Good afternoon StormCloud family!
We finally made it to a day where we are going to see our Los Angeles Chargers play football after 201 days of waiting patiently to see how Jim Harbaugh’s team looks in Year 2. Despite being a fan for almost 20 years years I’m still usually caught off-guard by how quickly time passes between the start of camp and the first preseason game. However this year in particular has really snuck up on me due to the Bolts being selected for the very first preseason game: the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.
Our Bolts have played in two Hall of Fame games before tonight, both of them as San Diego Chargers. The last time they played in the preseason opener was in 1994 when they lost 21-17 to the Atlanta Falcons and subsequently lost their next three games. That 0-4 record turned into regular season results as the Bolts went 11-5 and made it all the way to their only Super Bowl appearance. Here’s hoping that a similar path is followed this time around.
However their first appearance in Canton was absolutely not a game we will want to see emulated. Their 1980 debut appearance in the Hall of Fame game was historic for all the wrong reasons as the bolts tied 0-0 with Green Bay Packers in a bizarre set of circumstances where the weather forced the game to be abandoned with over five minutes left in the fourth quarter as reported in the LA Times the following morning:
The Chargers will have welcomed the news that they were given the honor of a 4th preseason game. Some teams, like the other team in Los Angeles, wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about the prospect as Sean McVay’s disdain for the warm up games is rooted in what he deems as unnecessary injury risk. That is not the stance of Jim Harbaugh and his staff. One of the enigmatic head coach’s many slogans is “competitors welcome” and the influence of that attitude has clearly trickled down to the players and staff who all seem overtly excited to play.
Most of the players who have been speaking at the podium in recent weeks will be forced to wait at least another week to see the field as Jim Harbaugh has confirmed that the following players will not be dressed for the game:
- Justin Herbert
- Quentin Johnston
- Ladd McConkey
- Rashawn Slater
- Joe Alt
- Mehki Becton
- Bradley Bozeman
- Derwin James
- Khalil Mack
- Denzel Perryman
- Daiyan Henley
- Tarheeb Still
- Donte Jackson
- Benjamin St-Juste
- Alohi Gilman
- Elijah Molden
- Teair Tart
The Hall of Fame game is often lacking star power, some teams even opt to rest all of their backups and fill the starting spots with third or even fourth string which often turns a game a lot of people are excited to see into a sloppy mess. I do not envision the Chargers following that mantra as the make up of their 90 man off-season roster means that they are looking for players to step up into roles across all three phases of the game.
The Chargers pride themselves on the fact that undrafted players have a real chance of making the team. In fact between 1998 and 2019 one made the 53-man roster. That’s 22 seasons of proof that this organisation presents opportunities for those overlooked players and despite Joe Hortiz deliberately building a deep roster, there are certainly chances for roster bubble guys to push incumbent players for spots for the upcoming season. The extra pre-season game is presents a huge opportunity for the guys on the roster bubble in more ways than you’d think as Jesse Minter highlighted in front of the media.
“It’s a major advantage for guys, it’s an extra set of game reps that all 31 other teams [will look at]” Minter begun, “I’m sure it’s the most watched preseason game as everyone is just ready to watch football. It’s film that’s out there in every team’s building after Thursday that the scouts are looking at, the GMs are looking at. It’s a great opportunity for guys who are looking to push their way up the pecking order”
jesse minter on the hall of fame game
The opposition: Detroit Lions
- Head Coach: Dan Campbell
- Major changes since 2024: lost both coordinators; OC Ben Johnson went to the Chicago Bears and DC Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets.
- Offensive Coordinator: John Morton
- Stylistic approach: Morton will look to build on Ben Johnsonโs highโpowered offense which emphasizes formations manipulation and varying motions before the snap with the aim of isolating playmakers to make aggressive downfield shots. Expect to see subtle tweaks to Johnson’s scheme, these will likely come from Morton’s background in Sean Payton and Shanahan systems.
- Defensive Coordinator: Kelvin Sheppard
- Stylistic approach: Kelvin was a long time player with the Bills, Colts, Dolphins and Giants before ending his career in Detroit. He brings familiarity with Detroitโs linebacker corps after coaching both inside and outside position groups so I’d rather expect him to emphasize physical, disciplined frontโseven play with attacking tempo and a focus on gap control. How he plays on the backend is a bit of a mystery but if he is going to carry forward Aaron Glenn’s philosophies then expect to see a tonne of man coverage which will provide a good matchup for the Bolts’ young receivers.
- Special Teams Coordinator: Dave Flipp
- Stylistic approach: Flipp is a longโtime special teams coach who won a Super Bowl ring with the Eagles in 2018. He has been with the Lions since 2021. According to reports he focuses on situational sharpness, creative punt/kick placements and using multiple return weapons. This game could be the testbed for some of his new ideas after a year of working with the new kickoff format.
- Key players: I don’t expect any starters to play, even their early round rookies Tyleik Williams and Tate Ratledge are only expected to play a couple of drives at most as they are too important to the Lions due to injuries that occurred to their positional groups at the end of last season and in preseason. It seems the Lions’ injury bug is yet to leave the building.
For most of his tenure, Campbell has opted to rest mostโif not allโof his starters during the preseason. When it comes to the high-end starters, Campbell chooses to get those players regular season ready via in-house scrimmages and joint practices.
Jeremy Reisman, Pride of Detroit
The Lions 2024 season was one of the great what-ifs of the last decade. To suffer the level of lost starters they experienced after a spectacular regular season forced everyone to ponder how far they could have gone if they had even a few less injuries.
Detroit Lions 2024 Season
- Regular season record: 15-2
- Offensive Ranking
- DVOA: 2nd
- EPA/Play: 3rd
- Defensive Ranking
- DVOA: 2nd
- EPA/Play: 6th
Storylines to watch out for from the Chargers
Preseason games are filled with false signals and this game will very likely follow that trend. Priorities are hidden, play calling tendencies are purposefully skewed and the output rarely reflects reality. That said, there are some things we can look out for as indicators of schematic directions. Let’s start off with the offense:
- Personnel groupings:
- The split between 11/12 personnel will be an early sign of how this team will look to play across the preseason. I don’t envision seeing many tells in terms of exotic packages for obvious reasons. One package I was looking forward to seeing was Greg Roman’s ‘Pony Personnel’ which is his two back sets however due to the lack of healthy running backs I highly doubt this will be featured.
- How tight the splits are:
- Last season Roman’s offense let game context dictate their splits; in close situations they’d play condensed to the hashes but when they were behind they spread out. I’m hoping to see some indication that they want to change this up a bit more. Look out for how this changes after the first 15-20 plays which is the usual range for the end of scripted sets.
- The alignment of the rookie receivers
- The trio of Tre Harris, Keandre Lambert-Smith and Oronde Gadsden II has earned a big reputation during training camp so the focus will likely be on their respective performances but that can be deceiving especially when projecting their usage across the regular season. Instead what will be key is how they are used. Greg Roman’s description of using Tre in the Z role will be particularly scrutinised.
- The QB run game
- Ever since Trey Lance was recruited this off-season I have been very curious to see if Roman has him operating as a Justin Herbert replacement or whether he will have his own section of the playbook that maximizes his athletic abilities as a runner. The fact he was selected to start over Heineke made this even more interesting. That decision wasn’t necessarily about who QB2 will be, I still firmly believe that is Taylor’s job to lose, but I see it more about what Greg Roman wants to achieve on the field which would indicate a lean towards testing how a running quarterback can affect the defenses they face.
Now for Jesse Minter’s defense. Last season he fooled me by running some of the most daring blitz packages I had ever seen from the Chargers. He attacked the Seattle Seahawks mercilessly to wonderful effect but this was all smoke and mirrors. Minter reverted back to the strong and stable base that provided a platform for his ascending players to build off of. It will therefore be hard to spot tell-tell signs of changes because even if it’s the polar opposite approach this pre-season there’s no reason to believe that will translate to aggressiveness in the regular season.
- The use of man coverage
- The Bolts used man coverage at a rate of 38.6%, the 5th lowest rate in the league. Jesse Minter stated his desire to increase that rate earlier in the off-season. This is something that should be visible as an increase in man coverage is easy to install and doesn’t give anything away schematically.
- Light box run fits
- Part of Minter’s brilliance last season was being able to fit the run from light boxes via his 5+1 method however teams will be looking to target this approach especially without the presence of Poona Ford who was able to act like a fire hydrant against double teams. The Chargers opted to get bigger in his absence, will that philosophy be upheld or will Minter move onto the next solution?
- Designated pass rushers (DPR)
- I’m not convinced we’ll see any pressure paths that will be used in the regular season nor any fire zone/replacement coverages to pair with them. However the use of DPR packages and the personnel used in them is going to reveal how the roster will be constructed beyond pre-season. If off-ball hybrid players are used on third downs at a higher rate than last season then we could be seeing a shift towards less base four and more zone blitz calls.
What I’m most excited for
Whilst there are a whole host of schematic components I will be looking out for, the most important part for me at least, will be watching the rookies put on the uniforms and become Chargers for real. For me, Omarion Hampton, Oronde Gadsden II and Jamaree Caldwell will be the three main players I’m excited to see but to see any of this draft class make a name for themselves will be an absolute joy.
For those reading this before kickoff in a few hours time, I’d love to know what you are looking forward to watching tonight?
Didn’t get into my Calgary Airbnb until nearly 8 so missed the game. Always nice to see a win, even in preseason, and a good way to celebrate Gates’ induction (I’ll be visiting Canton next month).
Sounds like some of the rooks balled out and James looked better at center than Zion. If Salyer is as improved as it sounds, Zion could be looking at a backup role.
OK, so we officially beat BFTB in game-thread comments. Too bad they were all from Smith, Kyle and myself. Hope for more participation next week
Hopefully- but some of our most active members don’t hop on for the games. Totally get it, everyone watches the game in their own way, but hopefully the site will grow a bit this year and we’ll have more participation
Really appreciate you guys being here though. I was juggling building the plug-ins needed for the new site, the baby, and the game, so I was all over the place.
The thing that is killing me with the site update right now is I’m really trying to build a sarcasm button in the text editor toolbar. It’s been my passion project for the last week and I’ve logged over 15 hours on it, and tested over 60 iterations of the plug-in. For whatever reason, it does not want to cooperate… I’m probably going to have to table it for now and continue tinkering with it as a later patch.
Thanks for the hang, Kev. But get to bed man. Or at least get more wine. Till then, my friend.
Same. Appreciate the informed insights.
A few observations on the first 2025 pre-season game:
Purchase with a nice play for his tape.
Iโm not saying this game augurs anything for the season, but itโs nice to see the team win one big.
The culture in the DB room is awesome and contagious. I saw all the DBs rallying to Purchase. Great culture. Great to see.
Derwin looked like a proud father after that play. The whole DB group raced down the sidelines to hug him. That means something. I mean, if they have that type of relationship in August, imagine what it will be like in December.
TM-B then RJ Mickens with back-to-back nice tackles. I know thereโs 3 minutes left in the game, but itโs a whole world better for them than missing those tackles.
I think the sound fundamentals are good indications of a well-coached team.
Love both coaches going for it on 4th down. ST does not need the work.
Not sure what to make about Vidal playing late in the 4th quarter.
Rice with a nice catch from a nice DJ throw
Haskins knocking 3 defenders on their ass.
Good couple of plays
Patterson and Vidal stopping their feet. At the goal line, they need to hit the line
Love the Brent Musburger stories and Waterboy was the best. But, I wish they were watching the game.
Dan looks good, by the way. Good to see him taking care of himself. Dan was my guy when I was in elementary school, so I don’t need to see him look too old…
Same on Dan. He still looks older than me, but damn if Iโm not catching up.
I know. Fuck!!!!
DJ with a lazer to Campbell for his first ever NFL throw.
Followed by a super-crappy throw.
Interested to see what the Chargers do this season. I don’t think they can get either Heinke or Lance to the PS, so they either need to keep all three or try to trade one of them.
I think DJ lands on the PS.
Good pursuit on that 3rd down stop by the D lineman – missed his number, but good hustle and angle.
Dez Fitzpatrick with a great ST tackle. Iโm sure the coaches noticed.
That matters
I know we werenโt thinking he was going to be, but Barnhartโs not the answer at center either. Interesting that there were a couple of snaps on that drive where the whole line moved before him.
He’s “developmental” so not ready to toss him out at this point. I will say that I don’t want to see him in a meaningful game this season. Not impressed with what he’s shown in this game (based on my slightly-drunken TV watch).
Haven’t seen Brenden Rice on the field yet. I know there was a lot of fan clamoring for him. He’s pretty obviously down the depth chart
Vidal looks good in space. He seeks contact, which I’m not sure is good.
Lance doing a good job of fielding lots of shit snaps
3rd string OL blowing the lions off the LOS. 5 yards before Haskins was touched.
Hines looks really confident in punt returns. There’s a lot of value in having a guy who can make the catch or get the fuck out of the way based on the punt.
Love Davis. I think he’s the better punt returner. But, impressed with what Hines has shown.
Bad throw by Lance. Can’t miss layups like that, especially in the pre-season.
I think they shouldโve let Lance sit so he didnโt end on a sour note. Plenty of snaps for Taylor and DJ.
Esp. if the goal is to swap him out before the season starts.
Don’t think Taylor is playing (he’s the emergency QB). It’s going to be DJ after Trey
Are they seriously doing emergency qb in preseason? That seems unnecessary.
Agree, but that’s what Harbaugh said. My emergency QB would be Scott Matlock.
Not sure that’s true, Mike Tirico
The โimaginationโ comes from the fact he imagines the same play is going to work this time.
Hines looking good. A few good runs in the 1st half and a good kickoff return
Rodney (who used to be a neighbor), referencing his coach “Belichick.” Major fuckup letting him go
First half:
Both lines, mixed bags. Worrisome.
ST, mixed. Missed FG, but a turnover
Passing game, positive
Running game, good, but didnโt see much Omarion.
Pass D, total positive.
Run D, some good, some bad.
Letโs see who wants to push for a roster spot in the 2nd half.
Agree:
Then weโre watching the same game.
Trey Lance has earned a sweatshirt and ball cap at half. I think weโve all seen what weโve needed to see. Well done. Letโs see what DJโs got.
One bad pass and one weird trying-to-scramble-but-ended-up-throwing-away play. Everything else was good.
I still think Heinicke is the backup, but maybe Lance nets a pick in a trade or spends the season on the roster and nets something at the end of the year. Taylor is the high-floor, low-ceiling guy you want to manage a few in-season games. Trey is the guy with the high ceiling, but the low floor is not what you want when you’re competing for a playoff spot.
KLS looking like a player. Lance delivering a strike. Bad defense, but good pitch/catch and encouraging to see KLS with a great route.
Hines also looking good.
Lance with his first bad pass.
Site stopped working. Weird.
Fisk with a nice catch. Lawrence looking good.
This site? Didn’t notice, but I’m plugging away on the staging site right now
I know it’s a WIP. I wasn’t able to post for a few minutes. Had to close the browser and re-launch.
All good Kyle.
Iโm not going to cry about giving up a 3rd and 1, or a 4th and 3, or a 4th and 1. But damn. All in the same drive?
Lions drove methodically down the field, dominating the LOS. Not a good drive for the Chargers D.
Hand was in the neutral zone on that 4th down.
IDL continuing to get pushed off the line. Hand knocked back 5 yards on that play.
IDL got pushed off the line there. Huge hole
Davis with a nice catch. Good to see that one of our 2023 WR draft picks has good hands
Allen having a 2024 Trey Lance-ish pre-season game
Jefferson is possibly the best low-key FA acquisition of the Hortiz era. Dude makes plays
The boys are cookin’!
Great pick. Secondary is going to be a strength.
Times two.
MLB trade deadline was nuts A third of the Padres’ lineup are new acquisitions, with 2/6 of their rotation was added.
Could you IMAGE if the trade deadline in football was nearly as electric?
Football is different, but I think there should be a bit more movement
I had a steak and fries last night. Said the same thing in the bathroom this morning.
Ha. I was in Japan for a month, eating far too much Kobe beef. Had very little movement, until the dam broke….
Yeah – its much harder to plug a player into a football team mid-season and have them succeed.
But I also think we’d see a lot more of it if the deadline was 4-5 weeks later. That would be really exciting.
NIKKO!!!!!!!!!
Dude’s crushing it!
How do you think JaโSir is feeling after that?
Next yearโs kickoff wrinkle: returners have to put their foreheads on a wiffle bat, spin around six times, then return the kick.
Other than the offsides, the IDL is looking good
Agreed. I know nothing of the Lionsโ 2nd string OL, but the IDL looks good so far.
Ok, Dicker. Get them out of your system now.
Hortiz didnโt bring in another K, P, or LS for camp purposes. Maybe an odd choice. Maybe not.
Great Pass by Lance. Great route/catch by KLS.
In a dream world, Lance balls out in the preseason and in Week 18 when we are sitting starters, and signs for big money to go elsewhere ๐
Netting a 3rd round pick, which we will not use on Trey McKitty’s brother.
Maniac! ๏ปฟ๐๏ปฟ
Or anyone named Tre or Trey in general.
From your keyboard to the FB godsโ ears.
FYI – In Hilton Head at the moment. Golfed all day, now into our 3rd bottle of wine.
Five minutes in, Zion not so good, Tito, great.
Agree that Zion’s snaps have been problematic
Yeah, it was that his third snap of the night didnโt reach Lance.
Lance doing a good job of making chicken salad our of Zion’s chicken shit snaps. Trey is impressive thus far. Looked like he wanted to run on that 3rd down, but didn’t see a lane and threw it away.
Haven’t noticed blocking issues?
Salyer still looks fat.
Dude ๏ปฟ๐๏ปฟ
Whilst I am excited for football in general (yes, Ryan, that whilst is for you, my friend), Iโm excited to see how Hortiz has really done at churning the bottom of the roster. If heโs done as he and we have all hoped, the first quarter or so should offer solid results. As you say, we wonโt see much scheme in this game, but we should see some individual athletic performances. I mentioned in a different post that Iโm looking forward to seeing if one of the obvious cuts playing in the 2nd half manages to make the team re-think the 53. But football again, thank the maker. Bolt Up!!!!!