Welcome Thomas Davis LBr

[Topcat]

More of this:



Yeah! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!!!

[Steve]

I am not sure what people mean in terms of him being a starter.

Do you mean Davis is probably not going to go toe to toe vs the 2nd TE at the end of the line? Yeah, probably not.

Davis has been a good Will LB in a defense that seems to be pretty good year after year. He was a S in college, and he runs like an older S. good to great short area quickness and he is great in terms of situational football. He sniffs a lot of plays our near the line and can make some big plays.
I don't
necessarily want to see him running 40-50 yards after a RB or pass catching TE, but if he has to stay step for step in short drops, he can still cover a lot of guys.

Looking up the details (https://overthecap.com/player/thomas-davis/1195/)
He got $4 mill in signing bonus (spread out over the 2 years). Base salary is $1.25 mill this year (guaranteed), $4.25 mill next year. He has a $1mill roster bonus due the 3rd day to make us cut him if he doesn't figure in the mix. If we cut him, he costs us $2 mill in dead money next year and $3.25 mill this season,

so basically nothing given how much it costs to sign anyone these days. If nothing else, he is probably just a really expensive OLB tutor for Brown and White.

None of this prevents us from drafting a LB if the right one falls to us.

As far as Emmanuel goes, I doubt he is around now, unless we get rid of Dzubnar. Both are useful ST guys, but Emmanuel plays on D, and can play across the board, while Dzubnar just doesn't do much since a really good preseason his rookie year.

[Topcat]

Not only can Davis tackle, he can COVER:



Bye, bye, Emanuel! Hello to a real coverage LB!!!

[Topcat]

I absolutely disagree with this...he is a decent football player, who played pretty good at times, and at multiple positions...and who provides quality depth, and I would guess is a hard working team guy...love to have him on the Chargers...just not as a full time starter.

Emanuel is okay most of the time when he has to set the edge. But he has a big problem: He's a HUGE liability in coverage. Davis gives us a LB who can tackle AND can cover...WE JUST UPGRADED FOLKS...

[Topcat]

So does this end the Hayes Pullard era of Chargers football? A golden age our grandchildren will never know of

It's time to get rid of the dead wood, folks. Pullard, Dzubnar and Emmanuel are three LB's who are huge liabilities in coverage. We need COMPLETE LB's who can tackle AND cover. You know how many passes Pullard, Dzoobie and Emmanuel defensed last year, COMBINED? ZERO!!! Davis has over 50 careers PD's and 13 picks. Huge difference.

[Topcat]

Exactly what I was thinking, what was our problem last year slow LB'S that couldn't cover guys out of the backfield which burned us constantly for long yards, now we add more of the same. Sorry don't like it at all, imho it stinks !

What??? If Davis is so slow, how did he have SIX passes defensed in only 12 games last year??? Now, since you bring up slow LB's who can't cover, that would be Emmanuel, Dzoobie and Pullard. You know how many passes Emmanuel, Dzubnar and Pullard defensed all last year, combined??? ZERO!!! I agree with Fleet--Davis is like an old Donnie Edwards when he left the Bolts...and an old Donnie Edwards is STILL better than both Emmanuel and Pullard, both in tackling AND covering...we just upgraded, folks.

Thomas Davis stats: http://www.nfl.com/player/thomasdavi...52/careerstats

[21&500]

Suh has gas in the tank
hes been paid and would make a media splash by switching LA teams
Mebane and Suh in base

[blueman]

I just knew Steve would be happy we upgraded the talent at LB, it was a need for him. And agree, if the right LB drops to us, hell yeah!

[chris9341]

The one thing I will say is this defense needed some veteran leadership besides Mebane, kinda how Junior did that for the Patriots. He's not gonna play every down and if we an get a MLB in the second or third round to learn from Davis that would be awesome.

[Steve]

Davis is a nice addition. It is not going to get much attention league-wide, but Davis is a good player, with the right skill set and he really adds something to the LB room in terms of leadership and experience. I think the vet leadership is good throughout the rest of our D, and even to some degree among our LB, but adding some more to the room won't hurt. It is a pretty young group.

We also can cut him at almost any time. He is not getting such a big deal that he can afford to slip, or he will get stuck on the bench. He has to bring his A-game, which means he will be motivated, unlike most of the FA signing these days. And if it doesn't, it is a low-risk deal we can walk away from at any point (after June 1st anyway).

[wu-dai clan]

Excellent post, Steve !
And one I completely agree with.

[moneyisevil]

What??? If Davis is so slow, how did he have SIX passes defensed in only 12 games last year??? Now, since you bring up slow LB's who can't cover, that would be Emmanuel, Dzoobie and Pullard. You know how many passes Emmanuel, Dzubnar and Pullard defensed all last year, combined??? ZERO!!! I agree with Fleet--Davis is like an old Donnie Edwards when he left the Bolts...and an old Donnie Edwards is STILL better than both Emmanuel and Pullard, both in tackling AND covering...we just upgraded, folks.

Thomas Davis stats: http://www.nfl.com/player/thomasdavi...52/careerstats

He's slow, old and better than what we have, which isn't saying much, our linebackers are terrible, some of the worst in the league, almost anyone is an upgrade that's my take ! His stat's which were good, not great came at the expense of bad teams they played last year. I don't see him being a game changer for us and could well be wrong, that's my opinion, we'll see what happens, I hope your'e right and I'm wrong, game time will tell the tale ! We need desperately some talent at LB and Int. D lineman, thats a fact, I hope he works out but I'm not excited.