Tag: Chase Daniel

Former Saints backup QB Chase Daniel calls it a career, announces full-time shift to media

Former Saints backup QB Chase Daniel called it a career, announcing his retirement from playing football in a full-time shift to the media:

We’re on to the next chapter in Chase Daniel’s career. The former New Orleans Saints backup quarterback announced his retirement from pro football and full-time turn to the media in 2023, where he’s working a number of gigs with NFL Network, The Athletic, and The 33rd Team, among other outlets.

Daniel’s NFL career took off when he signed with the Saints practice squad, having been waived by Washington after not being picked in the 2009 NFL draft; the former Missouri Tigers quarterback was a memorable presence on the Saints sidelines from 2009 to 2012 (and again in 2017), and he’s gone on to do really well for himself around the league as a backup.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a quarterback who has earned more money per pass attempt than Daniel. He earned $41.8 million in his 14-year career with seven different teams, starting just five games along the way. Teams continued to value him as a veteran backup and resource for young starters like Justin Herbert, Mitchell Trubisky, and Carson Wentz, among others over the years even if he rarely got on the field.

Good luck to Daniel on his next turn in the media. He had a part-time role with NFL Network last season while backing up Herbert with the Los Angeles Chargers, but now he’s focusing more heavily on those pursuits.

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Chase Daniel has high expectations for the Broncos in 2023

“Sean [Payton] is going to get the absolute most out of them,” Chase Daniel said of the Broncos.

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The Denver  Broncos had high expectations for their 2022 NFL season, but the franchise knows they fell short. Enter the hiring of Sean Payton, the future Hall of Fame coach whose legendary career with the New Orleans Saints included a Super Bowl title in 2009. Payton has promised changes and a culture shift this year.

Free agent veteran quarterback Chase Daniel recently endorsed Payton and his abilities to create a thriving culture during an interview with Kay Adams on the Up & Adams show.

Daniel backed up Drew Brees under Payton from 2009 to 2012 and he was a part of that Super Bowl-winning team in 2009. So, he knows how Payton operates.

Daniel spoke with Adams about whether Payton could turn around the Broncos, and he had no doubt he could.

“He wanted to go to a place where the defense was really, really good and this Denver defense is the top 5 in the league in every category. They’re going to be that again this year… Sean is going to get the absolute most out of them.”

Check out the link below for Daniels’s full quote.

ChatGPT ranks the top 10 Big 12 quarterbacks of all time

Open Source AI ChatGPT ranked the top 10 Big 12 quarterbacks of all-time. Four of them were Oklahoma Sooners.

Over the life of the Big 12 conference, it’s become synonymous with high-scoring offenses and high-level quarterback play.

There have been Heisman trophy winners and first-overall picks, and the conference that’s been at the forefront of the aerial assault that’ taking college football by storm.

We’ve all spent time ranking quarterbacks, but for this version, we thought it’d be fun to let the computers do it. Using Open AI’s ChatGPT, we simply asked, “Who are the best Big 12 quarterbacks of all time?”

Its response?

These quarterbacks have all made significant contributions to their respective teams and have impressive statistics and accomplishments. However, it’s important to note that there have been many other great quarterbacks in the Big 12 who could also be considered for this list. – ChatGPT

Their top 10 is pretty solid. There are certainly arguments to be made for several others that made significant impacts or even won a Heisman trophy, but not bad from a computer-generated AI.

Here’s a look at the rankings.

Remaining Chargers free agents still on the open market

Here’s a full list of Chargers players that currently remain free agents.

It has been two weeks since the free agency period opened up, and the Chargers have been steady with their roster reconstruction. They added linebacker Eric Kendricks and re-signed a few of their own.

With that being said, several players that were on Los Angeles’ roster in 2022 are still available to sign.

Here’s a full list of Chargers players that currently remain free agents:

Tracking where Chargers’ free agents signed, who remains unsigned

Here’s a look at those that signed and remain unsigned through the first wave.

The Chargers have been steadily reconstructing their roster by signing Eric Kendricks and returning some of their own from this past season.

There are still some in-house players that either have signed with another team or remain unsigned.

Here’s a look at those that have signed and remain unsigned through the first wave.

S Nasir Adderley

Status: Retired

CB Bryce Callahan

Status: Unsigned

WR Deandre Carter

Status: Unsigned

C Will Clapp

Status: Unsigned

DT Christian Covington

Status: Unsigned

QB Chase Daniel

Status: Unsigned

DT Tyeler Davison

Status: Unsigned

DL Morgan Fox

Status: Re-signed with the Chargers

OT Trey Pipkins

Status: Re-signed with the Chargers

LB Troy Reeder

Status: Signed with the Vikings

TE Richard Rodgers

Status: Unsigned

P J.K. Scott

Status: Re-signed with the Chargers

QB Easton Stick

Status: Re-signed with the Chargers

LB Drue Tranquill

Status: Signed with the Chiefs

LB Kyle Van Noy

Status: Unsigned

Chargers’ 2022 season-in-review: Assessing the play of Los Angeles’ quarterbacks

The Chargers are in great shape at the quarterback position.

The quarterback position has never been as important as it is now across the NFL, and the Chargers have secured themselves a true franchise signal-caller in Justin Herbert.

His expert play in his third season as a professional football player helped Los Angeles achieve their first playoff berth since 2018 this season, though the outcome of their Wild Card matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars left something to be desired.

For his part, though, Herbert’s performance was exceptional. Throughout the regular season, he threw for over 4,700 yards and 25 touchdowns while only being intercepted ten times. He was also the team’s third-leading rusher by yardage but could not find the end zone on the ground.

While he might not have lit up the stat sheet as he did in his first two seasons, Herbert still put the team in a position to win weekly, despite dealing with fractured rib cartilage for most of the season, missing multiple starters throughout the year, and being hamstrung by an offensive scheme that did not tailor to his strengths. Nevertheless, Herbert did take a massive leap as a leader of the team and solidified himself as the face of the franchise.

Behind Herbert on Los Angeles’ depth chart is journeyman backup Chase Daniel, who has carved out quite a career since 2010. Daniel did not make a start this season but made four appearances, throwing for 52 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts, mostly in garbage time.

This output from their quarterbacks should enable the Chargers to focus on other areas of their roster in the offseason as they look to assemble a team that can be a legitimate contender in next year’s playoffs.

They will need to extend Herbert at some point shortly to ensure his place in Los Angeles for the long term. Still, outside of that piece of housekeeping, the Chargers are set at the most crucial offensive position except for his backup, which will need to be addressed, given Daniel and Easton Stick are set to be free agents.

Chargers’ keys to victory over Broncos

Here is how the Chargers can pick up their fifth-straight win.

The Chargers finish off their regular season on the road against the Broncos.

Here is what Los Angeles must do to pick up its fifth-straight victory.

Move the ball early

The Chargers have struggled to move the ball on early downs, as evidenced by their league-leading 15.2 third downs per game. They convert at a roughly 43% clip amongst the better teams in the league, but a large part of that is because of the playmaking abilities of quarterback Justin Herbert. With LA’s playoff seed potentially locked in before kickoff, however, it remains to be seen whether or not Herbert, or most of the other starters, will play on Sunday. If they don’t, those 15 third downs a game will be handed to Chase Daniel, who has shown in limited action this season that he’s not the same chain-mover as QB1. That means LA will need to find a way to get into shorter third downs or, better yet, move the chains on first or second down.

Lean on the run game

That leads into this next point rather nicely. Whether it’s primarily going to be Austin Ekeler, Joshua Kelley, Isaiah Spiller, or even Larry Rountree III, the Chargers should make toting the rock a priority against Denver. The reasons for this are twofold: one, LA needs to continue to develop their identity on the ground heading into the playoffs to show opponents more balanced looks. Two, the Broncos have given up fifteen touchdowns to running backs this season, one of the highest figures in the league. Denver is middle of the pack as a per carry rush defense, allowing 4.3 yards a rush, but the blueprint is there for an effective day on the ground. Even if it doesn’t result in a career day for anyone, getting a player like Kelley into the endzone once or twice could be enough to raise his confidence for the playoffs, where he will still have an important role as Austin Ekeler’s foil.

Bring the heat

Denver’s offensive line has given up 61 sacks this season, good for 3.8 per game, which is the most in the NFL. They will also be without starting guard Dalton Risner, who was placed on injured reserve this week. That’s contributed to the struggles of quarterback Russell Wilson, who has only recently started to get on the move to avoid the impending pressure as the coaching regime has turned over. Over the last three games, LA has logged 4.7 sacks per game, second-best in the league over that timeframe. Those numbers should only increase as Joey Bosa gets closer to full health: regardless of Bengals-Ravens outcome, I’d expect Bosa to play throughout the game to get him back up to speed. He needs the reps to shake the rust off from groin surgery, and last week’s Rams contest was slightly marred by food poisoning. With a chance to feast against Denver’s ragtag offensive line, Bosa could find his groove just in time for the playoffs.

Control the line of scrimmage

Denver has rushed for at least 100 yards in each of its last four games despite injuries across the offensive line and Latavius Murray serving as their primary running back. The Chargers, meanwhile, have given up at least 100 yards rushing in 11 of their 16 games thus far. Last week was a particularly rough outing, as Cam Akers shredded LA for 6.5 yards a carry. As the defense has improved over the last few weeks, the defensive line has largely been able to stuff the run at a fairly reasonable rate, but last week was a return to the early season of consistent struggles up front. Denver’s rushing success has mirrored their improvements on offense, with 20+ points in three of their last four outings. Stopping them and forcing Russell Wilson to be the one to win the game will be paramount.

Lock up Jerry Jeudy

Jeudy has been Wilson’s go-to receiver as the coaching has changed from Nathaniel Hackett to interim Jerry Rosburg. The third-year receiver has at least six catches in four consecutive contests and has found a groove as Courtland Sutton has been up and down and KJ Hamler has missed time. With the ascendant Michael Davis likely tasked with Sutton on the outside if the starters play for LA, that leaves Asante Samuel Jr. and Bryce Callahan as the primary options to track Jeudy. Both have been solid players all season, and their efforts helped hold Jeudy to 3 catches for 54 yards the first time these teams matched up. But if the starters don’t go, it’ll likely be rookie Ja’Sir Taylor that draws the assignment on Jeudy. How he responds, even with Jeudy dealing with a minor ankle injury, could be the difference.

Keep everyone healthy

This is the goal in every game, really, but it’s especially important this week with one eye on the pending playoff schedule. The Chargers have missed at least one game from Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Rashawn Slater, Joey Bosa, and Derwin James this season and have dealt with Justin Herbert playing in a severely limited fashion at times. They’re finally beginning to hit a stride health-wise, with only fullback Zander Horvath on the injury report leading into Sunday and reports that Slater may be close to returning surfacing. It’s of vital importance that they do all they can to ensure that remains the case going into Wild Card Weekend. If the starters have to play, I’d expect them to do so somewhat conservatively.

Chargers’ causes for concern vs. Broncos

Reasons why the Broncos might snap the Chargers’ four-game winning streak.

The Chargers will likely know by kickoff on Sunday whether they’ve secured the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs.

If they do, Los Angeles will likely rest its starters and attempt to get healthier for the Wild Card round. If they don’t, the Chargers can still win and jump up a spot, making Sunday’s game against Denver much more valuable.

Here are some reasons to be worried about LA’s chances.

Resting starters

If the Bengals beat the Ravens in the early window, the Chargers simply won’t have anything to play for on Sunday. Given Brandon Staley’s rest tendencies in the preseason, that’d likely mean that nearly every veteran starter will sit in favor of younger depth players. The exception to this might be Joey Bosa, who’s still working his way back from groin surgery and food poisoning. Denver has been bad this season, there’s no doubt about that. But NFL starters are usually starters for a reason, no matter what team they’re on, and trotting out Chase Daniel and a ragtag group of receivers against this vaunted Broncos secondary seems like a recipe for disaster from a single-game perspective.

Something to prove

People often say that teams eliminated from the playoffs have nothing to play for, but that’s not true. It’s especially not true for the Broncos, whose players will be out to prove to ownership and general manager George Paton that they’re worth keeping around for the new coaching regime following the firing of Nathaniel Hackett. For pending free agents, this is their last audition for Denver or a potential new team. Players on the fringes have to prove they’re not replaceable. Everyone is fighting to keep their NFL career afloat. For the Chargers, on the other hand, there’s less at stake. Their season doesn’t end when the final whistle blows on Sunday. Nobody’s jobs are at risk depending solely on the outcome of this game. Those different states of being could result in a flat game from LA as they look to cruise into the playoffs, while Denver’s players look to put out good tape against a playoff team.

Offensive improvement

Denver’s offense has improved dramatically over the last four games, scoring 28, 24, 14, and 24 points, which looks more like the statline of an average offense than a historically awful one. In all four of these contests, the Broncos have rushed for at least 100 yards. LA, meanwhile, has allowed teams to rush for at least 100 yards in 11 of their 16 games, which seems to suggest that Denver can continue their streak on Sunday. The first time these teams met, the Chargers needed overtime to win with only 19 points because the Broncos could only muster 16. Of course, LA also lacked some offensive talent because of early-season injuries. But with this Denver team averaging 22.5 points per game over their last 4, the Chargers will have to keep pace, likely to the tune of 31-ish points as they did last week versus the Rams.

Third down defense

Denver is the second-best team in the league at preventing third down conversions, giving up a first down just 33.01% of the time. The only team better this season has been Washington. The Chargers, meanwhile, love to work themselves into difficult third-down situations and ask Justin Herbert to bail them out. LA leads the league in third down conversions per game with 6.6 on a similarly league-leading 15.2 chances per game this season, a conversion rate of 43.21%, 8th best in the NFL. But again, remember that Herbert may not play in this one depending on earlier outcomes. If that’s the case, can you trust Chase Daniel to make the same plays to keep LA’s conversion percentage hovering around that 43% mark?

Former Saints QB Chase Daniel talks up Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett

Former Saints QB Chase Daniel talked up Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett after a Monday night win, but New Orleans shouldn’t regret passing on him:

Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Chase Daniel is pulling double-duty these days as a panelist on the NFL GameDay postgame show while backing up Justin Herbert with the Los Angeles Chargers, offering his insight as someone who’s been in the league for 13 years. You could say he’s seen a thing or two in-between trips to the bank cashing checks from six different teams as a veteran backup.

And he was impressed by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett in Monday night’s win over the Indianapolis Colts. Though he admitted Pickett hasn’t found many wins this year while experiencing some first-year struggles, he tipped his cap to the former Pitt Panther after taking down the Colts in prime time.

“But today he balled out. I was just loving how he was so good situationally,” Daniel said, highlighting the Steelers’ efficiency on third down and in the red zone. He continued, “He looked really, really comfortable out there. Now this is the fifth-ranked Colts defense, they’re not some ‘mess around’ type defense. This is a great learning experience for him. He’s going to move on with a lot of confidence.”

The Saints chose to pass on Pickett with the No. 19 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, instead selecting left tackle Trevor Penning. Pickett went off the board a few minutes later to the Steelers. Fast-forward to a few months later and he’s taking down the Saints in a 20-10 upset. So should New Orleans have some buyer’s remorse here? Or at least thoughts of what-might-have-been?

Probably not. Pickett’s struggles are well-documented, and his performance (3.98 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, which accounts for touchdown passes, sacks, and interceptions) has clocked in near the likes of Zach Wilson (3.86) and Blake Bortles (3.81) as some of the least-effective rookie quarterbacks to hit the field over the last decade. He very likely wouldn’t have been an upgrade over Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton had New Orleans picked him at No. 19 overall. If the Steelers hadn’t taken him there, he may have not been drafted in the first round at all.

Still, we’ll never know how it might have turned out otherwise. At this point all you can do is tip your hat to Pickett finding ways to win and hope Penning works his way into the starting lineup soon. The Saints’ offensive line hasn’t met expectations this season, and hopes are high for Penning — he’s more or less valued as their 2023 first round pick, with New Orleans having traded that selection to get the draft choice spent on him. Hopefully both players, Penning and Pickett, can go on to enjoy productive careers in the NFL.

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AI generator renders a future Saints quarterback almost as frightening as reality

An online AI generator produced a rendering of what the future Saints quarterback may look like, and the results are almost as frightening as their current reality:

Yikes. The New Orleans Saints quarterback situation isn’t much to write home about, but things could be worse. Neither Andy Dalton nor Jameis Winston have inspired confidence in the fanbase this season, but whoever is under center this time next year might not even look human.

An enterprising Saints fan on Reddit known as u/FauxJello took advantage of the artificial intelligence trend to create a rendering of what the next Saints quarterback may look like. Described as a “deep learning, text-to-image model” made public earlier this year, Stable Diffusion spat out an image after being fed a written description and some reference photos, and the results are unsettling at best. See for yourself:

Stable Diffusion
Stable Diffusion

It appears that the Stable Diffusion AI made a composite of various Saints quarterbacks to predict what the next one may look like, which checks out as something a machine would do in this kind of situation. We can see Drew Brees’ old No. 9 jersey, of course (and the prospect of New Orleans letting another quarterback wear it someday is concerning on its own), but there’s also Winston’s long undershirt sleeves and Taysom Hill’s Olympic javelin-style windup to throw in there. If you turn your head and squint, you can see some Chase Daniel in the posture, bizarrely. Just try not to focus on the fingers welded together, the reversed elbow, whatever’s going on with the team logo, and the enigmatic cloud over its face from the helmet.

Anyway: all jokes aside, it’s totally unclear who will be quarterback the Saints in 2023. It almost certainly won’t be Dalton or Winston, though the latter is under contract next season, and it’s been made clear that Hill’s days as a full-time quarterback are behind him. Whether the Saints pursue a veteran free agent or trade acquisition, or roll the dice on a rookie in the 2023 NFL draft, the quarterback room should look much different this time next year. Hopefully it’ll be an upgrade.

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