Good morning StormCloud!
The Chargers are getting ready to take on the Pittsburg Steelers is what is bound to be a physical, defense-led slugfest.
Chargers fans have been anxiously awaiting the announcement of whether or not Justin Herbert will start this week after suffering a high ankle sprain against the Carolina Panthers last week. The “inactives” were just released, and there are two clear takeaways: Justin is trending towards starting… but the team also isn’t tipping their hand on whether Easton Stick or Taylor Heinicke is next up should the team have to sit Herbert down.
It may not look like much, but the decision to keep both Heinicke and Stick active is interesting. They could have elected to keep Stick or Heinicke in the emergency QB role to free up a roster spot elsewhere, but that would mean the emergency QB would only be available if the second-string QB was lost to injury.
By keeping both “active” for the game, it suggests they aren’t committed to one or the other. Stick may still be QB2, but this decision suggests he has a very short leash, and could be replaced by Heinicke for performance rather than injury. It’s a very interesting hedge, as every available roster spot is crucial on game day.
Be sure to follow along on the Article comment section, rather than the Forum, as it will update itself live and is suited much better for these heavy-traffic open threads!
BOLT UP, STORMCLOUD! LET’S GET TO 3-0!
Take note of the IOL grades.
redacted” rel=”nofollow ugc”> https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/2024/09/23/chargers-steelers-pff-top-performers/?newsletter_origin=chargerswire.usatoday.com&newsletter_post_position=3&email= redacted
Chickenshit move by the NFL. Could they possibly be more biased toward the Chiefs?
I can understand a fine but, IMO, a suspension is unwarranted. There are far dirtier players in the league who skate by.
Does Derwin need to clean it up? Yes, especially since he now has a target on his back. But again….I see worse play/behavior with little to no accountability.
If it had to happen might as well be now. This game is looking pretty rough with all the walking wounded we have.
Christ, the our roster for the Chiefs is going to look like a Preseason game. Sit everyone important that we can’t afford to lose that’s left: K Mac, QJ, Ladd, Perryman, Dobbins etc.. Putting these guys out there with this roster is going to get them killed. Especially the skill guys with Heinecke under center and this OL. Use the three weeks to get as healthy as possible.
That Derwin suspension is stupid and it puts another nail in the coffin for next week. I swear they’re going to have a preseason roster against the reigning champs. Kimani Vidal, Sunday is your day.
Smith, that was a bad hit. But the suspension letter indicates it is based on a “continuous disregard for NFL rules.” That’s the first unnecessary roughness penalty Derwin has this year. So they’re going back in history to determine suspension? If so, I remember Derwin having a clean year last year, but a really bad year in 2022. How far back is the league going to reach? Just seems like a lack of notice as far as how far back the league will reach in terms of history.
But James needs to know he’s being watched and play it cleaner. You can’t lower your head, which he did. Now James is going to have a target on him. Even shoulder tackles that touch the head are going to be called, like they have been the last few years.
Derwin suspended one game for his head shots over the years. I’m a huge Derwin fan (have 2 of his jerseys) but this suspension was a long time coming. Derwin has had a hard time adjusting to the new officiating and it’s costing the team.
3 TFLs and 1 sack can’t change the penalties he’s getting.
Let’s not forget friends, we survived Salyer at LT and Pipkins at RT after week 3 to make playoffs. Also survived most the year without Keenan and Bosa too.
If the Slater and Alt injuries are not season ending, we can still do this.
If they play 9 in the box, hopefully Heinike is just good enough to make them pay.
Thanks Jamm for the positive perspective.
A few things.
– Has anyone seen any updates/timeframes on the injuries to Bosa, Slater and Alt? I saw Herb’s X-rays were negative but haven’t seen anything else.
A) It appears that Minter must shore up the middle of the pass defense. Fields did all his damage over the intermediate middle yesterday. Once it’s on film, expect Reid to exploit it further. Seems like the perfect time for him to unlock Kelce this year.
B) Everyone was rubbing themselves raw over the Ben Herbert signing. People seem to get giddy and gravitate toward tough guy mojo, especially in this sport. Anyone that has ever played competitive sports at a high level, especially football, know that all the weight and fitness programs CANNOT prevent injuries. Can a different lunge technique stop a guy from rolling on a lineman’s legs while he’s blocking, taking out his knees? Can a different extension prevent a players arm from getting caught in a pile up making a tackle and tearing his triceps? Can some ankle flexion exercises stop a guys Achilles from shredding while chasing down a punt? Weight training just makes your muscles stronger. Everyone is breakable. Glad that Ben Herbert got his $, but I never believed he was some sort of workout wizard with the magic elixir to stop injuries.
C) When you want to play bully ball in a phone booth, remember the punches get thrown and received. Not saying there is anything wrong with being a physical team, but the more punches you are willing to throw, the more you are willing to receive. No team is going to prepare for that style like Rocky, trying to take a beating tiring you out. They are going to have to match that ferocity to compete. If you want to have a philosophy that you are going to have a war every snap, be prepared for injuries to happen.
D) Yesterday’s game was just more evidence that this team is a year or maybe two from having the roster complete enough to really compete for deep playoff runs and SB. The lack of a true explosive playmaker or two was glaring. Johnston got deep on a blown coverage, but once Pittsburgh realized they weren’t getting beat more than 12 yards down the field, they just covered the intermediate area of the field, especially on third downs. They just camped out at the first down markers and tackled as soon as the catch was made.
E) I thought Roman had a terrible game yesterday. On a day where the run game was moderately effective early and helping Herbert with the quick pass game, he decides to come out like the Greatest Show on Turf in the second half. You didn’t get away from the run game against LV when it wasn’t doing shit AND you had a healthy Herbert, so why have him coming out pass heavy to start the 2nd half? Why not stick with the run game more at least controlling the clock and giving your defense a breather on the sideline? Also, the lack of having dump off options to RB is killing this team. There are little to no check down throws or screens in this offense. Without those, Herbert seems like he is having to force some balls in because there is no dump off or check down option if nothing is open. He isn’t Lamar or Kapernick that is going to make one or two reads and then tuck and run. Roman was crowing about taking pressure off Herb, why not give him some easy completions to keep the chains moving?
Again, the loss yesterday was not the end of the world, but it did bring up some glaring issues that need to get fixed. I have all the faith that Harbaugh will have these and other things addressed. I doubt we see the same mistakes and issues week after week like past regimes. FWIW, I would rest any questionable players next week going into the bye. Lose the battle, win the war.
I’m not giving up hope for Sunday. I agree Herbie should sit no matter how he feels, but hopefully Heineken can pull off a shocker and get the W. And I hope Coach tells Pipkins and Salyer they’re playing for their jobs this Sunday.
Fuck the Chiefs! Bolt Up!!
Also…..I’m not sure how I feel about Popper’s take here. I have no problem with Popper expressing this….it’s an opinion piece and reasonable. I’m just not sure how I feel.
I wanted this win badly. Can’t stand the Steelers and wanted to beat them at their game….so selfishly I wanted Herbert out there. With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, maybe that wasn’t the best decision for the future of this season. Frankly, I’d hold him out next week. Then there’s the bye after to give an extra week of healing.
Was it shortsighted of the staff to let him play? I can’t objectively answer that. I don’t have all of the pre-game info. I saw that he couldn’t plant and push off his right foot in warm-ups. Only his incredible arm strength allowed him to make some of the passes he did.
Once again we’re seeing what inside pressure does to a QB. Bozeman? Color me unimpressed. Same for Pipkins at guard. Zion? Flashes but he needs a stronger guy to his right, both physically and mentally. IMO, if there’s any blame to be levied, it’s really ignoring the center position. Yes, at this point I consider Bozeman as a starter to be ignoring this all-important position. Same with Pipkins as the starting RG….and gawd forbid starting LT.
And Bosa? Yes, a wrecking ball when he’s healthy. But his availability is a liability.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5786531/2024/09/22/chargers-justin-herbert-steelers-ankle-injury/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=12566676
I actually discussed this topic with Stacey on his pod this morning. I actually agree with Popper here, but I don’t agree with his tone so early into the Harbaugh tenure.
I just think it’s irresponsible to let these players make the call on their availability, as Harbaugh suggested he was doing with Justin. You train these guys up to have gladiator mentalities, let them make gladiator decisions… they’re going to end up with gladiator bodies (which never end well in the true sense of the word!).
I don’t think it’s great for a team’s mentality to have a question mark at quarterback, especially one in the early stages of establishing an identity. With a high ankle sprain being as serious as it is, the bye so close, I really wish they would have shut down Herbert last week and mentally prepared for a full game of Taylor at QB. It looked like the wind got knocked out of the offense and defense when Herbert was taken out of the game… but the mentality of this team needs to endure whether Herb is on the field or not – otherwise, it’s not truly ingrained as culture (which I still expect to take some time).
I also think Harbaugh needs to hold Justin accountable for protecting the football AND himself. I was worried another injury-plagued season would set Justin’s course for an Andrew Luck career – immense display of talent, but constant rehab and recovery zapping his love for the game and ultimately forcing him to retire early.
However, this year Herbert has looked worse – he’s honestly reminding me more of Carson Wentz than Luck. He’s playing with zero awareness to the cost/benefit of extending certain plays vs swallowing a sack or throwing the ball away, and it’s agonizing to watch.
Really wish the conversation with him was, “Justin, you didn’t protect yourself last week, and we can’t risk losing you. We gotta start Taylor this week and let you heal up while also learning from this.”
Something along those lines. I really hate seeing the current trajectory his career is on, because the warning lights are flashing for me.
Agreed. I also don’t think Popper can take Harbaugh’s stance on injuries personally… I find it pretty annoying that Popper can’t see to accept Jim’s stance, and pivot around the injury questions. Find a different approach Pop.
Similarly, the Chargers O line has really struggled against it. As you suggest, neither Bozeman nor Pipkins are the answers. I think we all understood it was going to take some time to rework this roster and the Chargers need to find the right guys. To me when you have these weaknesses you have to keep running the ball. Even if it is third and five or more every series. At least while the game is close. They did Heinicke no favors either by letting him get smashed a couple of times with free runners. The game was still close when he came in and they might have recovered had they gone back to a heavy run set and just tried to pound the rock for awhile.
When Slater went out they did themselves no favors in sliding Pipkins to left tackle and putting Salyer in at RG. Clearly Salyer should be the backup LT and Pipkins the backup RT.
This may be the case where the coaches are still learning the players. I don’t know but the failure to run the ball after the half and the poor decision making after Slater went down into who plays where are the first true negatives for me with the new regime.
It’s early in the process and I have confidence that Harbaugh and co. to learn and adapt but the bottom line is this roster remains below average and it is at least one more year away from doing much damage. Making the playoffs would be a real accomplishment.
Glad to know I’m not the only one seeing things this way.
Pittsburgh’s rookie center Frazier is playing admirably….and who I wanted us to draft. I like McConkey and believe he’ll be a very good player….but Frazier was available and I think would have done more to both protect Herbert and further the run game.
I’m far from panicking or getting down on the new staff but I continue to question the decision to ignore center in the draft.
I wanted JPJ or Frazier, but the Raiders drafted JPJ to play guard so I’ll leave him out of this :).
Frazier was one of our top rookie center prospects we wanted, if not THE guy.
Our top FA center prospect we wanted was Connor Williams.
Guess what they both have in common?
They’re starting for the first time on 3-0 teams.
Graham Barton is 2-1 starting at center for the Bucs.
Coincidence? 😅
OK, I just watched Harbaugh’s post-game presser and have one comment…..how in the hell, especially given the way that Salyer handled the LT duties after Slater got IR’d 2 years ago, you can say Pipkins is your third tackle is beyond me.
I’m fully supportive of this staff and am in no way overreacting to this loss. I just don’t agree at all with the assessment of Pipkins.
My sentiments exactly. Pipkins was simply terrible. Give the Pittsburgh coaching staff credit that they had identified flaws in Pipkins game and immediately exploited those flaws when he switched positions.
“Harder to break”….
Tough fought game. I thought the D played really well until they got gassed from being on the field too long.
Disappointed they did come out running in the third quarter. The whole nature of the game was a slug fest and to win a slug fest you need to keep running the ball and wearing down the other team’s d. Just did not like the playcalling. You are working to establish an identity. It was working well enough in the first half. Better than the Steelers O. Stick with it so it will pay dividends in the fourth. Instead the Steelers did that to them because the O could not do anything in the second half.
Not sure why they moved Pipkins to RT. As mentioned below in the chat, Salyer should have gone to LT and Pipkins stayed at RG.
Finally, I think they lose anyway but the refs were not great in this game. That one drive I think there were 50 yards of penalties against the Chargers D twice on third down when the Chargers got the stop. Both questionable. Again not the reason for the loss because the Chargers O could do nothing after Herbert went out.
Maybe they play a “week 18” game against the Chiefs and let all the hurt players sit. Play this one like a preseason game and come back after the bye in better health.
That’s true about the record. The health is where emphasis is the key going forward. Maybe they should let Herbert sit out until after the bye. I would hate to be there at the game only to see him get further hurt.
I feel like this game changed when Zont went for the pick six and missed, instead of making the stop on third down. Pittsburgh got rolling afterwards. Prior to that the Chargers were dominating. Just a stupid play.
That’s who Zont is. He giveth, he taketh away. It was the turning point for me as well.
We’re not going to have enough healthy players to face the Chiefs and win.
Just sit everyone that’s hurt next week, take the L going into the bye and hopefully the extra rest gets people healthy for the next 13 games.
Brace on Alt’s right knee.
Well, I have a date to get ready for. May as well start now.
Talk later.
Hope the date goes better than this game.
Me too!!!!!!
Buck – I didn’t know you were out in the dating game brother. I hope it goes well and you have a great time man, you deserve it.
Went to a dinner club for music. Nice time.
Thx Kyle. That’s a very nice thing to say. I appreciate you, my friend.
I hope you have better game than the Bolts had today.
Alt, Slater, Herbert, Bosa, and Ogbonnia all hurt in this one. To go along with Palmer and a hobbled Gilman. This is getting ugly early.
Maybe that early bye week is a good thing after all
Hi guys. It is what it is today. I’m worried going forward because we have little chance to bonce back for next week or in the weeks to come.
Hopefully the bye week gets us right. If we’re being honest, most of us probably anticipated 2-2 as the most likely outcome by the bye, with 3-1 looking like the ceiling.
This is my thinking. It’s so frustrating, though, after a pretty solid first half.
Jesus now Ogbonnia coming out as well
Welp, good talking with you guys. Meet you on Monday with a big game coming next. They can’t all be the Panthers.
Heyward again. Fuck that guy