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Chargers Injury NIGHTMARE! A Week is a Long Time in Football · The Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast

0:03
Who's got it better than that? No way! Robert
0:07
is being chased, thrown on the run, and it is
0:10
caught! Touchdown! Keenan Allen! What a great...
0:13
My goal is not to break. My goal is to make you
0:16
harder to break. Number six! Number six! Suits
0:20
sacked by Joey Bolson. 19th yard touchdown! 19th
0:25
yard touchdown! Took off at the 8 -yard run by
0:28
Derwin G. Susses speed, takes a shut down field,
0:31
has Knighton! Pond! Touchdown! Grab your lunchboxes
0:36
and go attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown
0:39
to man cut! Death, taxes and season ending injuries
0:48
to key players during training camp. These three
0:52
things are certain in life for Chargers fans.
0:56
Oh, welcome everyone to the Thunderdown Under
0:58
Chargers podcast. You have a solo show. this
1:02
evening for the first time in a while it's only
1:04
Alistair joining because we have two omissions
1:07
we have Andy who is working through something
1:10
he's followed Jack's lead he's in pre -season
1:12
form he's okay but he should be back soon and
1:16
of course we hinted last week that Jack and his
1:19
partner Beck were expecting the arrival of their
1:20
second child and I'm very happy to report that
1:24
they have welcomed baby Matilda into the world
1:29
I'm hearing, well, we don't have any measurables
1:31
left so far, but hearing that she's a true Bruce
1:36
Feldman Freaks List athlete, she's come out measuring
1:41
large, the family's all very, very excited. So
1:45
our congratulations to Jack Beck, Molly, and
1:48
on the newest member of the family, Matilda,
1:51
one day you might listen to this. know that you
1:53
are very loved entering this world and congratulations
1:57
to your whole family. Jack will be back as soon
2:00
as he can. Alright, the world goes on for Chargers
2:05
fans after what was a very very challenging week
2:10
two of the pre -season and also I hinted at the
2:14
start, the charges unfortunately have had the
2:18
worst imaginable thing happen, which is for Tyler
2:21
Byardish to go down during 49ers joint practice
2:25
last week. So let's start there. This show, we're
2:28
going to keep it tight. We're going to keep it
2:30
short. We're going to speak about the Tyler Byardish
2:32
injury. Then we're going to go through the week
2:34
two game, some of my takeaways on both sides
2:36
of the ball, and then let's get out of here.
2:38
Before I get started, if you haven't already
2:41
hit the like button down below and subscribe.
2:43
And if you're listening on audio and we know
2:45
you're out there, do us a quick favor. If you
2:47
don't mind hopping onto Apple podcasts and leaving
2:50
a written review, giving us a rating, that would
2:52
be fantastic as we're heading into season five
2:56
of covering this team. And look, a week is a
3:00
long time in football. That's what we like to
3:02
say here in Australia, but it's equally apposite
3:05
in the United States where after week one, the
3:08
Chargers are feeling on top of the world with
3:10
a handsome victory against the Houston Texans.
3:14
Then the Tyler, Tyler Beardish, the Chargers
3:16
veteran center goes down at 49ers joint practice.
3:21
The immediate reports were that it looked quite
3:24
serious. It was captured on video. His teammate,
3:27
Coyote Awasika, has managed to throw a defensive
3:30
tackle from the 49ers into his teammate. The
3:33
initial reports were not promising. It was that
3:35
there was damage to likely multiple ligaments.
3:41
Coach Harville was clearly disappointed the morning
3:45
after when he was interviewed on the Pat McAfee
3:47
Show. So I think the writing was on the wall
3:49
at that point and then the news came through
3:52
that Byardish had sustained damage to his ACL.
3:56
He sought a second opinion. Since then the Chargers
3:59
have placed him on the reserve injured list.
4:03
So season ending IR, the Chargers centre will
4:06
not play a game this year. He can't play again
4:09
until 2027. He also won't count against the 53
4:12
-man roster and this is just Just not only is
4:16
it deja vu after last season of Rashawn Slater,
4:19
but this really was the big expensive move the
4:21
Chargers made. It was a priority for Joe Hortiz
4:25
in the front office. They showed this in terms
4:28
of the contract they gave him. His three -year,
4:30
$30 million deal with about half of it guaranteed
4:33
makes him the tied for the fifth most expensive
4:37
contract on the Chargers roster today, measured
4:39
by AAV. So at $10 million a year, this is a guy
4:43
who only Justin Herbert, Rashaun Slater, Derwin
4:45
James, and Khalil Mack are being paid more than
4:48
per year. He's tied with Taya Tartt. And of course,
4:53
Now we will not see him take a single snap throughout
4:56
the season. The question is, will he ever take
4:59
a snap as a charger? The way the contract is
5:02
structured, he will be due a $12 .75 million
5:06
cap hit in 2027 and a $13 million cap hit in
5:10
2028. Only $4 .75 million of that money in 2027
5:16
is guaranteed. and another five million becomes
5:19
guaranteed if he's still on the roster on the
5:21
third day of the 2027 league year. So the charges
5:24
will have a decision to make based on his progress
5:27
and the fact that it is reported that multiple
5:29
ligaments are damaged if they do want to keep
5:32
him on into year two of that deal. It is difficult
5:37
to conclude, in my opinion, anything other than
5:40
this has a true impact on the Chargers' chances
5:43
this year. This was the 11th ranked centre in
5:46
the NFL last season, according to PFF. A lot
5:49
of talk about the importance of the centre position
5:53
generally with what's befallen Justin Herbert
5:56
in the last few years, but particularly in a
5:58
Mike McDaniel scheme, which likes to focus on
6:01
running the football, getting out in space, and
6:06
your centre's job, if you're running the ball
6:08
to a particular side, is often to execute reach
6:11
blocks. So that is to get out and then inside
6:14
and hinge inside your defensive tackle who may
6:17
be shaded in the gap opposite you or at least
6:20
on the outside of your shoulder. A lot of those
6:22
blocks aren't particularly easy to execute and
6:25
require a good athlete. Tyler Beardish has shown
6:28
himself to be adept at executing those blocks.
6:31
So it is back to the drawing board for Mike McDaniel
6:34
and the offense. It's, it's just Easy to get
6:39
frustrated when you see that this is a player
6:41
who in his six seasons in the NFL he'd missed
6:44
Nine games across those six NFL seasons only
6:48
five games in the last four But alas, this seems
6:51
to be what happens sometimes in sports There
6:55
is an element of bad luck very interested to
6:57
hear your thoughts out there Do you think the
6:59
charges chances of making it deep have taken
7:02
a significant hit? Do you think it should affect
7:04
their Super Bowl odds? my view on that is It
7:08
is just so difficult to win a Super Bowl in general
7:11
in the NFL in what is a 32 team competition.
7:14
You need everything to break your way. You need
7:16
a bit of good fortune finding your form at the
7:19
right part of the season. You need excellent
7:21
coaching. And ideally you need your best players
7:24
to be healthy. And this is, this is no doubt
7:29
a blow to start the season. However, We know
7:32
that there's the story of the Philadelphia Eagles
7:34
in 2017 and all the different injuries they suffered
7:37
and they managed to win a Super Bowl with a backup
7:39
quarterback throwing for over 400 yards. Who
7:43
would ever have believed it? And if a team could
7:46
have prepared themselves to lose their starting
7:50
veteran center, the Chargers may have done just
7:52
that by taking, of course, Jake Slaughter in
7:55
the second round out of Florida in the most recent
7:57
draft, a move that was reasonably well criticized
8:01
by many Chargers fans. Even on this podcast,
8:04
we questioned the wisdom of Joe Hortiz taking
8:07
a center who was really there to sit behind Beardish
8:11
and maybe vie for some guard snaps early in his
8:14
career. Joe Hortiz is going to come off smelling
8:17
like roses. Forget the bloom coming off the rose
8:20
towel. He will be looking really good if if Jake
8:23
Slaughter can step in and show some of the form
8:26
he's showing in the preseason. in the regular
8:29
season. So let's talk about this game against
8:32
the 49ers in Week 2 just past. So SoFi Stadium,
8:37
Chargers home game. Final score is Chargers 17
8:41
and the 49ers 41. An absolute drubbing. The worst
8:47
ever Chim Harbour pre -season performance, at
8:50
least in my opinion. His worst loss before this
8:54
was 16 -3 against the Seahawks. in August of
8:57
2024. His record in the pre -season so far is
9:01
4 -4 but they have always looked competitive
9:04
and this game just wasn't that. In the end it
9:08
was 21st downs to the 49ers to 8 first downs
9:12
for the Chargers. The running game was very clearly
9:17
in favour of the 49ers who rushed for 146 yards
9:20
to the Chargers measly 68. And third down, efficiency.
9:26
was the story of this game. The Chargers executing
9:28
only two of their 14 third -down attempts. You
9:32
will not find worse than that during the course
9:34
of a season. The 49ers are conversely operated
9:38
at 6 out of 16, which is about 40%. So that's
9:43
the tale of the tape, at least the tale of the
9:46
stats. It was a very one -sided performance.
9:49
No real individual players standing out for the
9:52
charges from a statistical perspective. It really
9:54
was the 49ers running back since C .M. McCormick,
9:57
who had six carries for 53 yards and a touchdown,
10:00
and their young, well -built ex -receiver Dejaun
10:05
Stribling, who had four catches for 46 yards
10:07
and did look a cut above the rest in terms of
10:11
skill position players in this game. So where
10:15
do we want to start what I think I might do is
10:17
go offense first and defense let's do it that
10:20
way and I want to do it that way because most
10:23
of us have been waiting eagerly with baited breath
10:25
to see The 49ers see what the 49ers defense might
10:30
do against an actual team during after during
10:33
the week Reports were that not a lot was going
10:36
on from a schematic perspective from the 49ers
10:38
But of course we all wanted to see Justin Herbert
10:41
with his first team offense, a first team offensive
10:43
line with the exception of a Sean Slater and
10:47
see if they could get this ball moving. Well
10:52
it didn't happen and on the first, the opening
10:55
drive of the game, the charges take the ball.
10:57
We only end up getting to see three snaps on
10:59
offense. Snap one. Charges come out in 12 personnel.
11:03
You've got Nujoku and Gadsden. Gadsden, sorry,
11:07
Kohler and Nujoku. Kohler is on the right. He
11:10
goes to motion, looking like he's gonna shift,
11:13
but then he goes back to his original position.
11:15
Nujoku then motions late to his side, so you've
11:18
got an unbalanced formation. It's a stretch toss
11:21
play to the right. Unfortunately, Kohler doesn't
11:24
get enough of a chip on the nine technique. 49ers
11:27
are in a four, three over front. Najoku doesn't
11:31
execute in motion, and Alt can't execute the
11:34
second level block of the linebacker. So Hampton,
11:36
who's trying to hit the outside on the stretch
11:37
run, has no chance. One yard loss, and that's
11:40
the first play that the first team try to run
11:43
under Mike McDaniel. It goes nowhere. On snap
11:46
two, it's the second and 11. Lovely play action,
11:50
counter play design. A real Mike McDaniel, Kyle
11:53
Shanahan special. Kohler just fakes to block
11:56
and then leaks out into the flat wide open. Easy
12:00
chance to secure a first down 1 -on -1 in space.
12:03
Unfortunately, Kohler slips while he's trying
12:05
to gather his feet. It gives just enough time
12:08
for Renato Green to get there. Kohler can't quite
12:11
make him miss, so it's a third and short. Those
12:14
are the kind of things that Kohler, who is hoping
12:16
to expand his game into more of a passing roll,
12:19
needs to hit that. He just needs to find a way
12:22
to take that clean lead transition to the other
12:24
hand, get that first down, because as we saw
12:26
on third and short... the team decided to be
12:28
a little more aggressive. They go again with
12:31
the play action and Herbert's trying to hit Lad
12:34
McConkie down the field on a really on a go route
12:37
and Renato Green, the cornerback for the 49ers,
12:40
does a really good job. He gets physical with
12:42
him at the line, forces Lad to take an outside
12:44
release, throws off the timing slightly. You
12:48
could argue it was a bit grabby, maybe maybe
12:50
a holding penalty but I think a reasonable no
12:53
call. It wasn't It wasn't over. That's for sure.
12:57
And yeah, Herbert kind of missed a dump off opportunity
13:00
to Hampton there. But that timing being thrown
13:02
off, he wanted to hit McConkey, couldn't quite
13:05
do it. It's three and out. That's it. That's
13:09
all we saw from the first team offense. It just
13:12
shows how the details matter. When you go to
13:15
watch the all 22 you see some difficulty executing
13:19
motion blocks or movement blocks. This is something
13:21
that a lot of these guys haven't been asked to
13:22
do, especially Charlie Cole are in Baltimore,
13:25
who we know from the Greg Roman experience. The
13:27
tight ends aren't really doing that as much as
13:30
they are being asked to do in the Shanahan scheme.
13:33
So a little bit disappointing, but let's not
13:36
be overly negative. Let's start with the positives
13:39
on that side of the ball. And just having come
13:41
off the tape watch today, I thought Travis Burke
13:44
was fantastic. the Chargers fourth round rookie
13:47
draft pick. He looked really, really good. No
13:50
pressures allowed from his 29 pass blocking reps.
13:54
And he's really developed a lot of the maybe
13:58
strength concerns that we had when we were first
14:01
discussing him on that draft recap show after
14:04
we took him in the fourth round. He's a taller
14:06
man. Usually those players struggle a little
14:09
bit against with leverage. Sometimes they can
14:12
be susceptible to a ball rush, but it was really
14:15
impressive to see him using his length and changing
14:18
up his pass sets to close space between him and
14:21
some of these 49ers edge rushers. And Romelo
14:23
Hite is an extremely athletic bendy edge rusher
14:27
who I saw Travis Burke handle on a couple of
14:30
one -on -one reps. So a big tick, positive arrow,
14:34
stock rising for Travis Burke. I think we're
14:37
looking at now a really impressive swing tackle
14:40
for the foreseeable future. A guy who could come
14:42
in and start. And credit where it's due, I thought
14:45
there were solid performances all around to Trey
14:48
Pipkins, to Coyote Awasika, who got a starter
14:52
guard, and to Jake Slaughter. And let's tie that
14:57
together to what we were saying at the start
14:58
of the show. Jake Slaughter is looking comfortable
15:01
out there, ladies and gentlemen. He is pointing,
15:06
communicating, not being tricked by games and
15:09
stunts. He... clearly understands his role and
15:12
his responsibility. It looked fairly effortless
15:15
especially in the run blocking that he was asked
15:18
to do for the snap seals out on the field. What
15:21
we need to be patient with I think is pass protection
15:25
with Jake Slaughter. We know anyone who watched
15:28
his Florida tape will know he can have some issues
15:31
with his anchor and he was on skates a few times
15:34
in this game. But he recovered just enough that
15:38
recovery ability to drop and bend the back. Jack
15:42
was saying to me in a private message, he shows
15:44
quite good talk and athleticism to bend his back
15:47
and not quite get pushed all the way back into
15:50
the quarterback's lap. And even though he was
15:52
on skates a couple of times in this game, he
15:54
hasn't been charted with an official pressure
15:56
by PFF. And Trey Lance generally had opportunities
16:00
to get the ball out while that first team offensive
16:03
line. was in there so again another strong performance
16:06
I thought from the two pre -season games from
16:09
Jake Slaughter but we'll need him we'll need
16:12
him to play at this level now that he has the
16:13
big shoes to fill of Tyler Beardish. Another
16:17
guy I want to shout out is Arunde Gadsden so
16:19
he has the two catches of 24 yards he's firmly
16:23
the tight end three based on his utilization
16:26
during the pre -season it's clear he's not going
16:29
out there with the ones as much he is playing
16:31
longer into the games. But he's going to continue
16:34
to climb this depth chart if he shows himself
16:38
to be able to make plays down the field as he's
16:40
doing in the preseason. And if the guys who are
16:44
supposedly better than him continue to make errors.
16:48
So Njoku and Kola need to focus on their blocking.
16:52
Overall, the offense in general, this was a sloppy
16:54
performance. Kola Strange. Less said, the better.
16:58
There are some videos floating out there of his
17:00
performance. He allows the one pressure from
17:02
his six pass reps. Row this tape out, Cole, if
17:06
you're listening. It was not the type of performance
17:09
that any of the people out there, like myself,
17:13
who was saying trust the process and trust coach
17:15
McDaniel will be pointing to, will be very strategically
17:18
letting this game slide because he mucked up
17:22
most of the reps where he was out on the field.
17:24
He was overly aggressive, maybe just I don't
17:27
know, eager, overly eager and exuberant to make
17:30
a play in his first game wearing the powder blues,
17:33
but it wasn't to be the case. He ends up with
17:35
a PFF pass blocking grade of 17 .5 out of 100.
17:41
And I don't think that's unfair, having just
17:44
come off the tape today, but it was a sloppy
17:46
game. It wasn't only him. We saw a lot of illegal
17:49
formation penalties, other procedural penalties
17:52
like covering the tight end. And it is just something
17:55
to monitor. TDU crew we have said since Mike
17:59
McDaniel arrived some real positives of this
18:03
type of offense is there's a lot of motion which
18:06
means you're putting strain on the defensive
18:07
communication and match coverage you're taking
18:10
people by surprise you can spring people open
18:12
with late motion short motion but there is a
18:16
downside to this use of motion it really means
18:20
everyone needs to be on their P's and Q's as
18:22
they like to say means you can't really run up
18:24
tempo as much because motion takes a little bit
18:27
longer to execute and as you see with all these
18:30
moving parts if the offense doesn't know the
18:33
playbook quite a hundred percent yet you are
18:36
going to see some illegal formations and people
18:38
forgetting you can't have two receivers in motion
18:40
at the same time you need to sit for a second
18:42
before the ball is snapped so hopefully they
18:45
I think there were four of these types of penalties
18:47
in this game. Hopefully they can get that out
18:49
of the system during the pre -season. I'm sure
18:52
they'll be going back to the tape, going back
18:54
to the classroom, and that Butch Barry and Mike
18:56
McDaniel will be making sure that doesn't happen
18:58
again, because to be fair to Trey Lance and DJ
19:03
Weungalala, the quarterbacks were hindered by
19:06
some of these sloppy penalties. It wiped first
19:09
downs off off the screen. It also put them into
19:13
unfavorable down and distances and made a QB
19:16
evaluation more difficult in this game, I thought,
19:18
than it was in week one. So a little bit to work
19:22
on there, especially the running game. None of
19:24
the running backs have got going across two games.
19:27
Kamani Vidal just had the nine carries for 14
19:29
yards, 17 running back carries for 31 yards in
19:32
this game, less than two yards per carry. And
19:35
this is supposed to be a run first football team.
19:39
So something definitely to focus on heading into
19:42
week three of the pre -season against the Rams.
19:45
But we're starting to see now that Beardish has
19:47
been placed on season -ending IR, that means
19:50
he won't count towards the roster. The Chargers
19:52
now need to decide who they're going to take
19:54
in the offensive line room, whether they are
19:57
going to look externally to replace Beardish
19:59
with maybe a veteran backup at centre, someone
20:02
like a Graham Glasgow, who at the moment is sitting
20:04
there. half retired, who has a history with Jim
20:08
Harbaugh, or whether they stick with the guys
20:11
they've got because a guy who's flashing in a
20:14
positive way on the tape at the moment is rookie
20:17
UDFA Jacob Spomer, a six foot three, 290 pound
20:21
center from Fresno State. He is an older rookie
20:24
at 25 years of age, so quite an experienced player.
20:28
What do you reckon fans? Is he a guy who might
20:30
make this roster? As I stand here today, I've
20:33
got Rashaun Slater, Awaseeker, Slaughter, Strange,
20:36
Alt as your starting five. Then Pipkins as your
20:40
first swing tackle. Burke as the next guy. And
20:43
then you've got Branson Taylor, Trevor Penning,
20:47
Logan Taylor, Alex Harky, and Jacob Spoma fighting
20:52
for probably... Two or three spots between the
20:57
five of them Penningham is down. He's relegated
20:59
down the depth chart even if he's playing okay
21:01
out there I thought he played quite well on the
21:04
weekend or on the game just passed Both the tailors.
21:07
I'm a bit concerned about the athletic fit in
21:10
this game You saw Branson Taylor miss a bad block
21:13
at the second level in an attempt to run some
21:17
mid zone Just before he went out of this game
21:19
with an injured shoulder Logan Taylor to me just,
21:22
I don't know why they're playing him at tackle.
21:24
I don't think that's where he fits at this level.
21:27
I can't see him making the team if that's the
21:28
plan. Because again, I think he struggles a bit
21:31
with athleticism, especially at that particular
21:34
position. So there's one more game really for
21:38
them to work out what they want to do with this
21:40
line. Haki continues to look decent, particularly
21:43
as a run blocker. playing with the third team.
21:45
But now we can see, I think all of us are a bit
21:48
jittery after a whole off season hoping to fortify
21:51
this interior offensive line. We see Bjarne Schout
21:54
for the season, Colestrange looking terrible
21:57
in his limited snaps, Coyote Awasika who's just
22:00
a veteran backup player in this league. There
22:04
are going to be a lot of I told you so's if the
22:06
interior offensive line is a problem during this
22:09
season. particularly given Joe Ortiz's approach
22:12
to spending in free agency. But for now, we try
22:16
to remain optimistic and it is watch this space.
22:21
All right, on to the defense, because do we really
22:23
want to talk about special teams? I mean, team
22:26
allows an 88 yard punt return touchdown, fumbles
22:29
on a punt return with Devonte Ross, we have Cameron
22:32
Dicker missing his second consecutive week of
22:35
extra points, Jim Harbour furious on the sideline.
22:38
So Coach Fikken, you've got work to do as well.
22:42
You're stuck in the classroom with the teach.
22:44
It's going to be you, the teach, the offensive
22:46
line, reminding yourself of the rules, Jack teaching
22:50
you the rules, and you've got to get back into
22:53
a bit of form as we approach week one. But the
22:56
defense, again, a bit tough to be positive in
23:00
this one, seeing as they concede 40 points. It's
23:03
usually a bad indication when that happens. I'll
23:05
start positively. Justin Aboigbe. Looks like
23:09
we've got a breakout year in coming for this
23:11
guy. He only plays the 10 snaps, but he is looking
23:14
spry and explosive He has two tackles. He's developed
23:18
a swim move anyone who watched this guy in Alabama
23:22
Thought he this guy is a early down run stopper
23:26
at the next level bit of a tweener So is he gonna
23:29
be able to stop the run at this level? Don't
23:31
worry about his pass rush upside even though
23:33
he had a few pressures for Alabama. He's more
23:36
of a pocket pusher. He's just not gonna make
23:38
a consistent impact in the backfield. I'm now
23:42
happy to admit that my take on that was totally
23:45
wrong. I don't know what work he's been doing
23:47
in the gym with Ben Herbert. He looks, he looks
23:51
lighter but also explosive and able to hold up
23:54
in the run game. He is, to use our friend Ryan's
23:58
terminology early today, he's sticking his head
24:00
over the parapet in quite a crowded defensive
24:04
line room and he is really playing excellently
24:07
through two pre -season games. It was good to
24:09
see. But overall, that first -team defence gets
24:12
a look against the Niners, and it was a bit of
24:14
a longer drive to start the game, closer to a
24:16
10 -play drive with a few, or at least a couple
24:19
first downs conceded. I thought, look, the linebackers
24:25
Henley and Perryman were able to come downhill
24:28
and make some plays, closer to the line of scrimmage
24:32
against the run. I'll speak in a second about
24:36
why that might be the case because again Ryan
24:38
did an excellent breakdown on Twitter today But
24:40
they at least have some freedom in this game
24:43
to come downhill aggressively, which I'm sure
24:45
they will like I would love to see them work
24:48
a bit on their craft when they are blitzing up
24:50
the middle Dayon Henley definitely has a tendency
24:52
to get stuck on blocks. Even if there's a running
24:54
back There was one in this game. We've posted
24:57
it on X on TDU film He has a chance to get home
25:00
and he just doesn't quite have that wiggle to
25:04
do something to get into the backfield. They
25:06
need to spend some time with Derwin to work out
25:08
what they can do other than predictably get stunted
25:12
like right up the middle where the offensive
25:13
lineman handled them too easily. But otherwise,
25:16
I mean, well done. Chris O 'Leary, CEO, the defensive
25:20
coordinator in his first year, gets aggressive
25:22
on that first drive after a couple of catches
25:25
to Jean's dribbling. He decides he's going to
25:28
go cover zero. pressure. So they send seven on
25:32
the pressure, four guys in coverage, and Elijah
25:34
Molden breaks beautifully on the ball for the
25:36
pass breakup. And ultimately, the first team
25:39
defense gets off the field without allowing any
25:41
points. So not too much to take from that initial
25:45
drive. I thought Tully struggled to get pressure.
25:48
I mean, Colton McKivit's a right tackle, found
25:51
him very easy to stymie, which is interesting.
25:54
This is a guy who wants to be paid $30 million
25:56
plus per year. If you watch a couple of those
25:59
reps on the All 22, the get off just isn't at
26:02
least it wasn't there on some of those pass rush
26:04
opportunities. There were only one or two of
26:07
them, but still he didn't stand out. The defensive
26:11
interior didn't particularly stand out other
26:13
than a Boigby. I thought Caldwell and Tomlinson
26:16
in their first snaps were just okay. And there
26:21
were a couple of signs that I think The Chargers
26:24
may struggle with these bigger wide receivers
26:26
in games because Cam Hart has the physicality
26:30
of the line. He just doesn't necessarily have
26:32
the coverage stickiness down the field. And then
26:35
I think there will be some matchup issues if
26:37
you try to play either Tahib Still or Dante Jackson
26:40
on a bigger traditional X receiver body type.
26:43
It might be something for this team to watch.
26:46
Not too much more to say about this... team really
26:51
in terms of the first and the seconds other than
26:53
let's shout out junior colson and let's shout
26:55
out marlo wax so colson has the beautiful pick
26:58
six he fits the run nicely he has 20 snaps for
27:03
pff grade of 89 .1 currently he's the 11th highest
27:06
graded defensive player in the nfl through the
27:09
two weeks of the pre -season and then the guy
27:12
he's fighting against for a roster spot marlo
27:14
wax continues to make the claim that he should
27:18
be a pick on this team. Fitting frontside runs
27:22
really well. He's basically demanding a roster
27:24
spot because he's playing excellently on special
27:26
teams. And where I say Junior Colson is PFF's
27:29
11th highest graded player on defense across
27:31
the league, Marlowe Wax is sitting at fifth across
27:35
the league through two games. So I mean, these
27:39
two are really fighting it out. Arguably, they
27:40
both performed better than Troy Dye and Del Sean
27:43
Phillips, who are linebackers three and four
27:45
with the second team. So I do not know how this
27:48
shakes out other than I'm fairly confident the
27:50
team won't carry six linebackers. I change my
27:54
mind every day about if it's going to be Colson
27:56
they keep or if they keep Wax. I'm going to plant
27:58
my flag and say I think it should be Colson.
28:01
Not only because Ryan pointed out to me that,
28:03
you know, Colson seems to be the one guy who
28:05
when he does blitz he's able to make running
28:07
backs miss, which I think is true. I just find
28:09
it hard to overlook. Maybe my own evaluation
28:14
of him in the draft. I had him as linebacker
28:16
too in that class behind that Edger and Cooper
28:19
When he came out two years three years ago and
28:23
I thought he was a really good prospect and and
28:26
a guy who's really mainly been held out held
28:29
back by Injuries now that we see him starting
28:32
to make some tackles in space fitting the run.
28:34
Well having a pick six I mean, this is an early
28:37
third round pick Surely you've got a better chance
28:40
at stashing Marlowe Wax on the practice squad
28:43
if you cut him than you do a guy like Junior
28:45
Colson. So that might be an unpopular opinion,
28:48
but based on his trajectory and what I thought
28:51
of him as a prospect and his athletic traits,
28:53
I think I would go for Colson as a linebacker
28:56
five. But the other view is he doesn't really
28:59
play special teams, at least not well. And how
29:02
many snaps is your fifth linebacker really going
29:03
to have? So why not use that spot on someone
29:06
who's a special teams demon? And I guess that's
29:09
true. Where do you where do you land on that
29:12
question? Let us know in the comments. As we
29:16
close out, why don't we focus on the defense
29:18
and what was at least interesting if not challenging
29:21
because I've already spoken about covering bigger
29:23
wide receivers being an issue. 16 missed tackles
29:26
this week compared to two missed tackles the
29:29
week before. Again, a week is a long time in
29:31
football. Seeing a lot of individual players
29:36
have some issues. We saw the best and the worst
29:38
of Genesis Smith, makes a couple of plays, but
29:41
a missed run fit on an explosive run allowed
29:43
late in the game, and then a whiff on a tackle
29:46
inside the box a little bit earlier. Bud Dupree,
29:51
another guy who I just keep thinking, if this
29:54
is our cemented edge for, it's a bit of a problem
29:57
that there's not more pressure coming from guys
29:59
like Canard, who is injured in this game, also
30:03
Nadam Tucker and Andre Carter. I mean, they are
30:05
flashing, but It looks like Dupree's safe. I'm
30:08
not super impressed with our edge four. Also,
30:11
nobody's really claiming the cornerback four
30:13
spot. Dean Leonard is struggling with his tackling.
30:17
You're seeing a real battle between, I think
30:19
it's between Nico Reed and Avery Smith for the
30:23
cornerback five roll, because I don't think they're
30:24
going to carry six corners. I just don't think
30:27
anyone's really demanded that spot. And they
30:32
may go with extra safeties, because guys like
30:34
Kendall Williamson, who plays special teams and
30:36
play it well, he had a good game. So at an individual
30:40
level, guys aren't stepping up and claiming these
30:42
back of the roster spots. We'd love to see that
30:44
more in week three of the preseason, but strategically.
30:48
And let's really end with this. There's a question
30:51
about what we're going to see from Chris O 'Leary
30:54
this year, compared to what we saw from Jesse
30:57
Minter last year and Ryan. posted a little breakdown
31:01
of what he's noticed from the film which is when
31:04
the charges come up against 12 personnel so one
31:07
running back two tight ends Chris O 'Leary's
31:09
preference is for an under front with five down
31:12
linemen the three tech away from the passing
31:15
strength that's what an under front is creating
31:18
single gap responsibility for linebackers so
31:20
essentially that's fancy football talk for more
31:23
bodies in the box generally Jesse Minter in those
31:26
kind of situations when there were two tight
31:28
ends on the field or three tight ends on the
31:29
field, he'd say no, most of the time we're going
31:32
to be in a 4 -2, four down linemen, two backers,
31:35
and we're going to have five defensive backs
31:36
on the field and we're going to play with a minus
31:38
run fit. So we're going to have gap and a half
31:41
responsibilities on the second level or depending
31:44
on the play called the first level. So what we're
31:48
seeing in short is a much more aggressive or
31:51
traditional defense where you have more defenders
31:55
in the box to stop the run. And what we're seeing
31:58
is a big uptick in blitzing. One of the major
32:02
mantras of Jesse Minter and Mike McDonald's defense
32:05
is we don't blitz. Mike McDonald 32nd in the
32:08
NFL blitzing last year, Jesse Minter 29th in
32:11
the NFL blitzing last year. They want seven guys
32:14
in coverage. What they want to do instead is
32:17
send four creatively. We don't want to send a
32:21
fifth or a sixth player. It's too risky on the
32:23
back end Maybe Minter thought it's too risky
32:25
with our corners, especially because none of
32:27
them are first round studs What what I'm going
32:30
to do is send creeper pressures You know drop
32:34
guys drop defensive linemen out of the hole use
32:36
fire zones maybe on the occasional five -man
32:39
pressure, but Try to trick your quarterback through
32:43
what they're seeing rather than sending and heating
32:46
them up with a lot of pressure Chris O 'Leary,
32:48
we're seeing the opposite. We're seeing genuinely
32:51
heavy blitzing. I spoke to it earlier, cover
32:55
zero blitz. So send seven, let them get there
32:59
as quickly as possible. And your two corners
33:01
and your two safeties are in tight man coverage.
33:03
And if this pass rush doesn't get home in two
33:06
and a half seconds, you're a chance for a touchdown
33:08
over your head. Because it's just too hard to
33:10
cover in the NFL in those scenarios. This is
33:13
something that's going to be really interesting
33:15
to monitor because what I think charges the fans
33:17
thought they were getting was Jesse Minter 2
33:19
.0. We're going to have a real quarters heavy
33:22
structure on the back end, which for the most
33:24
part, we're seeing quite a bit of, but then more
33:28
games and twists up front. Whereas at the moment,
33:31
he's just saying go, go, go linebackers, see
33:34
it and attack it and get into the backfield.
33:35
He's sending the nickel from the field. He's
33:38
doing some of that more aggressive stuff. And
33:41
the question is going to be though, How does
33:42
this look if you tried in a regular season? Because
33:45
at the moment, I think guys like Mickens, Tony
33:48
Jefferson, Genesis Smith, Cam Hart, I think they're
33:53
going to be susceptible to allowing some big
33:55
touchdowns if O 'Leary isn't a little more cautious
33:59
with the blitz heavy approach to start the season
34:03
in particular while they learn the scheme rules.
34:05
Who knows, maybe this is just the preseason and
34:07
the preseason is a liar and we're going to see
34:10
18 % blitzing. in week one, the sort of stats
34:14
that you'd see with Minter, Jesse Minter was
34:16
always around 20%. The really aggressive teams
34:19
are up in the 30s or, you know, Brian Flores
34:21
will hover around 45%. Where will O 'Leary sit?
34:25
It's a really interesting question. He's the
34:27
younger guy, he wants to impose his own blueprint,
34:31
his own stamp on this team. Is that what the
34:36
team needs when they've got Herbert, Mike McDaniel?
34:39
on the offense, maybe being the side of the ball
34:42
to carry the team this year, maybe the defense
34:44
just needs to aim to be middle of the pack and
34:46
play a stack load of zone coverage and be conservative
34:49
and play bend and don't break defense. We will
34:52
see how that looks, but it has been fascinating
34:55
the approach that O 'Leary has taken. Week one,
34:58
it looked pretty good. Week two, not as good,
35:02
other than some efforts defending the run early.
35:05
Later on in the game, they struggled to defend.
35:07
the outside zone heavy running schemes of the
35:10
49ers. Okay, thankfully, in this game, not too
35:17
many serious injuries come out of it. Brennan
35:18
Thompson is in the blue tent for a while, he's
35:21
still working his way back into practice, but
35:23
it's not believed to be serious. Branson Taylor,
35:25
as I said earlier, comes off the field with a
35:27
right shoulder injury. Canard doesn't suit up.
35:31
And recent reports from from practices this week,
35:34
most players are out there. with only a handful
35:37
of exceptions. Part in question, to finish the
35:42
show, why is Darius Davis not returning punts?
35:47
Why is it that he seems to be getting the Trey
35:50
Pipkins treatment where he's just a guy who's
35:52
loved by the team and not having to fight for
35:54
his spot? I'm not sure, but I was a bit surprised
35:57
that it was KLS and Vidal back there and not
35:59
Darius Davis to start the game and not on punt
36:02
returns either. You can only assume the guy is
36:04
safe. which starts to make you think that there's
36:07
a real battle on for KLS to justify his spot
36:11
as a sixth wide receiver on this team. All right,
36:16
that'll do it, folks. I said we'd keep it a little
36:18
bit shorter this week. I know I can talk the
36:21
leg off a chair, but I'll restrain myself until
36:23
the others are back. We have one more game in
36:27
the pre -season. It is between the Chargers and
36:30
the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Thursday evening,
36:33
and then... All NFL teams must set their 53 men
36:38
rosters for the season by Sunday, the 30th of
36:42
August at 6pm Eastern. So in less than a week's
36:47
time, we will know who is in the 53. We'll know
36:50
who didn't make it. We'll know who cleared waivers
36:52
and ended up on the practice squad signed and
36:55
we will be gearing up with a whole bevy of shows
36:58
that we have planned between now and week one.
37:01
when they will face the Arizona Cardinals. But
37:05
between now and then, enjoy this upcoming game.
37:09
It's the last time you'll have to deal with preseason
37:11
announcers and games that may be lacking a little
37:14
bit of juice. But we will be back to talk about
37:17
the Rams game and the 53 -man roster once it's
37:21
settled early next week. Between now and then,
37:24
hope you have a good one and we will see you
37:26
next time on the Thunder Down Under Chargers
37:29
podcast. Bye.