We’ve just released Episode 126 of the Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast.
Our synopsis is below:
A Herculean Justin Herbert willed his team to victory on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. With 0:36 remaining in Q4 – and the Chargers trailing by 1 point – Herbert managed to either shake off or evade multiple would-be tacklers and find Ladd McConkey late over the middle, on a crosser, for the 42 yd completion advancing the ball deep into Dolphins’ territory and into field goal range. The rest was history. Dicker drilled the 33-yarder and the Bolts snapped their 2-game losing streak ascending to 4-2 atop the AFC West. Join us today as we break down all the Wk 6 Chargers action before ending our show with a hearty round of “Buy, Sell, Hold!”. Don’t miss it!
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Hope you enjoy the episode! Thanks so much for listening 🙂
Alister (@TDU_Alister)
Just got around to finishing the pod. Enjoyed it, as usual.
I liked the shout outs for Eboigbe and Hines (NC State!). Eboigbe has been quite a pleasant surprise lately. Consider:
He was a healthy scratch most of last season, playing just 26 snaps in 5 games. This season, he has played in all 6 games, and his playing time is increasing… here are his snaps in games 1-6 in order: 10, 14, 12, 27, 42, 32. That is 137 snaps so far.He has also shown versatility, with 4 snaps at NT, 51 snaps at what PFF designates as ‘BGP’ (e.g., 3, 4i techniques), 33 snaps at what PFF designates as ‘OVT’ (e.g., 4, 5 techniques), and 49 snaps as an edge rusher.Eboigbe is showing exactly what I expected from him based on his college performance and draft profile. He is a good run defender and solid tackler, but he is not a good pass rusher. Hopefully he can improve that part of his game over time.He also has the 6th best PFF special teams grade and is tied for 4th on the team with 3 special teams tackles, so he has delivered extra value.
Buy/Sell/Hold:
Best WR trio with Harris instead of Johnston: Sell; I do not think Harris will be as good as Johnston in 2025Mayfield MVP candidate: Sell; agree with Al’s annoyance with early MVP talkSteelers need to beat Ravens to win AFCN: Buy; the Ravens’ schedule was incredibly front loaded and is much easier the rest of the way; when Jackson returns, the Ravens are going to be the best offense in the league the rest of the wayAFC Division leaders hold: Sell; it’s easy enough to choose Sell since only one has to hold onCoordinators not all back: Buy; Minter could get a HC job if the Chargers defense finishes the season strong; there is a non-zero chance that Harbaugh might feel compelled to change one of the othersTexans frauds: Buy; agree with Al’s takeGlenn: Sell; agree with Andy that he will return for a second year, though that could be itSkattebo out within 5 seasons: Sell; modern medicine and the money will be enough to keep him aroundSpecial Teams will be top half in PFF grade: Sell; Andy mentioned players returning from injury, but who besides Davis?Callahan firing premature and McCoy will win enough that they won’t have 2026 #1 pick: Sell; I don’t think Callahan firing was premature… that franchise is getting what it deserves since firing Vrabel
Good comments, Tau. Thanks mate.
I’m glad you elaborated on Eboigbe’s performance. I completely agree. When he was drafted I shared on our draft class breakdown pod that year what I had seen from his tape at ‘Bama. The standout feature of his game was real strength not to be knocked back off the line of scrimmage, capacity to withstand double teams, and a resolute nature as a run defender that our team had been sorely lacking.
I still think he has some ‘tweener tendencies so question his overall value as a fourth round player. He’s not quite big enough to be a true nose/run clogger at the NFL level, and his sacks are always going to be hustle plays IMO given his sub-standard get off. But he is completely adequate as a rotational player with good position versatility as you say. He can play a hard 5-tech if needed. He can slide inside further with decent effect. And those Special Teams tackles last week weren’t merely tackles, they were BONE CRUNCHING tackles. His stock is really rising after a questionable first couple of games this year. Good for him.
On the Buy, Hold, Sell props. Appreciate all your comments. The one I’m not there on yet but I’m thinking about is the 11 personnel question. I agree that Quentin Johnson is a more productive player right now. But the question is which grouping is most effective. And I think structurally, Tre Harris offers some “X” elements as a bigger possession/jump ball/vertical receiver that the others don’t. I think it’s interesting to think about anyway. We’ve heavily preferred to QJ/Ladd/Keenan so far this season. I think some (not all) of their skill sets are duplicative. I like that with Tre on the field you could throw a quick screen or swing screen to a RB his way and have him be the blocker on the perimeter. QJ is ok at this. Tre is better. I think he’s also probably the guy I’d be most comfortable with Herbert targeting 20+ yards down the sideline on an iso route.
It’s only one week. QJ has earned the right to continue to be featured. But something to monitor moving forward!
I listened earlier today. Missed the teach but was glad to get Andy back in the fold. Watching the Dolphins game in real time, I agreed with the first FG after the failed 3rd and 2, because the 3rd down play got stuffed so horribly. It would have been nice to punch it in, but I felt it was good to get some points after the turnover and coming off the two losses. Coming away empty there would have felt like a huge win for Mia. I almost agreed with all the decisions to kick. Dicker is a weapon, and I preferred not to give such an explosive offense short fields. As we saw, the defense had issues stopping them when they had to go 90 yards. Shorter fields would have been disastrous. The biggest takeaway for me from the last 3 weeks is that the defense has really let the team down when it needed big stops to either preserve the lead late or to get the offense the ball back quickly when they are in rhythm. The 3rd and long defense has been a nightmare also. There’s no way a good defense lets a 13 point lead not hold up in the 4th Q. Some blame needs to go to the offense as well. They have to at least get a few first downs to milk some clock even if they had to eventually punt. It seems to often on drives out of the half or to help milk some clock with a lead, the offense has a tendency to go 3 and out or have a short 5-6 play drive that uses no real time. The complimentary football has been crap since the Denver game. Good show as usual. Hopefully the gang is all back together for next weeks show.
I don’t think a team should ever send a kicker out for a 58yd attempt instead of going for a 4th & 2 with Herbert – no matter how good the kicker is. So that one I thought was ludicrous.
But all the others I can see why you’d make a case for taking the FG. It’s the playcall leading up to it that bothers me – and what I think is a real chance that Roman isn’t being told ahead of time what the plan is – as I explained on the show.
Defense needs to change things up on 3rd & Long, I agree. Playing deep quarters and inviting the dig route/glance has been too easy for oppposing Offenses. The pass rush just doesn’t get home quickly to enough.
Jack should be back next week for a very busy slate! Probably two games and two podcasts in a 6 day period. How fun!
Erick, I mean this with all due respect. Incorporating white space into your posts is a really good thing. Putting up 20 lines of text with no breaks makes it tougher to read.
I hear you. I was writing on my phone and on the small screen it doesn’t look as large. I usually try to use bullets or something on my laptop.
Here are a couple of Harbaugh 4th down tweets we posted on X
Twice the team had 4/2 opportunities and the 2nd time in the RZ I hated the play-calling leading up to it BUT…there’s got to be more fire to put games away in those moments and use the chance to go from up 2 scores to get to 3, instead of staying at 2 scores.
There was no need for that game to be Herbert’s 18th winning drive when it should have been a 3 score lead
I personally agree with you.
It seems a lot of fans don’t. Their argument is to ‘take the points’ and not risk going for it with a mostly back-up OL and injuries to your stronger RBs + QJ.
I’m sure some of them would feel a little differently had the Dolphins kicker not missed his FG attempt earlier in the game.
Some All-22 Clips from the Dolphins game we posted on X
Clip 1:
Clip 2:
Clip 3:
Clip 4:
Clip 5:
Clip 6: https://x.com/TDU_Chargers/status/1978216207829643449
Clip 7: https://x.com/TDU_Chargers/status/1978216853970280911
Clip 8: https://x.com/TDU_Chargers/status/1978702712523907351
Clip 9: https://x.com/TDU_Chargers/status/1978706084966682742
For those who want to play along and answer my full list of “Buy, Hold, Sells” from this week, see below. What would you do?
“The Chargers most effective WR trio in 11 Personnel is: Ladd, Keenan & Tre Harris (with QJ off the field)”
“The Steelers currently sit atop the AFC North with 4 wins v the Bengals 2 win & Ravens/Browns on 1 win.
“Baker Mayfield is your 2025 NFL MVP”
“The four leading rushers in the NFL heading into Wk 7 are Jonathan Taylor, James Cook, Bijan Robinson and Javonte Williams. If Joe Hortiz was given his choice of the bunch to join the Chargers, he would choose James Cook.”
“With the Jets currently 0-6, Aaron Glenn will be a “1 and done” Head Coach”
“One of the Chargers three coordinators will not be on the team in 2026”
“If you gave NFL GMs the choice between Brock Bowers or Tyler Warren, more than 50% would choose Tyler Warren.”
“If there was a 2025 NFL Re-Draft, Tet McMillan (27 catches, 380 yds, 2 TDs) would not last until Pick 8 (Ward, Hunter, Carter, Will Campbell, Mason Graham, Ashton Jeanty, Armand Membou were taken ahead of him)”
“The Chargers are currently PFF’s 27th ranked Special Teams. By Season’s End, they’ll have climbed to within the Top Half of the NFL.”
“Before the 4 November trade deadline, the Chargers will make another trade for an established NFL starter.”
Sell – The Chargers most effective 11 personnel at WR still has QJ at X.
Buy – Steelers winning AFCN
Sell – Mayfield MVP
Buy – Javonte (Only RB the team could actually fit with the Cap Space w/o significant restructure)
Hold – Glenn fired
Hold – Coordinators
Hold – Warren 50%+
Sell – Tet/Re-draft
Sell – ST making top 16 rankings
Sell – Trade happens but not your caveat of established starter
Thanks for the engagement, Duck!
I’m going to press you on the coordinators take. If you had to make a call, will all three still be the coordinators next season?
I could see Ryan Ficken getting canned or Minter taking a HC job whereas I think Roman isn’t going anywhere.
All that to say if forced I think we won’t have all 3 back.