Chef at Chargers pre-game news and discussion.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

It is what it says it is. Let's put all the news and notes here.

Stinky!

[blueman]

The only must-win in our schedule. After that let the chips fall where they may.

[Bolt-O]

Waiting on Rich to post the line!

[richpjr]

The Chargers open as a 3 point favorite over the Chiefs.

Discuss.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Pff has a we vs cb breakdown does anyone have access to this data for this game?

[Bearded14YourPleasure]

No more slow starts to the season, no more losing to the Chiefs. Time for the team to show they deserve the hype they are receiving.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

You know Andy Reid is going to try to steel this one from us but how? Special teams? Running alot? Trick plays? All of the above in my opinion.

[Formula 21]

Mistake free ball.

[WindsorUK]

Hit the nail on the head F21!
No MAJOR braeakdowns on Teams, no stupid turnovers, and for god sakes, STOP THE RUN!

[Panamamike]

You know Andy Reid is going to try to steel this one from us but how? Special teams? Running alot? Trick plays? All of the above in my opinion.

[BoltBacker]

Does panic set in if we go down to the Chiefs week one? That is a big one.

[blueman]

Panic? No, just concerned we see the same old same old moving forward, a 9-7 season again or thereabouts.

[blueman]

Uh, this makes me feel a little better (stolen from a Chiefs fan board):

What the Chiefs need to fix their defense THIS season

---

Call me crazy, but it could happen.

1. Eric Berry gets back on the field. If he's anywhere close to ~90% of what he was before the achilles injury I think we're fine at that spot. Maybe he won't be 2016 Eric Berry but not a lot of players are.

2. Justin Houston has his best season since 2014. I don't think Houston was 100% last year. He was still recovering from his 2016 injury. This offseason and preseason he's had zero setbacks as far as I can tell. Houston only played 21 snaps in the preseason. The defense might look a lot different with him playing every down.

3. Tanoh Kpassagnon has a breakout season. If the Chiefs get 10 sacks from this guy and Houston is Houston, their pass rush is going to make up for a lot of weaknesses on the back end. Remember last year they had jack shit at the other outside linebacker spot for most of the season. If KPass is a double-digit sack guy that's something Sutton has only had one time in KC. It could make a HUGE difference.

4. Xavier Williams and Derrick Nnadi provide a 1-2 punch at NT. Last season Bennie Logan was a huge failure at NT and the Chiefs had no quality depth there either. The last time Bob Sutton had two guys who could play NT at a high level (Jaye Howard and Dontari Poe) it was 2015 and the Chiefs fielded a top 10 run defense. This could be HUGE if these guys can be something close to that.

5. Anthony Hitchens lives up to the hype. One of the biggest problems with the defense last year was DJ being on his last legs and just not being very good most of the time. If Hitchens is something close to 2015 Derrick Johnson it's going to be very difficult to run on this team if #1 and #4 happen.

I think if those five things happen the Chiefs are going to be a lot better on defense than people think. Just by virtue of the fact that their run defense will be markedly improved and Berry and Fuller can lock down half the field. And we know Chris Jones is going to be a stud.

#2 corner sucks? Fine. Jack shit at free safety? Whatever. Breeland Speaks is a slow piece of shit? Deal with it.

These other things will more than make up for it. We won't be a top 10 defense by any means but we can be a WINNINGdefense if these things happen.

[blueman]

Cuz that’s a lot of wishful thinking.

[Panamamike]

Their D will be worse than last year. Bank on it.

[blueman]

Also:

Adding up-to-speed M. Williams to the #1 passing attack.

And adding Pouncey and Green to the running game.