded portions of your post was to save space. I read the entire post. Even 'liked' it.

As for my knowledge of the game of football, I hold no delusions about being the most knowledgeable poster here; quite the opposite. I'm more like the teams the Chargers have beaten this year, i.e., a bottom feeder. Regarding my knowledge of other NFL teams, again, I hold no advanced degree. Which doesn't make my OPINIONS (which is all any of us have, knowledgeable or not) any less valid. My opinions are no better, or worse, then yours. I formulate those opinions based on what I have observed. I assume you do, as well. Result: We see things differently.

I could also provide you with a breakdown of the remaining teams on our schedule, many of whom we will not beat even with many of our injured players back.

I stick by my very un-knowledgeable opinion: I have seen very little so far this year which gives my any confidence that this team can win a Super Bowl. I *suppose* they could squeak into the playoffs, based on the parity flavor of the League. But making any noise? Not in my estimation. And making the playoffs without winning a SB is still a failed season...to me. I'm beyond "the team showed promise"; "the future is bright"; "one more off-season and we'll be the team to beat"; "we were the better team (but still lost)"; "the officials took that game away from us".

But I guess we can take some solace in the fact that we are 5-Time Off-Season Super Bowl Champs.

Denver: Their offense is anemic and mistake prone. Russell has a shoulder injury. Devante Williams is IR'd. They will turn the ball over 2+ times. Chargers aren't the only team dealing with injury. Broncos won't have LT Bolles, Meinertz, Gregory, or Simmons.
Seattle: League leaders in rushing offense (ypc). Just lost their RB (R. Penny) to a broken leg. The Geno Smith experiment will end badly. If you're looking for a team that hasn't beaten anybody, look here. If you're looking for a team that has lost to bad teams, also look here. Their defense is bad. The only positive I can say about them was that they were smart enough to steal Abraham Lucas (A Nutty favorite) in the draft.

We roll into the bye @5-2. Rest up Keenan! Get well, Joey!

2nd half of the season we roll up on mostly beatable teams: Falcons, 49ers, Cardinals, Raiders, Titans, Colts, Rams, and Broncos.
Chiefs will be a test. Miami will be a test (if Tua is healthy). Even if we lose these two games (and a couple of games we should win)... we'll be 11-6.

[Maniaque 6]

According to PFF, fwiw, Derwin was in our top 5...and not nearly as bad as K9:

pff murray.JPG
https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/202...-mike-williams

I didn't see the same game.
S. Joseph-Day seemed to me more valuable than K. Mack and B. Callahan.

[Xenos]

[Xenos]

[Xenos]

[Formula 21]

According to PFF, fwiw, Derwin was in our top 5...and not nearly as bad as K9:

pff murray.JPG
https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/202...-mike-williams

That’s some sad numbers, top to bottom. And Murray, wow oh wow. What a mistake picking him has turned out to be.

[Xenos]

[Xenos]

Agreed. But the need to have one was a negative thing.

Maybe? But the fact that it was players who wanted to do it after only the third game speaks more positive than negative IMO.

[JOJAX85]

Sometimes you just have to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself.

[gzubeck]

Fun Debate on the 4th and 2 play at the end of game.

[Guest]

What about the 50 or so plays that worked well?

I guess you and I were watching a completely different game.

First, we played against the Browns. They averaged 23.75 points allowed to such offensive powerhouses as the Panthers, Jets, Steelers and Falcons. They have a bottom 5 run defense.

Against that kind of weak defense, what I saw was the following:

1. Failed drive on a 4th down stop. No big plays such that many first downs would be required to score. Typical Lombardi suckage.

2. A big run by Ekeler on the first play of the drive on a play with an expected gain of somewhere around 4 yards that he popped for 71 yards. After that, it was a failed drive with poor play calling, resulting in a FG.

3. Amazingly enough, on the 3rd drive, when we hit a play designed to produce yardage (long pass to Williams), reducing the number of first downs necessary to score, we were able to get a TD. The TD happened when the Browns defender failed to set the edge on the right side of the OL.

4. The fourth drive featured poor run defense by the Browns, but was successful.

5. The fifth drive featured an absolutely awful and very predictable third down and 1 call. Lombardi blew the chance to consolidate scores, a possibility potentially available when we deferred at the kickoff, which he has done multiple times this season with poor play calling.

6. The sixth drive was a kneel down with 11 seconds and three timeouts left from our own 35, representing further lame play calling. How about throwing a long pass to get into FG range or a medium pass to get into Hail Mary range?

7. The seventh drive featured more bad run defense by the Browns and an ugly dropped pass by Palmer, finished by Ekeler's TD run from 22 yards out--again, a play not expected to produce that result.

8. The next two drives featured red zone fails without even a single pass attempted into the end zone.

9. The next to last possession featured horrible first down run calls by Lombardi and zero passes to or beyond the sticks before 4th down on the final series when getting first downs could have sealed a victory for us.

On the whole, there were too many short passing plays (as usual) and runs that likely will not work nearly as well against other opponents. The play calling was predictable and again, not very good. The situational play calling in particular was as bad as ever with multiple red zone fails, multiple 4th down fails, a blown 3rd and 1, and utterly incompetent play calling in the four-minute drill. The points Lombardi's ongoing substandard play calling left on the field easily could have cost us the game yesterday.