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Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Podcast
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“BAD DAY-BOLTVILLE”
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Chargers football…pick any variety of words as to what happened on Thursday afternoon.
Devastating, unfortunate, flukish, it’s football
The Chargers suffered a real jolt, the loss of Pro Bowl LT-Rashawn Slater, a week after they made him the highest paid OT in the NFL.
Down with a season ending torn patella tendon injury in a 1-on-1 pass blocking drill.
He was not hit, not rolled up on, not blindsided.
He took 3-steps back to block pass rusher Tuli Tuipulotu, planted his foot in the ground to block, and went down hard. His knee exploded , and with that move, so went the Pro Bowl pass blocker for the entire season.
Devastating because he was one of the elite young left tackles in the game.
Unfortunate because it weakens what was supposed to be an improved OL.
Flukish because it was not contact, a scrimmage, nor a big hit.
Football..and those breakdowns happen when you have explosive players running, planting, twisting and turning.
And the injury to Slater capped off a really bad couple of days for the Chargers.
It came hours after the coaches gave up on the idea they could improve their shoddy play at offensive center by moving once promising OG-Zion Johnson to the pivot spot.
Zion goes back to left guard where he graded poorly last year. It also means Brad Bozeman, the lowest graded starting center in the game last year, goes back to the spot.
Add in Mekhi Becton has now missed 10-days of practice with a mysterious injury the team refuses to comment on. He had a great season with the Eagles after a disastrous start to his NY Jets career where they gave up on him despite being a very high number 1-pick. Now we have to wait and see if he can get back and stay on the field, which has not been a trait during his career.
The Chargers will move massive RT-Joe Alt, coming off a great rookie campaign to LT-a spot he played so well at Notre Dame.
But that means journeyman, and often struggling Trey Pipkens, has to go back to right tackle, where he once played and failed. He was kicked inside to guard last year and didn’t do well there.
Jam Salyer has some experience but has been found lacking at the multiple positions they asked him to play.
What was supposed to be a strength, an O-line anchored by 3-number 1 picks, is now down to 1-first rounder you trust (Alt)…1-who has failed (Johnson) and the most important one now gone for the year (Slater).
It’s been a couple of weeks of bad news in the Chargers camp. Big money running back Najee Harris is not practicing, the aftermath of the strange fireworks eye injury.
Mike Williams backed out of his contract and retire, taking away big play down the field veteran experience.
Keenan Allen is back as an inside slot WR, but they have Ladd McConkey in that role and seem short on trust worthy deep speed, unless one of the rookies takes a step forward, or there is a sighting that Quentin Johnston can become more consistent.
A really tough break, the loss of a really good player, and a very well respected veteran.
You can say ‘next man up’ but you don’t lose quality Pro Bowl people and think there is somebody waiting in the wings to replace a Rashawn Slater.
Bad day in Boltville for certain.
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Where is Andre James? He is he has been a serviceable centerfor years and his PFF grades are decent.