FuzzyLumpkins
The Boognish
- Messages
- 36,574
- Reaction score
- 27,859
Well i just rewatched the first half. I replayed each down to the point where i felt I had a good idea of what happened, who was involved and why the outcome took place. i didn't chart it because I was trying to get an idea of how players were doing and so for the most part am going to go player by player and give what my thought on each. A few things before that though.
First, the team was set up to fail particularly the defense. They held out key starters, put people in places they were not used to and gave them a baptism by fire. OTOH, the Chargers wanted the game a lot more. Watching the Chargers starters pancake Coleman as he finally gets away from the guard to try and look for the football and you could see what was going to be a long day for the defense.
This game is also a clinic on why line play is so important in the NFL. When your interior OL are physically dominant, it is much easier for your backs to step up and handle any trash in pass protection. On the flip side when your DT cannot hold the point of attack even under single blocking then not only do you have the extra blockers coming into the second level but you also have your DTs coming too. Our LBers struggled to find fits all game long and it was almost comedic seeing them run into each other trying to adjust to the DT that were coming backward at them.
i do not have the all-22 for this so my ability to see certain things is limited especially deep down field. Now for obvious reasons that is going to make it hard to get a complete picture of what say the WR are doing. That being said, the telecast shot was much wider than it has been in the past. They widened the shot so that you could see the tailback on one end and the safety be he 15 yards deep on the other end at the snap. You can at least see formations and you can even see deep ins and the like. Typical telecasts say on Fox give you an inferior angle right behind the LBers. i really like this wide angle and hope that it becomes standard.
the officiating for defensive holding was a bit much. Can we have incidental contact back?
Brandon Weeden - i stand by my initial assessment. He handled the rush much better. Which is to say he looked for it. One thing I did notice is he seemed to bring his awareness in if that makes any sense. In the scrimmmage I got the impression that he got locked in downfield. In this game he seemed to not see things downfield as well. Twice he missed Escobar open deep on the same side of the field and instead he read and threw to short on the same side of the field. i am okay with this for two reasons though. First, he is the backup and the conservative bus driver role is just fine. Further, he is adjusting his game as he gains experience. that is a good sign from a player development standpoint. he does see ghosts.
Tyron Smith - He wasn't challenged. When the OLB tried to get upfield he just rode him down the line. In the run game he was key in mauling the Chargers defensive front.
Bernadeau - He was pretty good but not perfect. One thing i was worried about when they moved him from RG was that we would lose the FredMack combo block that they used to great effect in the second half of 2013. i am pleased to announce that it is back on the menu for the left side. They basically shoved Lissemore into the ILB at will. It was impressive. He was spotty in his pass protection. He allowed a move onto his outside shoulder and allowed essentially a free rusher. He has had issues with guys crossing his face like that with quickness before. He was also the backup center. For the most part he did well. There was a bad QB/C exchange that screwed up a running play but for the most part he helped establish that front to step into an offense needs.
Travis Frederick - He is the second part of that combo and its a doozy. Moreso in pass protection he anchors the middle in a manner the QB and RB have to love. He just doesn't give and his feet and hands pick up the chaff. His strength is incredible. The Chargers DT could not move him. This offensive front will do what it wills behind the play of this man. He did have a stunt that came from the far end all the way to his left shoulder that came through clean forcing a throwaway. I do not know the overall blocking assignments to say it was his fault for certain but he was in position but was turned to his right to deal with Lissemore crashing the A gap on his other side.
Zach Martin - Wow. and this guy is a rookie too. Wow. Well lets see. Those combo blocks i was talking about earlier asked Zach to turn and drive his man up and next to the NT but a little upfield. When its done correctly you end up with a wall running perpendicular to the los that cuts off weakside pursuit as well as reestablish the los. Well Martin does things correct. When I am watching guards that is what I look for: drive and turn and he has got it. I was concerned that his power would not translate to the inside. I was wrong to worry. The man can drive block like a pro. On one play he had Fred and Martin just get low and plowed straight ahead. The LOS does what they want it to. I love it. He got to a block easily on the second level to snuff a SILB 3 yards upfield and when he gets his hands on you in pass protection its over for your rush. He latches on settles his feet, sits down and your rush is going nowhere. If he stays healthy, he is going to be special.
Doug Free - Remember that wall effect from the zone blocking i was talking about? Well they moved it down the line a bit so to speak on one play. Martin turned his guy and Free was supposed to do what Martin did but grab the OLB and desposit his man next to the DE. Well the Chargers had been getting destroyed in the run so they were crowding the los so as to not get trapped behind their own man. He was a bit slow out of his stance and didnt get a good lock on his target before the Chargers were jumping out over the play and he ended up on his butt. Now in fairness we had run this play 3 times to this point just from different areas from the line. He was not set up to succeed and that is a central theme for some players for this game. Doug Free is what he is. He is not overly powerful and when he gets faced with serious power and out of position he has issues recovering whereas Martin, Smith and to a lesser extent Fred can simply power through. He is solid in pass protection and very good at finding LB on the second level. His mobility is still on display and he wasn't getting his feet crossed in pass protection although I did not see him face a hard inside counter. He is doing okay but with the development of Bern and Leary he is by far our weakest linemen. This line has come a long way.
Gavin Escobar - First as to his blocking. he put in work this offseason and is thicker in the bubble and upper body. its translating onto the field. He was a tenacious blocker and I noticed that las tyear when he latched onto Kiwanuka and rode him on stretch play. Kiwa was not pleased. As to the 2014 version, he has long arms and he is good with them to get his hands inside. He is stronger now so he can hold on and sit down better than he could before. Now mind you he isn't driving and while he sustains the block its clear that he yet lacks the power to finish his blocks. He fights hard to sustain. Against SD 2's he did get a bit better push playing as the F-back running off tackle. As long as you don't ask him to lead on a pull outside he will be fine. He looked surprisingly competent in pass protection. Did a good job maintaining his base and sliding his feet contending with a blitzing OLB. The Y sometimes ends up pass protecting the edge in this offense. All too often you see Hanna or Witten lose their balance and allow the rusher to ride him. It was only a single play but he almost looked polished doing it. His routes are crisp. He was breaking in and out at the short yard and intermediate and was getting consistent separation. Weeden didn't do the best job seeing him but Escobar has clearly raised his game. LB cannot cover him if he continues to move in space like that.
James Hanna - As Escobar has raised his blocking so has Hanna. Yes he had that poor showing in pass protection which belies that but I maintain. Undoubtedly he needs to do a better job when he sets up in pass protection so as to have done it before the rush gets there. OTOH, as an inline blocker Hanna was demonstrating newfound power caving in the defensive line. He was showing marked power against SD's OLB. He was getting separation out of his breaks in the short routes he was asked to run. the play he made deep helping out a scrambling Weeden that netted a TD in the back of the endzone was nice. Romo looks for plays like that too when escaping the rush.
Terrence Williams - The Chargers don't have big corners. Jammer is no more and their sole CB over 6' is 191 lbs. Williams is not like Dez or Harris attacking when run blocking. We also did not show the screen game with the 1s which would have tested him more sorely. We did run a lot though. I thought he did a decent job. He uses his long arms to advantage and he was able to latch onto these smaller corners. He also moves well in space to make contact.
Linehan likes to attack all over the field. He wants WR running the deep in and out at various levels. This is going to test Williams as he runs the in. This is why the NFL doesn't like body catchers. he did not body catch at all and he attacked the ball on the deep in for a nice completion this game. This bears to watch as the season progresses. I want to see him work inside.
Dwayne Harris - I am interested to see what Linehan has planned for Harris. He is now built a bit like a dump truck with that lower body but he still runs so well. if they do not use him for screens they are crazy and it appears Linehan is going to utilize that blocking power on the perimeter as he did in the scrimmage. That was not on display for us this game.
This was only a cup of coffee for him this day. There is of course that nice route on the slant which he dropped. That is somewhat troubling. Outside of that he wasn't really called on at the poa.
Cole Beasley - They did run off tackle towards Beasley once and he held on. These are not great run corners on the Chargers. I think the Chargers run defense is atrocious now that i have gone through this. Beasley has his role and he is going to be good at it. He does the in and out and has the juke counter going either way. Many defenders are going to have to guess what he is doing. 3rd and 7 is going to be easier this year.
I actually like what Linehan is doing. Have our big and/or quick receivers break routes at depths all over the field and while the defenders are figuring that out leave the option of running backs underneath at different widths. Its much more difficult to defend all that then the mindless go routes and posts with the RB into the flat like we saw about half the time last year. its what Manning did against us in Denver.
Now I am not going to hammer previous coaching efforts from before. They didn't have what they do now. I don't know if Dez could have handled this before but he is ready now and watch out NFL.
If this game is any indication we will be an inside running team. Even when we ran off the edge it was tight off tackle. it made it easier for the F and H backs to get home. I mentioned Escobar having success at the F on the second team earlier. They are easier blocks to make. The offense looks really good and Linehan deserves a lot of credit.
Joseph Randle - Where was this guy last year? this is more like I saw in college. Quick and decisive got him to the line quickly and when a block was missed he repeatedly showed moves to juke the extra defender. He is running aggressively as opposed to the defensive trash we saw last year. He played hard and with confidence. He was effective assisting in pass protection which was easy early but he had to step up when things got a bit shaky with the second unit.
Jeremy Parnell - Now I am not going to say that he played well but I will say that i thought he played better. i remember that guy bounding out of his stance from a couple of years ago but he still hasn't shown up. He still is sluggish as opposed to that guy but he was not as slow setting up as he was a week ago. He still has long arms and he uses them good effect to steer defenders where he will. He looked better and that had me thinking: it not about where you start but where you finish. He has gotten hurt early in camp before and he wouldn't be the first player to bide his time a little bit. i'm looking at you Flozell. i think this bears watching and I am going to keep an eye on him. I will also say that while Weeden felt pressure at times, I am not so certain it was there. The rollout right for a TD saw a nice pocket setup on the left side for example. It was clear Weeden had much less confidence in the 2nd line as one might expect.
Ronald Leary - First play from scrimmage hes out there and he hardly appears to get out of his stance as he fails to block the DE who shuts Randle down for a loss. I have no idea what that was. He appeared to settle down after that. Watching him pass block he is so aggressive. Not like Phil Costa diving at guys but if you come at him at all he steps right into you and tries to maul you. I used to worry about him versus elite 3T and of course i still do but not quite so much anymore. He really likes to punch and shove and knock guys over and hes good at it. I want to see him on the 1's some.
Uche Nwaneri - Let me say this first. If he started for the Jaguars for the past 5 years or whatever it was, it shows how talent poor that team has been. He flat out cannot anchor. He gives ground to seemingly every DL. Now with that being said, he does have some qualities that make it so you can live with him in a pinch. While he gives ground, he doesn't miss blocks. He is pretty strong upper body and you cannot push him around. In pass protections, the rips and clubs and spins and all that don't work on him. You have to drive him. He is a consistent speed bump. He is really good at moving in space and he can get onto smaller LBs and the like on the second level. You could do a lot worse at your 4th guard.
John Wetzel - First offensive play for the second unit is a run off right tackle. At the snap of the ball, the OLB rushes upfield. Wetzel rises up out of his stance takes his 6.7" frame and just seems to engulf the defender as he drives him to the turf. Meet John Wetzel, Mr. OLB. I'm a fan. Big human being with thick trunk torso and bubble. Arms are long but not real long. He's low cut and wide. He can lean into a rusher with that base. He has real quick feet and can slide well. This is his second year and he came in the middle of last season. More snaps please.
First, the team was set up to fail particularly the defense. They held out key starters, put people in places they were not used to and gave them a baptism by fire. OTOH, the Chargers wanted the game a lot more. Watching the Chargers starters pancake Coleman as he finally gets away from the guard to try and look for the football and you could see what was going to be a long day for the defense.
This game is also a clinic on why line play is so important in the NFL. When your interior OL are physically dominant, it is much easier for your backs to step up and handle any trash in pass protection. On the flip side when your DT cannot hold the point of attack even under single blocking then not only do you have the extra blockers coming into the second level but you also have your DTs coming too. Our LBers struggled to find fits all game long and it was almost comedic seeing them run into each other trying to adjust to the DT that were coming backward at them.
i do not have the all-22 for this so my ability to see certain things is limited especially deep down field. Now for obvious reasons that is going to make it hard to get a complete picture of what say the WR are doing. That being said, the telecast shot was much wider than it has been in the past. They widened the shot so that you could see the tailback on one end and the safety be he 15 yards deep on the other end at the snap. You can at least see formations and you can even see deep ins and the like. Typical telecasts say on Fox give you an inferior angle right behind the LBers. i really like this wide angle and hope that it becomes standard.
the officiating for defensive holding was a bit much. Can we have incidental contact back?
Brandon Weeden - i stand by my initial assessment. He handled the rush much better. Which is to say he looked for it. One thing I did notice is he seemed to bring his awareness in if that makes any sense. In the scrimmmage I got the impression that he got locked in downfield. In this game he seemed to not see things downfield as well. Twice he missed Escobar open deep on the same side of the field and instead he read and threw to short on the same side of the field. i am okay with this for two reasons though. First, he is the backup and the conservative bus driver role is just fine. Further, he is adjusting his game as he gains experience. that is a good sign from a player development standpoint. he does see ghosts.
Tyron Smith - He wasn't challenged. When the OLB tried to get upfield he just rode him down the line. In the run game he was key in mauling the Chargers defensive front.
Bernadeau - He was pretty good but not perfect. One thing i was worried about when they moved him from RG was that we would lose the FredMack combo block that they used to great effect in the second half of 2013. i am pleased to announce that it is back on the menu for the left side. They basically shoved Lissemore into the ILB at will. It was impressive. He was spotty in his pass protection. He allowed a move onto his outside shoulder and allowed essentially a free rusher. He has had issues with guys crossing his face like that with quickness before. He was also the backup center. For the most part he did well. There was a bad QB/C exchange that screwed up a running play but for the most part he helped establish that front to step into an offense needs.
Travis Frederick - He is the second part of that combo and its a doozy. Moreso in pass protection he anchors the middle in a manner the QB and RB have to love. He just doesn't give and his feet and hands pick up the chaff. His strength is incredible. The Chargers DT could not move him. This offensive front will do what it wills behind the play of this man. He did have a stunt that came from the far end all the way to his left shoulder that came through clean forcing a throwaway. I do not know the overall blocking assignments to say it was his fault for certain but he was in position but was turned to his right to deal with Lissemore crashing the A gap on his other side.
Zach Martin - Wow. and this guy is a rookie too. Wow. Well lets see. Those combo blocks i was talking about earlier asked Zach to turn and drive his man up and next to the NT but a little upfield. When its done correctly you end up with a wall running perpendicular to the los that cuts off weakside pursuit as well as reestablish the los. Well Martin does things correct. When I am watching guards that is what I look for: drive and turn and he has got it. I was concerned that his power would not translate to the inside. I was wrong to worry. The man can drive block like a pro. On one play he had Fred and Martin just get low and plowed straight ahead. The LOS does what they want it to. I love it. He got to a block easily on the second level to snuff a SILB 3 yards upfield and when he gets his hands on you in pass protection its over for your rush. He latches on settles his feet, sits down and your rush is going nowhere. If he stays healthy, he is going to be special.
Doug Free - Remember that wall effect from the zone blocking i was talking about? Well they moved it down the line a bit so to speak on one play. Martin turned his guy and Free was supposed to do what Martin did but grab the OLB and desposit his man next to the DE. Well the Chargers had been getting destroyed in the run so they were crowding the los so as to not get trapped behind their own man. He was a bit slow out of his stance and didnt get a good lock on his target before the Chargers were jumping out over the play and he ended up on his butt. Now in fairness we had run this play 3 times to this point just from different areas from the line. He was not set up to succeed and that is a central theme for some players for this game. Doug Free is what he is. He is not overly powerful and when he gets faced with serious power and out of position he has issues recovering whereas Martin, Smith and to a lesser extent Fred can simply power through. He is solid in pass protection and very good at finding LB on the second level. His mobility is still on display and he wasn't getting his feet crossed in pass protection although I did not see him face a hard inside counter. He is doing okay but with the development of Bern and Leary he is by far our weakest linemen. This line has come a long way.
Gavin Escobar - First as to his blocking. he put in work this offseason and is thicker in the bubble and upper body. its translating onto the field. He was a tenacious blocker and I noticed that las tyear when he latched onto Kiwanuka and rode him on stretch play. Kiwa was not pleased. As to the 2014 version, he has long arms and he is good with them to get his hands inside. He is stronger now so he can hold on and sit down better than he could before. Now mind you he isn't driving and while he sustains the block its clear that he yet lacks the power to finish his blocks. He fights hard to sustain. Against SD 2's he did get a bit better push playing as the F-back running off tackle. As long as you don't ask him to lead on a pull outside he will be fine. He looked surprisingly competent in pass protection. Did a good job maintaining his base and sliding his feet contending with a blitzing OLB. The Y sometimes ends up pass protecting the edge in this offense. All too often you see Hanna or Witten lose their balance and allow the rusher to ride him. It was only a single play but he almost looked polished doing it. His routes are crisp. He was breaking in and out at the short yard and intermediate and was getting consistent separation. Weeden didn't do the best job seeing him but Escobar has clearly raised his game. LB cannot cover him if he continues to move in space like that.
James Hanna - As Escobar has raised his blocking so has Hanna. Yes he had that poor showing in pass protection which belies that but I maintain. Undoubtedly he needs to do a better job when he sets up in pass protection so as to have done it before the rush gets there. OTOH, as an inline blocker Hanna was demonstrating newfound power caving in the defensive line. He was showing marked power against SD's OLB. He was getting separation out of his breaks in the short routes he was asked to run. the play he made deep helping out a scrambling Weeden that netted a TD in the back of the endzone was nice. Romo looks for plays like that too when escaping the rush.
Terrence Williams - The Chargers don't have big corners. Jammer is no more and their sole CB over 6' is 191 lbs. Williams is not like Dez or Harris attacking when run blocking. We also did not show the screen game with the 1s which would have tested him more sorely. We did run a lot though. I thought he did a decent job. He uses his long arms to advantage and he was able to latch onto these smaller corners. He also moves well in space to make contact.
Linehan likes to attack all over the field. He wants WR running the deep in and out at various levels. This is going to test Williams as he runs the in. This is why the NFL doesn't like body catchers. he did not body catch at all and he attacked the ball on the deep in for a nice completion this game. This bears to watch as the season progresses. I want to see him work inside.
Dwayne Harris - I am interested to see what Linehan has planned for Harris. He is now built a bit like a dump truck with that lower body but he still runs so well. if they do not use him for screens they are crazy and it appears Linehan is going to utilize that blocking power on the perimeter as he did in the scrimmage. That was not on display for us this game.
This was only a cup of coffee for him this day. There is of course that nice route on the slant which he dropped. That is somewhat troubling. Outside of that he wasn't really called on at the poa.
Cole Beasley - They did run off tackle towards Beasley once and he held on. These are not great run corners on the Chargers. I think the Chargers run defense is atrocious now that i have gone through this. Beasley has his role and he is going to be good at it. He does the in and out and has the juke counter going either way. Many defenders are going to have to guess what he is doing. 3rd and 7 is going to be easier this year.
I actually like what Linehan is doing. Have our big and/or quick receivers break routes at depths all over the field and while the defenders are figuring that out leave the option of running backs underneath at different widths. Its much more difficult to defend all that then the mindless go routes and posts with the RB into the flat like we saw about half the time last year. its what Manning did against us in Denver.
Now I am not going to hammer previous coaching efforts from before. They didn't have what they do now. I don't know if Dez could have handled this before but he is ready now and watch out NFL.
If this game is any indication we will be an inside running team. Even when we ran off the edge it was tight off tackle. it made it easier for the F and H backs to get home. I mentioned Escobar having success at the F on the second team earlier. They are easier blocks to make. The offense looks really good and Linehan deserves a lot of credit.
Joseph Randle - Where was this guy last year? this is more like I saw in college. Quick and decisive got him to the line quickly and when a block was missed he repeatedly showed moves to juke the extra defender. He is running aggressively as opposed to the defensive trash we saw last year. He played hard and with confidence. He was effective assisting in pass protection which was easy early but he had to step up when things got a bit shaky with the second unit.
Jeremy Parnell - Now I am not going to say that he played well but I will say that i thought he played better. i remember that guy bounding out of his stance from a couple of years ago but he still hasn't shown up. He still is sluggish as opposed to that guy but he was not as slow setting up as he was a week ago. He still has long arms and he uses them good effect to steer defenders where he will. He looked better and that had me thinking: it not about where you start but where you finish. He has gotten hurt early in camp before and he wouldn't be the first player to bide his time a little bit. i'm looking at you Flozell. i think this bears watching and I am going to keep an eye on him. I will also say that while Weeden felt pressure at times, I am not so certain it was there. The rollout right for a TD saw a nice pocket setup on the left side for example. It was clear Weeden had much less confidence in the 2nd line as one might expect.
Ronald Leary - First play from scrimmage hes out there and he hardly appears to get out of his stance as he fails to block the DE who shuts Randle down for a loss. I have no idea what that was. He appeared to settle down after that. Watching him pass block he is so aggressive. Not like Phil Costa diving at guys but if you come at him at all he steps right into you and tries to maul you. I used to worry about him versus elite 3T and of course i still do but not quite so much anymore. He really likes to punch and shove and knock guys over and hes good at it. I want to see him on the 1's some.
Uche Nwaneri - Let me say this first. If he started for the Jaguars for the past 5 years or whatever it was, it shows how talent poor that team has been. He flat out cannot anchor. He gives ground to seemingly every DL. Now with that being said, he does have some qualities that make it so you can live with him in a pinch. While he gives ground, he doesn't miss blocks. He is pretty strong upper body and you cannot push him around. In pass protections, the rips and clubs and spins and all that don't work on him. You have to drive him. He is a consistent speed bump. He is really good at moving in space and he can get onto smaller LBs and the like on the second level. You could do a lot worse at your 4th guard.
John Wetzel - First offensive play for the second unit is a run off right tackle. At the snap of the ball, the OLB rushes upfield. Wetzel rises up out of his stance takes his 6.7" frame and just seems to engulf the defender as he drives him to the turf. Meet John Wetzel, Mr. OLB. I'm a fan. Big human being with thick trunk torso and bubble. Arms are long but not real long. He's low cut and wide. He can lean into a rusher with that base. He has real quick feet and can slide well. This is his second year and he came in the middle of last season. More snaps please.
