Moderatoren » Being Glad That the Chargers Did Not Tank

April is one of the most passive-aggressive times of the year for a sports fan.Playoffs are being lined up in rival sports Color Rush Philip Rivers Jersey , baseball is again trying to convince America that it is a thing that still matters, and very little news leaks out from the NFL.Well, except for occasional big-name athletes being let go because they aren’t worth their now-mountainous cap hit.OKAY, OKAY, baseball does still matter, but only until preseason NFL games begin.As we prepare for the 2018 draft, a lot of folks are inundating the web with what-if scenarios, blockbuster trades, and general mayhem where no player or draft position is sacred.One of the recurring things that I’ve seen is that “it is a shame that the Chargers didn’t tank,” as they didn’t make the playoffs.I will admit, the top 5 draft choices have really ballooned in value over the last few years.I really thought that the Eagles were foolish to over-reach on the move up to number 2.In hindsight, it would have been a million times more beneficial for the team to have gone 0-16 in 2015.They would’ve received the player they wanted and never lost a slew of 2017 and 2018 picks.I was wrong in my assessment— Carson Wentz, who I grew to love before he even threw his first NFL pass, was worth his weight in gold, draft picks, or cheesesteaks.But whether Wentz was to be the next Ryan Leaf or Tom Brady, I would never have wanted my team to tank to select the player or draft capital promised at seasons’ end.Never.Do you remember the despair on October 1, 2018?The Chargers had just dropped 4 straight against both good and dreadful opponents.It was terrible.However, on October 8, the Chargers poetically faced off against the NY Giants.The loser would be the pace car for the Browns, and the winner could hold on to the thinnest thread of playoff hope.Against all odds, the Chargers won.And won.AND WON!That was a pretty sizable hole the Chargers dug for themselves.Jason MichaelsThe NFL season is so short.There is only so much time to enjoy your favorite players on the field and an even less lengthy time to enjoy the hope of postseason success.I will always thank Anthony Lynn, Philip Rivers, Joey Bosa, and everyone involved in keeping the thrill alive for months longer than most e-coroners were giving the Chargers.At the end of the day Youth Austin Ekeler Jersey , the thrill of the sport is the hope that your team will be victorious on a particular day.The thrill of sport dies when you can’t expect that your team will try their hardest to win. In my heart of hearts, I hope that Cleveland fans really do expect that their team is giving each game everything that they are capable of.If they can’t hold on to that hope, why watch at all?To bring this back to earth, there was a general and reasonable call for “tanking” after the December 16th loss to the Chiefs.The playoff route was so convoluted and distant that the draft was the most likely thing Chargers fans still had to look forward to (other than the Chiefs being booted from the playoffs).Thankfully, the Chargers got back on track.They won and then won again to close out the season.Those remaining two weeks were still a thrill—even if a distant, fool’s thrill—that the Chargers could contend.They still had a shot!But for concept’s sake, let’s pretend that they did not.Let’s pretend that the Chargers were officially cooked on December 16th.Losing out would have left their record at 7-9.Yuck.Another losing season in a sea of them.The Chargers could have looked forward to choosing the 13th pick in the 2018 draft, just ahead of the Redskins.Winning at the draft by tanking is like being king of the garbage heap.Now the Chargers sit at pick #17, and all of the swagger in the world after pulling off a 9-7 season after starting 0-4.Call me crazy, but I would trade those four draft spots in a hurry for the extra confidence and relevance that those wins purchased for the Chargers.-Jason “Tanking is for the fish” MichaelsSurge or Static: Oh silver lining, where art thou? Well, here we are.The highly-anticipated match-up against that other LA team has come and gone and, for the most part, I feel about as lousy as I expected to.The Chargers fell to Sean McVay and the Rams in the Coliseum in front of a wild, rowdy crowd that put the pedal to the metal from the get-go on their disdain for the Bolts.Hell, before the game, two planes were seen flying messages over the stadium, supposedly paid for by a combination of ex-Chargers fans, Rams, and Raiders fans.The pettiness knows no bounds.Who knows if all the badgering, smack-talking, and pettiness really got into the heads of the Chargers, but their play on the field did them no favors in trying to prove a point to the skeptical LA fan base that they are also worthy of their dollars and attention.The final score to this game was actuallt pretty misleading in a myriad of ways.For one, looking at how well the Rams moved the ball all game, their final point total could have been much higher.On the flip-side Youth Darius Philon Jersey , the Chargers could have put up just as many points had it not been for their inability to move the ball following a turnover by their defense.The Chargers and Rams both recorded two turnovers, apiece. The Chargers turned their takeaways into two three-and-outs, the second of the two leading to the blocked punt by the Rams for a touchdown.The Rams on the other hand? They turned their first takeaway, a rare Keenan Allen fumble, into a 53-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cooper Kupp. To add some insult to injury, cornerback Trevor Williams was beat badly on the play and, when he had the chance to bring Kupp down, he failed and ultimately looked as if he gave up while he still had a chance to corral the receiver.At the end of the day, there’s always going to be the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.“They beat themselves.”“They couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot.”It’s going to be a week filled with these statements. I just hope the Chargers don’t rest their heads on any of it. With a softer schedule going forward, Anthony Lynn and his staff need to deal with these issues immediately and limit the ineptitude from here on out.As I always do, once the heavy, heavy flow of depression and frustration is finally vented out, here come’s the irresponsible optimism that keeps me afloat through the next 7 days.Guys made plays this week. It’s time to give them their rightfully-deserved kudos.SurgedS Derwin JamesCan’t stop. Won’t stop. James is BALLER. Dare I say, a SHOT-CALLER?The rookie-sensation continues his relentless pursuit of being the best player on the team following another sensational performance against one of the top offenses in the NFL.While his ability as a pas-rusher has been on full-display during the team’s first two games of the season, James reminded everyone that he is still a defensive back as he plucked a Jared Goff pass out of the air for his first career interception.So after just three career games, the Florida State product still leads the team with a pair of sacks and is now tied for the team lead in interceptions as fellow safety Adrian Phillips, linebacker Kyzir White, and James all have one interception to their names.WR Mike WilliamsYeah it took a little while but the Mike Williams breakout game finally happened and the only thing that could have made it better is if the Chargers were able to walk away with the victory.The best part about this is that Williams’ first touchdown came against CB Marcus Peters, a known arch-nemesis of Philip Rivers who has four interceptions against the QB in their previous three match-ups.In the middle of the first, with the Chargers looking to respond to a Rams score, Rivers tossed a rainbow to Williams in the back of the end zone as the wideout had a step on #22. With a full-extension, Williams was able to haul it in, holding on through the contact with the ground. At first Youth Virgil Green Jersey , Williams was slow to get up, looking as if he simply landed on the ball and had the air knocked out of him. Luckily for Rivers and company, he soon returned to do more damage.In the third quarter, in response to the earlier mentioned Kupp touchdown, the Chargers marched down the field and Rivers found Williams once again on a modified corner route. Although Williams caught the ball a few yards short of paydirt, he showed off the strength that made him the seventh-overall pick in last year’s draft by giving a defender a ride into the endzone for his second touchdown of the game.Mike-Will finished the game with four catches for 81 yards and the pair of touchdowns, all team-highs with the yards and touchdowns also being the highest of his young career.StaticDEs Isaac Rochell & Melvin IngramI wasn’t a fan of the team’s decision to leave Rochell in charge of Bosa’s role on the defense during his absence. Rochell was the team’s seventh round draft pick in 2017 and, at the time, was deemed the lesser of the two Notre Dame defensive linemen that I wanted the team to draft.After resembling more of a run-stopper instead of someone who could get after the quarterback, Rochell underwent a lifestyle change over the offseason, turning to a plant-based diet in order to re-shape his body with the goal of becoming a better athlete.So far this young season, the effort has yet to pay off as he remains sack-less through the first three weeks.Ingram, on the other hand, has 1.5 sacks to his name but his overall performance up to this point has been slightly forgettable.His sacks came against the Bills in a blowout victory so those are simply what they are. In the other two contests against the Chiefs and Rams, the actual good teams the Chargers have played, he recorded just a single tackle in each.It’s unfortunately far too obvious how much Ingram has relied on Bosa’s influence for his own productivity. As much as Ingram likes to gloat about being able to play any position on the football field, he hasn’t even shown the propensity to play his actual position to the best of his ability.Rochell hasn’t offered much at all and only makes matters worse when he gets rag-dolled by the Rams’ Andrew Whitworth, the oldest left tackle in the NFL.My hope going forward is that the team decides to give Uchenna Nwosu some more run at the “big” end position to see if he can create a spark where this defense has been lacking.CBs Trevor Williams & Casey HaywardNow I hoped that i’d never have a reason to include these players in this section but, here we are.After the recent tilt with the Rams, Williams currently sits as Pro Football Focus’ 52nd-ranked cornerback in the NFL. Not good.“But I’m sure Hayward is still doing pretty decent for himself, right?”Wrong. Hayward comes in as PFF’s 73rd-ranked cornerback in all of football, just a year removed from being their #1 during the 2017 season.For what it’s worth, I do not think this is a trend that will continue. Williams and Hayward didn’t just forget how to cover over the offseason. Let’s take into account who they have played against and understand that both Andy Reid and Sean McVay are masterminds when it comes to play-calling and schematically erasing an opposing team’s difference-makers.Give them some time. Their next game against the 49ers should be a nice bounce-back game for their confidence, as long as they take care of business from the start.