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Originally posted by Flchargersfan
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Wow, good point, Fl. Yep...Parker was TEAMER'S man...look---after ball is snapped there's Teamer and Parker (yellow), and King at CB (red). The Fins receivers crossed routes, and either Teamer handed off his man, thinking King would pick him up, or it was a blown communication. We've got King subbing for Hayward and Teamer in only his second regular season game...two newbies and a failure to communicate...
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Popper's Monday Rewind:
The Chargers ended a two-game skid by dominating the Dolphins in a 30-10 victory on Sunday in Miami. They improved to 2-2 and will host the 0-4 Broncos this weekend in their first AFC West bout of 2019.
Here are five thoughts from a much-needed victory. 1. Defense turns it on in second half
The Chargers' defense was surprisingly lethargic to start this game.
The offense took the lead on a Ty Long field goal after driving 49 yards on nine plays on the opening series, but coordinator Gus Bradley's defensive unit gave it right back. Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake looked dynamic. Quarterback Josh Rosen looked competent. And the Dolphins found the end zone when DeVante Parker beat the secondary with a double move along the right sideline.
(Anthony Lynn said Monday that this was a good route concept from Miami, but Desmond King should have stayed with Parker, as there was no help over the top because Rayshawn Jenkins dropped down to try and jump Preston Williams' in-breaking route.)
It was the Dolphins' first lead all season. They finished the first half with 197 total yards, 43 of which came on the ground, their most rushing yards in the opening two quarters of any game this year. And they would have set their season-best for points in a first half if not for two missed field goals by Jason Sanders.
The Chargers were desperate for a win. And frankly, I was expecting more intensity from this defense from the get-go.
We had to wait for the second half to see that.
Justin Jones forced a fumble on the second play of the Dolphins' drive to open the third quarter. Two snaps later, Denzel Perryman set the tone for what was an impressive defensive second half with a vicious tackle-for-loss.
The most eye-opening play of this sequence came on the next play, a third-and-4. The Dolphins tried to set up a screen to Parker. Uchenna Nwosu, filling in at the LEO defensive end position for Melvin Ingram, who left the game after two series with a pulled hamstring, recognized the play immediately and sprinted out to Parker. Jerry Tillery, who was playing on the inside along with Justin Jones in this pass-rush package, also saw the screen coming. Both players halted their pass rush and got into the passing lane, forcing Rosen to abandon his first option.
Tillery and linebacker Thomas Davis ended up combining on a sack to force a punt.
The Chargers forced a three-and-out on the ensuing series. The defense swarmed to the ball on a second-and-10 Drake run, and Nwosu collected a tackle-for-loss. (Perryman was evaluated for a concussion after this play, but has since been cleared and will return to practice this week, according to Lynn.)
A sack on the next play -- which I'll detail more later -- ended the possession.
Cornerback Michael Davis, who was playing in his first game since Week 1 after sitting out with a hamstring injury, picked off Rosen for his first career interception on the second play of the next drive, early in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers opened up a 27-10 lead and the defense's work was done. Backups, including rookie safety Nasir Adderley, came in on the next drive and finished the game.
The defense gave up just 36 yards in the second half, 13 of of which came on those first three drives. It was dominance. The only question is, why didn't it start sooner?
Nose tackle Brandon Mebane provided an interesting explanation after the game.
"Probably we were asleep still," Mebane said, referencing the 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) kickoff Sunday. "Body clock, that shit tough."
"Every time we come (to the East Coast)," Mebane added, "it's just something that you just got to find a way to wake up."
Mebane noted that the Chargers stopped practicing at 10 a.m. PT when training camp ended. They practice after 1 p.m. PT every weekday during the regular season.
The Chargers kick off two more regular-season games at 10 a.m. PT -- Week 8 at the Bears and Week 17 at the Chiefs. So it's something to keep an eye on with those contests.
As far as the defense's second-half performance, it's hard to take much from it definitively considering the level of competition the Chargers were facing. But with all the moving pieces they've had on defense because of injuries, especially trying to replace Adrian Phillips and Derwin James, it's certainly something to build off.
"We just settled down and were just like, 'All right, tighten up, let's play ball,'" Mebane said. "That's what it came down to."Comment
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If you haven't subscribed to the Athletic you should... Lots of explanations by Popper here including some clips of LampComment
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2. Forrest Lamp in the mix
Third-year offensive lineman Forrest Lamp received his first consistent playing time of 2019 against the Dolphins. Before Sunday, Lamp had been used exclusively as a sixth offensive linemen in jumbo packages. But in the victory, he played an entire series at left guard in the second quarter, replacing Dan Feeney while the game was very much still in the balance.
Lamp told me after the game that the coaches had planned for him to play one or two series in Miami. He was aware of this heading into the contest.
"I did not want him standing beside me in Year 3," Lynn said of Lamp after the game. "So he's going to go out there and play."
Lamp played 17 snaps. Eight came at left guard on that drive in the second quarter, which ended with Austin Ekeler's 18-yard touchdown catch. He played one more at left guard during the Chargers' second drive of the fourth quarter. He also checked into the game as a sixth offensive linemen twice in that series. And he played the final six snaps of the game at left tackle, when the Chargers also brought in Trey Pipkins at right tackle and Scott Quessenberry at center.
The drive that mattered most for Lamp was in the second quarter. The game was tied 10-10. These were very meaningful snaps and are very telling in terms of how much Lynn and the rest of the Chargers' coaching staff trust Lamp at this stage in his career.
Looking at the tape, Lamp was more successful in pass protection than in run blocking.
Ekleler did a nice job here of breaking a tackle to avoid a a loss and turn it into an 8-yard gain. The Chargers were trying to run behind Lamp.
Ekeler ran behind Lamp on the next play and was swallowed up.
After the two-minute warning, the Chargers started passing to move the ball. This check-down to Ekeler went for 13 yards. And Lamp stood up Dolphins defensive tackle Davon Godchaux.
The Chargers' line, Lamp included, created a clean pocket for Rivers on this third-and-9 completion to Andre Patton, the first catch of his career.
On the next play, Lamp dealt with Avery Moss on the interior and opened up space for Rivers to step up. He found Ekeler near the sideline, and the Chargers took the lead when the running back broke a tackle and barreled into the end zone.
"It felt good," Lamp said. "It's exciting to be out there."
Lynn was adamant that Lamp's playing time had nothing to do with Feeney's performance. Nonetheless, he hopes to continue giving Lamp meaningful snaps.
"You don't want to disrupt the chemistry up front, but I don't think Forrest is going to disrupt that chemistry," Lynn said. "He's been here for three years. He hasn't been in games, but he's been in the meeting rooms, he understands communication, and I trust the young man."Comment
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We're see if the blitzes continue with Bradley:
3. Desmond King's big day
King had a rough start to Sunday's game on Parker's touchdown catch, but he picked up his play over the remainder of the game and ended up having a historic afternoon.
King finished with 2.5 sacks, the most by a Chargers defensive back in a single game since 1998.
He was particularly successful blitzing out the slot, where he can use his unique blend of closing speed and stout tackling to affect the quarterback.
I asked Bradley last week if blitzing was a way for the Chargers to give a jolt to their largely ineffective pass rush, and he hinted it was a possibility. "We're going to pick and choose our times to bring pressure, and unconventional types of pressures, and then attack offenses that way," Bradley responded.
King was the key piece in those unconventional pressures against the Dolphins.
Late in the first half, both King and free safety Rayshawn Jenkins blitzed off the left edge, forcing an incomplete pass from Rosen. King shifted in from the slot. Sanders missed a 50-yard field goal on the next play.
On the next series, with time winding down in the second quarter and the Dolphins approaching field-goal range, King again blitzed from the slot, this time from the right side. He got home and combined on the sack with Joey Bosa.
King blitzed again on the Dolphins' final drive of the game and actually stripped Rosen, though the Dolphins recovered.
King's most impressive sack of the day ironically came when the Chargers had sunk back into zone coverage, with the Dolphins facing a third-and-12 from deep in their own territory. This is the play I referenced earlier.
Bosa got the initial pressure on Rosen, forcing him to roll to his right. Watch King make a snap decision and descend on the quarterback with blazing speed. He was inches from a safety.
"When Des is on top of his game, he's very valuable," Lynn said. "We love in him in our three-deep zone coverage. He's a good blitzer. He's a good tackler. ...He makes plays."Comment
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4. Ty Long in hero mode
Punter/kicker/noted friend of Snoop Dogg, Ty Long continued his magical start to 2019 on Sunday by connecting on all six of his kicks, including an NFL-career-long 51-yard field goal. (Long hit a 52-yarder while in the CFL.)
And he did it while dealing with some significant pain on his left foot.
Long told me after the game that he started to feel discomfort on the side of his foot during warmups. But with starting kicker Michael Badgley (groin) inactive, Long had no choice but to gut through the nagging pain. The Chargers would have been forced to go with their emergency options -- Derek Watt at kicker and Dontrelle Inman at punter -- if Long was unable to play.
You can see here that Long was struggling to move around on kickoffs.
I asked Long is there was any chance he was going to pull himself from the game. "No, no, no, no. No. I'm not doing that," Long said. "I'm going to play."
Long has been one of the most important players for the Chargers, even after missing two field goals in the loss at the Lions. He's responded by making all 10 of his kicks over the past two games, including four field goals from 40-plus yards, while also handling punting duties (though the Chargers didn't punt Sunday).
This could have been a disaster with Badgley out. Long is a luxury. The Chargers are lucky to have him.Comment
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I guess I'm glad that we have depth at linebacker at least.
5. The linebacker rotation
The Chargers have been shifting their linebacker rotation from week to week as players have gotten healthy. Kyzir White played most of the snaps at middle linebacker in the first two games. Then Denzel Perryman took over that role once he was fully recovered from the ankle injury he suffered in the preseason.
The tinkering continued Sunday. Jatavis Brown played on defense for the first time this season, logging 11 snaps at linebacker. In previous games, when the Chargers went to their dime package with six defensive backs, Thomas Davis was the lone linebacker on the field. Against the Dolphins, Brown was the linebacker in that package.
When asked on Monday what Brown brings to the dime package, Lynn said, "Jatavis is good in coverage. He knows the defense very well. He can help guys around him."
Lynn added that Adrian Phillips used to be that player in the dime package, putting his teammates in the right positions. With Phillips on injured reserve, Brown's knowledge of the defense is more valuable in those packages. Davis, of course, is in his first season in Gus Bradley's scheme.
Drue Tranquill also played two meaningful snaps in the second quarter at middle linebacker when Perryman was dealing with helmet issues. (His other seven snaps came in garbage time.) But Lynn said Monday he thinks Tranquill, a rookie fourth-round pick out of Note Dame, is ready to take on a more prominent defensive role.
White also spent some time at strong-side linebacker (Sam) with Ingram out and Nwosu -- the starting Sam -- filling his spot at LEO.
Davis played every defensive snap for the Chargers through the first three games, and they're trying to limit his workload. He played 79 percent of the snaps Sunday.
"We want him for the long haul," Lynn said. "You're talking about a 36-year-old linebacker. ...We want him for all 16 games, so whenever we can share his load with someone else, we'll do it."
That will mean more time for the younger guys, primarily Brown. It's an option the Chargers have now with a healthy group of linebackers that they bolstered with offseason moves (signing Davis, drafting Tranquill). And it's a positive sign after they were forced to play six and even seven defensive backs in the playoffs last year because they were so thin at linebacker.Comment
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Problems in run blocking would be an explanation for lamp but then why would they use him as the sixth OL in jumbo?Originally posted by Xenos View PostComment
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Not sure. Maybe it's easier to run block in a jumbo?Originally posted by 8/6/1960 View PostComment
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Nah, Rayshawn Jenkins has earned that Addea title fair and square.Originally posted by Boltjolt View PostTom Telesco’s Results in 9 years as Chargers GM:
- 69-74 record
- 0 division titles in 9 yrs as GM
- Worst record among all active GMs with same tenure
- 6th worst winning percentage among all active GMs overall
- 2 playoff wins despite elite QB all 9 yrs
- Team still has the same weaknesses (Oline and run defense) that it had when hired as GM in 2013
- Consistently puts together horrible depth, expects starters to never miss gamesComment
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It was explained here as Hayward's manOriginally posted by Topcat View Post
https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/201...ng-and-growing
Basically, you're right though cause they were in zone and there was massive miscommunication between Jenkins and Hayward.Tom Telesco’s Results in 9 years as Chargers GM:
- 69-74 record
- 0 division titles in 9 yrs as GM
- Worst record among all active GMs with same tenure
- 6th worst winning percentage among all active GMs overall
- 2 playoff wins despite elite QB all 9 yrs
- Team still has the same weaknesses (Oline and run defense) that it had when hired as GM in 2013
- Consistently puts together horrible depth, expects starters to never miss gamesComment
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