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Ahh yes....training camp!! Optimism is high, it's a brand new season with new hopes and expectations!! Go Chargers!!!
Thanks for sharing Buck. I think for most fans this is a time for optimism. What I am most excited about is the organizational shift that seems to be happening. I believe that they finally got the right front office, right head coach, right assistant coaches, and right facility. With that alignment this team will trend towards consistent greatness. It may not all “happen” this year, but the seeds have been planted.
Couldn't decide if this should go here or in the Popper hopper. It landed here.
Dang, just typed this all out and got a "code" error and lost it all. I will try again.
I woke up this morning Buck to this article and had a few thoughts. Popper really seems to have a great grasp of this team and I am always excited to read his stuff.
- I am really excited to see Joe Alt get tested a ton. I think that every one of the edge rushers should be giving him tons of reps. Nothing can prepare him more than Bosa, Mack, Dupree, and TT pounding on him throughout training camp. After all, he starts his career against Maxx Crosby. If he can get his reps against that group of four, he will be ready.
- I'd like to see several of these same players testing Pipkins regularly, not just our existing group of interior players who are not representative of the types of great interior players Pipkins would be facing. Maybe Bosa can slide inside and bang on Pipkins and for that matter Zion Johnson as well.
- I am very interested and concerned as well about the third safety and feeling like that person is not currently on the roster and may not be this entire season. I have very little faith in JT Woods as he has been largely absent for two years. Tony Jefferson is coming out of retirement and prior to his retirement was mostly injured his last two seasons. I am thinking that the reason the Chargers have not brought in a more expensive player (Justin Simmons type) is that they want to keep their cap flexibility for a potential in-season trade or for any veterans released at the "53 cut".
@spanos-must-go maybe this guy makes a move at safety? Also really looking forward to seeing what Eboigbe can bring. Not saying he's Tuli but I think he may bring that hard-working mindset....a lunch pail guy?
@buck-melanoma Championship teams don't all have to be super stars. If you can lace in lunch pail guys around your superstars, you have a winning team and organization. I am all for Justin Eboigbe being one of those guys.
Thank you for this Buck! Glad we’re cranking up for the new season.
My biggest concern for the new season is offensive playcalling. Roman can certainly crank up a run game, but I have my doubts about the passing game. I mean, we have Herbie, who is a big reason for Harbaugh taking the HC job. I refuse to believe that Harbaugh is going to park Herbie in neutral for large parts of a game. I mean, a strong run game is very important and welcome seeing it. But Harbaugh is not going to let Herbie become a game manager like Trent Dilfer.
I saw the Mark Harmon documentary of Harbaugh during Michigan’s 2017 season. I don’t even remember the OC’s name because all the big, dramatic downs were passing downs and Pep Hamilton, the team’s passing game coordinator, was in charge of those play calls. It truly looked like play calling by committee. If that’s how Harbaugh is going to handle the passing game on passing game downs, we have to look closer at Marcus Brady and Mark Tresman, along with the WR coach Sanjay Lal.
I’m all for a strong run game and Herbie not having to throw 40-50 passes a game (even though he can do that). I’d be totally happy with Herbie throwing the ball 30 times with a line of 25-30, 280 yards, 3 TDs, and a strong run game. In fact, I’d love this.
@unclejammsarmy Yes, my reservations were very high when they initially brought Roman on board. But what gave me some relief is that Herbert is the best overall QB he’s free been able to work with in his career. Roman will be able to a lot of different things on offense.
I really think it’s gonna be situational and week-to-week based on the opponent. There will be games where Herbert is asked to carry the offense. There will also be games where there will be heavy emphasis ok the ground.
I'm very excited about how this coaching staff executes a customized game week-to-week. It’s gonna be very interesting.
@lfg_boltz Also, I don't think Harbaugh left Michigan with an eye to come here to turn Herbert into Mark Sanchez. If Roman is not utilizing Herbert's skill set to it's full potential he will be gone. I would be shocked if this offense looked exactly like it did in SF and Baltimore.
@evolz3737 agreed. He’ll definitely be gone if they’re not maximizing Herbert’s abilities. However, the general theme is a ground-and-pound style to setup the play action.
At the same time, for the first time since the Marty Schottenheimer days I have confidence that this coaching staff is competent enough to make the proper week-to-week adjustments to customize their offensive game plan. The goal is to win, and if Hebert doesn’t need to put up crazy stats to win the game they will be fine with it.
@unclejammsarmy I want balance and domination. I think....I hope.... that will get tailored appropriately to the opponent. One thing I feel certain about....if something isn't succeeding it will get addressed.
In not so wonderful news:
Chargers LB Junior Colson lands on non-football illness list
One Chargers rookie isn’t quite ready to start practicing at training camp yet.
The NFL’s daily transaction wire brings word that the team has placed linebacker Junior Colson on the non-football illness list. The specific reason for the move is not know, but Colson will not be eligible to practice with the team until he’s activated from the list. That activation can come at any time.
Colson played for new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and was taken by the Chargers in the third round in April.
The Chargers will hold their first training camp practice next Wednesday, so Colson may be cleared to get on the field before missing any time.
@spanos-must-go Dang. The rain seems to be starting early on this parade. Hope it's nothing too serious.
Is it me or do the Chargers seem to use this designation more often than most teams? JT Woods, Corey Linsley, and now Junior Colson.
The NFI list is defined by the NFL as follows:
The Non-Football Injury or Illness list (NFI) is similar to the PUP list, but it is used for players who suffered injuries or ailments outside of NFL activities. Players who begin the season on NFI (as of cutdowns to 53-man rosters) can be activated after the team has played its first four regular season games.
Colin Cowherd just predicted that they are going to pursue Brandon Aiuk. He proposed they’d give up either Bosa or Mack due to their surplus of Edge defenders. While I don’t believe the Niners would agree with a simple swap of Aiuk & Bosa/Mack, I believe some low draft capital thrown in by the Chargers could work. This is something I’d do.
@lfg_boltz I don't believe I would, nor do I believe we have a surplus of edge rushers. We have 2 with significant injury histories and another who is 33 yrs old. Given the less than optimum CB situation, a stout pass rush is going to be needed to offset. Plus Mack and Bosa are good run defenders and our IDL is not a strength....at least not proven.
Everything can't be "fixed" in one year. I believe the receiving corps can prove adequate, if not more, for 2024.
@buck-melanoma I hear you. Your points are very reasonable & I can honestly see both sides of the argument.
@lfg_boltz and I can see the attraction of this addition to the WR room. Just not sure it's the right move to make at this point in rebuilding this roster.
@lfg_boltz I have seen at least 10-articles in the last three-months maybe more about Brandon Aiyuk being unhappy with his deal and wanting to be traded. I would say that almost every article has the Chargers being a good destination based on the perceived "weak" receivers' room and the available cap space. What I don't like about this type of trade is that it costs draft capital and absorbs a big chunk of cap space. If the draft capital is low enough, then the cap hit might be palatable. The bigger issue here is that we just burned a 2023 first round pick on Quentin Johnston and at this point he may not crack our starting lineup. If I am Harbaugh and Hortiz, I would only make a trade like this if I had already agreed that QJ will never live up to his draft status.
I would also agree with Buck that we are deep at edge, but with the caveats that he mentioned. Bosa is trending significantly in the wrong direction on his early season injuries and Mack is really close to having a date with Father Time. We could be thin at that position quickly. I also think with that stacked room that the Chargers will be drafting an edge rusher early in next year's draft.
@spanos-must-go good points. It’s probably important to let the Quentin Johnston experiment play out before making a move like this. I just didn’t see anything at all last season that provided any optimism on what’s to come with QJ. Terrible hands & terrible route running. Two things that are critical at his position. I hope I’m wrong, but he seems like a bust to me, which is why I’m already looking past it.
@lfg_boltz I think that we all have our fingers crossed on him stepping up. Considering the three receivers drafted all around him having fantastic rookies seasons it is amazing that Telesco may have completely missed on this pick to a point that we have a gaping hole that will need to be filled. We have a phrase at the company that I work at, "if you are going to lose, then lose early".
@lfg_boltz I said this about the idea of an Aiyuk trade on Twitter:
I think Aiyuk is an ascending player who could be very good paired with a QB like Herbert. I just can't really see it happening given the similar-ish role McConkey can play for an Offense, plus the disciplined moves the team has made to get the cap back under control. I'd prefer to let things play out for the timebeing and not make a splashy move like this before the season.
@alisterlloyd yes, I agree about Tee Higgins. I also mentioned him in another Chargers fan site. The reason I’d lean more towards Aiyuk is because he’s a better run blocker than Tee, something that’ll be a focal point in this new Chargers’ offense. But your point about Brandon being a comp to Ladd is a valid one. I do believe believe Ladd is gonna be a good NFL player, but we still haven’t seen him at the professional level just yet.
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