How Talented Is This Team Really?

[Boltgang74]

I saw part of Deion last night on 60 minutes - talking about the Colorado program

The program went 1-11 last year so he told many of the former players - they might want to enter the transfer protocal. His thought is if the coaches that were fired brought in those players, and the coaches are gone, why would they want the players

For the Chargers - the defense wasn't that good last year - and they brought back a lot of that talent. Upgrade with Tuli - that looks good; still not sure about Safety;
Results are similar

So maybe its 1) player evaluation 2) coaching

that said, even if they are not the best players, in 36 games as coach, Staleys team have given up 55 pass plays of over 30 years

so for sure, coaching is an issue

This to me means Staley AND Telescope have got to be shitcanned together.Our GM needs to go this year too Finally!

[Bolt4Knob]

This to me means Staley AND Telescope have got to be shitcanned together.Our GM needs to go this year too Finally!

And even though - I think its probably safe to think that John Boy has his hands in the cookie jar - there is always the chance a new GM might just still be better than Telesco.

[Fleet 1]

What players on defense are tradable? Bosa has a monster cap hit next year so i doubt we could flip him. Id be down to sell Derwin for picks. I just want a total rebuild on D. Id cut Mike Williams to keep Bosa but i do like the direction the offense is headed. I dont trust QJ. I was not a fan really coming out. But cutting Mike and going with QJ and maybe drafting another WR? I could see that. As long as its not TT picking. He has done ok with players that drop in his lap...but i really was big on Flowers and Addison. I think they just look more NFL ready. Not shocked QJ struggled in camp. I just kind of feel like not messing with the offense. And even ok with bringing Ekeler back. But move Bosa if you can. Trade Derwin. Cut JC/Mack and Bosa off the books i think we are close to cap demands. Just draft all D. Trading Bosa saves us cap space but would still leave dead money i think.

Im ready for a total defensive rebuild. Just draft new guys who have not been coached so poorly. Remove all of that cancer. Get all the margins. Including the one responsible for its suffering.

[jamrock]

Kellyb will like this.

https://twitter.com/jasrifootball/status/1703903772542382103?s=46&t=Dee5034k4BrrXe6U-h5bEA

[mudwhistle]

Did anyone consider maybe this team just isn't all that talented? The only games this team has won in the last 2 years have been to teams with losing records. When they play winning teams the result is never in doubt.

If we go position by position I think it's obvious areas we thought were good are actual weaknesses and areas thought to be good enough are really bad. The cornerback group might be the worst in the NFL. I really thought M. Davis was solid and would take a leap towards all-pro status this year but he appears to have lost a step and is now below average to average at best. JC with his injury recovery is in the very lowest tier of starting NFL corners and Asante is consistently inconsistent. I would put our cornerback group at 3-14 to 7-10 talent level.

Inside linebacker and defensive tackles are among the worst in the NFL. Kendricks is old, slow, and already injured. Murray doesn't react well. There's not a single difference maker at DT they play with a 4 man rotation and there's no drop-off at all when the 2nd unit is out there. I'd put those 2 position groups at 3-14 talent level. They are above average at edge but really difficult to have a good defense when only 1 position group on the field is above average. Derwin is really the only consistently excellent defender we have.

Offensively, Slater is the only real standout on the line. The rest of the line is capable of being pretty good but inconsistent. I'd consider the entire line average.

The receivers are old and slow but as of now they're still getting maximum respect from defenses. If Herbert doesn't start hitting Mike W on some stuff down the field defenses will lose all respect for the deep passing game and if that happens it's gonna be really difficult to move the ball at all.

Tight end, running back, and QB are slightly above average. Herbert is good in the pocket but any advantage he has there is negated by his inability and unwillingness to extend plays. A QB in the modern NFL needs to be able to get out of sticky situations and create big 3rd down plays with his legs 5 or 6 times a game. Herbert does it once a game. Those other 4 or five 3rd down plays he doesn't create when the pocket collapses and receivers are covered are the difference between winning and losing. See yesterday - Herbert had 4 chances in the 4th quarter and OT to put the game away and couldn't get it done on 3rd down. Four big 3rd downs on 4 possessions led to 3 punts and a FG.

Player by player here's how I'd rate the talent on a 10 point scale.

Grading scale:

3: practice squad
4: below avg starter
5: NFL starter
6: above avg starter
7: very good starter
8: solid pro-bowler
9: elite player - no weaknesses - above avg in every category

Offense:

QB: Herbert 6
RB: Ekeler 7
WR: Allen 6 (I give him a 6 & not higher because he doesn't change the way defenses have to play)
WR: Williams 7 (really should be more like a 5 but I'm giving him a 7 for now because he still changes defenses & teams are still giving him safety help down the field)
TE: Everett 6 (trending toward a 7 if they keep utilizing him)
LT: Slater 9 (truly one of the very elite players in the NFL)
LG: Zion 4 (not worth the 1st round pick)
C: Linsley 7
RG: Salyer: 5 (what a pleasant surprise he's been)
RT: Pipkins: 5 (pretty good in the run game but still inconsistent in pass pro)

Avg score of offense: 5.63

Defense:

DT: Joseph-Day 4
DT: Austin Johnson 4
Edge: Mack 6 (still really really good against the run)
Edge: Bosa 7 (below avg off tackles still have no chance against him)
LB: Murray 4
LB: Kendricks 5
CB: Davis 4
CB: JC Jackson 3 (not recovered enough to be capable of consistently covering anybody)
CB: A. Samuel 5 (in coverage he's more like a 4 and tackles like a 3 but I give him a 5 because he does create turnovers)
S: Derwin 8
S: Gilman 4

Avg score of defense: 4.90

Average score of team 5.27

Projected record: ~8-9

The problem isn't the offense. Our D cannot stop anyone to seal the win.

[Riverwalk]

Ok take a look at my player grades and for every player I have graded a 5 or below give me one example where they've made an above average play this season? Surely if they're so good they'd be good enough to make at least one play in 2 games despite bad coaching?

Gilman, A Samuel, JC Jackson, Davis - can you find ONE single above average play any of those guys have made in 2 games? Just ONE!?

Joseph-Day & Austin Johnson...can you find a single play they've made?!

Murray & Kendricks? OK I'll give you Murray made a couple of plays yesterday but I'm surely not ready to call him above average. What has Kendricks done?

That's 8 players a combined 1000+ snaps of football in 2 weeks and I bet you can't find 3 plays of above avg football any of them have played on any snap. That ain't coaching hoss.

Hoss? Really?

[AZBolt]

Explain how? You guys watched the game the last 2 weeks. The defense was put in position to make plays and didn't make them. I'll give 2 examples from yesterday:

Example #1: Asante Samuel Jr with a 10 yard cushion on Traylon Burks. Burks is NOT a burner he's a bigger run after the catch guy. TEN yard cushion and Asante gets toasted 70 yards down the field by a guy who hasn't caught that ball in the 2 years he's been playing. Asante knew what was happening but wasn't fast enough to catch up. How does coaching explain that? Asante just got beat.

Example #2: Our #1 corner M. Davis vs Tennessee #4 or #5 receiver who's caught like 2 balls in 5 years. Again, NOT a speed guy. That should be an EASY matchup for Davis. Davis was not out of position & didn't have any mental lapse on that play. He knew what was happening as soon as the the ball was snapped. But he got beat because he just wasn't good enough.

I hate to say it but Tennessee was making chicken salad out of chicken shit because our guys just aren't very good.

Michael Davis covered extremely well….. that was a perfect 10 past by Tannehill, which he really doesn’t do often
Davis is a good cover cornerback… my biggest question is, where the hell are our safeties of these plays for Samuel and Davis play. They are nowhere even insight on deep balls….. perhaps Tennessee seen many instances of this and exploited it?

[ghost]

What players on defense are tradable? Bosa has a monster cap hit next year so i doubt we could flip him. Id be down to sell Derwin for picks. I just want a total rebuild on D. Id cut Mike Williams to keep Bosa but i do like the direction the offense is headed. I dont trust QJ. I was not a fan really coming out. But cutting Mike and going with QJ and maybe drafting another WR? I could see that. As long as its not TT picking. He has done ok with players that drop in his lap...but i really was big on Flowers and Addison. I think they just look more NFL ready. Not shocked QJ struggled in camp. I just kind of feel like not messing with the offense. And even ok with bringing Ekeler back. But move Bosa if you can. Trade Derwin. Cut JC/Mack and Bosa off the books i think we are close to cap demands. Just draft all D. Trading Bosa saves us cap space but would still leave dead money i think.

Im ready for a total defensive rebuild. Just draft new guys who have not been coached so poorly. Remove all of that cancer. Get all the margins. Including the one responsible for its suffering.

Bosa and James. Trade both for draft picks. But it's got to be a new GM making the picks.

THAT SAID, let's move to offense, OK? 4th ranked offense in the league takes talent. Period. Where's Dallas?

https://www.espn.com/nfl/stats/team

Week 2.png

[ghost]

https://sportsnaut.com/nfl-defense-rankings/

Dismiss Staley at the bye-week and let Ainsley call the defense. Maybe Derrick can close a game on defense? He trained in a Nick Saban program.


LAC.png

[northerner]

I miss Lombardi. .

I think we are seeing that the inability of our WR's to get open consistently was not Lombardi's fault. Moore still has a chance to prove himself. Lombardi had a whole season to prove himself and never did. however, i do think Staley and our WR"s got less blame last season than they should have. Our passing game can't move the ball in clutch time.

[ghost]

I think we are seeing that the inability of our WR's to get open consistently was not Lombardi's fault. Moore still has a chance to prove himself. Lombardi had a whole season to prove himself and never did. however, i do think Staley and our WR"s got less blame last season than they should have. Our passing game can't move the ball in clutch time.

Chargers offense is #4th in the league. YET, in situational football, it's success rates plummet. Why? The two defenses and the men behind them. Keep an eye on the offense and Herbert and you will watch it grow and mature. Herbert is processing too much information out there in 'crunch-time,' it's visible. Wu-Dai pointed it out and I agree. Look at the perfect pass Herbert threw to MIKE WILL in OT. It was into double-coverage and it was perfect. And swatted away by a Tenn defender. That one completion would have jumped started the offense.

Instead, it had a negative effect on Herbert and his following passes on second and long and third and long were each worse than the other. I saw that and I know Doug Nussmeier + Kellen Moore did. That will be the focus in practice tomorrow for the gameplan. Situational football and situational awareness. If the Chargers get Ekeler back, all the better.

[Bolt4Knob]

Michael Davis covered extremely well….. that was a perfect 10 past by Tannehill, which he really doesn’t do often
Davis is a good cover cornerback… my biggest question is, where the hell are our safeties of these plays for Samuel and Davis play. They are nowhere even insight on deep balls….. perhaps Tennessee seen many instances of this and exploited it?

The Chargers seem to have the talent - but the coaches are not putting them in a scheme that works or coaching them corrctly or they have the wrong players for the schemed

55 plays of over 30 yards in the passing game in 36 regular season games. Thats terrible.