San Diego Chargers Daily Links: April 20, 2012

Gap Control: Outside Offense, 2011 - Ben Stockwell
Sweeps, tosses, powers, stretch plays, crack back blocks … there are endless methods and opportunities to make big plays to the outside when running ball in the NFL, but not every team takes full advantage. Defenses tend to have aggressive players on the edge who offenses can live or die by challenging. Get it right and the defense is on the back foot. Get it wrong and the offense can find itself in long yardage–an area from which most offenses are not well disposed to recover.

Gap Control: Interior Defense, 2011 - Ben Stockwell
Whether you have defenders playing one gap or two, whether you aim to contain a running back or flush him outside and fly to the ball, the run D constant remains: you must keep contain and maintain control over every gap. One lapse in a gap, one misread, one piece of overpursuit and the control a defense has over seven other gaps is ruined–the runner scampers through the weak side C-gap that the back-side linebacker flowed away from.

Draft Countdown: San Diego Chargers - TCIPF Staff
Our countdown to the NFL Draft continues with a look back at some 2011 highlights of players drafted by and starring for the San Diego Chargers:

Get Smart about Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Spread - Chris
Check out the links below for a learned preview of what we can expect from the Buckeye offense this fall.

The Monster Defense, Overload Blitzes and Angle Stunts - Chris
Coaches and quarterbacks nowadays are exceptional at identifying and exploiting defensive weaknesses. Defenses now, with the rise of spread offenses, often give away their soft spots by how they line up, and the myriad of reads, packaged plays and options make exploiting those weaknesses ever simpler stuff.

Chat Wrap: Cedric Benson in AFC West? - Bill Williamson
I bet A.J. Smith goes to the draft not knowing what he is going to do. He is open to moving up, staying at No. 18 or moving down. It will be determined on the clock.

Man or machine - Christopher Smith
Boston College middle linebacker Luke Kuechly made 191 tackles for the Eagles last season and nearly set the NCAA career tackles record despite declaring for the draft as a junior.

Analyst: defense a draft priority for Bolts - Christopher Smith
I think the area to me is mainly defense. Pass rush, safety and speed at corner. Those are the things that I think in a perfect world would be good for them to upgrade.

2012 Draft Preview: Inside Linebackers - Christopher Smith
We’ve already looked at specialists, safeties, tight ends, defensive ends and offensive tackles. Today we’ll review the top inside linebackers in the draft pool.