2012年8月24日星期五
Taking a Look at the San Diego Chargers Offseason
The Chargers have been an enigma of sorts over the last two seasons, finished at or around .500 each season. Considering the talent that this team has on the offense side of the ball, that has to be concerning to fans in Southern California.
After all, we are looking at a team that can pretty much go blow to blow in terms of talent up and down their 53 man roster with every other franchise in the National Football League.
Despite a consistent inability to perform up to level, San Diego has retained head coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith. The 2012 season will be their last go-around unless San Diego actually does some damage in the postseason. Expectations are going to be high, but they need to actually put up on the football field.
These expectations have been raised due to a solid offseason by the Chargers.
While San Diego did lose Vincent Jackson to free agency, they more than made up for his production at the wide receiver position. Both Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal bring previous success and an ability to stretch the field with them to San Diego. They’re going to join Vincent Brown and Malcom Floyd along a wide receiver unit that promises to be much deeper and much more talented in 2012.
San Diego also did a solid job adding veteran talent to the offensive backfield. They picked up fullback Le’Ron McClain from the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs. McClain is not just a solid blocker, but he will be able to handle the short yardage situations that seemed to plague San Diego last year. Ronnie Brown comes in to take over the Chargers backup running back duties from Mike Tolbert, who departed in free agency.
Defensively, San Diego did a great job addressing one huge need. They were able to pry standout 3-4 outside linebacker Jarret Johnson away from the Baltimore Ravens. While Johnson will not put up the sack numbers that you expect in this scheme, he had been a mainstay in the same style defense in Baltimore over the course of the last eight seasons.
San Diego absolutely aced the 2012 NFL draft. The selection of Melvin Ingram, who had as a top 10 pick, at No. 18 was an absolute coup. The talented outside linebacker was the best pure pass-rusher in the draft. He adds another dimension to a unit that already boasts Antwan Barnes, Shaun Phillips, the aforementioned Jarret Johnson as well as the under-performing Larry English.
Kendall Reyes was another solid pickup, this time in the second round. The former UCONN standout will help a great deal along the interior of the defensive line against the run. His mere presence as a gap-filler should also help the Chargers wide array of pass-rush threats on the outside.
Two of my favorite mid-round picks in the entire draft were safety Brandon Taylor in the third round and tight end Ladarius Green a round later. Taylor will challenge Atari Bigby, a free agent signing from the Seattle Seahawks, for the starting strong safety spot opposite Eric Weddle.
Green, a small-school prospect from Louisiana-Lafayette, translates into being the heir-apparent to future Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates. Green has the athleticism and talent to become another in a next breed of tight ends that have joined the NFL ranks over the course of the last four or five seasons.
Overall, the Chargers did an amazing job this offseason. They filled a tremendous amount of holes up and down the roster on each side of the ball and are the most complete team in the AFC West.
That really doesn’t mean a whole lot on paper. They need this talent to translate onto the football field in the form of a deep run in the postseason. If that doesn’t happen there are going to be wholesale changes in Southern California.
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