Jim Harbaugh will tell you each game is as important as the next, but although he won’t publicly admit it, you can bet there’s added emotional weight to this Week 12 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
The last time John and Jim faced off against each other on the gridiron was 2012, when Jim’s San Francisco 49ers lost to John’s Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. Despite the consistent excellence of the Ravens organization, John hasn’t been to the Super Bowl since. His playoff record following their Super Bowl victory is 3-6.
Jim would only stay in the NFL for two more seasons following his loss to his brother, and continued a storied coaching career with the Michigan Wolverines. After nine successful seasons that culminated in a National Championship, Jim returned to the NFL as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, and now has a chance to grab some bragging rights just three days before the men will be sharing Thanksgiving dinner as a family.
Who’s got it better than Jim?
Below is the summary of the injury reports throughout the week.
Hayden Hurst and Denzel Perryman have been confirmed as “OUT,” with Bud Dupree, AJ Finley, Cam Hart, Deane Leonard, Khalil Mack, and Ladd McConkey listed as questionable.
The two most positive developments from this list are the fact that Khalil Mack didn’t take his usual vet rest day, signaling he ‘s likely trending in the right direction to play this week, and Cam Hart having a full practice participation on Saturday.
Although Khalil Mack is one of the most irreplaceable pieces on this roster, given the current state of the injuries across the roster Cam Hart’s availability might be the biggest piece of good news for this squad. Much like previous years where the wide receiver room could only withstand so many injuries before the offense became stagnant, the defense seemed to hit its workable threshold of secondary injuries when Cam Hart went down with his concussion last week.
What do you think, StormCloud? What are some of the matchups you are most looking forward to tomorrow?
https://twitter.com/TDU_Chargers/status/1863759319948546207
So I complained that James wasn’t living up to his contract after last week’s game, and then he went out and had the second best game of his career, at least by PFF grade… his grade this week was 90.9, second only to his 91.1 grade at Denver in week 12 of 2021. That strong grade matches what I saw in the game broadcast.
It would be a real boost to the team if he could start playing at an All Pro level, like he did in 2018. Especially with injuries impacting several DBs.
I would say that I would start criticizing more players, hoping for the reverse jinx, but I have been critical of some others like Bozeman, and it hasn’t had that effect…
Different subject… I’m trying to maintain perspective on the offensive struggles… the team is 8-4 and likely to double its win total from last season and make the playoffs, despite inheriting a challenging roster and cap situation. Harbaugh has clearly built a culture that is having positive impact on game outcomes, and that is very exciting to see. The defense is obviously a revelation. Hortiz found a lot of impressive player value in the offseason (e.g., Alt, McConkey, Hart, Still, Dobbins, Dissly, Ford, Tart, Perryman, Molden). That’s a lot of positives.
All that said, it is really hard to understand the offensive struggles. Taking all of the offensive players into account and trying to objectively assess the overall talent level, it seems like it is good enough to support more offensive success. Which makes me believe the problem is scheme, playcalling, and coaching. We all know Roman has never had a top passing offense, but the fact that this performance continues suggests that Harbaugh is supportive of the scheme, playcalling, and coaching. And that is concerning to me.
I would like to believe that with all of the cap space and draft picks the Chargers will have in the offseason, they will be able to upgrade at WR1, C, RG, TE, and RB. That sounds like a lot, but IMO it is very achievable. So I’m expecting personnel/talent will be improved in 2025… but I’m still worried that Roman may not be the right OC to maximize offensive performance.
@tau837
Valid concern and one which most of us share (I imagine). What does Roman have going for him?
Significant NFL experience
A history of success as a run designer
Close with the HC
Has been an OC with Offenses that have finished in the Top 15 for Points Scored numerous times.
Has been an OC to an Offense which produced an NFL MVP.
Experience at getting his QBs to use their legs to good effect.
Given his age and reputation for not being the best pass game coordinator, I think it’s likely that no NFL team will seriously consider him for a HC role in the near-future.
Since we’re expecting personnel/talent to improve in 2025 (and beyond), I think it’s probably better to stick with Roman as OC for the foreseeable future:
Herbert has had a revolving door at OC. The analogy that’s been used is learning French one year, German the next, and Chinese the year after without ever getting the chance for a second or third year in the same language. It’s best to avoid asking him to learn another language.
If the team hires a younger ‘bright mind’ at OC, we’re seeing with Minter’s ascension now that it probably won’t last for long. Maybe worth it if you can win the Super Bowl in that one year, but if you don’t win it, your OC is gone (for a HC role elsewhere) and it’s onto (yet another) OC.
Can G-Ro become someone like Josh McDaniels? Maybe not the best playcaller ever but one who works well with the QB and, over time, still achieves major success because the QB is a stud? I could see it.
I’m pleased with the overall product and the coaching in general. I just hope they don’t waste good years of Herbert’s career making him a game manager. He’s far too dynamic to see that happen.
This next off-season will be key. Another draft and not handcuffed by cap concerns. Let’s see what that brings. I’m optimistic for the roster building. Less so about Roman as OC. That was a concern for me when announced and remains one.
Tau, I’ll be looking forward to your foray into the upcoming season’s cap situation and roster building recommendations.
Even though QJ has caught some TDs this year and improved, I thought there were signs on the All-22 in recent weeks (and especially last week) that he’s got a long way to go to justify pick 1.21.
Yesterday was obviously a setback for him, but this was the part that bothered me most: https://twitter.com/TDU_Chargers/status/1861538812800966780
I try to give players and coaches three full seasons before cutting bait (unless they show they are clearly not up to the level). I don’t think QJ is approaching the ‘cut him’ stage just yet, but he needs to get yday out of his mind and bounce back strongly next week.
I agree, Alister…and you know I’ve been really trying to support the kid. I too give 3 yrs barring some insufferable event….but I’m really beginning to doubt if QJ has the mental toughness for this level.
and let me add (well past edit window), he’ll never support that draft position. Ever.
@buck-melanoma
After this first year-and-a-half, he’d have to go off for something like 1,300 yards and 10 TDs next year to make case he was worth that pick. I don’t see that happening. Still, he has a huge opportunity on Sunday against the Falcons’ porous secondary. I’m hoping he gets his head (and hands) right for a game in which the matchups say he could absolutely feast. I’m rooting for the guy.
I’ll root for him as long as he’s wearing that Charger uni. It’s just getting tougher.
@buck-melanoma
I would be ok if he were having “new” problems, for example if he was now catching double teams or constantly getting bullied off the line, but it’s been a season plus of the same old with him. He is inconsistent in separation, can’t make a contested catch, and sometimes, simply drops the ball. All of these are problems that scouts saw on his college tape. Last year we could chalk some of it up to coaching, that they weren’t getting him in positions to succeed. This year, though, he’s been given great opportunities, and he’s taken advantage of some of them, but that Ravens game was rough. Here’s to hoping for a huge bounce back this week. I wouldn’t put any money on it, but hope is cheap.
I think if the team is to move on from QJ in the off-season, it would likely be in a player swap trade where each team hopes for a “change of scenery” improvement. His contract isn’t favorable for releasing him outright.
In the meantime my crazy idea is to start playing him at RB like Arthur Smith did in Atlanta with Cordarelle Patterson, they aren’t that far off in RAS score’s.
This team has gotten its ass kicked twice, both by teams that literally beat the shit out of them. They just do not have the roster to out-physical teams like the Ravens and Steelers. If they want to win against these types of teams this season, they need to be a bit smarter about how they approach the game. Trying to be more physical just ain’t gonna work in 2024.
The offense is an issue. It can look so good at times (like the first drive), but fails to respond to in-game adversity. I wrote on the TDU forum that there is a lot of experience on this offensive coaching staff. A staff this experienced should be able to respond to the adjustments the defense is throwing at them.
The Falcons just got their asses kicked by the Broncos and the Chiefs have not looked great. They could win or lose either of those games. Love Baker (his play has been a huge middle finger to the Browns – what a colossal fuckup that whole situation turned out to be), but I do not think Bowles is a great coach.
None of that matters unless the offense can figure itself out. A few ideas:
When playing physical teams, especially ones with a back like Henry, I have no idea why Scott Matlock is getting snaps. You need to get the biggest, ugliest dudes on the team to rotate in and anchor the interior. Ford and Tart were great, but they need help. What is CJ Okoye doing? They need big, physical players in the middle, not someone like Matlock who was getting blown off the ball.
Week 2- 6 points
Week 3- 0 points
Week 4- 0 points
Week 6- 3 points
Week 7- 9 points
Week 9- 7 points
Are we serious? It’s not week 1 or 2. We are in the final quarter of the season and it’s still shit. Not to mention the Bengals game where we had a 21 point lead and he couldn’t even salt it away with a few FG drives. Instead, he comes out throwing all over the place giving them repeated 3 and outs to have the time to get back in the game. Consider me unimpressed.
@evolz3737
You’re not wrong that they need 2nd half offense to be better, that is merely stating the obvious. I mean, duh. Do you think Harbaugh and Roman want better 2nd half results or do you think they are happy with these 2nd half results?
All of you who want to blame Roman should be blaming Harbaugh. Everything Roman is doing is with Harbaugh’s blessing. They are aligned, whether you like it or not.
I feel like I need to remind everyone… this team was 5-12 last season. 5-12!!! They are 7-4 right now and very likely to make the playoffs, in year 1 post Telesco/Staley disaster. With all due respect, I feel like some of you need to maintain some perspective.
I don’t disagree with this. I will say that it’s frustrating watching the offense play well, then completely disappear.
I think everyone with eyes is unimpressed. Very few of us liked the Roman hire at the time, and we are being proven right week after week. I’m honestly baffled at how badly the team plays in the 2nd half. If I’m Jim, I would be lighting Roman’s ass on fire. “Do you want to be an OC in the NFL? If so, this 2nd half shit needs to stop right now.”
They honestly have no plan for adversity. That used to be my complaint about Telesco’s roster management. I was hoping that Shane Day and Trestman could inject more dynamics into the boring GRO offense.
What’s really concerning is that this running game is shit. That was supposed to be the one thing that Roman knew how to do.
So, we have an offense that can’t run the ball consistently and can’t win in key game situations.
@kevdiego
The 7-4 record and most likely making the playoffs is unimpressive?? Roman isn’t what everyone thought the offense would be because he is letting Herbert being Herbert? Those who didn’t like Roman didn’t like it when the offense ran the ball more than Herbert throwing it, which was part of the offense’s first install by Roman and Harbaugh. Now that the offense is throwing the ball more, phase 2 of the offense’s install, but the naysayers aren’t giving Harbaugh and Roman any credit for where the offense is even with the shitty receivers, TE’s, IOL, FB/HB’s, etc this team has. It’s only year one of rebuilding but we have such unrealistic expectations, which I find preposterous.
What I would like to see here for the naysayers to break down the offensive scheme, plays and calls that Roman & Harbaugh could have done better. And, a list of OC’s Jim Harbaugh could have hired instead.
What I’ll add though is last week was Pipkins best game as a pro (80+ PFF Grade) and when Salyer has been given full games at Guard I don’t think he’s looked obviously better. Sometimes he has looked even worse. So following last week I understand why they are sticking to their Pipkins project and using Salyer in some limited goal-line snaps which are working well for him.
I watched the all-22 last week. I did see some decent play, especially when they had Trey pulling/moving. I still think he’s not strong enough to play the interior, which, at least according to my broadcast watch, the Ravens were able to take advantage of.
I’m reminded that we’re seemingly ahead of schedule wins-wise but still in need of building out the trenches. Will be interesting to see the focus in free agency as I think it will lean towards WR and CB.
@duck07
Hey, Duck. Let me parrot other people and say I’m glad you’ve migrated this way. (This formerly FiatBux.)
Your mocks make sense, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they double-dip on either line in the first three rounds. I could see another year of dumpster diving at TE. We’ll see. I’m looking forward to seeing how Hortiz attacks things with a year under his belt and a wad of cash in his pocket. That said, I’m not looking too much into the offseason yet. I’m enjoying that the Bolts are winning and have a clear and realistic path to the playoffs. It feels so foreign and wonderful.
I know I’m not a professional scout or talent evaluator, but I do enjoy watching a ton of college football and prospect tape, especially during draft season so that I can break down the players and come up with my own draft grades. With that being said, and just watching the last season and a half of NFL results, in what world would anyone that evaluates players for a living, consider QJ to be a better prospect than Zay Flowers or Jordan Addison? It’s honestly fucking mind boggling that they preferred a plodding WR with no contested catch ability or twitch and bad hands over either of them in the draft. It’s almost unfathomable when you think about it objectively. Again, you can’t blame a player for where he was drafted, but if there was a redraft, he wouldn’t even be drafted in the first four rounds in a weak WR class, and we are trotting him out there as a starter. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
I fucking hated the pick at the time. It was Telesco’s final “look how smart I am” pick, which never worked out. So happy that dude is with the Raiders.
But I can tell you that I evaluated the 2023 draft picks as the draft played out at BFTB, and I tracked position and overall rankings from 11 public sources I viewed as credible. Their average position ranking for QJ was 2.5, and he was the 2nd WR drafted. Their average overall ranking was 21, and he was the 21st player drafted.
He hasn’t performed to his draft position, no doubt about that. But that is true of a lot of players, year in, year out. Unfortunately, the Chargers seemingly used a poor process to determine they should draft him, and it burned them. It’s not QJ’s fault, it’s the combined fault of Telesco, Staley, Moore, and John Spanos.
I also think it is fair to note that neither the 2023 nor 2024 coaching staff have truly used QJ to his strengths. His biggest strength in college was running after the catch. I know he had at least one terrible drop on Sunday night where he would have had room to run, but he was not known as a player who should be expected to win contested catches regularly coming out of college, yet that is what both coaching staffs have regularly asked him to do.
He’s not done. His contract is guaranteed for two more seasons. All we can do is hope he can shake it off and get better.
Gotta shake it off, learn from the mistakes, and prepare for the next opponent. Falcons?
Tonight was the worst Fulton has looked to date.
Hope Dobbins’ injury isn’t severe.
I’m not surprised by the loss. I’m a bit stung by how badly the defense was pushed around. Would Perryman have helped? Some but not sure enough.
It’s even more obvious against better teams that everyone not named McConkey struggles to get any separation. And Roquan would’ve feasted with inside blitzes.
That’s a very fair question. I can’t answer it without getting pessimistic.
They are averaging 24 points per game over the last 7 games. They are balanced but still lack the interior O line to run the ball consistently. The loss of Dobbins made them one dimensional and so without balance they struggled.
Interior D line still needs help. We knew that going into season and they have overperformed IMO. Exposed some today but only the Cards and Ravens have made them look bad against the run.
It’s not just Pipkins but he’s not a starter.
Time to bring Chark in and see what he can do. Let him do what they are trying to do with QJ.
Apparently he’s a cadaver.
They have just liked who they have. Time to bring him in and see what he can do.
Better hope we never play the Ravens in the playoffs. John owns Jim
Gonna be a fun Thanksgiving dinner at the Harbaugh’s!
I am not surprised by the loss. The Ravens are better and they should be given all the deficiencies the new regime inherited with the Staley/Telesco fiasco. Patience everyone. They are improving and faster than expected.
This is the second or third best offense in the NFL. They won’t face another one this good until the playoffs.
We need to fucking remove those contested catches to QJ from the playbook. I’m sorry, but I don’t think the guy has the confidence to shake off a dropped target or two. You hear all the time how receivers sometimes need that first catch to get locked in, some players need that first hit… when we sail backshoulder fades to QJ, his body language sucks afterward, as we’ve seen this game, it snowballs.
Just get him rolling with underneath stuff, and let him build up. Quit trying to make him something he isn’t.
I’m not arguing that at all. But I think we have been misusing him and making a bad situation worse.
Games against Atlanta, KC, Tampa and Broncos coming up. This defense is going to get bent over. Could be looking at 7-7 real quick.
No just no. None of those teams have Derrick Henry and Jackson.
Chiefs, Broncos.
20 is not the standard. Winning is the standard. Chargers can beat all of those teams. They got run over today. It was no their pass defense that was the problem.
The Bengals with Chase and Higgins. That’s a top offense.
I genuinely think we’ll go 3-1. It’s the physically imposing teams that we seem to crumble under.
We need a TE….bad.
Yes and a true WR 1.
Expectations for the season remain intact.
Make the playoffs. Surprise a team or two.
I know no one wants to hear “next year will be our year,” but we have a way brighter future ahead of us than we have in a long time. Right now – we’re just trying to get there with as much momentum as possible.
Agreed. Still a playoff team. And learning.
Make it, sure. Advance? Not so sure.
I know that realistically. Just wanna believe in a Cinderella turnaround.
Just missing a few pieces. But they are improving week to week. And even in the loss they will get better. Other than the run D my biggest concern is the WRs. IOL pass pro’s has gotten a lot better despite being one dimensional. Guys just are not open. QJ drop huge. But he was trying to make a big play and just took his eyes off the ball.
Playoff team my ass.
I still think we are… we just might not go far.
I know Erick believes our defense is crumbling against good offenses, but I think it’s more of a matter of us crumbling against the physical teams.
We haven’t turned our personnel over enough to be that true “bruiser” team, and teams that have built a longstanding reputation of being that (Steelers, Ravens) have taken us to the cleaners on both sides of the ball.
The Chiefs and Arizona game had a different feel to me. I felt both of those games should have been won.
But tonight, and against the Steelers, it felt like we played teams whose identity we were trying to mock, and they showed us what it really looked like to be a physically imposing team.
Wow….defense setting an ugly record tonight.
Well, looks like getting an important phone call was a blessing. :/
Correct
This game is a wrap. Defense can’t get stops and the offense can’t play from behind. I ask this seriously, what is our offensive identity? We can’t run the ball and we don’t have many playmakers to open it up. What are we?
Is there any other team that gets PIs called off for dubious reasons in crunch time? Same thing happened in the Cards game. They need to explain why it was picked up.
The lack of receivers who can get separation very evident tonight. Herbert has time and guys just are not open.
Or they get schemed opened, but their hands remained closed.
Hurst now on IR.
Is there a way we can get a different OC for the 2nd halves?
That is not the problem IMO.
It’s not over but it’s close.
C’mon man. That’s not true. The Ravens are a very good team and this is not a great matchup for the Chargers and yet they were only down 1 going into the fourth.
And that’ll do it. I’m still salty about QJ dropping that pass with the whole field in front of him. I thought he was over that.
It’s been real but I can’t watch any more of this.
Fuck.
We are absolutely getting outplayed on both sides of the ball
Everyone still think Minter is a HC candidate?
I’m honestly more disappointed in the offense not being able to keep pressure on after a great first drive.
They are going to continue to pound us like a $10 whore
Every play they make is for 5 or more yards. We can’t even get 2 first downs
Make a stop please.