With the Chargers on Monday night I thought it would be fun to talk about their game and the matchup with the Lions.
The Lions coming off a Monday night win and then a bye have 13 days to prepare for the Chargers who are playing on a short week. There are no excuses for having a poor game plan here. The Lions should have plenty of time to review film and prepare for this matchup.
The extended forecast shows a high of 79 so it shouldn’t be too hot. Which is always a concern when playing in southern Cal.
Hopefully the Lions got healthy this week.
The Lions secondary is a concern and they get to face a powerhouse passing attack. This matchup should be an interesting test for them.
Let’s start the talk ahead of tomorrows Monday night game.
The only real competition is on the defensive side of the ball for the Chargers. Anyone who has to face Joey Bosa is going to have a full days work and then some. He is a handful whether its a pass or a run play. Khalil Mack is the same way. Decker and Sewell are going to earn every cent of their paychecks.
The offense of the Chargers should not give us problems. Herbert is playing with an F’d up finger that he is just learning how to hand off with. He throws the ball well and makes plays, but when teams mess up his timing he has a hard time computing what is going on in front of him. And when I am talking about timing, I am not focusing on the pass rush. I am talking about the coverage mixed with the pass rush. One thing I’d do is flash guys in front of Keenan Allen. Keenan is one of the most underrated receivers of the last decade. The ball is going his way 10 times per game. So even if you decided to flash an extra defender in front of Allen 30 times, you are likely going to be right 1 out of every 3 times you do it.
The stadium is a dome so no reason to worry about weather. But it is a big game. We have to keep winning with the Vikings on are heals now. I know everyone is not scared of the Vikings but they are hot at the moment. Hopefully that ends next week and we win and all can breath easy. But if they win and we slip up in L.A they are only .5 game down. Can’t let that happen.
I haven’t seen them play this year, but just looking at them in terms of personnel and stats:
Anemic running game judging by ypc
Mike Williams out, Josh Palmer out. OUCH.
That’s a hurting offense.
23 sacks thru 7 games - pretty good - though 7 came against Vegas.
31st in total yds given up per game, but actually 6th in rush yds allowed; dead-last in passing yds allowed per game - by a lot. Almost 300 per game. That’s a very bad number.
Listen, y’all. On paper, given the rest, the expected return to relative good health, etc., the Lions should crush this team. Protect Jared and all should be well.
I will add some insight as someone who has watched them and scouted them. The Chargers stats vs how they play are disconnected. In particular Justin Herbert. The problem is they do not play “winning football.” I swear it seems like if the Chargers only give up 1 sack for the entire game, it will be in a key situation late in the game that takes them out of field goal range while down by 2 points. The end stat will be “only gave up 1 sack.” But the sack would mean the world to the end result.
Alot of how the Chargers play football falls into the same trap. If they “only drop 2 passes,” they will be the most important passes of the game. Last week they played the Dolphins. They dropped 34 points and still lost. Herbert was sacked 3 times. They had 2 of those sacks plus an intentional grounding on what should have been the game winning drive. The other sack was on a 3rd and 1 at the 13 that made it 4th and 12 at the 1 yard line. A short punt put the ball at the 35 yard line and the opponent scored on the next play. That is Chargers football right now.
They just.started getting a mostly healthy Ekeler the ball in ways he can be dangerous, and QJ just had a good game, so they still have weapons, including the 6’8" TE that is a real problem in the red zone.
They don’t play consistently on either side, and when you get a chance to run up some points or eff with Herbert, you better do it.
Brandon Staley is MCDC except drained of all testosterone and will absolutely make 1 huge bonehead decision. Make Him Pay.
Run right at Bosa. We should have some big chunk running plays with our sneaky pull/trap/counter looks, both D-Money and Gibbs.
The crowd will be a non factor, and maybe could be ours to gain energy from. LA is a pathetic football town, especially for the Bolts.
Anyone else have reoccuring nightmares of Keenan Allen running crossing routes and absolutely shredding our D? Last time we played them in LA was with Rivers at the helm and he picked us apart. Allen honestly scares me more than anyone else on the Chargers.
