Flozell Adams vs. Doug Free

[Eskimo]

I dunno, I could see a WR, CB or OLB being drafted in the first round if they're they clear cut best available at that point.

You never overlook "special talent" if you think one has fallen to you.

As for CBs, your 3rd CB now plays more than half of the plays on defense so you need 3 really good one plus at least one good backup. I do think we have 3 right now and could use a fourth. So I would take a really good one if available where we pick.

WR, I could see us taking a special one again because only Miles is a proven starter quality WR right now. Crayton is a #3. RW is playing like a #3. Ogletree is still pretty unproven due mostly to Garrett's reluctance to play him. I wish we could cross this one off the board but the Chargers have shown what you can do with one great QB and two great young WRs and I'd love to have another to pair with Miles and then put in Otree as the #3.

OLB is a tough one, especially if the team is as high on Brandon Williams as they have let on. Butler has shown he can come in and rush the passer and be active. The OLB picked here would need to have the versatility to play ILB or would have to be a huge step up from Spencer.

I still think the priorities are an interior OL and ILB if available followed by safety. If there is a difference maker at NT, I would consider taking one and moving Rat to DE.

 

[theogt]

You never overlook "special talent" if you think one has fallen to you.

As for CBs, your 3rd CB now plays more than half of the plays on defense so you need 3 really good one plus at least one good backup. I do think we have 3 right now and could use a fourth. So I would take a really good one if available where we pick.

WR, I could see us taking a special one again because only Miles is a proven starter quality WR right now. Crayton is a #3. RW is playing like a #3. Ogletree is still pretty unproven due mostly to Garrett's reluctance to play him. I wish we could cross this one off the board but the Chargers have shown what you can do with one great QB and two great young WRs and I'd love to have another to pair with Miles and then put in Otree as the #3.

OLB is a tough one, especially if the team is as high on Brandon Williams as they have let on. Butler has shown he can come in and rush the passer and be active. The OLB picked here would need to have the versatility to play ILB or would have to be a huge step up from Spencer.

I still think the priorities are an interior OL and ILB if available followed by safety. If there is a difference maker at NT, I would consider taking one and moving Rat to DE.

You'd think by this post that the Chargers had a much better offense than Dallas. Fortunately, our offense averages about 40 more yards per game, and Tony is averaging .6 yards per game more than Rivers.

It's unfortunate your hatred of Roy Williams makes your analysis so irrational.

 

[Eskimo]

You'd think by this post that the Chargers had a much better offense than Dallas. Fortunately, our offense averages about 40 more yards per game, and Tony is averaging .6 yards per game more than Rivers.

It's unfortunate your hatred of Roy Williams makes your analysis so irrational.

Yards may be close but SD is averaging nearly 6 more ppg than us and that is a big difference. They are much better than us on the offensive side of the ball and having a more legitimate threat across from Miles would help. So I would consider taking a starter quality WR although I believe Ogletree will develop into one if given a bit of time and patience. I would hope for next year for him but it is difficult to be certain until we get to see him play some more.

 

[theogt]

Yards may be close but SD is averaging nearly 6 more ppg than us and that is a big difference. They are much better than us on the offensive side of the ball and having a more legitimate threat across from Miles would help. So I would consider taking a starter quality WR although I believe Ogletree will develop into one if given a bit of time and patience. I would hope for next year for him but it is difficult to be certain until we get to see him play some more.

They are certainly not "much better" than our offense. That's just a ridiculous statement.

And your comment that they have better young receivers is absurd. Just look at the stats.

#1 receiver:
Chargers - 77.8 Y/G; 0.6 TD/G
Cowboys - 81.3 Y/G; 0.79 TD/G


#2 receiver:
Chargers - 42.4 Y/G; 0.067 TD/G
Cowboys - 45.5 Y/G; 0.46 TD/G

Our #1 receiver is better than theirs and our #2 receiver is better than theirs. The TE discussion is up in the air, I think, but Jason Witten is without a doubt the better all-around TE.

As for running game, well, Dallas is ranked 7th in the league and they're ranked 29th.

You're a smart fellow, but sometimes you need to pull your head out of your ***.

 

[Eskimo]

They are certainly not "much better" than our offense. That's just a ridiculous statement.

And your comment that they have better young receivers is absurd. Just look at the stats.

#1 receiver:
Chargers - 77.8 Y/G; 0.6 TD/G
Cowboys - 81.3 Y/G; 0.79 TD/G


#2 receiver:
Chargers - 42.4 Y/G; 0.067 TD/G
Cowboys - 45.5 Y/G; 0.46 TD/G

Our #1 receiver is better than theirs and our #2 receiver is better than theirs. The TE discussion is up in the air, I think, but Jason Witten is without a doubt the better all-around TE.

As for running game, well, Dallas is ranked 7th in the league and they're ranked 29th.

You're a smart fellow, but sometimes you need to pull your head out of your ***.

Numbers don't always account for everything - there is obviously something that seems to allow them to score nearly a TD more than us per game even though their rushing attack is clearly far inferior.

I will admit that I overestimated Floyd and thought he had been much more productive than he actually has been. It looks like the biggest difference has been that Gates has been very explosive. While I would agree that Witten is the better all-around TE, Gates seems to have recaptured his form of a few years ago when he was one of the toughest matchups in the league in the passing game. I was quite surprised to see how productive he was this year with 1145 yards, 14.7 yards/catch and 7 TDs. I think this is where they seem to have us though with two very explosive options in the passing game with two other solid contributors in Floyd and Sproles. We seem to have one explosive option in Miles, one steady productive one in Witten and then two solid contributors in RW and Crayton.

I think in the end we need one more explosive element in the offense to take us closer to SD and NO's level. There are a few possibilities on the current roster. I do think the most likely answer is for Felix to become the #1 RB and getting him more touches (especially in the passing attack) could make a big difference in getting our ppg up as we are only 13th in the league in scoring offense. The second possibility would be RW regaining his ?2005 from when he had 1300 yards - the physical tools are there IMO but the focus is not. Lastly, I think Ogletree could develop into that option and Romo seems to have taken a liking to him and it'd be nice to see if he could become a 1000-yd WR.

If you're to ask if I hate RW - I don't hate him as a person. I do hate what we traded for him and how much we paid him in the salary cap era. I still do hope he will regain the form he showed earlier in his career as it is hard to "fluke" 1300 yards when you are the #1 and only real weapon on your team. I really think the idea that it is due to a lack of "chemistry" with Romo is not correct. I also don't think it is because Garrett and Romo favor Austin over him or won't give him routes that he can run. There is something wrong with RW on the field. He does not get open easily and does not catch the ball with the same ease that he used to. I still had some hope at the start of the year that he would break out of his funk but it looks like that is becoming less and less likely as time goes on.

A combination of Miles, rejuvanated RW11 and Ogletree would be a sick and lethal trio of WRs with non-overlapping skill sets. I think Romo could thrown close to 4800 yards with these weapons.

 

[theogt]

They're scoring 6 points more a game because our redzone offense hasn't been good this season, for various reasons. I don't think that has anything to do with our talent level or our coaching, it's just a fluke occurrence that won't bear out over the next several years. In 2007, we had almost identical points per game as San Diego does this season. I don't think anyone would say that our 2007 offense was any better than this 2009 offense.

This redzone deficiency hasn't been due to a lack of "explosiveness" in the offense.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

They're scoring 6 points more a game because our redzone offense hasn't been good this season, for various reasons. I don't think that has anything to do with our talent level or our coaching, it's just a fluke occurrence that won't bear out over the next several years. In 2007, we had almost identical points per game as San Diego does this season. I don't think anyone would say that our 2007 offense was any better than this 2009 offense.

This redzone deficiency hasn't been due to a lack of "explosiveness" in the offense.

San Diego also has 3 more TD's than the Cowboys courtesy of their defense and special teams.

Subtract those 21 points and things become much closer between the two offenses.

I like their receiving corp a little better than the Cowboys, but I like the Cowboys running back corp.

I think the teams are equal at TE and QB.

 

[theogt]

San Diego also has 3 more TD's than the Cowboys courtesy of their defense and special teams.

Subtract those 21 points and things become much closer between the two offenses.

I like their receiving corp a little better than the Cowboys, but I like the Cowboys running back corp.

I think the teams are equal at TE and QB.

Subtract those 3 TDs (21 points) and add in all of Folk's missed fieldgoals (30 points) and you're getting even closer.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Subtract those 3 TDs (21 points) and add in all of Folk's missed fieldgoals (30 points) and you're getting even closer.

Even if you say Folk missed 5 FG's instead of the 10, and you gave the Cowboys just 15 points instead of the 30... You're looking at a point comparison that is pretty close. Certainly close enough to say that one offense isn't any more prolific than the other IMO.

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

I think banking on Free as a LT would be too risky for what should be a SB caliber team. Id take 2 OL w/ the first 3 picks.

Factoring in where our pick is right now our draft board is something like-

1. Anthony Davis-OL
2. Earl Thomas-FS
3. Bruce Cambell-LT
4. Mike Lupati-OL

And Id take Joe Haden if he were there. Hes a hard hitting CB/FS w/ a good frame and instincts.

 

[Eskimo]

I think banking on Free as a LT would be too risky for what should be a SB caliber team. Id take 2 OL w/ the first 3 picks.

Factoring in where our pick is right now our draft board is something like-

1. Anthony Davis-OL
2. Earl Thomas-FS
3. Bruce Cambell-LT
4. Mike Lupati-OL

And Id take Joe Haden if he were there. Hes a hard hitting CB/FS w/ a good frame and instincts.

The chances that any of those guys are going to be better than Free is next season are very remote. It takes awhile to develop strength, refine technique, learn schemes and adapt to the speed of the pro game.

If you want to argue that we should draft OL to improve depth and hopefully yield some starters for 2011 season, I can support that.

 

[theogt]

The chances that any of those guys are going to be better than Free is next season are very remote. It takes awhile to develop strength, refine technique, learn schemes and adapt to the speed of the pro game.

If you want to argue that we should draft OL to improve depth and hopefully yield some starters for 2011 season, I can support that.

No kidding. There's no way you're going to have a 20 year old kid playing left tackle in the pros.

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

Anthony Davis is already way stronger than Free.

Oh hed have some mental mistakes, and get spun by Dwight Freeney. But hes a pro-bowler w/ elite physical tools.

You can pretty much plug Davis anywhere as a rookie and give Free a shot a LT. If he fails go to the rookie.

A few rookies have played well their first year. Clady, Thomas, Blindside

 

[TheSport78]

Anthony Davis is already way stronger than Free.

Oh hed have some mental mistakes, and get spun by Dwight Freeney. But hes a pro-bowler w/ elite physical tools.

You can pretty much plug Davis anywhere as a rookie and give Free a shot a LT. If he fails go to the rookie.

A few rookies have played well as rookies. Clady, Thomas, Blindside

I can second this. I used to intern with Rutgers' strength program and I was doing this core exercise with Anthony Davis. He basically did a sit-up but everytime I threw an exercise ball at him when he went down and he would throw it back at me when he came up. Let me just say this, the first time he threw the ball back at me, I literally went back probably about 10 feet and nearly knocked me over. I thought I was in a tornado ha.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Best Player Available thats not a TE or QB.

I agree. The draft isn't the only way to address the O-line.

 

[burmafrd]

Get a LT or frankly any good tackle in FA and you spend money just like for Bigg.

Just like speed and quickness is not everything for a LT, same for strength and technique. You need ALL of it to be a top LT. Quickness in your footwork is probably the biggest factor, then ability to maintain balance as you move, then strength to fight off the bull rushes. Technique can take the place of strength to a certain extent.

Oh and the idiot that said just becaue brewster is 6'4" he cannot play tackle is a true moron. WHAT MATTERS is how long the arms are and how you set up. I mean think about it- 2" matters HOW MUCH on the O line?

I mean if that was the Case then Romo and Brees should not be allowed to play QB- they are both several inches shorter then most of the top players at that position.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I agree. The draft isn't the only way to address the O-line.

If you're suggesting free agency then you may want to consider the fact that if the CBA is not extended the ability to sign free agents is going to change a great deal for those clubs that have success in the playoffs.

 

[Eskimo]

They're scoring 6 points more a game because our redzone offense hasn't been good this season, for various reasons. I don't think that has anything to do with our talent level or our coaching, it's just a fluke occurrence that won't bear out over the next several years. In 2007, we had almost identical points per game as San Diego does this season. I don't think anyone would say that our 2007 offense was any better than this 2009 offense.

This redzone deficiency hasn't been due to a lack of "explosiveness" in the offense.

I think SD is just starting to click now.

They moved the ball with great ease on us, especially in the second half of the game.

They ripped through Cincinnati when they needed to.

They just absolutely demolished Tennessee which had been on a role.

They score a high number of points against good defenses. I suspect a more thorough analysis account for defensive strength of opponents will show they have been much more potent than us in the second half of the season since they began to click.

We haven't scored more than 24 points in the last 7 weeks. All of our 30+ point outbursts came against teams without stellar defenses - none of them ranking better than 20th in the league in scoring defense:

Tampa 28th
KC 30th
NYG 26th
Oak 25th
Sea 23rd
Atlanta 20th

If you look at all the teams in the top 10 in the league (GB, Den) in scoring defense we have only averaged only 8.5 ppg [the overall average of these teams is 19 ppg]

If you look at the mid-pack that we played (SD, Carolina, Philly, Wash, NO) we have averaged 14,8 ppg [the overall average of these teams is 20.7 ppg]

If you look at teams 20th or worse (Atl, Sea, Oak, NYG x 2, KC) n the league we have averaged 30.6 ppg. [the overall average of this group is 24.7 ppg]

We have an offense that doesn't score many points against middle of the pack defenses. It practicallly disappears altogether against the better scoring defenses. OTOH we put up big numbers against teams with the worst scoring defenses. We are lucky that we have only had to face two of the top ten scoring defenses.

If you look at SD against the top 10 scoring defenses (Bal 26, Pit 28, Den 23 and 32, Dal 20, Cin 27) we see that they have played them 6 times and scored an average of 26 ppg.

So we score 8.5 ppg against good defenses and they score 26 ppg against good defenses.

If you think our offense is as good as theirs at putting points on the board you are looking through silver-and-blue glasses and drinking Garrett's Kool-Aid. They score 17.5 more ppg against good defenses than we do. The only thing that hasn't exposed Garrett's mediocrity more is his ability to score against bad defenses. If we had to play more top tier defenses, Garrett would have lost his job at the end of the year.

 

[jobberone]

I agree. The draft isn't the only way to address the O-line.

It's not the only way. It's the least expensive way though. And the preferred way.

 

[TheSport78]

It's not the only way. It's the least expensive way though. And the preferred way.

Especially when you're dishing out very high salaries to Gurode, Flozell and Bigg