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I saw an interesting question on the NFL SubReddit the other day, asking fans who the player on their team that divided opinion amongst their fanbase the most was. It got me thinking - who on the Chargers can fans just not agree on?
Personally, I think that the player on the Chargers that divides opinion the most is Melvin Ingram. When Ingram was franchise tagged, there was a strange attitude towards him. NFL journalists and media personalities were full of love for Ingram, calling him 'elite', describing him as one of the best pass rushers in the game, and clamoring for the Chargers to sign him to a massive long-term deal. As you'd expect, there were Chargers fans who were in agreement, but there were others that would respond by calling him overrated and claiming he wasn't worth what he would likely cost.
That's unusual for an NFL player (usually the complaint is that your player doesn't get enough love from the media, not too much), but it's understandable why Ingram splits opinion. He only started two games as a rookie, and then had both his 2013 and 2014 seasons plagued by injuries. Ingram showed flashes of just how good he could be in those years, most notably in the playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals where he harassed Andy Dalton all day, intercepted a pass, and was a major factor in the Chargers win.
Ingram changed his diet in 2015, dropping weight in order to try and stay healthy, and you can't argue with the results, but even a healthy Ingram is a polarizing one. Despite having been in the league for five years, you still wonder if he's on the verge of a breakout. He had 10.5 sacks in 2015 (his critics will point out that those sacks mostly came late in the season, and he beat up on some bad players) and 8 in 2016, but there were just as many times where he failed to wrap up the QB and missed a potential sack. Some fans view him as a disruptive pass rusher who can panic QBs and change games, while some view him simply as a pass rusher who can't finish.
I personally fall somewhere in the middle. I think Ingram is a good player, but he's not elite. Even if we ignore his weaknesses against the run, he just doesn't finish enough plays. Sacks are an absolute killer for an offense, and until Ingram can convert pressures into tangible results, he can't be considered one of the best pass rushers in the league.
What do you think? Where do you fall on Melvin Ingram, and who do you think is the player on the Chargers that divides fan opinion the most?