Hey Stormcloud, we’re going to do a #TDUMailbag segment on the show (ahead of Wild Card Round).
If you want to ask a question that we’ll answer on the show, comment on this post.
Cheers!
Alister
Long time team fan, podcaster (with Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast), husband to a beautiful wife, friend to all fellow Chargers fanatics, and father-to-be!
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I finally felt like I could take some time to take a deep look at the Chargers roster situation now that the draft is behind us. I decided to write…
POSITIONAL BIG BOARD TOP 50 ** First Round Grade Caleb Downs- S Ohio State, 6-0, 206 ** Reuben Bain Jr- Edge Miami, 6-2, 263 ** Arvell Reese- Edge/LB…
POSITIONAL BIG BOARD INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINE ** First Round Grade Olaivavega Ioane- OG Penn State 6-4, 320 ** Keylan Rutledge- OG Georgia Tech 6-4, 316 Chase Bisontis- OG Texas…
Kliff Kingsbury for OC? He was fired today…
No Thanks. I think his offense sucks. It’s a college offense IMO. There’s a reason he got dumped after taking his offense went to the NFCCG last year. I would be all over Monken if he isn’t retained in Baltimore.
Agree on Monken generally (although you’d have to dive into and get comfortable some of the head scratching lack of RB carries in their big games from ’24-’25).
On Kingsbury – I was watching the Commanders film in the lead-up to their game against us this year and came away impressed by their versatile run game, in particular. Logan Paulson (former TE) does some great breakdowns for their channel and spoke to some minor tweaks Kingsbury was making at the time that were having great success. They then came out and totally kicked our a****.
I’m not saying he’d be my top candidate if Roman was fired. But the Commanders didn’t have their starting QB for most of this year and made the NFCCG last year. Saying his Offense sucks is pretty harsh, just my two cents!
I should have been more elaborate. I think the offensive scheme is pretty soft and would be about as far away from what Harbaugh wants to run from any coordinator.
Gotcha. Also why Mike McDaniel probably would never be of interest to Jim.
Not a question for the mailbag, but just a general question for the thread. Does anyone else think the 2022 Playoff meltdown to Jax is unfairly being used as another example of a poor Herbert playoff performance? He played terribly last year, but only after we were down and he had to try and play hero ball, but his stats in Jacksonville were not bad. 25/43 for 273 and 1TD and no picks. It isn’t Earth shattering, but it’s sure as hell good enough to win a playoff game, especially up 27-7 at half. IMO, that game is on the Staley defense who gave up 4TD and a FG on the Jags last 5 possessions.
Also, nobody has talked about it, but in that game, late in the 4th Q Dicker missed a 40 yd FG that would have probably iced it, and he had the yips last week in a playoff type atmosphere. He has a few game winners, but hasn’t had many pressure packed kicks in a playoff type atmosphere, but he’s been less than automatic in those spots. I trust him, but this can’t be ignored.
Does Ben get any reps?
https://www.chargers.com/news/ben-cleveland-5-things-to-know
Harbaugh fired today….
I wonder if that means Monken shakes loose as OC. There’s the Harbaugh connection OC that could replace Roman.
I read that the final straw was John not agreeing to sack Monken.
Crazy. Didn’t think that was going to happen. In 18 season, John was:
If he wants it, he will get one of the openings. If I’m him, I go to Atlanta or Tennessee and dominate a shitty division.
I think there’s zero chance he will take and AFC job to compete against Jim if he had his druthers. Also, we need to reconsider the AFC south a shitty division. The Texans, Jags and Colts all whipped our ass.
If you boys had to describe the Chargers’ 2025 season using a left-field analogy what would you go with. Don’t go chalk, get weird with it.
Looking forward to the show already boys.
Haha excellent
Not that I am expecting it at all but how would you guys prepare for and survive a Chargers Super Bowl appearance? I think my head would be spinning from the end of the AFC game and that I would not be able to function properly for the 2 weeks before and during the game.
And then I feel obliged as a Belgian to ask a beer question. What Australian beer(s) would you recommend to drink during a Chargers game? I will try to get my hands on it so I can try it out!
Cheers and best wishes guys!
Arne,
I was a teenager in college the last time they went and I wasn’t as dialed in as I am now, so I have thought of this scenario many times since then. I think the first week after the AFCCG I would just be on cloud 9, just soaking it all in. As the second week wound down, I would start to feel the magnitude of the game ramping up. As far as gameday, I would not be partaking in any parties or having any relatives or friends over. I would be entrenched in my man cave in the basement with my son and beer. Hopefully emerging 5 hours later drunk and happy rather than drunk and pissed!!
That sounds like a good tactical plan. My son turns 9 tomorrow so I hope I won’t be able to copy your father son ideas when the Charger’s ever reach the Super Bowl again 🙂
Good Plan
Erick V
I finished college in 1993 and had my first real corporate job (and real $). I went to Florida with two friends to see the SB. Had an amazing time in Ft Lauderdale all week. We had no tickets and planned find a scalper at the game. We were warned not to buy from sketchy dudes as there were a ton of counterfeit tickets.
We got to the game early, found lots of sketchy dudes selling tickets. My one friend was ready to buy the ($450/ea) tickets. My other friend said no fucking way he was going to give the dude that looked like he’s been sleeping outdoors for months $450. I was the swing vote.
I decided we could do some real damage at a bar with $1350, so we headed back to a Ft Lauderdale bar the Charger girls were going to be at and got gloriously drunk watching Stanley Richards get whiplash snapping his head around to watch Rice wiz past him on the way to the endzone. We probably spent a few hundred bucks, saved over a thousand (and the humiliation of being outsmarted by a homeless dude). Overall, fun week followed by a shitty game. Still a good memory.
Hahaha you have a real gift for storytelling, Kev
Haha that sounds like core memory material!
Thanks Arne! We’ll answer these 🙂
Arne, here are my three favourite ‘unknown’/craft Australian brewing companies (in order).
Not sure if any of them ship outside the country.
Andy likes mainly lagers and pale ales (Option 3 above does the best of those with recipes from the 1880s).
Jack and I are a bit more funky with our tastes and enjoy anything from sours, to dark beers, to farmhouse ales. Options 1 and 2 are great for that kind of stuff.
Let me know if end up trying any!
One question I had that could be answered now would be about roster building.
After watching Becton and Bozeman operate for an entire season, are any of you still in the camp of “scheme fit” over just acquiring the best players?
If Roman stays, do you think this roster/scheme would benefit by adding a traditional fullback/H back instead of the Matlock reclamation project?
As always, great work fellas. Can’t wait to listen to the playoff primer episode this week!!
Thanks Erick! We’ll answer these
Sincere apologies, Erick. We didn’t answer these! I had them loaded up on my sheet but when Jack started having technical difficulties mid-question I must’ve lost my place. So sorry about that.
On ‘scheme fit‘, I think the answer is “it depends on the coach and the position’. But in some circumstances it will be a lower order priority for me heading into draft prep this season than it has been in the past.
Some factors to consider when matching player with team:
What do you think? Is there a certain player you had in mind when you asked this one? If it’s Drew Dalman, I think Ben Johnson has done a great job leaning into the strengths of his players this year. I’m not sure Greg Roman is quite so adept at that (although we’ve seen some more Zone and I thought we’d see from him as an OC).
On the ‘traditional fullback‘ question, have to credit
Ryan Watkins here. He shared in a private chat that he could see the team trying to sculpt Trevor Penning into that piece next season.
Personally, I think the team needs someone else at FB and with a couple good ones primed for free agency (CJ Ham, Patrick Ricard) it should be something they explore. I am not sold on the Matlock Experience. But…the fact Roman acknowledged his Pro Bowl Alternate status in a press conference recently makes me question whether they will do anything to upgrade that position. They might just like him and think he’ll get better and better each season.
Thanks again for the questions!
Alister,
No problem about the question. Thank you for taking the time to answer here. I watched the show on YT for the first time in a bit because I was chained to my desk at work and I absolutely loved the reaction of you and Andy when Jack burst into a story to answer the questions. It really comes through how much fun you guys have together doing the show.
As far as the fullback question, I think having a traditional fullback that can both block and catch would make the offense less predictable. When Matlock is on the field, everyone knows he has one purpose. When he goes out for a pass, and if he even catches it, how far can we expect him to get? Having some one like a Ham, Ricard, Juszczyk or even a Jeremy Ruckert type H Back would give the team another dynamic dimension from a play calling aspect, not to mention another goal line option.
As far as the scheme fit, I can agree for the skill positions being more necessary. For instance you are never going to line up Ladd and have him play a traditional Mike Williams X role. CB is a position that players kind of have to have some of the same skill sets to play the position (fast, fluid, balanced), but can have areas where they are more proficient (man, zone, tackling, route concepts), so while they may be more comfortable in man or zone, they should always be qualified to do both, even if not equally well.
I think the interior play on both lines should be pretty interchangeable unless you are employing a wide 9 or gimmicky defense or a heavy wide zone or stretch running game on offense where the OL need to be nimble in space, but again they should still have the requisite abilities to run a trap, wham or kickout block if needed. After all, these guys have not been solely in a “zone” or “gap” scheme their entire lives. Can the player effectively block his assignment, have awareness to pick up stunts, and have the core abilities needed (Strength, anchor, agility) that have already made them professionals? If a player lacks most of these requirements it doesn’t matter what scheme you put him in, because as we have seen, the product is the same. Bozeman and Becton where supposed to be “ideal” scheme fits for Roman’s offense and it’s proven they can’t play. Do I think they would be successful in a Shanahan offense because it is a different scheme? I have no doubt that Dalman or Kelly or Hainsey would have been better options at Center because they are more naturally talented and because they actually, you know, block the guy running in the A gap, or pick up the same stunt they have seen since week 1.
IMO, you acquire the best talent and you design schemes and game plans around what you have. These guys are professionals. They might not fit every metric for every scheme or game plan perfectly, but at the end of the day they should have enough talent to not be a detriment.
Glad you saw (and enjoyed) this one 😂 Andy and I often share little “knowing glances” like this that don’t come through on audio.
Well said. And I agree.
Nice insights in this paragraph and the previous ones. I agree with you.
I think where the rubber meets the road is when a ‘choice’ must be made between two players and one is the better ‘scheme fit’, the other has more ‘talent’, but it is close. Where talent is close, I understand why GMs would lean towards scheme fit. But I think where the talent gap is material, you have to trust your coaches to build the scheme around the player and/or coach up their deficiencies.
Of course, the problem is it’s not really possible to quantify things like talent or scheme fit, and they’re also not the only relevant considerations when acquiring players (durability, personality, etc) so it’s just one piece of the puzzle albeit important.
Good conversation but let’s put a plug in the offseason style chats since we’re about to go on a Super Bowl run 🙂
From your lips to God’s ears.
Stopping in just to say Happy New Year and offer a couple of questions for the podcast.
Keep or release Becton? Same for Penning.
Does Roman return? Probably more rhetorical than anything. Ugh….
Will Trey Lance be the backup QB in 2026?
Do we finally address the offensive center position via the draft or a quality FA acquisition?
Will Mack and/or Keenan return?
See ya in the comments section at YouTube. Looks like IF I watch the SB it’ll be from Portugal….spending February there.
Hey Buck – good to hear from you. My gosh, you are getting around. Good for you. Never been to Portugal, but heard very good things. I worked in Malaga (southern Spain) for a year (actually station in Dusseldorf, but had a team in Malaga that I visited once/month). Great part of the world. Might be a bit chilly this time of year.
Kev,
Couldn’t you see a scenario where Becton stays being that he is already under contract? If he is cut, he will not be eligible to produce a potential comp pick for us and releasing him adds another hole to the roster that will already need a bunch of additions to make up for the hefty amount of expiring contracts. If they intend to use a 1st or 2nd Rd pick on an IOL, maybe they keep him as depth since the rookie deal will be cheap?
I can absolutely see that scenario, especially if Mekhi plays well in the playoffs.
The fact that the team is rotating Penning in tells me they’re not super-stoked with his play. It’s $2.5M to cut him vs. $12.5m to keep him.
So, the cost, bad play and shit talking the coaching staff I think gets him cut. Could absolutely go the other way (and I don’t blame him for shit-talking Devlin/Roman, which is a huge downgrade from PHIL last year – he probably should have kept it to himself, but I get the sentiment).
I can’t see that scenario.
Out of 66 Chargers players who have played on offense or defense this season, only Branson Taylor has a worse PFF grade for the season. Acknowledging that PFF grades are not perfect, I will just say I buy that as a fair representation of his performance.
On top of that, he missed ~35% of the regular season offensive snaps.
And he publicly complained about his usage/playing time.
There is literally nothing to like here.
They can clear $10M in cap space by releasing him. Seems like a nobrainer to me.
The only reasons I could see to keep him are:
That said, I agree with you. Not much to like about his 2025 season with the Chargers (thus far).
Yeah, it’s still winter there but I’m gonna hang in Nazare for roughly 3 weeks and hopefully catch some monster waves being surfed.
Dude – you’re going to catch a 100′ wave? If you’re serious – be super careful. That shit is crazy. If you’re going to watch (which I would love to do), then have an amazing time!
Oh no no no….should’ve been watch some monster waves being surfed. I will be safely ensconced at a viewing location on dry land.
I’ve never surfed anything larger than 10′ and that was 40+ yrs ago. Last time on a board at all was Maui 2001.
I’m crazy but I ain’t stupid. lol
It’s been a minute since I paddled out as well. Not a lot of places to surf in Georgia.
I did surf Shark Pit in Maui a few times. Great spot.
My goodness. Those are some of the more insane videos on YouTube. Good luck! Stay safe!
Hey Buck, you are becoming quite the world traveler. I think the SB starts in Portugal around 11PM or Midnight, so that will be interesting. I’m sure we will be talking this weekend during the playoff game.
I’m sure we will. Gonna hook up an external TV antenna to hopefully pull the game in. I refuse to succumb to a streaming service to watch football.
I would expect the SB to be available on some network abroad. It’s the most watched event of the year, but you can probably watch it on the NFL app also.
Great questions mate. Happy new year Terry!
I have a friend who lives in Porto and others who’ve been to LIsbon. I’ve only ever heard great things. Friendly people, good vibes, nice food.
Enjoy!
Thx Al. Happy New Year.
Australia and New Zealand are top 10 on the bucket list too. 🙂
I have a lot of good ones for the off-season, which hopefully I will be able to ask in February. Here’s a few:
I would take Phil as OC any day.
FWIW, I think the best job might be the Giants. They have a QB that has proven to be legit, even if he will never be elite. Dallas and Minnesota have won a ton of games with that tier QB, and their defense has some pieces. They also have a top 3 pick and some cap room. John Mara is not his father by any stretch, but he’s not a meddler, he just hasn’t been able to hire the right people. Their division is not as hard as it looks when you think of the HC in the division. But the fanbase here is clamoring for an experienced, offensive HC hire, so I doubt they would hire another first time HC with a defensive background.
The Titans division is no slouch with Hou, Indy and Jax, and the ownership there is a complete dumpster fire. I don’t think Cam Ward will be anything more than an average QB either.
The Falcons have no GM in place, certified QB or a 1st Rd pick. The division is dogshit though.
I think Jacksonville is a very live play to win the AFC. They have played the best, most consistent football the last 6 weeks of the season. I like a Sea-Jax SB.
So many good questions here, Kev. We’ll try to get to as many as we can!
Thanks for all the time you put in thinking up fun and creative questions for us. Without everyone here there would be no mailbag!
On Rivers, no chance IMO. His oldest son is a rising senior 4 star QB, and his next oldest son will be a 9th grader, so Rivers willl be coaching both of them together on their high school team. I don’t see him giving that up, especially when his older son will be getting heavily recruited (and hopefully going to NC State when all is said and done).
Minter has a personal connection to the Giants. If he takes a head coaching job, that is my bet. If they want a job for 2026, Stefanski and John Harbaugh are strong available hires.
The Raiders should already be pitching Stefanski IMO. They need an offensive-minded HC to scheme a much better offense for their #1 pick QB plus Jeanty and Bowers than they have had the past couple seasons.
Stefanski to the Raiders makes a lot of sense. The Raiders moves rarely make sense, so let’s hope for the best.
How many ex-coaches are they paying now?
So, at minimum, Mark is paying $35M this year and next for coaches to not coach. Hilarious.
Tau, what’s Minter’s personal connection to the Giants? I think I’ve seen you write this before and I tried to work out it out but couldn’t.
Has it got something to do with when Wink Martindale was their DC? If not, I’m stumped!
I can’t remember now. I will try to find it. I believe it had to do with the Giants front office but not Schoen. I have seen/heard it mentioned multiple times on another podcast I trust.
That said, I never anticipated the Baltimore job would be open. That could easily trump any other job for Minter if they want him.