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@buck-melanoma Thanks for sending the article Buck. Since you and I exchanged a bit on this subject before, I wanted to note that the inside running by Gus and the willingness to run right a bit more really exited me this week against what I understood to be a strong interior Titans D. The blocking scheme to open up the inside run were creative and worked well.
The pass pro was much better too.
The biggest weakness on the team, IOL play, looked totally different than in games past. Some of that was scheme but most of it was just more physical attacking line play. It looked better than when Pipkins has been in. Not completely sure what to make of it. Time will tell if it is actually fixed or a mirage but what I saw out of the run game and the IOL play makes me think, if it continues, this is more than just a “make the playoffs” team.
Hayden Hurst will play better too IMO. He needs some rust knocked off and the drop was tough to start the game but the way Harbaugh coaches to encourage and motivate will in my estimation have him playing better.
Love the vibe from the team right now. both sides of the ball and special teams played well for most of that game. Bodes well for the tough part of the schedule coming up. Bengals watch out.
@gbgh tough stretch coming up. Let's see how the team responds.
Could Salyer over Pipkins be the difference? Gus certainly looked like a different guy.
Herbert scrambles to the right to avoid pressure to find Hurst wide open for an easy would-be catch for a TD. We all jump to our feet in our section at the game seeing the would-be TD, but he drops it. I believe it was the only time Herbert targeted Hurst, and it could be that Herbert has lost his trust on the guy. It was an awful failed play by him. Dissly dropped a perfectly thrown ball from Herbert for a TD. Justin couldn't have placed the ball any better and away from the defender.
I do sound negative after a win, but man, our TE's continue to prove it's a big weak link. Only Herbert can make a player like Dissly to look like Jason Witten, but in ankle weights of course. I think Phillip Rivers can beat Dissly in a foot race. This team really needs a weapon at the TE position.
On a different note: In my first game back at SoFi this season yesterday, it was a very pleasant surprise to see more Bolts fans at the game than usual, and it was loud. The fans attendance seemed to have grown quite a lot from last year. You wouldn't expect such a turnout at a game against a lesser opponent but it wasn't the case on Sunday. I'm interested to know if anyone here also made the same observation at the game Sunday.
TE and center should be absolute priorities in the next draft. Also another pass rusher or 2.....Mack can't last forever and Bosa is a part-timer.
@tui1hit You’re absolutely right. I was at the game as well. There were a ton of Chargers fans, & very few Titans fans. It was loud, & a great time. I still think we’ll see some of the opposing fans for some of the higher profile teams due to LA being a tourism destination. But to your point, no doubt that the fan base is growing.
That's awesome, man. I’m surprised to see the attendance was at 68,796, just short of a sold-out game at 70,000, the SoFi’s seating capacity for a football game. It was packed with Bolts fans but it didn’t feel like it, the beauty of SoFi stadium. It doesn’t make it feels like you’re on top of each other at near or full capacity games.
I can confidently say that about 90% of it was Bolts fans as there were hardly any Titan fans in attendance like you saw it. I didn’t even see a single Titans fan in our section. We sat next to a family of six from the east coast, big time Michigan fans who just became Chargers fans following Jim Harbaugh over to the Chargers, their first NFL team to root for. They were all in Chargers color, in #10, #3 & #52 jerseys. It was awesome to meet new fans like them. But I kicked myself for failing to invite them to check out StormCloud. I’ve wondered how many new fans like these are the product of Jim Harbaugh’s hire. If this team makes the playoffs this year, it would be crazy next year and it would be difficult to get home game tickets.
Game balls from Sunday. Impressed how Dupree showed up and didn't make the bone headed plays we've seen too many of.
And Darius shows....again....that speed kills. I have zero issues maintaining a roster spot for him.
I was impressed with Salyer. Based on my eye test he lifted the IOL play beyond what Pipkins has been able to do so far. I don’t know where Pipkins will be this week on the injury report, but the OL is going to be critical the next few weeks. The best way to stop Burrow, Jackson, Cousins, Mahomes, and Mayfield? Keep the ball out of their hands. Pound that rock!
@smith I've always liked Salyer, was rather surprised when he played so well at LT but seemed to regress at RG. I realize they're 2 very different positions needing different attributes, but I wonder if it was less Salyer and more Moore?
https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/2024/11/13/chargers-week-11-wednesday-injury-report/
So Pipkins still nursing the ankle....Salyer again on Sunday?
Good to get Fulton back. Hope Mack is able to go and the rest are just dings.
Great news about Fulton. They’re going to need him the next few weeks. Would be nice if Leonard can go against Burrow and Jackson.
Mack typically gets Wednesdays off, so I’m not too worried about him… yet.
Be interested to see what they do with Pipkins/Salyer. If Pipkins is at 85%, is he better than Salyer at 100%? Or is Salyer simply better overall? I don’t know how Hardwick/Roman/Harbaugh will see it.
The critical player over the next few weeks, IMO, will be Bozeman. If that dude can somehow manage to play above average in the coming weeks, I like the team’s chances. If he’s below average, it’s going to be dicey.
I agree. Salyer looked good and Sarrell looked decent too. I rewatched the offensive snaps in the Titans game. I think in addition to the improved right guard play Tucker Fiske (TE-#42) looked fantastic blocking and Matlock continues to improve. They may have found the combination they’ve been looking for to run the ball including a healthy Gus to complement J.K. Really liked what I saw from the run game against a good interior D line last weekend. Super encouraged by how the offense continues to improve week to week.
@gbgh The odd thing about Salyer was how lost he looked in his first start this season... he kept missing calls and shifts, often going one way while the rest of the line was going the other.
I'm pretty much assuming that's why Jim/Greg were giving Foster a chance to steal the spot last week, but Salyer really stepped it up and put those focus errors behind him.
It does make me wonder if another week inactive could spell trouble for Trey when he returns. I don't think he's lost his spot yet... but if Salyer has another performance that seems to lift the tide across the whole OL, we might be looking at two former starters hitting the bench after being outperformed by their depth pieces.
I don't know enough about Harbaugh to know how he feels about this situation. I know many coaches hate for players to lose their starting spot due to injury (think about Tyrod Taylor and Lynn's refusal to admit Justin had won the job). When ASJ and Pipkins come back, we might want to brace ourselves for the coaching staff to give them a one or two week opportunity to make a case for keeping their spot, before officially getting passed up for the young bloods that have stepped up to the plate.
@kylededi There is something fishy going on with ASJ. I would not be surprised if he never suits up as a Charger again. When Harbaugh was asked about it a couple of weeks back his answer seemed odd to me. Something like when he comes back is up to him and his family. A bizarre answer if I heard correctly. I do not think he will be the starter if he does return which may be the issue underlying his absence. I am speculating so maybe I am completely off.
As for Salyer, I don't remember those issues you cite, but if he gets another shot this week and plays well again I think he starts until he falters-maybe with some Sarrell mixed in from time to time. The O line just looked so much better -- again, against a very good front. A balanced attack going into the meat of the schedule and then into the playoffs will make this team very tough to beat.
What we saw Sunday is what I was hoping we would see from this offense. It is starting to find an identity to complement the defense.
@gbgh Great call - I remember thinking the reference to ASJ's family was weird when I heard it, but totally had forgotten about it. No idea what's going on behind closed doors there.
Yeah - there were multiple instances where Salyer was coming off the ball going the wrong direction, just had a weird/off game, but definitely looks to have been corrected.
Pipkins was in with the starting O this week, so it should be interesting...
My interpretation of the remark Harbaugh made was that Asante has the type of shoulder injury where he'll have to decide if the best course of action is to have surgery now, or try play through it and delay surgery until the end of the year. Given his FA status, that's a decision he would likely make with family involvement.
Could be off the mark, but that's how I received the message.
That would be my guess also. I think the biggest reason Asante won't be back, he does not quite fit Harbaugh's secondary with his weak run support even though he's an excellent cover corner.
@alisterlloyd First off, huge congratulations on the birth of your baby. Enjoy the journey there is nothing like it!
You could well be right about ASJ. I would not be surprised if he is making a business decision in part because he does not fit in the Charger’s go forward plans. Why risk injury when you will get a big contract elsewhere after this year. His market value would drop if he came back and did not start. You saw this behavior with Adams magically healed and playing after he was traded to the Jets.
Given ASJ’s family pedigree, I find these sons of former pro players are much more focused on the $ than winning games. Again could be wrong but would not surprise me. I put Bosa in the same category. He is not the same warrior that Mack is for example.
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