Defensive Analysis: Vikings at Chargers
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 2:00 PM PDT
in San Diego Chargers Team Analysis
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This new season brought many significant people into the Chargers organization. New Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky. Bob Sanders. Takeo Spikes, as well as Donald Butler getting to start, and first rounder Corey Liuget. So how did the defense do? Let's dive straight into this. First, let's look at a few basic numbers:
| First downs allowed | 10 |
| Net rushing yards allowed | 159 |
| Net passing yards allowed | 28 |
| Total net yards | 187 |
| Third downs allowed (of 11) | 4 |
Here's how everyone graded at the end of the game:
| 1st Half | 51 | 56 | 71 | 74 | 76 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 98 | 99 |
| vs Run | .88 | .58 | .63 | 0 | 0 | .25 | .83 | 1.0 | .25 | 0 | .90 |
| vs Pass | NA | .67 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | .75 | .90 | .75 | .50 | .50 | 1.0 |
| 2nd Half | 51 | 56 | 71 | 74 | 76 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 98 | 99 |
| vs Run | .60 | .75 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .33 | .33 | .50 | 1.0 | .75 | NA | .67 |
| vs Pass | .50 | .50 | .75 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .33 | 1.0 | 0 | .71 | 1.1 | NA |
Click here for the full Analysis
The 5 highlighted plays seen in the analysis are all significant. Orz has the clips turned into one great minute of football. Observe the plays, realize their importance, and share your thoughts in the comments.
Play #1: A tribute to Luis Castillo's importance. Observe the lower part of the video.
Plays #2-4: These are back to back to back plays. Just before McNabb throws, look at his feet. That linemen was thrown down there by Vaughn Martin. Next play, again in the middle of the hashmarks, watch Castillo do the same thing to another linemen. Next play, middle of the hashmarks again, right at the line of scrimmage, observe Takeo Spikes being awesome attacking the run.
Play #5: Before the snap, try and locate Eric Weddle in the formation. As soon as the camera pans left with the pass, Weddle is on his way to stop the play. That's our $40 million man, boltfans.
Adrian Peterson was expecting to rush for 200 yards on the way to victory. He actually had 100, but a 2 yard loss knocked him down to 98, where he finished. Greg Manusky made great 2nd quarter adjustments, and 2nd half adjustments as well. Not all was gold, however. A few plays shows that certain players have to improve and step up if they want to remain on the team. There are also players who look like they belong in the pro bowl. Let's dig into this...
First, the new players, safety Bob Sanders and linebackers Takeo Spikes and Travis LaBoy. My favorite of these 3 is Spikes. The 49er faithful can't be happy Spikes is gone. The man is a beast. Despite being a veteran, he still has enough speed to cover well. He attacks the ball carrier and crashes into linemen with an eagerness I haven't seen since Junior. He hits hard and his fundamentals are solid. He takes good angles and knows how to read the play in front of him. I'm excited having him on the team. Second is Sanders. The guy plays like Weddle, if you took away a little coverage ability for physicality. However, he too often leaves his feet wanting to launch into a tackle instead of wrapping up, which is a concern. Also, he's only average in coverage, but I went into that in my scouting report of him. LaBoy is good. He seems to take some plays off a little, but when he has responsibility in a play, he plays hard, and is a good complement to Phillips. He might be able to hold Larry English at the #2 spot.
What about Corey Liuget and Donald Butler? I like them a lot. Apparently, so does Manusky. Enough to have Butler lined up behind Liuget, instead of offsetting the rookie with veteran Takeo Spikes, who plays behind Castillo. Butler is very good in coverage, and plays very smart. Very. Smart. Either Spikes is mentoring him to perfection, or AJ Smith knew exactly what he was doing when he drafted him. I would like to see a bit more hustle out of him though, as he doesn't always play to the whistle. Liuget is solid and I think he will be a very good DE for this team. He just needs experience. His fundamentals are good and his physical ability is surprising. Quick, agile, strong, and smart, just like Castillo. I have my doubts about Cam Thomas (you with me Buck?). He's not necessarily a slouch, he does follow the play and give a lot of effort, it's that he can't play nose tackle just yet. The guy can't take on double teams. If he's one on one with somebody, great. He can push them into the pocket and really be productive. But he needs to take lessons from Castillo and Garay on how to deal with doubles. If he can learn that, he'll keep his job at NT. I need more time to get a good read on Gilchrist, but he wasn't tested much(so far so good?).
This was a dominating performance on defense this past Sunday. The defense allowed just 10 points, and just 43 plays at 4.35 yards per play. Looking ahead to next week, the Chargers travel to Foxboro. Last year, Brady threw for only 160 yards, and McNabb just 39 this game. After his performance on Monday night, will Brady shred the Charger Secondary? Big thanks to Orz for making the video.
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I have no clue.
I’m hoping he’ll have to pass every chance he gets, and almost every play. He only threw 160 last time because a) we flustered him, and b) we turned the ball over. I say about 2d6+40 passes for 6.5-7.2 YPA, 2 TDs, 2 Ints, which will be a quarter of his season total, and a very frustrating day, with perhaps a big play hiding a median <6 yards. The Pats run game will have a high success rate because they’ll run only when it’s the obvious thing to do, or when they like their matchup. They’ll have to abandon play-action in the second half, as the Chargers will hold them to passing game. Still, they’ll get a lot of first downs, and a couple good drives and/or big plays, either at the beginning or at the end.
The pessimistic perspective is that the Pats interior pass-rush will take control of the game, and Brady will, uh, uh, well… depends, no? I don’t think he could post 500 on us on his best day, even if it was our worst day, but he still might put up winning stats, anywhere from 150 up to 350.
So, given that the pessimistic projection doesn’t give a clear path, I’m a glass-half-full guy. 330 yards on 50 attempts, 6.6 YPA, 3 TD, 2 Int, 3 sacks, tons of throwaways and screens-to-nowhere, a couple beautiful routes, one leading to an embarrassing DB shenanigan.
Alternate, less rosy-eyed proposal: Pats up 21-10 at end of Q1, don’t do much in Q2, Brady looks on track to have 250-yard halftime, but suffers Q3 meltdown, and game turns into historic shootout. Both QBs exceed 300 yards, but in the end the game goes to the better defense.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 14, 2011 2:56 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
you must be good at calculus or trigonomitrical physics
or something. I say 276 yards and 2 TDs. I’m pretty sure Manusky will come up with a plan to knock the UGGs off Tom’s feet.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 3:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Board game junkie. Does that count?
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 14, 2011 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Or it could be 2007 all over again.
But I refuse to dwell on that.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 14, 2011 2:57 PM PDT reply actions
refuse.
A buddy of mine went to that game literally dressed up like LT without the pads, helmet and all. He was teased mercilessly by the time the game ended at 38-14 or whatever.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions
what?
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions
Cannot... unsee...
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 14, 2011 4:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Can you believe we've won 3 out of the last 5 regular season games?
Ok, one was against Cassel. It’s still hard for me to believe, because we always seem to shoot ourselves in the foot against these guys. Also, those postseason losses sting.
"The biggest thing..." - Norv Turner
pass rush only.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 3:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Too bad you can't zoom and and enhance
That Castillo play where he takes on the double team and chucks one of the lineman to the ground in the process.
Show that to any Castillo hater and they might change their tune.
"Beating the Red Sox feels SO GOOD.! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
by Wonko on Sep 14, 2011 3:28 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
There's just no reasoning
with a Castillo hater. All they want to see is sacks, which is sad because he does so much more for this team than they’ll ever know.
All the way from Brisbane, Queensland.
by Aussiecharger on Sep 14, 2011 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Anybody remember Jamal Williams?
One of the greatest Nose Tackles ever? He’s averaged 1 sack per season. 1. why? because his job wasn’t to get pressure. It was to eat up blockers, maintain containment, things like that. Since Wade left in 2006, guess who’s taken Jamal’s job? Castillo. No, he doesn’t get sacks, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t an outstanding linemen.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 5:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Totally agree
I have no idea why people judge him so harshly. I think it’s probably the contract he got but I think he is totally worth it. I hope he is back at the end of the season but I have my doubts. Here’s to a quick recovery.
All the way from Brisbane, Queensland.
by Aussiecharger on Sep 14, 2011 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Is he still under contract next year?
He’ll be back. Though if Martin and Liuget both emerge, he may take Cesaire’s role, only better, younger, more expensive.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 15, 2011 8:24 AM PDT up reply actions
Oh, you mean late this season?
Are you ready, Startin’ Martin? If so, then we can be patient.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 15, 2011 8:25 AM PDT up reply actions
Anybody remember Jamal Williams?
Big difference between NT contracts and 3-4 DE contracts. Good NTs are hard to find and get paid accordingly. It seems 3-4 DEs come in two flavors “expensive” and “underappreciated” but for the most part there are very few standout 3-4DEs (some for sure). And if your main need is as a space-eater why pay the expensive price?
We are gonna get to see it unfold this season. Castillo is out. Castillo will not be blocking assigning #1. We are gonna have a group of underappreciated DEs doing the job… and I think that line is gonna be fine.
by Trendsearcher on Sep 15, 2011 11:54 AM PDT up reply actions
As President of the Castillo-haters fan club
Show that to any Castillo hater and they might change their tune.
A pan cake on a double after the play has gone by isn’t all that. For starters as good as it is to have a help blocking a guy – finding place to put your feet presents some challenges. You have to expect one of the blockers to be off balance or tangled. And then with the ball carrier at the side line, on a double you pretty much have to consider that all three of you are out of the play. Yeah that lineman got laughed at on Tuesday, but the pancake had zero factor on the play.
Luis had a good game last week. Its too bad about his knee. You just never know how things are going to work out. I would have preferred to have him play the whole season. In terms of value it was Luis’ best season to date $4.5M for 30 minutes of work – slightly better than minimum wage!
by Trendsearcher on Sep 15, 2011 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions
It's not all guaranteed.
And he’ll be back. Don’t forget how valuable he is at teaching the new guys. Plus, Castillo left a clear, open lane for his linebackers to get through, and it’s rare when he gets run out of a play like that. Usually, he’s the first to notice screens or misdirections, and the rest of the guys follow his lead.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 15, 2011 12:48 PM PDT up reply actions
They didn't IR him???
When he pulls the double you can’t blame him for not staying with the play even if it is to his direction. And contain on that should fall to the OLB or Safety. I don’t blame Luis for bad play on that down. He held his ground on a double it was OK. I just don’t call it an exceptionally good play either.
by Trendsearcher on Sep 15, 2011 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions
He wasn't IR'd
because he’s too valuable when healthy to be out for the year. with all due respect to OG and Cesaire, he’s more capable than both of them. Castillo can play any down, any position on the line. Plus, after Garay and Liuget, there’s almost no depth. If Castillo can be back to play even just the last 4 games, it’s worth it to the team, especially if the playoffs are in the question.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 15, 2011 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
also, what about the first play?
That same play happens a good 3 or 4 times per game. Shaun Phillips’ sack numbers and even his QB pressure numbers would be significantly lower if he didn’t have a guy like Castillo dominating the point of attack and drawing 2 (or 3, like in the clip) blockers. Is Phillips worth his 3 million if he’s the beneficiary of Castillo’s presence? Or Garay, for that matter, who’s doubled with a third the frequency of Castillo? Look at how little Cam Thomas is paid, and compare him on a double team to Castillo. BIG difference. Castillo gets the big money because he plays like 2 DE’s. He handles double teams significantly better than every other linemen on the team.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 15, 2011 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions
I liked the first play
I generally like how Castillo plays. Remember for me it is a value-based bitch. Let’s see how the guys do without Castillo. I‘m hoping we see similar types of patterns.
by Trendsearcher on Sep 15, 2011 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions
LaBoy didn't get to the QB
But I know he at least had one hurry on McNabb, which depending on how much it affects the throw can be as good as a sack.
"Beating the Red Sox feels SO GOOD.! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" -jbox
Bolts from the Blue - General Manager: It is what it isn't
correct, and he gets the maximum grade on those plays.
He did it twice, I believe.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions
according to profootballfocus
LaBoy had 1 pressure, as did Liuget
Phillips led the way with 4 pressures
Barnes, Garay and Weddle all had 2 pressures
Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.
by John Gennaro on Sep 14, 2011 3:49 PM PDT up reply actions
well they're correct, because I only have liuget with one high grade in the pass rush.
and Phillips with 4 as well.
and Garay with 2 as well.
John, you’re making me feel worthy of being mentioned with PFF. If my scores concur with theirs, I feel like I did a good job on my analysis.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 4:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Barnes sack
Has him crabbing along the ground after the OT tried to push him into the turf. lol. I still cant believe this guy wasnt courted more in free agency. Even if he played 5 plays a game, and covered kicks he would still be worth a roster spot in my opinion; just because his first step if so fast
Winning
a little, yes, because I wasn't familiar with him.
However, he’s not as bad as you think. He just needs to learn to play against 2 linemen. When he’s 1 on 1, he plays hard, but he tries using brute strength over a mix of strength and technique. If by the end of the year he hasn’t improved on the nose tackle fundamentals, I don’t know if he’ll make the roster next year.
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 14, 2011 6:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Any possibility that the Luiget pick had to do with the NT position
at least down the line. Just hear me out now. I was reading the Luiget played the majority of is college ball at about 25 lbs more than he plays at now. Consider that, his height, and skill set; and it could be in the longterm plans perhaps. Even if this is far fetched, there appears to be one least one spot in the DL rotation that could for the 4th year in a row be filled with a rookie the next draft that is. For now the front 7 seven can go as far as the LBs will take them. Butler appears to be an NFL player, now if Mouton could just cover a few kicks we could learn some things about him
Winning
This is the same
MO that he had in college. He’s country strong, no doubting that. I can even accept occasionally taking a play off – it’s hard for a very large man to go full-tilt on every play.
I have limited expectations in him learning to become a competitive player at the NFL level. There’s a reason that, while being pumped up by numerous draft “experts”, he was still around for us in the 4th.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
by Buck Melanoma on Sep 15, 2011 1:39 AM PDT up reply actions
5th.
In my book, this makes him immune to the “bust” label. But yeah, he has probably one season to develop if he wants to avoid a camp competition, and another offseason (maybe longer) to put it together if he wants to stay on the team.
Can’t expect much of young DTs, especially in a 3-4 defense.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 15, 2011 8:29 AM PDT up reply actions
I can't figure out if I like LaBoy
He seems fluid in space, but that’s about the only thing I have seen him do well. Against the run he seems smart, and appears to know how to position the guy blocking him so as to keep the correct arm free and funnel the ball carrier to his help. Its going to be interesting and telling to see if English and supplant this guy when/if he’s able to suit up. PS thanks again for the article SDB
Winning
I like him.
He plays well enough to keep English on the bench.
Whether or not English steps up to try and keep his spot, who knows…
Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say, 'Golly gee, I can't do that."
by Superduperboltman on Sep 15, 2011 3:58 AM PDT up reply actions
That's where I am.
English could be a stud… or he could be a never-was.
An autumn Sunday,
Perched in front of the big screen,
Beer in white knuckles.
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Sep 15, 2011 8:30 AM PDT up reply actions
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