Chargers Thread

OAOB

We got Starks, he's a definite upgrade and best LT available now. He also seems to have a good attitude and will come to work hard every day, something McKinnie wouldn't do. Happy with this and so is Rivers i bet

Justin10

Im surprised Harris wasnt cut instead of Haslam, who was a massive upgrade over Harris.

Also surprised we have the shape of our roster set because of the talent other teams will have to let go. Pitty our cap room is maxed out now.

At least our Oline will be better this year. Pity about Ingram but im really rooting for English, hate seeing guys being a bust because they cant get healthy.

OAOB

Was also surprised it was haslam instead of Harris, i can only presume it was the better option money wise
With regards to the cap space i feel sorry for telesco, his options have been really limited in what he can do because of it.

Leslie91

Like Rochey and OAOB I too was surprised it was Haslam who was let go... I'd have thought any of Schilling (who was cut last year and Haslam stuck) or Baxter or one of the new UDFAs would be let go before him. I like Harris but to be honest, Haslam/Harris is probably a coin toss.

Delighted with Starks, really impressed me in the interviews I heard. Smart guy. Hard worker like you've said unlike McKinnie and big lazy. Also delighted it means Winston Justice will not be a Bolt. I will never forget his start for the Eagles. He is at best a RT and we've enough of them to be getting on with i.e. Harris and Clary as backups for DJ.

Must say I am getting optimistic about where we are going. Still a bit concerned about NT and corner but we might end up with somebody cut from another team looking to prove a point. Roll on September.

Justin10

Leslie91 wrote: »

Must say I am not getting optimistic about where we are going. Still a bit concerned about NT and corner but we might end up with somebody cut from another team looking to prove a point. Roll on September.

Say it cant be so

Super Bowl here we come :pac:

Leslie91

Oooops typo. I did in fact mean to say I am getting optimistic!!!! (now corrected).

Jaysus old age.

Go on ya boy ya Rochey!!, Superbowl or bust now!!.

Justin10

I think its great to have a change.

We would of never drafted Manti or Allan under AJ, we also would of never signed Freeney.
Just want to see some football, and hopefully an improvement on last year.

Lots of exciting stuff, like Gilchrist to safety, Manti, Cam Thomas becoming an all rounded Nose tackle.
Vincent Brown back, Woodhead with Sproles like plays.

Leslie91

Dunno if you lads listen to the Mighty1090 but was listening to a podcast of the interview with TT yesterday on the Scott&BR show (hate this show btw the only one truly worth listening to is Darren Smith). Anyway Scott was away so it was BR and 'the coach Kentera' talking to TT. It was interesting to hear TT say they were after Freeney even before Melvin went down. He wanted to have Freeney, JJ, Melvin and Larry as the frontline OLBs. He also batted away brilliantly some of their questions that would have given away too much info had he answered them. An example was who of the UDFAs was he most pleased with so far. He also said that they are still after more depth on defense I assume he means D Line and corner.

OAOB

I presume we'll wait until players start getting cut before we pick up another CB or DL, not much talent unsigned at the minute

Molly

BFTB really putting up some rubbish this off season

1) Collectable cards series
2) Digital dolt series

Like I said before, not sure how much of an upgrade starks will be over dunlap but our line is definitely better with him there. Freeney despite being injured last year had a bigger impact than Shaun Phillips did so here's hoping. Would have loved to have seeing Ingram this year

Molly

Jammer to the broncos

OAOB

Molly wrote: »

Jammer to the broncos

Was a real good player for us but would have to move position to be on the roster and at his age and where our team is there's no point bringing him back, keep the youth movement going.
Interesting to see 3 of our guys gone to the broncos now, 4 if you include hester

Leslie91

U know I've mixed feelings on Jammer. Great servant blah blah blah. But for me he underachieved. Number 5 pick in the draft and he never really got a handle on the 'you can't touch the wideout' new rule that came in after he was drafted. He used beat WRs up in college. He had hands of stone and far too often was caught not looking back at the ball in flight and so penalised. It's interesting that Acee has been running a 1 man PR campaign to get him back with the Chargers but McCoy and TT thought no. U can be sure McCoy knew Jammer's weaknesses scheming against him.

I guess it shows you how desperate some of them are that they'd sign for a division rival... not surprised that SP did it but Jammer...... he's become a real part of the SD fabric I thought he'd have more sense. It's not like he needs the money.

Justin10

Cant blame him, he wanted to come back, and we didnt want him.
He gets a shot at a good team with DB problems.

Jolly Red Giant

Jammer will move to safety with the Broncos in the Big Nickel and given the job of covering TEs coming off the LOS or RBs coming out of the backfield. He will play the role occupied by Jim Leonhard last year.

Rochey18 wrote: »

Cant blame him, he wanted to come back, and we didnt want him.
He gets a shot at a good team with DB problems.

The Broncos have a very good secondary - Jammer isn't a lock and will have to compete in training camp.

As for ex-Chargers signing with the Broncos - don't forget Vasquez.

Justin10

Jolly Red Giant wrote: »

Jammer will move to safety with the Broncos in the Big Nickel and given the job of covering TEs coming off the LOS or RBs coming out of the backfield. He will play the role occupied by Jim Leonhard last year.



The Broncos have a very good secondary - Jammer isn't a lock and will have to compete in training camp.

As for ex-Chargers signing with the Broncos - don't forget Vasquez.

They dont imo, I think its a big liability with the Broncos, and that is with a really good pass rush which of course hides cracks in the secondary.
Be really interested to see if he can play safety with all the talk of it for years.

Jolly Red Giant

Rochey18 wrote: »

They dont imo, I think its a big liability with the Broncos, and that is with a really good pass rush which of course hides cracks in the secondary.

Evidence -

The pass rush and the secondary are a tandem - no matter how good your secondary is unless you have a pass rush you will lose - no matter how good the pass rush is you have to be able to cover receivers long enough for the pass rushers to get to the QB.

Denver has a damned good pass rush and a secondary that can do the business - it would have been even better if Porter wasn't suffering concussions most of the season.


You have to ask why did the Chargers let Phillips go to Denver of $1million plus bonuses and then sign Freeney to a 2 year $13million deal. Freeney is better than Phillips - but he is not that much better.

Leslie91

Jolly Red Giant wrote: »

Evidence -

The pass rush and the secondary are a tandem - no matter how good your secondary is unless you have a pass rush you will lose - no matter how good the pass rush is you have to be able to cover receivers long enough for the pass rushers to get to the QB.

Denver has a damned good pass rush and a secondary that can do the business - it would have been even better if Porter wasn't suffering concussions most of the season.


You have to ask why did the Chargers let Phillips go to Denver of $1million plus bonuses and then sign Freeney to a 2 year $13million deal. Freeney is better than Phillips - but he is not that much better.

He might not 'be that much better' but imho SP is a bit of a chancer. He was the last remaining member of the 'Gaslamp gang' i.e. a group of players who partied a little too much. It has started to affect his play. We had his replacement ready to go in Melvin Ingram but he has gone down with an ACL so somewhat desperate times called for desperate measures i.e. we might have overpaid somewhat.

Having said that Freeney is coming in pissed and ready to prove a point, I reckon he will have a great year, a much better one than SP.

OAOB

I don't know much about Denvers depth chart but i reckon if we had re-signed SP and Jammer they would be struggling to make our roster next year. They might turn out good for the Broncos as Jammer is a player that was worth looking at as a SS, no experience but all the skills for the position and a lower snap counts could see a fresher more productive SP.
Denver are close enough to a superbowl that veterans instead of long term solutions are needed so it makes more sense for them to sign these players than us to do it.

Jolly Red Giant

Leslie91 wrote: »

i.e. we might have overpaid somewhat.

I'll give you an example of the scale of overpayment. If Freeney had signed for the Broncos on the same terms that he signed for the Chargers he would have been the fourth highest paid player on the roster this year after Manning, Bailey and Clady. To suggest that paying that type of money for waht is a worn out / worn down DE is overpaying 'somewhat' is a bit of an understatement.

Leslie91 wrote: »

Having said that Freeney is coming in pissed and ready to prove a point, I reckon he will have a great year, a much better one than SP.

The difference is that for Freeney to be worth what he is being paid by the Chargers he has to have a seriously good year. For Phillips to be any good for the Broncos all he has to do is pin his ears back on third down and rush the QB.

OAOB wrote: »

I don't know much about Denvers depth chart but i reckon if we had re-signed SP and Jammer they would be struggling to make our roster next year.

There is no guarantee that they will make the Broncos roster either - they will have to go and compete in training camp - and the Broncos roster is very competitive this year. Both players have been brought in to do a very specific limited job and as such so should make the roster - that would not have been the case in San Diego.

Justin10

Jolly Red Giant wrote: »

Both players have been brought in to do a very specific limited job and as such so should make the roster - that would not have been the case in San Diego.

What would not have been the case in San Diego.
Neither would of started in San Diego this year if on the roster, hence we didnt want either of them.

Leslie91

Jolly Red Giant wrote: »

I'll give you an example of the scale of overpayment. If Freeney had signed for the Broncos on the same terms that he signed for the Chargers he would have been the fourth highest paid player on the roster this year after Manning, Bailey and Clady. To suggest that paying that type of money for waht is a worn out / worn down DE is overpaying 'somewhat' is a bit of an understatement.

I guess we'll have to wait and see how worn down/out he is. I look forward to him getting to Manning once or twice and taking his head off.

Jolly Red Giant

Rochey18 wrote: »

Neither would of started in San Diego this year if on the roster, hence we didnt want either of them.

That's the point I was making - neither would have started in San Diego - and the Chargers needed to replace them - neither would be starters in Denver - they will be purely situational players with a limited role - as such they will probably make the roster.

Leslie91 wrote: »

I guess we'll have to wait and see how worn down/out he is. I look forward to him getting to Manning once or twice and taking his head off.

Against Ryan Clady - I seriously doubt it.

Freeney has been declining since 2010 and if he is expected to play OLB with the Chargers then he is not likely to be very productive. The Chargers will have to adapt a more hybrid type of defence to utilise Freeney. Furthermore last year Freeney was only effective in pure passing down situations after he was taken out for rest. Paying $13.5million over two years for a one-down pass rusher is a lot of money.

Leslie91

Jolly Red Giant wrote: »

That's the point I was making - neither would have started in San Diego - and the Chargers needed to replace them - neither would be starters in Denver - they will be purely situational players with a limited role - as such they will probably make the roster.


Against Ryan Clady - I seriously doubt it.

Freeney has been declining since 2010 and if he is expected to play OLB with the Chargers then he is not likely to be very productive. The Chargers will have to adapt a more hybrid type of defence to utilise Freeney. Furthermore last year Freeney was only effective in pure passing down situations after he was taken out for rest. Paying $13.5million over two years for a one-down pass rusher is a lot of money.

No doubt about it Clady is a top tier LT. Corey Liuget might keep him busy enough to allow Freeney get loose. Yes the D will be nothing like a strict 3-4 when Freeney is in the game. We've played a mishmash front 7 ever since the days of Merriman anyway. We've always had that OLB who is more like a 4-3 DE. Provided Freeney is healthy you will be seeing him on more than 3rd down.

Justin10

Really like the direction the team is going in. Very excited about our WRs this year. Vincent Brown looked fantastic last year before he got injured.

Hope to see some of Ladarius Green too, he looks exactly like a young Antonio Gates :P

Gilchrist at safety should be fun too, hope they still use him blitzing.

Jolly Red Giant

Leslie91 wrote: »

Provided Freeney is healthy you will be seeing him on more than 3rd down.

then you will have a problem - Freeney can't defend the run.

This is from a Chargers forum and I agree with the assessment -

We must see Freeney for what he is - a stopgap cause Ingram is out - nothing more. He is a one-trick pony - he is an absolute liability against the run, but does provide the pass rush that we would otherwise have with Ingram. In my opinion, the only thing that acquiring Freeney does for us is to replace Ingrams' pass rushing contribution - and only that.

This is from SB Nation - again I agree with the assessemnt.

Yes, he is still a good player, especially if he is being used as a situational guy in a 4-3 front. He's not a linebacker. He can't drop into coverage, and he's pretty useless shedding blocks or holding the edge on run downs. As a rusher off the edge in a three-point stance, he is still an effective player.

Denver would have signed Freeney as a replacement for Dumervil as a situational pass rusher if he was willing to accept a pay cut. It would have suited Freeney if he wanted another shot at a SB ring. Freeney however, wanted a 2 year deal at a minimum of $6million a year - no way Elway was going to make him the fourth highest player on the roster - if Elway was willing to do that he would have simply paid Dumervil's existing contract.

Freeney will do a job for San Diego - however - don't expect him to be an every down DE/OLB and don't expect him to defend the run or drop into coverage. He is better than Phillips - but not $12million better.

Justin10

Freeney will play every down for the Chargers, or of course downs that he should be in.
Philips cant defend run, was really disappointed in him last year especially in that area.
If anything we probably upgraded in our pass rush and maybe downgraded in our run D which was very good last year.

*Edit that will of course change in Larry English stays healthy, who I think could start if he stays healthy.

Leslie91

Jolly Red Giant wrote: »

then you will have a problem - Freeney can't defend the run.

This is from a Chargers forum and I agree with the assessment -


This is from SB Nation - again I agree with the assessemnt.


Denver would have signed Freeney as a replacement for Dumervil as a situational pass rusher if he was willing to accept a pay cut. It would have suited Freeney if he wanted another shot at a SB ring. Freeney however, wanted a 2 year deal at a minimum of $6million a year - no way Elway was going to make him the fourth highest player on the roster - if Elway was willing to do that he would have simply paid Dumervil's existing contract.

Freeney will do a job for San Diego - however - don't expect him to be an every down DE/OLB and don't expect him to defend the run or drop into coverage. He is better than Phillips - but not $12million better.

We'll all agree we overpaid on Freeney but we were desperate after Ingram went down. This is year 5 of the Larry English experiment and that tells all what they need to know about him. We can't rely on him to ever become anything.

Freeney will play a whole lot more (if not solely) with his hand in the dirt versus standing up so for me, he'll be asked to do what he does best and that's it. We've real smart talented ILBs who will cover for him in terms of the run and pass coverage.

But again you are probably right he is not worth $12m more than SP but we had to do something to help what is a dire pass rush.

Leslie91

Was watching some of the 'Thank you SD' stuff. Looked like a cool thing to do. Reminded me especially of how beautiful a place SD is. Last time we were there we stayed down near Belmont Park and made it to the Zoo for the first time. I'm reading great reports about Manti, did you see the Acee tweet last nite. He has only seen 3 players so Pro ready as rookies in last 9 yrs. They are Merriman, Reyes and Manti.

OAOB

The #thankyouSD was a great pr idea and if they're going to go out and try get tax payers money for a new stadium gestures like that are a great idea.
Great to hear Te'o is looking good, hope him and Butler can compliment each other. Think it was Gehlken who said Liuget looks even better this year, he'll be challenging JJ as the best DE if he is i reckon, people don't realise how good he was last year