Chargers in Camp
NFL preseason games may be viewed as meangingless, but they are really not. They are to evaluate players, game situations, strengths and weaknesses.
Two games into the exhibition schedule, the Chargers have as win against a wretched Cowboys team, and a blowout loss to the team with the Super Bowl trophy, Seattle.
Time to stop talking platitudes over at the Fortress, time to talk plights. Time to deal with reality not fantasy.
The Chargers will be as a good an offensive team as their is in the NFL, because QB-Philip Rivers will see to that. They will score a lot of points and they will have to because the defense cannot stop anyone.
Yes it was preseason, but it was awful on Friday night. The Seahawks ran up 41-points, put up (403Y) in offense. San Diego’s defense was awful, breakdowns, guys running open all night, poor gap play, even worse tackling. And more than anything else, it was as if no one wanted to compete.
Last season we witnessed the Chargers secondary ranked 29th in pass defense. This past weekend, they gave up 20-plays of 8-yards or more, including chunk plays that covered 24-37-39-41-47 yards. Sure looked like last year, this year.
No one wearing a Bolt on their helmet, ever made a defensive play, and that was with virtually the entire starting defensee on the field. Yes it was Russell Wilson and his dynamic talents leading the Seahawks, but no one stepped up to slow any facet of the Seattle package down.
And this came a week after Dallas’ first unit, playing without QB-Tony Romo, went up and down the field when it was their first unit vs San Diego’s number ones. .
And now to complicate things, nagging injuries are everywhere.
Weak at nose-tackle, now Sean Lissimore has an ankle injury. Defensive end Cory Liuget has been on and off the field with a strained foot. Linebacker Manti Te’o now has a sprained left foot, luckily not the right one that was hurt last year. Newly acquired Brandon Flowers has yet to show any form that made him special in Kansas City. And lst round pick Justin Verrett, he of red-jersey fame, still has not been in contact coming off shoulder surgery, and seems way behind everyone. Mental reps don’t mean much if you cannot get on the field.
Mike McCoy is great at cliches, the positive platitudes and all, but he needs to deal with the plight of his team, the specifics, the shortcomings. They don’t seem to have enough people on defense, and the ones they have seem awful young and mistake prone. They don’t seem to be tough enough up front either.
Granted it was just a preseason game, but it counts lots for showing what you might have (offense) and what you really don’t have (defense). Another preseason game with the 49ers, then Arizona, then you start playing real people, and you know who is on that schedule once they start playing for real.
3-weeks to fix it, but I think they need more than just time to solve what they have seen in camp. They need more people.
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