Tag: Chargers fourth down

Chargers players stand by HC Brandon Staley’s risky fourth-down call

Justin Herbert and Derwin James sounded off on Brandon Staley’s fourth-down decision in the Chargers’ victory over the Browns.

It was a wild afternoon for the Chargers when they faced the Browns on Sunday afternoon.

Their 30-28 victory almost slipped away after Brandon Staley decided not to punt on fourth down with 1:14 remaining.

Instead, Staley called a timeout, and Justin Herbert threw a slant to Mike Williams on fourth-and-1, which was broken up by rookie cornerback Martin Emerson Jr.

“It just really felt like the slant to (WR) Mike (Williams) was going to be the play call there,” Staley said.” It just didn’t go down for us, but I had a lot of confidence in our defense to go out there and get them stopped.”

Cleveland got the ball back with L.A. hanging on to its two-point lead. The Browns had zero timeouts left and made it to the Bolts’ 35 to set up for a winning field goal. 

Chargers fans everywhere held their breaths as Cleveland’s rookie kicker Cade York took the field. The former LSU product missed the 54-yard field goal attempt and Los Angeles escaped with a win. 

Despite the win, many questioned Staley’s decision on fourth down. Nevertheless, he explained his aggressive call postgame. 

“I just wanted to finish the game with the ball,” Staley said. “I felt like we liked the play and we liked the matchup. We knew what coverage they were going to be in. We wanted to finish the game on our terms on third down. We felt like we had a good run-up against that defense. We had a pass solution. They defended it well.”

Afterward, players of the team defended Staley’s risky call, including Herbert, who admired his coach’s belief in the team’s ability to be successful on a nail-biting play. 

“I think it says a lot that he believes in us,” Herbert said. “ Just like I believe in our offensive line, our receivers, and our running backs. I knew that we would go out there and convert. It did not go our way, unfortunately, but we were riding with that play. The defense came with that big stop when we were down.”

Even safety Derwin James supported his coach, which should be a testament to this team’s camaraderie.  

“We are with them. We are going for it even though they didn’t get it, so what we have to go out there and get a stop. It’s on us to get the stop, we believe in our offense, we are going to go for it again. We don’t care.”

Although Staley’s call didn’t go as planned, it should be a comforting sight to see that his players stood behind his decision. The Chargers have some polishing up to do; however, the solidarity within a team is a factor that is paramount to a winning franchise. 

Despite decision disagreements, Chargers HC Brandon Staley sticking to his guns

Chargers HC Brandon Staley is going to continue to roll the dice.

Known for consistently going for it on fourth down, Brandon Staley has established himself as someone who isn’t afraid to gamble.

The Chargers entered the game 13-of-21 on fourth downs this season, marking the fourth-highest conversion rate in the league.

However, rolling the dice did not necessarily go in Staley’s favor in the loss to the Chiefs on Thursday night.

“I felt really comfortable with all those decisions,” Staley said. “That’s the way we’re going to play around here. That’s the way we’re going to play.

When we have a quarterback like ours, and we have an offense like ours, that’s the way we’re going to play because that’s how you need to play against Kansas City, for sure. That’s how we’re going to become the team that we’re ultimately capable of being, by playing that way.”

In five attempts on fourth down, the Bolts successfully converted just two. Of the three failed attempts, two came inside the Chiefs’ five-yard, and the other was still within field goal range.

The first came on the opening drive on 4th-and-5 from Kansas City’s five-yard line when Donald Parham injured himself while attempting to come down with a catch in the back of the end zone, which would’ve given the Chargers a very early lead.

The next came four drives later on fourth down from the Chiefs’ one-yard line. Looking to go to Keenan Allen on a quick out, Justin Herbert’s pass was tipped by Daniel Sorensen as time ran out before the half, which would’ve put the Chargers up 21-10.

The last unsuccessful conversion came in the third quarter at Kansas City’s 28-yard line when Herbert and Jared Cook couldn’t connect on a 4th-and-2 pass, which would’ve extended the lead to 17-13 had they gone with a field goal.

Cook was also responsible for a dropped pass on a likely touchdown on the drive before the half.

The argument will be made that Staley should’ve just taken the points after the first two failures. Still, regardless, that’s not his philosophy, and he will choose to trust his Herbert-led offense, roll with the analytics, and be aggressive almost every time.

Remember, the last time the two teams met in Week 3, the Bolts scored 14 points off drives where they decided to go for it on fourth down. They ended up winning by six points.

Despite the offense not converting them, Staley does not regret his decisions, and he will continue to stick to his guns moving forward.

“We felt like it was an advantage situation for us,” Staley explained. “That’s why we did it. If we didn’t feel like that was the case, then we would have kicked a field goal or we would have punted.

That’s the way that we’re going to do things around here. I know that our team embraces that mindset. We’re going to continue to do it every game we play moving forward.”

Chargers HC Brandon Staley explains conservative approach on fourth down vs. Vikings

Chargers HC Brandon Staley was more conservative against the Vikings compared to previous weeks.

It was fourth-and-2 with less than five minutes remaining in the game, as the Chargers were shy just six yards from the endzone and trailed by 10.

Uncharacteristically, head coach Brandon Staley chose to take the field goal instead of going for the touchdown.

The call seemed timid and safe for a coach who is well-known for being aggressive in those situations.

“I felt like the certainty of points and to give ourselves a chance [was best.]” Staley said. “I felt defensively that we would get an opportunity for us to come back, score, and go for two to win.”

Yes, you cut the deficit with the field goal. However, even if the field goal is made, the team has to get a defensive stop, score a touchdown, get another stop, and hope to win at the end of regulation or overtime.

Staley chose to rely on his defensive unit, yet they did not get the stop.

“I felt like it was going to be a one-possession game and the certainty of points there was good,” Staley said. “I felt like with time being on our side, I felt like we could get a possession back and we would be able to go down there and score a touchdown.

We had all of our timeouts and the two-minute [warning,] and I felt like in that circumstance it was the right thing to do to truly make it a one-possession game.”

The Chargers’ defense couldn’t manage to force a punt from halfway of the third quarter onward. Consequently, they couldn’t get a stop on any of its final three series against the Vikings offense.

Earlier on in the game, Staley took another conservative approach. He punted after taking a delay of game on a fourth-and-4 from Minnesota’s 40-yard line in the first quarter.

Now, of course, we wouldn’t be analyzing Staley’s call if the Chargers had gone for it on fourth down and not scored. But, then, we’d be hearing about how he takes too many risks.

However, the lack of production on the offensive side of the ball could have ultimately been the factor in Staley’s decision not to go for it on both occasions.