Tag: Asante Samuel Jr.

Chargers PFF grades: Top 10 performers through first quarter of season

Using PFF grades, here are the Chargers’ top performers through the first four games of the season.

The quarter mark of the 2023 NFL season is officially in the rearview and the Chargers are about to embark on a 13-game stretch after having their bye.

Before moving full steam ahead, let’s take a look at the top performers on both sides of the ball using Pro Football Focus’ grades.

The implosion of the J.C. Jackson signing and where the Chargers go from here

Highlighting what trading J.C. Jackson means for the Chargers.

Just two years after the Chargers signed J.C. Jackson to a record-setting five-year, $82.5 million contract, Los Angeles has traded the corner back to his former team in New England. The Chargers receive a late-round pick swap and some mild cap relief this year in return. But they’ll also absorb a dead cap charge of $21 million next year.

This isn’t the outcome the team envisioned in March 2022. But there are many reasons why the Chargers and Jackson arrived here.

In August of 2022, elective ankle surgery to remove a bone spur caused a setback for the Bolts’ corner that prevented him from starting the season healthy. Brandon Staley, at the time, called it a “comfort level” procedure for Jackson. He missed the Chargers’ Week 1 contest and returned in Week 2 against Kansas City.

After a few weeks of poor performances where Jackson was a liability in coverage, Staley decided to bench him at halftime against the Broncos on Monday Night Football. Michael Davis took his spot on the outside and the Chargers had a relatively dominant defensive effort in the second half.

Against Seattle later in the season, Jackson had a relatively good first half where it felt like he was finally beginning to fit into the scheme. Late in the second quarter, however, Jackson ruptured his patellar tendon trying to defend Marquise Goodwin in the end zone.

A ruptured patellar tendon demanded a long road to recovery for Jackson. After a long 2023 offseason process, Jackson was able to start training camp on time. He never was placed on the PUP list, unlike some of his former Chargers’ teammates who suffered season-ending injuries.

Throughout training camp, we mostly heard positive signs of Jackson’s recovery. He was never 100%, but he was supposedly getting there. After not being listed on the injury report in Week 1, Jackson was able to start game one of the 2023 season against the Dolphins.

Jackson had what was arguably the worst game of his career. The Chargers’ secondary was horrific on the day and Jackson’s communication with the secondary played a role in that. He allowed three receptions for 99 yards during Tyreek Hill’s explosion. Jackson also committed an egregious pass interference penalty that gifted Miami three points before the end of the half.

Something was wrong with the secondary rotations and how they communicated how easily Miami could get free releases. Miami made a point out of targeting Jackson intentionally, knowing his injury status. In fairness to Jackson, Staley wasn’t exactly putting him in advantageous defensive positions with a lot of single coverage looks.

In Week 3 against Minnesota, Jackson was a healthy scratch for the first time in his Chargers’ career. Against the Raiders, the former Chargers cornerback was active but did not play a single snap.

Throughout his tenure, Jackson ultimately dealt with injury, benchings, drops in the level of play, and numerous rehab processes. For a signing that was supposed to fix the Chargers’ CB1 situation for the foreseeable future, it’s a shame it didn’t play out that way.

Now, the Chargers will start Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis, and Ja’Sir Taylor as their main trio. That group performed considerably better as a unit for the secondary relative to the teams’ first two weeks. In the short term, not much changes for the Chargers.

However, the unit is less deep without Jackson. The Chargers have signed Essang Bassey to the active roster after claiming him on waivers, but the gap in NFL experience and functionality between the two players is notable. They’re certainly more susceptible to injuries at the position than they once were.

The interesting questions are long-term. Samuel Jr. will be due a contract extension at some point. Davis is a free agent after the year. Ultimately, the Chargers will undergo a relatively large reconstruction of their secondary outside of Derwin James being a mainstay at safety.

From a team perspective, the Jackson experience was a failure on all fronts. Tom Telesco, as GM, of course, would take a redo on that contract less than two years later. The handling of his injuries and various benchings of Jackson certainly have affected his career. That seems to fall on all parties involved, including Telesco, Staley, and the former Pro Bowl corner.

To the credit of the current regime in charge, moving on was best for all parties instead of trying to make it work because of sunk cost.

The Chargers will simplify things for the rest of the year, but they’re back to square one on finding the future lockdown corner of their defense. Eating Jackson’s dead cap for the next few years will make their financial situation tough in attempting to lure players in free agency. The draft is likely the Bolts’ best bet on finding someone to lead Staley’s defense in the back half, assuming he’s still head coach in 2024.

Where the Chargers rank statistically after Week 4

Looking at the major metrics, here is where the Chargers stand after Week 4.

The Chargers are now .500 after defeating the Raiders on Sunday, 24-17.

Now that Week 4 is in the rearview, we now know how the Bolts rank statistically compared to the rest of the NFL. Looking at the major metrics, here is where L.A. stands.

Twitter reacts to Chargers’ win over Raiders

Here is how the internet reacted after the Chargers beat the Raiders.

The Chargers secured the win at home against the Raiders. The game was a thrill from start to finish, with franchise records broken and several unfortunate injuries coming to pass.

Here is how social media reacted:

 

 

 

4 takeaways from Chargers’ 24-17 win over Raiders

Here’s what stood out from the Chargers’ Week 4 win over the Raiders.

The Chargers eked out a Week 4 victory to get back to .500 on Sunday, defeating the Raiders 24-17 in a game that should not have been that close.

With the bye week to follow, Los Angeles still has plenty to clean up, but there are also flashes of a great team showing. Here’s what to take away from their performance against Las Vegas.

Everything to know about Chargers’ victory over Raiders

To recap the Chargers’ win over the Raiders, here is everything you need to know.

The Chargers picked up their second consecutive win of the season, defeating the Raiders in a game that had fans of both teams on the edge of their seats.

To recap Week 4, here is everything you need to know:

Chargers CB J.C. Jackson a healthy scratch in ‘coach’s decision’

J.C. Jackson has failed to live up to his big contract.

The Chargers surprisingly made cornerback J.C. Jackson a healthy inactive in their victory over the Vikings.

After the game, head coach Brandon Staley said the decision on Jackson was made because he felt that group of cornerbacks gave them their best chance to win today.

“Just we felt like going into this game that this was the group that we wanted to play with in this game,” Staley said. “Felt like it was going to give us the best chance. That’s what we did today. And I was really proud of the way our defense played today, especially the secondary.

Jackson worked his way back to live-game action after a ruptured patellar tendon ended his 2022 season. However, in what Staley called a “ramp-up period,” Jackson’s play left a lot to be desired in the first two games.

Jackson played just north of 60% of the defensive snaps against the Dolphins and Titans. In Week 1, Asante Samuel Jr. started in the slot and moved outside when Jackson came out of the game. Last week, Michael Davis rotated with Jackson when Jackson came out of the game.

Jackson was given a five-year, $82.5 million deal last offseason to lock down opposing team’s top wideouts, like Justin Jefferson. And it’s clear based on the decision to bench him for something non-injury related that the team doesn’t have faith in him to do so.

In Los Angeles’ win over Minnesota, they had Samuel and Davis on the outside and Ja’Sir Taylor in the slot.

Jefferson finished the game with seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.

“Our guys really competed today against a good offensive group, and that group really brought us home at the end of the game,” Staley added.

Chargers’ causes for concern vs. Vikings

Reasons why the Vikings could beat the Chargers in Week 3.

The Chargers meet a spiritual equal on Sunday, facing a Vikings team well acquainted with the sort of heartbreak Los Angeles’ fans have come to expect.

With both teams standing at 0-2 despite productive offensive performances, something has to give.

Here are four reasons to be concerned about a 0-3 start for L.A..

Chargers prioritizing defending Justin Jefferson, Vikings’ potent passing offense

The Vikings have one of the league’s best passing offenses, while the Chargers have had issues defending it.

If the Chargers want to come away with their first win this Sunday, the primary focus will be slowing the Vikings and their prolific passing offense.

Through two weeks, Minnesota ranks No. 2, averaging 337 yards per game through the first two weeks of the season.

Kirk Cousins is tied for the most passing touchdowns (6) and has the second-most explosive pass plays (17), per Pro Football Focus.

Arguably the most significant factor in their success is star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who leads the NFL in receiving yards (309) and has the second-most targets (25) and catches (20) through two games.

“Justin’s very talented. He’s a long guy, has really good body control,” defensive coordinator Derick Ansley said about Jefferson. “He’s kind of limber, where his body can do things in the air that most people can’t.

“It’s going to be a really good challenge for us,” Ansley added. “We got a lot of respect for him … They got a really good bunch over there, so we got to do a really good job of doing our part and stopping them.”

It will take a collaborative effort from cornerbacks J.C. Jackson, Michael Davis and Asante Samuel Jr. to limit Jefferson as much as possible.

The Vikings’ weapons don’t stop there, however. They have WR Jordan Addison, who is off to a stellar rookie campaign. Addison has seven catches for 133 yards, with an average of 19 yards per reception and two scores.

Additionally, tight end T.J. Hockenson, the highest-paid at his position, is coming off a two-touchdown performance and has already seen 17 targets.

This will be a tall task for a Chargers defense that ranks dead last against the pass through the first two weeks, but they’re motivated to overcome their obvious flaws.

“Getting back to our technique and playing how we play,” cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor said, per the Chargers official website. “These first two weeks, that’s not the product we’ve been working toward.

“This week, we’ll get back to what we’ve been putting our hard work into and hopefully put out a great performance,” Taylor added.

Brandon Staley must fix Chargers secondary before it’s too late

Brandon Staley’s secondary has certainly not started the season as they originally intended.

The Chargers’ secondary has undoubtedly not started the season as they intended to. In Week 1, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns. Tyreek Hill put on a show himself while the Dolphins exploded for 36 points. Los Angeles allowed eight explosive pass plays for over 20+ yards. Filtering it to 15+ yards, they allowed 17 such passes.

Michael Davis and J.C. Jackson got the brunt of the ambush from Mike McDaniel’s squad, but no one in the secondary played particularly well. The unit was disorganized about their coverage assignments. The middle of the field was a feast for the Dolphins as Brandon Staley kept showing Cover 6 looks. Significant press man was played on Hill.

Was the secondary as bad in Week 2? No. But there were still several miscues that killed them for big plays. The Chargers allowed three explosive pass plays over 20+ yards to a Tennessee offense that struggled mightily in the passing game the week before. Davis and Asante Samuel Jr. got beat with no safety help over the top on two deep shots by Chris Moore and Treylon Burks. Ryan Tannehill posted his highest passer rating (123.3) since an early October game against the Colts last season.

Simply put, the secondary is reeling two weeks into the season. Staley was asked a few questions about it during his Monday media availability. First, he discussed his nickel sub-package:

We’re going to go with Ja’Sir at Star. Then, those three guys on the outside will play, based on, like I said, J.C.’s ramp-up and how they are performing in practice and in the game. We would like to get those guys into a rhythm right now. It’s competitive. Like I said, we feel like we have three starting corners.

Naming Ja’Sir Taylor the starter in the slot is surprising after the Chargers acknowledged that Asante Samuel Jr. had “won” the slot competition during training camp. Pulling the plug on that experiment after two games for Samuel to go back outside is a quick pivot.

On the topic of his cornerback rotation:

The guys are in the positions that they are used to playing, so that is a good way to get them in rhythm. I felt like them being in the right spots is a key component in that. As we continue to play these games and perform, then the competition is going to express itself. Then, two guys will emerge and we’ll be able to settle on our starting two. Right now, it kind of is where it is and we need to keep moving forward.

Staley not being sure of who the two starting cornerbacks should be two weeks into the season is the issue here. A “competition” for the outside jobs entering Week 3 is somewhat symbolic of how the season has played out.

Where Staley is at fault, he is actively playing a role in preventing the secondary from finding a rhythm. The amount of press man Staley has employed relative to last season has put his corners in compromised positions. Staley benched Davis for about a quarter and a half to start the Tennessee game. Jackson has been removed from both games at various points for play-related benchings. How is this secondary supposed to find a rhythm with constant disruptions and poor schematics?

The bad news is that the next few games don’t get easier for the Chargers from a coverage standpoint. Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams will attack the Bolts’ defense in their next two games. After the BYE week, they go up against Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes.

If Staley and the teams’ corners don’t stabilize the back half of the defense soon, the defensive season the Chargers are having could get even uglier. Fast.

A final stat I’ll leave you with to accentuate the current crisis: