Chargers Thread

HigginsJ

So what sort of year are ye expecting from Rivers. Will he bounce back to his best?

Leslie91

HigginsJ wrote: »

So what sort of year are ye expecting from Rivers. Will he bounce back to his best?

Not expecting a magnificent year but he will be far better than last 2/3 yrs. Turnovers should be down as I expect a much shorter aerial attack. Norv was more interested in the long big shot down-field. With Whiz and McCoy I reckon we will see lots of dump off short passes giving the likes of Royal, Woodhead, the 2 Browns and TEs a chance to show their stuff. Yes we will see Danario get the bomb now and again but Norv's focus on that 20-30 yd pass will be much less in evidence.

HigginsJ

Leslie91 wrote: »

Not expecting a magnificent year but he will be far better than last 2/3 yrs. Turnovers should be down as I expect a much shorter aerial attack. Norv was more interested in the long big shot down-field. With Whiz and McCoy I reckon we will see lots of dump off short passes giving the likes of Royal, Woodhead, the 2 Browns and TEs a chance to show their stuff. Yes we will see Danario get the bomb now and again but Norv's focus on that 20-30 yd pass will be much less in evidence.

Ok cool. Think his supporting cast should be better this year with Vincent Brown set for a big year. Im a big Keenan Allen fan, do you see him getting much game time? Finally is Antonio Gates finished & can Ladarius Green take his place?

Leslie91

HigginsJ wrote: »

Ok cool. Think his supporting cast should be better this year with Vincent Brown set for a big year. Im a big Keenan Allen fan, do you see him getting much game time? Finally is Antonio Gates finished & can Ladarius Green take his place?

Yep... our receiving corps is now the team's strength provided they can stay on the field. There are question marks over all of them in fact. If VB has come back from the ankle injury then yes he can be a real contributor. Keenan Allen certainly believes he can be a great one, we'll see in training camp. Some of the footage I saw from him in minicamp (without pads) makes it look like he glides over the ground, looks a real player.

I think Gates has at least 1 more big year in him, he's certainly not as quick as he once was but he is one of the smartest TEs out there, a real student of the game and he and Philip are always on the same page. But yes I'm hoping we see more of LaDarius. Norv was terrible at giving young guys/back ups a chance, McCoy seems to be the opposite, whoever is delivering will be fed the ball and if they are not then it is next man up.

Watch out for John Phillips at TE too. He will on the field quite a bit due to his blocking prowess but he has good hands too and u can be sure Whiz will sneak him the ball now and then.

Roll on Regular Season!!.

Who do you support btw?, I don't see you in the how did you come by your team list?

OAOB

Agree with most things you said there Les, only thing you skipped out on is Rivers success is still going to need a much improved O-line and we haven't upgraded this area enough. The shorter quicker passes will help but he needs to be able to settle in the pocket and pick his passes, he was very jumpy at the end of last year. He definitely needed a fresh voice on the sideline and McCoy and Whisenhunt will definitely help i think.

I personally think Gates is done but hope i'm wrong

HigginsJ

Leslie91 wrote: »

Roll on Regular Season!!.

Who do you support btw?, I don't see you in the how did you come by your team list?

Yea know idea why I havnt added my story. Giants fan, ill update it later

Leslie91

OAOB wrote: »

Agree with most things you said there Les, only thing you skipped out on is Rivers success is still going to need a much improved O-line and we haven't upgraded this area enough. The shorter quicker passes will help but he needs to be able to settle in the pocket and pick his passes, he was very jumpy at the end of last year. He definitely needed a fresh voice on the sideline and McCoy and Whisenhunt will definitely help i think.

I personally think Gates is done but hope i'm wrong

U are so right forgot about how important the O line will be. Yep we got no Fisher but our O line will b better & I can see whiz&Mc having Philip get rid of it much quicker & the likes of Phillips is a huge upgrade in terms of blocking TE.

Molly

Miller looks like he's out for 4 games which points at SP being a starter for the Broncos.

Justin10

Oline I think is an upgrade, but still just not good enough.

I agree I thought Gates was done, but watched a video a while back, cant find it now. It pointed out Gates was open and Rivers either didnt see him, or the pass was not good enough. If he is on the field he is very valuable even just for double teams.

Going to be a great battle between our receivers. Have 6 guys who can all fight for a starting spot.

Denver have a tough start, and without Miller with results going our way it could be a really exciting AFC West.

Justin10

I know they call him Super Melvin but this is crazy

Michael Gehlken ‏@UTgehlken
Guess I shouldn't be surprised Melvin Ingram is doing backward squat jumps, lunges and high knees two months after ACL surgery.

That is just mental that he could be back.

On training camp so far, seems like the receivers are killing the secondary.
Keenan Allen looks very good, also returning punts.
Vincent Brown looks back to his old self, just dont see how Meachem fits in, had a couple of dropped passes.
Looks like we are running a lot of zone blocking drills.
Larry English as always looks impressive at this stage of the year.
Such a fan of English's skills, really hope he stays healthy, think he be fantastic in a 4-3 (healthy of course)
They had Woodhead in the slot which is interesting, Philips was #2 to Gates.
Mike Hermann looks poor, compared to the other three. Brad Sorensen is doing fine.

Patrick did well in coverage, which is encouraging.
Also on the Oline, seems like Harris has improved a lot, first out to work on his footwork. Great to see.
Troutman has two false starts, Molk struggled with Geathers, but Troutman handled him well.

Full pads today, so really interesting to see how they do, especially the rookies.

Leslie91

Nice stuff there Rochey where do u get your TC detail?, been looking for some good fan observations i.e. from fans who know what they are talking about and are actually at the open days obeserving things closely.

Some tidbits I've picked up. Meachem being used as KR, means end of Goodman I guess. Stuckey looks great according to someone I respect Gil Brandt, cannot understand how Stuckey never got a long look at SS. I much prefer Dunlap as a pass blocking LT over Starks but he sure has a long way to go as a run blocker.

Rochey18 wrote: »

I know they call him Super Melvin but this is crazy

That is just mental that he could be back.

On training camp so far, seems like the receivers are killing the secondary.
Keenan Allen looks very good, also returning punts.
Vincent Brown looks back to his old self, just dont see how Meachem fits in, had a couple of dropped passes.
Looks like we are running a lot of zone blocking drills.
Larry English as always looks impressive at this stage of the year.
Such a fan of English's skills, really hope he stays healthy, think he be fantastic in a 4-3 (healthy of course)
They had Woodhead in the slot which is interesting, Philips was #2 to Gates.
Mike Hermann looks poor, compared to the other three. Brad Sorensen is doing fine.

Patrick did well in coverage, which is encouraging.
Also on the Oline, seems like Harris has improved a lot, first out to work on his footwork. Great to see.
Troutman has two false starts, Molk struggled with Geathers, but Troutman handled him well.

Full pads today, so really interesting to see how they do, especially the rookies.

Justin10

Got it from guys on the Chargers official forum who have attended.
Them points seem to be from the majority of them.

Acce seems not all that impressed with Fluker, but some have called him out on twitter saying they where there and disagree with him.

Great story about Fluker being afraid of water and Manti has thought him how to swim.
Reinhart seems to have disappointed a decent amount of posters on the forum.
Wright is doing well at corner so is Cromartie.
Have heard very little about Gilchrist.

Leslie91

Tx Rochey I don't read/use that forum so please feel free to share any personal experiences you see on there from lads who attend the practices. There is nothing better than hearing it from a fan who was there. Seems Acee kinda has it in for Fluker. One thing he can't say about Fluker is he is not willing to give 100% all the time. I reckon he will be fine. Yes, maybe if the season started tomorrow he might not be starting but regular season is over a month away so plenty of time to get him ready.

Ref Reinhart seems he is in there as default starting LG cos he comes from Joe D's system in Buffalo. Troutman might beat him out. One thing is for sure McCoy will have the best 5 in there he won't pander to any faves of Joe D.

OAOB

As always there's lots of positive stories coming out of camp at this time of year, Danny Woodhead sounds like he's doing great. They seem to be chopping and changing the o-line, hopefully a starting 5 will establish themselves quickly as i always believe the strength is how well they can work as a unit. Fluker is learning the hard way but hopefully getting beat now will help him com week 1. I love how Fluker is so vocal in the huddle, he wants to take charge and be a leader and that's something that can only benefit us
The DBs seem to be starting to get parity after a rough few opening days, Wright is showing up as our no.1 CB. The battle for SS isn't something that i've heard much about apart from our UDFA Addale(sp) doing well. I presume Gilchrist is still favourite

Leslie91

Seriously counting down to KO now lads... Can't wait.

I see the 1st depth chart has been revealed. King Dunlap is there at LT and by all accounts seems set to be the man come week 1. Only other surprise (if you could it that) was that Gachkar is backing up Butler and that Dombrowski is behind Schilling at RG.

I've been reading as much as I can in relation to training camp. A piece on BFTB caught my eye. Seems the lads are getting a tad concerned about Philip. One guy even went as far as saying if you took the numbers off them Sorensen looks the best QB thus far. Seems Philip is not up to speed on the playbook (which surprises me even if it's just been said he and missus are expecting number 7) and is still holding onto the ball too long and in the end finding Gates (his security blanket).

Another tidbit I picked up was that Johnny Patrick has shocked many and should start in the slot/nickel over say Steve Williams. Seems Patrick is now backup to Wright who has been having a great camp.

Molly

Stop listening to John Gennaro please.

Everyone else is raving about Rivers in this system. John Gennaro is just being Eamonn Dunphy but not nearly as entertaining.

Justin10

Ye I agree, I've noticed that about Gennaro.
From what I've read it looks like Philip is doing great.
But do agree that Sorensen seems like he is doing really well, looking forward to seeing him Thursday night.

On the guard position, seems like Troutman and Schilling are getting a lot of extra work put into them according to fans at the practices. Seems like the staff like both players.

Wright seems to be doing great, no talk at all of Steve Williams.
Cant wait to see Kennan allen too.

Leslie91

Molly wrote: »

Stop listening to John Gennaro please.

Everyone else is raving about Rivers in this system. John Gennaro is just being Eamonn Dunphy but not nearly as entertaining.

Ha ha nice one. Only started reading that site this year... did not know he was an Eamon Dunphy type nice analogy!!.

OAOB

In fairness to Genarro he puts forward a lot of good points but he seems obliged to throw out controversial/stupid points every now and again. Some very good commenters on the site.

Its hard getting any accurate info at this time of season but I'm starting to get excited now anyway.

Molly

The sites great except for a few things

1) John Gennaro
2) The regular article about trading cards
3) The regular article that attempts humour
4) The stupid R***** Meachem joke

Leslie91

Watched the Training Camp Live piece on chargers.com today. Well worth a look. Check out Joe D working the O linemen, Wow do they go at it. Look at how low those behemoths get, amazing. Mike Willie looks v v agile in the WR drills.

theRB

Chargers confirm Danario Alexander has torn his right ACL. Really, really disappointing news. Lots of pressure on Keenan Allen now.

Justin10

That is so dissapointing, I love DX hate seeing guys like DX who are crippled with Injuries.

I think its more of a case that Robert needs to step up and earn his money.
Keenan seems to be loved by everyone that has seen him.
Suppose something to watch out for during pre season.
Maybe TT will go out and see if he can role the dice and get a big body WR off the streets.

OAOB

Unfortunately that's his career done now, was one of the few bright lights at the end of last year for us. Hope he can come back but would any team take the risk now?
WRs will be floyd brown allen royal and meachem I presume. I really wish we'd just cut meachem, I know it's a cap hit but he's not contributing at all. We're losing a roster spot because of him so he's counter productive at this stage

Leslie91

theRB wrote: »

Chargers confirm Danario Alexander has torn his right ACL. Really, really disappointing news. Lots of pressure on Keenan Allen now.

I thought you were taking the mick with this post when I first saw it.... as in DA has been so susceptible to knee injuries etc.

Gutted is a word often used but boy does it describe how I feel about this news. Just shocking. All the talent in the world laid to waste by injury. Horrific, you gotta wonder what is going thru his head now. TT looks like a genius now tendering just the 1 yr and drafting Keenan Allen.

1 name that comes to mind in terms of replacing him is Laurent Robinson, not as tall by any means but can do a job. He is presently touting his wares left right and centre.

Either way it also gives Mike Willie and maybe even dePalma a shot at making this team. Vincent Brown is now a starter wow.

OAOB

Will we carry more than 5 wideouts?

Robinson is plagued by injury too so dont think he's a real solution.
Haven't seen much of Willie, he's impressed last offseason and this but when we had wr shortage last year we picked danario off the street instead of him. New management this year so maybe he has a chance but he'll need to have made a huge leap forward if he's to contribute

Leslie91

OAOB wrote: »

Will we carry more than 5 wideouts?

Robinson is plagued by injury too so dont think he's a real solution.
Haven't seen much of Willie, he's impressed last offseason and this but when we had wr shortage last year we picked danario off the street instead of him. New management this year so maybe he has a chance but he'll need to have made a huge leap forward if he's to contribute

I think we'll got with M80, VB, KA, RM and ER, and 1 other i.e. 6. Goodman must be on v thin ice, I reckon it could be Willie.

Dunno if dePalma is PS eligible but could see him end up there.

Justin10

Willie is loved by the fans over on chargers forum. I dont remember seeing him play last year during pre season.
dePalma has impressed the guys over at the UT so it will be interesting to see how both get on.

I would still like to sign a big body for the pre season games but not many available, maybe Seyi or Mike Sims Walker.
I think Robinson will get decent money. We really just want a camp body and see if he blossoms.

I would agee with Leslie that it will be the 5 guys plus either Willie or dePalma.
Three of them six can return kicks, but on the flip side to that, do we really need to be risking them to injury.
Maybe its better to just keep Goodman.

Leslie91

Rochey18 wrote: »

Willie is loved by the fans over on chargers forum. I dont remember seeing him play last year during pre season.
dePalma has impressed the guys over at the UT so it will be interesting to see how both get on.

I would still like to sign a big body for the pre season games but not many available, maybe Seyi or Mike Sims Walker.
I think Robinson will get decent money. We really just want a camp body and see if he blossoms.

I would agee with Leslie that it will be the 5 guys plus either Willie or dePalma.
Three of them six can return kicks, but on the flip side to that, do we really need to be risking them to injury.
Maybe its better to just keep Goodman.

Good point about Goodman i.e. we could afford him to get hurt on kick returns as he has so little involvement on O. Having said that I've read even he looks good in TC!. He's been avoiding the bullet for 2 years now can he do it again and survive the 'Turk'?

theRB

I doubt we'll see any FA wideout signing but the thought of Brandon Lloyd is interesting, seeing as he worked with McCoy in Denver a couple of seasons ago. It'll be interesting to see how the likes of Dan DePalma fair out in the preseason now.