Boo Khaki

Is there something in the rulebook that would prevent the Jets just investing in a pair of techno-trousers for Rodgers and lining him up in the Pistol/Shotgun?

In the first year the excuse for shit-awful performance was that he was having to run a D with Gus Bradley's personnel, but right away my bullshit detector was going great-guns because any supposed "Defensive Guru" should be able to adjust his scheme to account for that, and also use existing players to their strengths. Instead, what I saw was tantamount to thumping square players into round holes, and a suspicion that even accounting for the mismatched personnel, the scheme itself was suspect and less than robust. The sort of thing I'm talking about was that a lot was made straight away about how Staley just doesn't value ILB's. First of all, his scheme only ever has two, and frequently only one LB on the field at any time to begin with, so the logic is that pass-rush and good coverage is crucial to his scheme, given that it's about taking away chunk gains through the air. The problem was though, every single week his D goes out there, and the LB's get completely abused in both the run and pass games. They were making drag tackles against totally unimpeded rushers 7 yards down the field, because they aren't big or tough enough to take on blockers and get off blocks, so they don't crash the line, and they play more like box Safeties v the run, but conversely, they aren't particularly athletic, and because the scheme puts both Safeties deep, they have to be responsible for the entire shallow and intermediate depths of the middle of the field in coverage, so there's loads of empty space for passing offences to exploit. From where I'm standing, it's obvious to me that a big part of the reason why Staley's D's utterly stink is because it's so easy to abuse the LB's, yet according to the man himself LB's are not an important component of his scheme. I'm not an NFL coach, but I can see complete fucking idiocy and rank incompetence when it stands out like a sore thumb. Your D is easy to abuse because your ILB's are both substandard, AND you are a fucking idiot who leaves them on an island with enormous responsibilities that even he very best LB's in the league would struggle with. Tell me again how LB's are not important in your scheme? So in one off-season the Chargers went entirely D-heavy, brought in a f**k ton of players Staley wanted as pieces for his scheme, and lo and behold, it was even fucking worse than in the first year! All the same problems, the worst run D the NFL has seen since the early 60's (I'm not exaggerating, literally the worst run D in YPA since 1963), and a propensity to give up huge plays through the air over and over, and yet again near bottom of the NFL in PPG conceded. They didn't have the money to go crazy on D this off-season, but they spent a 2nd and a 3rd rounder on players for the front 7, got JC Jackson, Joey Bosa, and Austin Johnson back from injury, so there is really no excuse for the D being worse than useless given that it's the 3rd year of the scheme, right? Nope. They are still utterly hopeless v's the run, but they are now giving up plays of 30 yards+ through the air at a rate that no previous NFL D ever has, and to top that off, they now also have a habit of extending drives via penalty. Through three weeks the D is giving up 29PPG, continuing the trend of getting worse year on year. So I'd love to just ask Staley what exactly it is that his D is supposed to be doing, because whatever it is, no matter how you measure it, it is getting worse the longer he's is around, and the more investment is put into it. Stop chunk plays through the air? Well no, because since 2021 the Chargers have given up more plays of 30 yards+ through the air than any other team in the league. The point of a D is to prevent your opponent scoring. The fact that Staley's D's have been right at the bottom of the pile in terms of PPG surrendered in all three years he's been HC is the biggest indicator there is that he is a total and utter fraud. To be frank, it doesn't matter how the f**k you go about stopping your opponent, if your D is only giving up 17PPG it's an effective D and you should win most of your games. When your D is giving up 29ppg on a long-term basis, it's a shitty, ineffectual D, so all the talk about "concepts" and "points of emphasis" are utterly ridiculous. Your D clearly doesn't work, that's the only relevant point. Oh, and BTW, the Chargers have 49% of their total Cap spent on D. The next nearest team is 43%, and most franchises are below 40%. So not only one of the long-standing poorest Defences in terms of performance, but also the most expensive. It is totally inexcusable.

Yup, but if Jimmy G is under center I think the Raiders probably win that, even if the Chargers had built a similar half time lead. This is the infuriating thing about Staley. The entire league knows he is hopelessly out of his depth, he demonstrates that every single week, but unfortunately the roster has enough talent, and he has a top 5 QB landed in his lap, so he gets enough wins to just keep him from being in the obvious FIRE ASAP bracket. Even the wins are poor wins, which is in itself an indictment of how badly coached the team is. You can put a fully fit and healthy Chargers team out against 0-16 Buttphugue State, and they'll play like absolute shit and win by one score in a nailbiter. Put them out against the '85 Bears, and they'd dominate the entire game, score a ton of points, but make some sort of utterly moronic self-inflicted mistake... and lose by one score. That game today should have been a 20-30 point blow-out, even with the Chargers injuries. There is no excuse for allowing LV to hang around like that, but the narrative will be "hey it's a win, and all NFL games are tough to win/Proud of the team for hanging in there with all the injuries", so that's it in a nutshell. Chargers teams and coaches are allowed to just cruise along in perpetual mediocrity. You'd have thought it would be different with the move to LA and all the scrutiny that brings, but nope, the Rams have comprehensively kicked the Chargers in the nutsack and run off with the "Fight for LA" thing. The Chargers are 2-2, could easily be 4-0 if they were slightly better prepared, but could just as easily be 0-4. That sort of inconsistency and wafer thin margin between being passable or hopelessly shit, is yet another hallmark of bad coaching.

It used to annoy me until a couple of years ago when I realised it's as much part and parcel of life on earth as the sun coming up in the morning, and now I just find it as ridiculous and funny as everyone else. It's astonishing how they go out every single week and find some sort of ridiculous, record-setting way to blow leads, lose games, and set yardage/completion/rating records and still somehow lose. Raiders will get another shot at this.

Chargers have the entire 2nd half to score 7 points and put this game to bed, and promptly go Punt, Punt, INT, Punt, T.O. on Downs.

Justin Herbert, Chargers QB

Chargers. Turning blow-outs into nail-biters since 1961.

Punt, Punt, INT, Punt. Who let Joe Lombardi back in the building?

What a total give-up call by McDaniels.

There's a hilarious PI down the field on that INT, even though its a horrible throw, but this is typical Chargers. Just can't ever put a team away. This is going to be a nail-biter, bank on it.

"2nd & 9" "That's a 1st Down run of eight!" Eh?

What a fucking half-wit penalty. See what I mean about both of these teams utterly reeking of shitty coaching? That's the Chargers D's 8th drive extending penalty of the year. Totally ridiculous.

This is a weird performance, because Mack has been a total non-factor in the pass rush since midway through last season. Seriously looked like a guy who had completely hit the wall. Think this might be about who he's playing and the rookie QB holding the ball tbh

What a fucking chickenshit effort by Ja'sir Taylor

QJ looking every bit the blown pick. I don't like taking WR's early because so many of them flame out completely and others take 2-3 years to really hit their straps, but a 1st round WR should be coming down with a ball like that. The fact he was supposedly the answer to all the Chargers issues with lack of explosion and big play threat at WR, and yet he's not seeing the ball and a 4th round midget K/PR is generating far more yards says it all.

AOC needs to spend the next week doing the slap drill

It's not really the score, it's the nature of the performance. The Raiders D-line is having it's way with the Chargers, but the penalties and brainfarts are just digging them into deeper and deeper holes. Badly coached teams all look exactly the same and do more or less the same things, the "stink" of bad coaching. Both these teams have it, the Chargers are just holding it together enough today that the better talent is able to exploit the Raiders mistakes. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if the second half is a completely different story, or if the Chargers pitch up in LV later in the season and get completely clowned. It's just what happens with teams led by HC's who are totally in over their heads.

That OPI on Myers is so fucking ticky-tacky. 9 times in 10 they don't call that.

Chargers pass pro is garbage. Pocket is a complete mess.

And just like that he reappears on the sideline looking A-ok.

Anyone staying up to watch the Zach Wilson redemption game later where the Jets hang 50 on the Chiefs?

Also no sign of Davante Adams since he went up the tunnel. Sucks

Difficult to evaluate the Raiders here because it's been such a prototypical Raiders performance, penalties and nonsense galore, but they haven't scored more than 18 yet this season even with Jimmy G under Center, so aye, they don't look that good on the face of it.

AOC keeps handing gifts to the Chargers D.

Trent Green owes his entire career to the Chargers. Not only did they draft him, but Rodney Harrison wrecked his knee, which ultimately led to him getting a Superbowl ring.