The Chargers returned from their bye week on Monday with a short workout that was heavy on conditioning, something many teams do to get their players back in to football mode after a long layoff.
It's no secret this team has lots of problems. They are not going to the playoffs this year (I know, but spare me the mathematical elimination nonsense and be realistic here). But the season does not have to be a total loss.
A lot of these ills can be cured, so why wait until next season to start concocting an antidote? The Bolts should accept their fate for 2015 and turn their collective eye towards 2016. For the rest of this season, the final seven games, here are the three big changes I would like to see the Bolts make.
Experiment With The Running Game
We all know what quarterback Philip Rivers is capable of. However, next year there’s a very good chance he will not have tight end Antonio Gates any more. Gates is a free agent and it’s going to be a tough decision on whether or not to give him another contract.
So the time to strengthen the running game is now. The Chargers need to start using running back Melvin Gordon in a way that suits his skill set. Dial back the draws and runs from the shotgun, get a couple of big bodies in front of Gordon and see if the kid you gave up draft picks to go get can look like the guy you thought you were getting.
Tight end David Johnson is the closest thing to a fullback the Chargers have. On Monday night against the Bears, the Chargers ran exactly two plays with Johnson blocking for Gordon and only one of those came with Philip Rivers under center. Johnson has only played 14.3% of San Diego’s offensive snaps in 2015. Gordon has not shown he’s comfortable running out of the shotgun. He was very comfortable with a traditional I-formation at Wisconsin. So, why not try bulking that up and seeing if it actually works?
The whole point of grabbing Gordon was to take the pressure off of Rivers. If they don’t change the way they’re deploying the rookie running back we’ll never know if the move was really worth it.
Bench The Dead Weight
This is specifically for a few defensive players. I don’t want to be too specific. OK yes I do. Linebacker Donald Butler, cornerback Brandon Flowers and safety Jimmy Wilson have been atrocious this season (I would add linebacker Manti Te’o but he’s been hurt anyway). Forget about the veteran contracts they have, these guys would be underperformers if they were undrafted rookies.
Butler has missed tackles and taken bad angles. Plus he’s been caught jogging on a few occasions. Forget sideline-to-sideline, this guy is barely going hash mark-to-hash mark, contributing to the NFL’s worst rushing defense. But his real deficiency has come in pass coverage, where the guy has been beaten by running backs and tight ends consistently. As soon as Denzel Perryman is healthy again Butler needs to see if he can cover the bench.
Flowers was performing so poorly that on Monday night against Chicago he was moved off the outside as one of the top cornerbacks on the field and moved to cover the slot receiver, basically being demoted to the nickel back. That’s a nice start but I have no problem with letting Craig Mager and Stevie Williams handle the DB duties (along with Jason Verrett, who has been stellar when healthy) and let Flowers come in for emergencies.
It seems like the only time we hear Wilson’s name is when he’s on the coverage of the guy who just scored a TD. His performance in the Raiders game was especially egregious. Now that Eric Weddle is back Wilson doesn’t start but it’s time for Darrell Stuckey to be the next guy in the rotation instead of Wilson.
I know these guys are getting paid crazy cash but what do the Bolts have to lose by giving their young guys the chance to get first-team reps during the week and really learn in an NFL setting? You just might find you have something worth investing in and end up lighting a fire under the rear ends of the guys who aren’t helping.
Do Something Crazy
The conservative nature of this Chargers coaching staff is infuriating. It starts with Head Coach Mike McCoy, who is about as risk-averse as they come. Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich and Defensive Coordinator John Pagano have fallen in to the conservative trap, too, especially at the ends of games where the Bolts have had their biggest issues.
I’m not advocating for complete anarchy. Don’t start going for it on 4th and 34 in the second quarter or putting all 11 guys on defense on the line of scrimmage. But something to loosen up the team would be nice. Mix in a few gadget plays. Blitz eight defenders once or twice. Just start tinkering with the formula that is obviously not working and see if you stumble on to a brand new way of doing things that breeds success.
Remember, necessity is the mother of invention. Plato came up with that little nugget, which is fitting because right now the Chargers could use a serious change in philosophy.
