The "Don't whine, it's hotter in AZ" Pre-season GDT 2 - Cardinals at Chargers

[SDFan]

I know it's preseason but that was a SuperBowl quality team we played, fairly well.

and... without Rivers, Gates and others.

[Steve]

What could possibly keep one from lining up correctly? My mind immediately goes to drugs. Not sure what else might do it. Lack of sleep maybe?

Some of it is just being at a level that expects a lot more out of players mentally then they are used to. College teams love spread offenses because it simplfies everything. And players can learn everything on the field, with little studying, and no need to worry about a lot of the situational stuff. Fewer techniques, fewer alignments, fewer plays.... everything gets watered down.

NFL teams are still playing the same number of plays, alignments, and even more situations then ever before. So, the college players know less about what is going on, and the NFL teams are demanding more than ever before. I think it is literally half a season or more before some players realize how much they don't know. Our most baseic 34 alignment is probably called 30 Base, but there are are probably 7 or 8 different ways for the front 7 to line up depending on how the offense aligns. If they split a TE or a RB out in the slot, you may have a 2 different adjustments for those. Then if there are 3 receivers on one side, how do you align vs that...... Then remember there are probably 6-8 different packages, each with 7-8 plays, all with 6-10 adjustment...... There is a lot of stuff to remember, and all this for players who used to remember a dozen plays in college.

Preseason is so vanilla, and practices are so contrived, I don't think players really get it for a while. And it can take some guys years to get up to speed. Look at Ingram, his sacks are up, the guy is in great physical shape (last year) but then he lost us a couple of games because if his poor run defense. Then you get guys like Emmanuel, who physically is definitely an NFL caliber player, but still runs and dives at ball carriers like he is on the club rugby team. He just keeps making mistakes.

[Millionaire Wussy]

Some of it is just being at a level that expects a lot more out of players mentally then they are used to. College teams love spread offenses because it simplfies everything. And players can learn everything on the field, with little studying, and no need to worry about a lot of the situational stuff. Fewer techniques, fewer alignments, fewer plays.... everything gets watered down.

NFL teams are still playing the same number of plays, alignments, and even more situations then ever before. So, the college players know less about what is going on, and the NFL teams are demanding more than ever before. I think it is literally half a season or more before some players realize how much they don't know. Our most baseic 34 alignment is probably called 30 Base, but there are are probably 7 or 8 different ways for the front 7 to line up depending on how the offense aligns. If they split a TE or a RB out in the slot, you may have a 2 different adjustments for those. Then if there are 3 receivers on one side, how do you align vs that...... Then remember there are probably 6-8 different packages, each with 7-8 plays, all with 6-10 adjustment...... There is a lot of stuff to remember, and all this for players who used to remember a dozen plays in college.

Preseason is so vanilla, and practices are so contrived, I don't think players really get it for a while. And it can take some guys years to get up to speed. Look at Ingram, his sacks are up, the guy is in great physical shape (last year) but then he lost us a couple of games because if his poor run defense. Then you get guys like Emmanuel, who physically is definitely an NFL caliber player, but still runs and dives at ball carriers like he is on the club rugby team. He just keeps making mistakes.

I'm relieved that it's more complicated than I thought. Especially for rookies. Thank you Steve.

[Formula 21]

Chargers 19, Cardinals 3

Chargers O-line with negative grades across the board

The Chargers had our second-lowest grade for collective run-blocking last season, and against the Cardinals on Friday, the starting offensive line went full-retro 2015. The entire unit posted negative grades in the category, highlighted by the right side’s D.J. Fluker and Joe Barksdale combining for a below-average on just 11 run snaps apiece. Center Matt Slauson was the closest to having an average grade, but he also gave up two pressures and was the unit’s lowest-graded pass-blocker. Not surprisingly, RB Melvin Gordon struggled to get going behind his line’s awful performance, gaining just 18 yards on six carries, with 12 of those yards coming on the first-string’s only real positive play.

In the passing game, Kellen Clemens got the nod over a resting Philip Rivers, but failed to stand out. However, while his stat-line of 11 completions on 20 targets for 139 yards was not impressive, his efficiency on intermediate passes was. He completed five of his seven attempts that fell in the 10-19 yard range in the air from the line of scrimmage for 83 yards.

Kellen Clemens’ passing chart

Friday 2

The Chargers’ secondary made life miserable for the Cardinals, in particular in the first half when it intercept both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, also dropping what should have been the third interception of the half, and second pick six charged to Palmer. While the backups failed to register the impact plays the starters did in the first half, they also held their own against San Diego’s passing attack. The Chargers QBs combined to complete just 16 of 30 passes for 154 yards, good for a dismal QB rating of 40.1, just above the 39.6 barrier, which is essentially the rating given to a regular incomplete pass.

The Arizona QB play last night was nothing short of disastrous in the first half. We’ve already highlighted the three critical errors made by Palmer and Stanton, but what’s probably most notable about them is the fact that none of them were under duress. In fact, by completing just one of four combined passes when under pressure and taking a sack, the duo actually posted a better QB rating than it did on 12 dropbacks with a clean pocket. This indicates that both struggled with their reads, a notion that the film certainly supports.

As a collective unit, Arizona’s defense showed significant improvement in both its pass rush and tackling efficiency over last week’s performance against Oakland. Last week, the Cardinals managed just one hit and six pressures while missing eight tackles; during Friday’s game, they notched 15 total pressures and just four missed tackles (two of them from reserve ILB Alani Fua). The secondary also had a strong performance, breaking up four passes. 2016 third-round pick CB Brandon Williams was particularly impressive, as he gave up just one catch on four targets against for 13 yards and broke up two passes.

This is some sad shit. We're not winning anything without better O Line play.

[Fleet]

Id like to see Barksdale focus less on photobombing teammates interviews and focus more on getting better. Its all just fun and games. It needs to be about fucking war and dominance. Not shits and giggles. There seams to be a handfull of players that take this seriously and they stand out. But when i listen to our OL talk its always jokes and they tend to come off as too happy. They are the laughing stock of the NFL. If they are really good then maybe the jokes would be funny. But every time i see a player interviewed Barksdale is standing behind the player making stupid little faces. Grow up!!.

[Steve]

There was a reason we were able to sign Barksdale last summer. He has the physical tools to be a pretty good OL, but has just never put it all together. His best season as a pro was last year, when he was playing to stay in football.

Slauson is never going to be a great starter. He is a real tough guy, but not that good an athlete. Against a DL like AZ, I expect him to struggle some, one on one vs a pretty good interior DL. Still, he is the kind of player we need right now. Say whatever you want about the guy's ability, he will come up short on effort, which is more than I can say about some of the OL.

The 3rd preseason game is the best indicator of the OL performance. The OL is going to have to play an extended amount against quality opponents, and then come back out for the 2nd half.

[Formula 21]

San Diego Passing
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT SACKS RTG
Kellen Clemens 11/20 134 6.7 0 0 1-3 75.8
Mike Bercovici 9/13 108 8.3 0 0 0-0 94.4
TEAM 20/33 239 7.3 0 0 1-3 83.1


94.4 is above average for a qb. And behind a substandard OL. He earned more playing time.

[KNSD]

Saw a bit of the Titans / Panthers game this week and the good news is that it looks like the Titans running game is very strong.

[Faded blues]

Saw a bit of the Titans / Panthers game this week and the good news is that it looks like the Titans running game is very strong.

The bad is that we play them.

[Faded blues]

There was a reason we were able to sign Barksdale last summer. He has the physical tools to be a pretty good OL, but has just never put it all together. His best season as a pro was last year, when he was playing to stay in football.

Slauson is never going to be a great starter. He is a real tough guy, but not that good an athlete. Against a DL like AZ, I expect him to struggle some, one on one vs a pretty good interior DL. Still, he is the kind of player we need right now. Say whatever you want about the guy's ability, he will come up short on effort, which is more than I can say about some of the OL.

The 3rd preseason game is the best indicator of the OL performance. The OL is going to have to play an extended amount against quality opponents, and then come back out for the 2nd half.

Franklin needs to earn his all pro paycheck and play like one.

[KNSD]

Whatever you say about Slauson, he's a 1000% improvement over what the team had there last year.

[Millionaire Wussy]

The bad is that we play them.

Maybe with Bosa it will be different. I can only hope.