SD Flopped

[oneinchpunch]

UT:

Instant Analysis: SD Flopped


The Chargers missed more tackles than some defenses do in three games. Their defense helped the Dolphins with several presnap penalties.

Offensively, it was the same old story. San Diego bogged down in the red zone.

Mix in poor clock management, and it was surprising the Chargers had a chance to pull out a victory.

Tackling woes continue: After the Chargers elected to kick off, the defense betrayed Mike McCoy's show of faith by missing tackles against Dolphins pass-catchers. Mike Wallace gained an extra 10 yards after getting past Shareece Wright, and Charles Clay went 13 yards after eluding Marcus Gilchrist. The drive led to a 3-0 lead.

Clay is a tight end (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) who runs well. The Chargers made him look like Kellen Winslow Sr. in his prime when he caught a short pass in the third quarter. Three defenders -- Manti Te'o, Gilchrist and Donald Butler -- whiffed on tackle attempts and Clay went 39 yards for a touchdown.

Poor tackling has plagued the Chargers in several games this year.

Wild card race: The road to the AFC playoffs remains as wide as the Interstate 15. None of the candidates for the second and final wild card spot has a winning record. The Jets (5-5) are tied with Miami. Behind them, the Chargers are one of six teams at 4-6 -- including, somehow, the rival Raiders.

The Dolphins (5-5) pulled ahead of the Chargers (4-6) in the wild-card race.
The Chargers have lost three consecutive games.

Mathews takes off: Ryan Mathews broke loose for a 51-yard run, the longest of his career. Mathews (19 carries, 127 yards) exceeded 100 yards rushing for the third time this year.

Too jumpy: McCoy says there's no excuse for presnap penalties such as those his defense made repeatedly. San Diego was flagged five times through three quarters for jumping offside or into the neutral zone. The Chargers weren't facing a sophisticated offense. Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill is an NFL sophomore whose line lacked three regulars Sunday. As well as jumping offside, Corey Liuget negated a Chargers fumble recovery by hitting Tannehill too late after the pass.

Blocking lapses: The Chargers had allowed the fewest quarterback hits this season. But in the fourth quarter, the blocking faltered against Miami's talented front seven. Four times in the quarter, the Dolphins threw the Chargers for a loss, once on a handoff to Mathews.

Jeromey Clary was beaten twice in the quarter. One sack, against rookie D.J. Fluker, playing left tackle, pushed the Chargers out of field goal range with Miami ahead 20-16. So when the Chargers got the ball back -- at their 17 with one timeout and 1:55 to play -- they needed a touchdown to win. Cameron Wake beat Clary for a sack on the final drive. Clary was playing right tackle instead of right guard because Fluker, the right tackle, was replacing left tackle King Dunlap (neck injury).

[oneinchpunch]

PFF:

Here’s a look at some of the key performances from this AFC battle.

San Diego – Three Performances of Note

Tackles Falter at Crunch Time

Injuries up front have forced the Chargers to shuffle their offensive line as rookie right tackle made his first career start on the left side, this after spending time there a week ago when starter King Dunlap went down. It’s foreign territory for D.J. Fluker who played exclusively on the right side in college as well, and it certainly showed at times throughout the game. Whether it was defensive end Dion Jordan bolting past him in less than two seconds at the 2:11 mark of the second quarter or the two hits and the sack he surrendered on the Chargers’ final two drives, Fluker had his struggles on his way to a -4.3 overall grade including -2.8 in pass protection. On the other side, Jeromey Clary stepped in at right tackle, a familiar position for the eight-year veteran, though he’s been relegated to right guard duty for the majority of the season. He too had his issues down the stretch as he surrendered two pressures of his own on the last couple drives including a sack to DE Cameron Wake with 56 seconds to go in the game, forcing the Chargers to take their last time out in their own territory. Clary finished at -2.3 overall for the day as San Diego’s offensive line shuffle continues to creep up at important parts of games.

Tackling Woes

Look no further than the touchdown surrendered to tight end Charles Clay at the 7:54 mark of the third quarter to sum up the Chargers’ inability to tackle on Sunday. Linebacker Manti Te’o was caught out of position on the pass and found himself trailing Clay right off the bat and while he didn’t get charged with one of his two missed tackles on the play, it was strong safety Marcus Gilchrist and LB Donald Butler whose feeble attempts came up empty as Clay scampered for the 37-yard score. It was one of four missed tackles for Butler who finished at -3.1 for the day while Gilchrist managed two missed tackles on his way to a -2.0 grade. CB Shareece Wright was the final Charger to get in on the multi-missed tackle parade as he also finished with two to go with a -1.3 overall grade for the afternoon. When you add it all up, the 12 missed tackles for the Chargers compared to only four for the Dolphins may have made the difference in the game.

Earning Playing Time

After finishing at +2.0 a week ago, backup tight end Ladarius Green graded at +2.8 Sunday despite playing only 20 snaps. He’s now at +7.8 for the season and certainly should be in line to see the field more often in the coming weeks. The second-year tight end was targeted five times, catching four passes for 81 yards, including a beautiful 32-yard reception over Grimes with 2:35 to go in the first quarter. Even with Grimes in good position, Green outmuscled him for the well-thrown deep ball, proving to quarterback Phillip Rivers that he can be trusted to make contested catches. He later broke away for a 35-yard gain with 7:50 to go in the game as he showed good burst on the crossing route. Throw in a nice down block to spring a 9-yard run early in the first quarter and Green continues to make his case for more playing time.

Miami – Three Performances of Note

Third Year’s the Charm

A pair of 2011 draft picks picked up the Miami offense Sunday as Clay finished at +4.2 overall while running back Daniel Thomas graded at +3.3 on his 26 snaps. In addition to his touchdown, Clay picked up three first downs with his five other receptions to finish with six catches for 90 yards. He even notched his first positive grade as a run blocker, finishing at +1.0, on the strength of solid blocks against perennial top run stopping linebacker Jarret Johnson. For Thomas, it marked another strong performance on the ground as he finished with 57 yards on 10 carries, including four forced missed tackles and a touchdown. He kept the Dolphins in manageable down and distances situations with his signature run coming at the 11:51 mark of the fourth quarter as he ran through Te’o before sidestepping Wright on his way to an 8-yard gain. The pair of third-year players proved quite valuable to the Dolphins’ offense on Sunday.

Stout Soliai

Miami’s defensive line has played well throughout the season with defensive tackle Paul Soliai playing the role of run-stopping nose tackle. He was at it again Sunday finishing at +4.4 for the day including +3.7 against the run. He tied with a number of players for a team-high three stops, but he did so on only 15 run snaps while creating disruption throughout the game. Even when he didn’t find his name on the stat sheet, he redirected runs toward his teammates as he did on back-to-back running plays early in the fourth quarter. Soliai got involved as a pass rusher as well, picking up a hurry and a hit on his 18 rushes. The seventh-year defensive tackle is now grading at +10.9 on the season including +7.8 against the run.

Inconsistent Ellerbe

After starting the season with four straight negative grades, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe put together three straight positives before posting a -2.1 last week and now a -3.9 effort on Sunday. His up and down season is not what the Dolphins had in mind when they paid him in free agency last offseason. Ellerbe graded at -4.6 in the running game as Chargers linemen had their way with him at the second level throughout the game. He was driven well out of the play when left guard Johnnie Troutman got a hold of him at the 5:56 mark of the first quarter while Fluker had it much easier with 0:51 to go in the second as he pounced on Ellerbe who tripped over himself in pursuit. He was simply slow to react and unable to shed blocks all afternoon, a dangerous combination for any linebacker.

Game Notes

- Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill graded at -1.4 as a passer including -2.3 on throws beyond 10 yards and to his left

- Chargers RG Chad Rhinehart pulled the lone positive grade up front as he finished at +4.0 overall.

- Dolphins undrafted rookie free agent Sam Brenner made his NFL debut playing 61 of the 65 snaps at left guard. He finished at -0.4 overall, surrendering a sack and a hurry on his 38 pass block attempts.

PFF Game Ball

Tight end Charles Clay’s +4.2 performance and key 39-yard touchdown earn him the game ball this week.

[QSmokey]

Do you actually read that she-ite??? LOL!

I give this post a -3.8.

[sandiego17]

Its not the bible, but it is interesting, even when they simply point out the obvious like Gilchrist getting trucked and Butler's pitiful attempted "wrap up" of Clay. Kind of surprised it was only twelve missed tackles.

[richpjr]

Do you actually read that she-ite??? LOL!

I give this post a -3.8.

Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it doesn't have merit!

[QSmokey]

Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it doesn't have merit!

LOL! Probably very useful for stat geeks and FF. I just think it's so unscientific. What formula(s) is used to calculate these over-the-top stats? Is it like +1.0 for a "good" block? -1.0 for a sack allowed? +0.3456 for a second-level block? Some negative points for a penalty? Who developed this rating system? Sounds pretty subjective to me. Which renders this stats pretty useless, IMO.

[MakoShark]

Thats about sums it up...SD Flopped.

[TTK]

Like someone said in another thread, it's time to put Fluker and Clary back at their normal positions and throw whoever is left at LT and give the guy help. Moving everyone out of position isn't working out too well.

[oneinchpunch]

Like someone said in another thread, it's time to put Fluker and Clary back at their normal positions and throw whoever is left at LT and give the guy help. Moving everyone out of position isn't working out too well.

Agreed. The line was playing well before the shakeup. Put everyone back and give the LT help. Yesterday was ugly.

[oneinchpunch]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/11/19/had-a-bad-day-team-week-11/

‘Had a Bad Day’ Team, Week 11(just for Tucker)


Offense

Quarterback: Geno Smith, NYJ (-8.2)

We’ll say this for Geno Smith — when he’s bad, he’s bad on a level that few can aspire to. Going 8 of 23 is never a good stat line.

Dishonorable Mention: Jason Campbell (CLE)

Running Back: Reggie Bush, DET (-2.1)

Another stat line — 2.6 yards per carry and a fumble. We do not like that.

Dishonorable Mention: Adrian Peterson (MIN)

Full Back: Erik Lorig, TB (-5.0)

Took it upon himself to ensure Bobby Rainey had to work extra hard to put the Falcons to the sword.

Dishonorable Mention: Michael Robinson (SEA)

Tight End: Joel Dreessen, DEN (-3.6)

Replaced the injured Julius Thomas for 23 snaps and in that period was thoroughly abused by Justin Houston.

Dishonorable Mention: Tony Gonzalez (ATL)

Wide Receivers: Roddy White, ATL (-3.6) and Greg Little, CLE (-2.4)

This season is something of a write-off for White who fumbled a ball and dropped a pass while looking less than 100%. Little had another one of his bust days, a shame for a guy who on any given play can produce a number of reactions.

Dishonorable Mention: Donnie Avery (KC) and Darius Johnson, ATL (-1.9)

Tackles: D.J. Fluker, SD (-4.3) and Tony Pashos, OAK (-4.6)

A shame for Fluker who was doing well on the right side of the line before injuries saw him move over to the left. He’s just not cut out for it. Pashos has played well this year, but the reality is he is but one man, and one man cannot stop J.J. Watt.

Dishonorable Mention: Matt Kalil (MIN) and Eric Fisher (KC)

Guards: James Carpenter, SEA (-3.3) and David Diehl, NYG (-4.9)

Just imagine what Carpenter would have got had he played more than 33 snaps. Just continues to struggle in the running game and looks like a rare miss from the Seahawks’ front office. Diehl is here on the back of allowing a hit and five hurries.

Dishonorable Mention: Guy Whimper (PIT) and Mike Brisiel (OAK)

Center: Max Unger, SEA (-3.4)

You get the impression the chopping and changing along the Seahawks’ line hasn’t helped the game of Unger this year.

Dishonorable Mention: Jeremy Zuttah (TB)

Defense

Each week we put forward a hybrid defense that features two edge rushers (4-3 defensive ends or 3-4 outside linebackers), three players on the “interior” of the defensive line (3-4 defensive ends or defensive tackles) and two linebackers (all inside linebackers and 4-3 outside linebackers).

Defensive Interior – Ends: Corey Liuget, SD (-5.1) and Brandon Thompson, CIN (-4.2)

Something of a shame that we haven’t seen Liuget build on his strong sophomore campaign. Just the one hurry and three penalties earned him this grade. The fall from Geno Atkins to Thompson was always going to be big, but the Bengals need more from this man.

Dishonorable Mention: Jonathan Babineaux (ATL) and Ziggy Hood (PIT)

Defensive Interior – Nose: Landon Cohen, CHI (-6.2)

Shading the center most of the game Cohen found the wet Soldier Field turf tough to work with, constantly struggling to halt the lateral movement the Ravens line were getting with him.

Dishonorable Mention: Akeem Spence (TB)

Edge Rushers: Robert Ayers, DEN (-4.4) and Thomas Keiser, SD (-4.4)

Two penalties and no pressure as Ayers was quiet when you wanted him to make some noise, and loud when you wanted silence. Keiser didn’t do his chances of more playing time any good with three penalties.

Dishonorable Mention: Barkevious Mingo (CLE) and Lamarr Houston (OAK)

Linebackers: Dannell Ellerbe, MIA (-3.9) and Donald Butler, SD (-3.1)

That kind of work in the run game, when Karlos Dansby is playing so well, won’t make Miami fans happy. With four missed tackles Butler is better than this.

Dishonorable Mention: Zach Brown (TEN) and Manti Te’o (SD)

Cornerbacks: Marcus Cooper, KC (-5.8) and Melvin White, CAR (-4.7)

Cooper got his biggest NFL test to date and fluffed his lines as the Broncos’ receivers constantly got in behind him. Making it an all rookie selection, undrafted free agent White had a Monday Night to forget.

Dishonorable Mention: David Amerson (WAS) and Don Carey (DET)

Safeties: Troy Polamalu, PIT (-4.4) and Reed Doughty, WAS (-3.3)

As bad as we’ve seen Polamalu look for a very long time. Roughty wasn’t much better in earning negatives against the run and pass.

Dishonorable Mention: Michael Griffen (TEN) and Reshad Jones (MIA)

[QSmokey]

Do you get, like, a text message; or does your phone beep; or maybe these "rating systems" are the only websites you visit (other than the Chargers board)? This is like a bad song that you can't get out of your head. LOL!

[oneinchpunch]

Acee: K. Dunlap announced as concussion v. Denver, amended to "neck." J. Patrick announced as "head injury" v. Miami, amended to concussion #weird