Just How close or how far are the chargers from being serious superbowl contenders.

[chris9341]

To me this season feels somewhat deja vu for me. We've seen this same scenario play out before where the chargers start off horrible yet find away to make the playioffs. Now that may not have happened but the point is we have seen this before. Then we sit and talk about what the chargers can do to improve as a team. Since this is the offseason well might as well discuss what the chargers need to do to become superbowl contenders. Ive said this on the past and I'll keep saying it, the chargers need to become more dominant running the ball. I love Rivers just as much as anyone else but if you got a dominant running team who can take pressure off of Rivers it makes him that much more dangerous. Ive been very critical of Gordon this season and rightfully so because imo he sometimes doesn't go 100 percent all the time. Now not all the blame goes to Gordon. When you constantly run the ball straight up gut every single time well then you're not gonna be very sucessful especially when the chargers offensive line is'nt built for that. Another thing i have always said is we have to dominate in the trenches, especially on the defensive line side. Ok we are not even close to being able to win the battle in the trenches on a consistent basis. Now do I think the chargers have to have the most dominant defensive line in the NFL or become the most dominant running team, no I don't but if we become just even middle of the pack in those categorys I see no one stopping us.

[Steve]

....
.... I love Rivers just as much as anyone else but if you got a dominant running team who can take pressure off of Rivers it makes him that much more dangerous.......

.....Now do I think the chargers have to have the most dominant defensive line in the NFL or become the most dominant running team, no I don't but if we become just even middle of the pack in those categorys I see no one stopping us.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dominant

Definition of dominant

1a : commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others - the dominant culture
b : very important, powerful, or successful - a dominant theme - a dominant industry - the team's dominant performance

I am finding your post confusing. First, it goes on talking about being dominant, then ends up by saying we don't have to be dominant. I'm not really sure where you stand. That is the same question I am struggling with as I start looking at draft prospects. Do we need to be dominant? Or do we just need to just generally get better.

I don't want to speak for Fleet, but it seems like he is proposing that we continue to build the D and try and make it a super strong, or even dominant unit. It seems like a lot of NFL teams will try this. They have one unit that is stronger than the other, they continue to add pieces and try and become even stronger. BB has done that for both O and D at various times over his coaching career in NE and Cleveland. It's not that teams stop building both sides, but they try and control games and having 2 solid but only above average units is not as good as 1 good unit and 1 average unit, or at least that is how the reasoning goes.

The flip side of that is it seems like in past years, the end of the season, offseason, FA, draft...... arguments often settle around did we do enough to strengthen ourselves. The first part of that is if you look at SB teams, winners and losers, only rarely is one of them a truly great team with no weaknesses. Now a SB team's weaknesses are generally the kind of thing they can cover up. But the other team will go after their weaknesses, just like in every other game.

I don't know what the answer is. Drafting at 17, we don't have much control over who we draft in the sense that we would if we drafted #1 overall. To a certain degree, we just have to be flexible and trust in the draft board and preparation.

[Fleet]

Well we spent our first 3 picks last year on offense. 2 of our last 3 1st rounders were offense. Over the past 2 drafts 5 of 6 players taken in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds were offense. 5 of our last 10... 2nd and 3rd rounders are either gone or never contributed. This is the year we fill out the D. And i think we are close to being dominant by doing so. I think its time to add to the defense and as far as high draft picks go we havnt been very balanced with our drafts. And Telesco needs to hit on the 2nd - 4th rounders more often.

We are pretty terrible against the run. We are extremely good with our pass rush and secondary even-though the pass rush fizzled over the final weeks. But it seems like the D is missing a couple pieces. Im not opposed to Boston at FS but i think he struggles with his deep awareness. Could Verrett or King be a Joyner type from the Rams? You seem him play single high often. But i think we are somewhat soft in the middle on both sides of the ball. Im not saying we should draft to be dominant because i keep suggesting upgrading both sides of the ball. Id like to see a Center and DT early this year. Id like to bring in a better run defending LB who could possibly cover. I think it makes sense with how much we spend in nickle and dime. Can we get a player that can play Addae/Phillips/Boston type rolls? Im all for upgrading those guys.

On Offense I have said i think we stick with what we have on the interior since Lamp is coming back. I think TT is expecting that to get us on a much better level running the ball. I think Pulley is slated to start at C. And with that i think we focus early on the defense. Our point per game totals were pretty average this year. Mike Williams, Forrest Lamp and a kicking game should increase that. I also think Gordon is one of the best receiving RBs in the game. And im not looking for a RB to come in on 3rd downs. I think we have that covered with MG and Ekeler. Im looking for an early down guy to spell Gordon and get us 4+ yards a carry. And be able to take over for Gordon if need be. Most RBs in college these days are not being used in the passing game. So its hard to find a Kamara type without using a high pick. But that also doesnt mean a RB cant catch. Gordon was a guy who really took to the passing game once he entered the pros.

Ultimately id like to get better on our inside pass rush and run defending. And also better on perimeter run defending. I think we have the money to sign Hayward and bring in a piece or 2. I see how most of our players are part time 400-500 snap guys and wonder if there are guys out there in the draft and FA that can stay on the field for us. Guys like Poe and Bradham come to mind. Or maybe Zach Brown at ILB and move Perryman to OLB to keep him "healthier". Thats the other issue is some of our key guys are fragile. I just want to fix the problems. I dont think we are far off on either side from being somewhat dominant. So when i say we should draft to be dominant....it seems like this could be the year we focus on defense since last year felt really unbalanced with 3 high offensive picks.

Jaguars have a dominant defense. they spent high picks on players and then went out and signed the 2 best UFAs on the market and it really carried them in addition to finally having a good running game. I think we can do some things like that and continue to build up this defense. I somewhat expect us to to be honest. I think the D gets attention. And the O looks ready to flourish with guys coming back.

I also think teams like the Rams were so good because of their special teams. Which killed them yesterday go figure. We need a kicker and id look at Sturgis, Gano, Succop or Janikowski and just set it and forget it. Pay one of these guys. I dont want to rely on a college kicker to come in and start. He may show well in the pre season but it doesnt mean much. We need to sign a legit kicker imo and just roll with him.

Stop the run. Run the ball at will. And make kicks.

[Attack]

We have a window of the next few years with Rivers to have a good chance to win a Bowl. The likelihood of finding a qb that will perform at a high level right away after Rivers is gone isn't great. We could have a very good defense and a very good offense outside of QB in 2020, and it could take years and years to find another good one. Do we mortgage the future to win with Rivers or do we draft a QB early this yr or next yr, who will ride the bench, and could hold us back from winning a Bowl? I struggle with this one. If having Price and Vea on the team could give what we need (along with a free agent addition or two) to win a Bowl, then I think we all would do it (mortgage future draft picks).

[richpjr]

We have a window of the next few years with Rivers to have a good chance to win a Bowl. The likelihood of finding a qb that will perform at a high level right away after Rivers is gone isn't great. We could have a very good defense and a very good offense outside of QB in 2020, and it could take years and years to find another good one. Do we mortgage the future to win with Rivers or do we draft a QB early this yr or next yr, who will ride the bench, and could hold us back from winning a Bowl? I struggle with this one. If having Price and Vea on the team could give what we need (along with a free agent addition or two) to win a Bowl, then I think we all would do it (mortgage future draft picks).

[Bearded14YourPleasure]

I think that’s only the aftermath if you build your team via FA like DEN did.

[bonehead]

Stud DT and new RTackle

[chris9341]

[B]

I am finding your post confusing. First, it goes on talking about being dominant, then ends up by saying we don't have to be dominant. I'm not really sure where you stand. That is the same question I am struggling with as I start looking at draft prospects. Do we need to be dominant? Or do we just need to just generally get better.

I don't want to speak for Fleet, but it seems like he is proposing that we continue to build the D and try and make it a super strong, or even dominant unit. It seems like a lot of NFL teams will try this. They have one unit that is stronger than the other, they continue to add pieces and try and become even stronger. BB has done that for both O and D at various times over his coaching career in NE and Cleveland. It's not that teams stop building both sides, but they try and control games and having 2 solid but only above average units is not as good as 1 good unit and 1 average unit, or at least that is how the reasoning goes.

The flip side of that is it seems like in past years, the end of the season, offseason, FA, draft...... arguments often settle around did we do enough to strengthen ourselves. The first part of that is if you look at SB teams, winners and losers, only rarely is one of them a truly great team with no weaknesses. Now a SB team's weaknesses are generally the kind of thing they can cover up. But the other team will go after their weaknesses, just like in every other game.

I don't know what the answer is. Drafting at 17, we don't have much control over who we draft in the sense that we would if we drafted #1 overall. To a certain degree, we just have to be flexible and trust in the draft board and preparation.

Ok when I say we need to be more dominant as far as the defensive line goes I'm not saying we have to be like in the top 5 because I don't expect that to happen however I do expect us to be more dominant in the aspect of how we played this season. Ok if we can become even just middle of the pack better on the D-Line we would have the overall best defense in the NFL.

[Formula 21]

Ok when I say we need to be more dominant as far as the defensive line goes I'm not saying we have to be like in the top 5 because I don't expect that to happen however I do expect us to be more dominant in the aspect of how we played this season. Ok if we can become even just middle of the pack better on the D-Line we would have the overall best defense in the NFL.

Not with our linebackers.

[6025]

How would this team be if they took Jack over Henry?

[Bolt-O]

Probablly wondering out loud how long can Gates hold up playing a full schedule as a starter.

The Chargers made the right decision to go with Bosa over Ramsey. We got the best available TE with Henry, knowing that Jack was coming back from a pretty bad injury.

[6025]

I agree Gates is long in the tooth and Henry is a formidable weapon. With Jack in the middle, and Bosa and Ingram on the ends, that D would be super scary.

[vinabolt]

Having a consistent running game is hard. A lot of coaches spend their entire their coaching tennure to get a running game and failed (Gruden, cough). Let's just focus on 2 much easier goals that can get fix in a short time: Defend the run better and a consistent kicker, it's not always have to be a young kicker. Get some veterans in here in the offseason and see their conditioning and see if they still have some in the tank. If there's a position that can overcome age, it's kicker and punter. They don't tackle and take hits often.

[vinabolt]

This team is so talented and somewhat well coached that fixing successfully those 2 areas will bring them to another level, SB contending level, even without a relentless running game. Rivers and Allen and co. will just kill them with the pass. And Gordon continue his good runs here and there. Heck, with just average kickers this year we'd be a good seed in the playoff.

[Attack]

Not with our linebackers.

Jatavis Brown played really well as a rookie LB. Why did he not play as much or as well this year? Was it scheme, an injury, or other players were better? I still feel that he can be a major contributor/starter for us on D. He is pretty similar to Deion Jones (maybe won't be quite as good??) and Roquan Smith in size and speed, and hope he can be that kind of player. Like Fleet has said, a free agent LB could be added, if needed. Perryman is the run stopping LB, and not worth a 1st or 2nd round draft pick as his back-up that won't see the field as a starter. I understand Perryman has had injuries, but he is plenty good as a starter. Toomer is a capable LB. Pullard needs to be upgraded, and Emanuel eventually. Would rather fix the D-line with run stoppers and/or pocket pushers this year.