Chargers Game-Changing Offseason Moves: Meet Tra Thomas
by John Gennaro on Jul 15, 2010 11:01 AM PDT
in San Diego Chargers Training Camp/Preseason
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I feel like, these days, I need to start each post here at BFTB with "I know you're scared; we're all scared, but that doesn't mean were cowards."
Last year at this time we faced doubts. Going into Norv's third season, all anybody wanted to focus on was the W-L trend. 14-2, 11-5, 8-8. Uh oh, heading downhill. I had a lot of faith. I saw the good and tried to ignore those whispers and worries. Most of us did, and our faith felt worth it when the Chargers won 11 straight games to finish the season 13-3. Even if we lost in the playoffs, this team is back to heading in the right direction. As Herm Edwards' famously said, "We can build on this!"
So why the fear? Because this doesn't feel like the same team anymore. The best WR on the team? Gone for at least half the season, maybe the entire season. The star Left Tackle? The same. Special teams captain? Enjoying the sunny beaches of Florida. The greatest player in franchise history? Signed with the enemy New York Jets. The potential-filled, human-highlight-reel CB? Traded to those same Jets.
I'm not going to sit around and think about that. I'm ready to move on. Let's meet the new guys and restore our faith in this team as a championship contender. First up, potential starting LT Tra Thomas.
"I wish I knew how to quit you"
Offensive lineman are sometimes difficult to evaluate because almost no stats are kept on them. In situations like these, I turn to Pro Football Focus and their ranking system. The easiest way to check the validity of any ranking system is to see who ranks at the top of the list and hold that against common-knowledge. 2009's top OT's on PFF were:
- Joe Thomas 35.2
- Jake Long 21.7
- Willie Colon 18.4
- Damien Woody 18.0
- Sebastian Vollmer 17.7
Those top 4 guys are superstars, and Vollmer is a good OT that was assisted by the Patriots' offense (and the fact that they seemed to run screen with him as the lead-blocker a lot). To give you an idea of what Thomas will be replacing, Marcus McNeill was ranked as the 49th best OT with a rating of -8.2. Their rating system says that he was above average at pass protection (1.3), below average at run-blocking (-4) and let through quite a bit of sacks (6), hits (9) and pressures (23) on Philip Rivers. Funny enough, that puts him below Jeromey Clary, who was average in pass-protection and above-average in run blocking.
At 35, Thomas may be past his prime....but it was a heck of a prime to have. He was the 11th overall selection in the 1998 NFL Draft, has made the Pro Bowl 3 times and was an All-Pro selection once. He spent 10 years with the Philadelphia Eagles before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars last year, who benched him and then released him due to poor performance.
In a nutshell, this is Kynan Forney all over again but that does not guarantee the same result. It's a risk with backup plans. Neither Tra Thomas or Brandyn Dombrowski are going to play at a Pro Bowl level in 2010, but the Chargers don't really need either of them to. All the team needs is for one of those two guys to stay healthy and play at an average level, and as someone who believes in the law of probability I think there's a good chance of that happening.
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I'm less worried than before.
Not necessarily due to the roster for our Chargers, but mainly looking around the league. The only teams I’d truly fear are the Colts, (but the Bolts have their number) and the rising Jets. The patriots lost their mystique, Baltimore D isn’t what it used to be. Steelers are in a bind due to Big Ben’s off-field antics. Tennessee doesn’t scare me, even with the best RB in the league.
I’m still sad over losing Cromartie and for VJ and McNeil not being for sure. Having those guys focused and for 16 games would’ve been nice. But time to move on.
Well let me welcome everybody to the wild wild west. A state that's untouchable like Elliot Ness.
The only thing past prime age has to do with it is injury
If Thomas can stay healthy, I see no reason why he can’t be a solid performer. I have higher expectations for Thomas than I might for a young UDFA.
McNeill's ranking no surprise
Frankly, I’ve never been as high on McNeill as some have seemed to be. He bends at the waist far too much, doesn’t keep his feet under him well (part of the run/drive blocking issue), & has declined at a steady, albeit not a rapid, rate since his rookie year. Does that instill great confidence in the alternatives? Not exactly, but we all know that a year can make a big difference for a player. As it stands now, we really have little idea of what Thomas still has left nor have we seen what gains Dombrowski may have made over the offseason.
I think it’s quite likely that we may well see much more of the short-to-intermeditae passing game this year. We can surmise that the loss of McNeill may lessen Rivers’ pocket time & that the loss of VJ will hurt the downfield game. On the other hand, we still have Gates who is an excellent possession receiver. I expect to see good things from Naanee, Buster, & Josh Reed in the shorter passing game. Floyd will still be there to stretch the field. Sproles can catch. Tolbert can catch. Hopefully Mathews will display good hands along with an improved running game.
Yes we lost LT. But let’s be honest – we lost the explosive, game-changing LT a couple of years ago. Osgood? I think we have hungry guys who can replace his presence on ST. I already covered McNeill & VJ. Cromartie? Don’t get me started there. Let’s just say that I have no problem with him being Rex Ryan’s problem-child now.
Will these losses be easy to compensate for? Nothing is easy in the NFL. Can it be done? Yes, I believe so. At the very least, I sure as hell am not ready to jump into gloom-and-doom mode (not saying that you are, John).
There are reasons that VJ & McNeill aren’t being handed big, new shiny contracts & the reasons aren’t all related to labor uncertainty.
Maybe it’s time for me to start polishing up a new 14-2 prediction post like last year’s. It sure didn’t seem to hurt our success. And who knows? Maybe some of those player losses will lead to better results. Crazier things have happened.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Jul 15, 2010 1:01 PM PDT reply actions 6 recs
^this
There are reasons that VJ & McNeill aren’t being handed big, new shiny contracts & the reasons aren’t all related to labor uncertainty.
Couldn't agree more
If it wasn’t for the CBA allowing the Chargers to attempt to bring these guys back, they’d already be gone.
No, I don't think you're an idiot. Please don't go trying to prove me wrong about that.
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
If that is the case
Why don’t you think that they traded them before the draft when there seemed to be some interest in them? I am not saying that you are wrong, and I don’t know all the contract rules and regs. It just seems like if they didn’t want them here they should have got something for them when the opportunity seemed to be there. There trade value has only gone down since then and will probably continue to do so.
Partially because
very few teams are in the mood to take on new contracts this year. And partially because other teams may not be as high on these guys as we fans are with our “Charger-colored” glasses.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Jul 17, 2010 4:15 AM PDT up reply actions
Before the draft
Seattle was showing some interest in VJ but did not want to give up whatever the tender required. If the Chargers didn’t want VJ long term perhaps they should have done some type of sign and trade and got something for him from Seattle. I believe something similar could have been done with McNeill, I am not saying that they could have gotten multiple number 1s or anything crazy like that, but if they were ready to move on without them then I wish that they would have gotten something for them and moved on. Right now it looks like a lose-lose situation to me.
I don't think
The FO really figured that these guys would hold out. As evidenced by pretty much every RFA signing their tenders I think they truly were calling their bluff and really didn’t see the players (read: agents) pushing it this far. No one did.
No, I don't think you're an idiot. Please don't go trying to prove me wrong about that.
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
I agree
Your earlier post just seemed to hint that the Chargers may not want these guys any more, and if that was the case I wish that they would have traded them. Perhaps I didn’t understand the earlier post, or I read too much into it.
What I meant was
They probably never wanted to commit to them long term, however they knew they were talented enough to help them in the short term. The problem with trading is that you need a replacement immediately whereas keeping them around buys you time to develop within.
What I was saying is that if the CBA hadn’t changed I think they would have let them go to free agency or perhaps franchised one of them. It’s also possible that if the CBA had been worked out that at least one of the free agents would have received a longer contract (but maybe not MM or VJ).
Since it did change it seemed like they would be able to get them on one year RFA tender deals. Players historically do not hold out as RFAs and it was reasonable to assume that you would still get these players for one more sort of bonus year. So, you take that bonus year only to find out that they play hardball and you really find out they aren’t bluffing after its too late to trade them.
To me, any trade would have needed to be made before the 2009 season started, but if you do that you downgrade the 2009 team because replacements aren’t ready. Their value to the 2009 team was greater than what they would return in trade, especially considering that you might get a “bonus” year if nothing happened with the CBA. The problem is that the players refused to play instead of accepting the “bonus” year that the CBA afforded the franchise.
I think that sort of rambles, but it covers my basic thoughts on the issues of how we got here and why no trades were made. Read it like 75 times and you’ll get it.
No, I don't think you're an idiot. Please don't go trying to prove me wrong about that.
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
Makes sense
It looks like the FO made the appropriate choice under the circumstances, it just didn’t work out the way that they had every reason to believe it would. The FO did what they had to and I understand the players feeling a little screwed by the CBA situation, sucks but thats the way it is. I am still holding out hope that something will get worked out with one (or both) before the season starts.
Thanks for your more detailed point of view.
Osgood? I think we have hungry guys who can replace his presence on ST.
I’d argue that Hester and Tolbert were Kassim’s equals last year, albeit in slightly different roles.
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Jul 15, 2010 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Tolbert kills it in special teams. And didn’t James holy hold his own as well? I think our special teams will be alright.
by Its Mikey!! on Jul 15, 2010 3:14 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I totally agree
As much as we loved Kassim, from listening to him he always wanted those offensive opportunities and felt entitled— I’m trying to be careful here— to them. Not here…
jtb yl1 thunder up tino
by Allen J. Kha on Jul 15, 2010 3:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Well said
"Football is a physical sport, sometimes you have a disagreement on what's going on, and you have a discussion about it." Kris Dielman
by Brian (DaBolts) on Jul 15, 2010 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions
after reading this
I must say I feel better about losing McNiel. I thought dombrowski did an o.k. job last year and hopefully will do better this year having a year of experience under his belt. And, hopefully mathews will improve our running game enough to slow down the blitz. I remember reading an article that said the chargers were one of the most blitzed against teams last year and that rivers had a very high success rate against the blitz. also, hopefully mathews will be much better than LT was at picking up the blitz. Sproles did a better job blocking last year than LT did. Granted, losing V J hurts, but I don’t miss cromartie at all. I thought he would have a big year last year, and he did nothing. Of course, I saw something that said he is still having hip problems. Our defense needs to step it up this year. If they can do that we should do at least as well as last year.
Sorry to be a douche
But does he still go by Tra or is it William now? I remember the he shied away from Tra (while he was still with the Iggles), but I assume he switched back or something? (It never caught on in Philly, so maybe he was tired of it or something?)
And first-time-long-time, so hello!
jtb yl1 thunder up tino
My understanding is
That its back to Tra again. I think his wikipedia page says this or something.
No, I don't think you're an idiot. Please don't go trying to prove me wrong about that.
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
Yes
“William” never caught on, so he went back to Tra.
Before leaving Philly he was quietly mocked for the name change because many people (read: sports radio hosts) thought that it was a way to try to distract fans from his poor performance. Philly can be a cruel town.
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Jul 15, 2010 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Trust me I follow the Iggles so I would know
The fam and friends near by there use Runyan as the recent benchmark, so yeah…
jtb yl1 thunder up tino
by Allen J. Kha on Jul 15, 2010 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Hello and welcome!
Also, you are not a douche.
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Jul 15, 2010 1:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh yeah
We also were without Hardwick for most of the season last year. Hopefully he will be 100 percent and help “solidify” the line passing and running.
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