Tag: Corey Linsley

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in Week 6 loss to Ravens

Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ studs and duds from the Chargers’ loss to the Ravens.

The Chargers were outmatched by the Ravens on Sunday, 34-6.

Despite the loss, Los Angeles had a few players on both sides of the ball that had themselves good individual performances.

With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s game, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

WR Keenan Allen – 73.3

C Corey Linsley – 69.6

OG Matt Feiler – 68.4

OT Rashawn Slater – 65.1

RB Joshua Kelley – 64.4

Top 5 Defense

Derwin James – 85.0

Linval Joseph – 69.6

Chris Rumph – 67.0

Joe Gaziano – 65.9

Chris Harris Jr. – 60.4

Bottom 5 Offense

OT Storm Norton – 49.4

TE Stephen Anderson – 52.6

WR Jalen Guyton – 52.7

TE Donald Parham – 52.8

WR Mike Williams – 53.5

Bottom 5 Defense

LB Nick Niemann – 26.0

S Trey Marshall – 29.8

LB Amen Ogbongbemiga – 29.9

EDGE Uchenna Nwosu – 30.4

LB Kyzir White – 35.0

Matt Feiler signing paying off for Chargers

Chargers guard Matt Feiler has been an integral piece to the overall success of the offensive line.

Sometimes left is right.

For the Chargers, that’s how it’s been, with the left side of the offensive line being stout. While rookie Rashawn Slater has drawn the majority of the praise, veteran Matt Feiler has been an integral piece up front.

Even though he has only allowed five quarterback pressures, most of Feiler’s money has been made as a run-blocker, given that most positive plays have come behind him, as seen here.

In the first three games, Feiler has a run-blocking grade of 92.8, which is the second-highest by any offensive linemen in the league, only behind 49ers’ Trent Williams (93.9), per Pro Football Focus.

In addition, Feiler has a PFF grade of 82.0, which ranks fourth-best among guards, only trailing Patriots’ Michael Onwenu (90.0), Cowboys’ Zack Martin (85.7), and Falcons’ Chris Lindstrom.

It certainly helps to have All-Pro center Corey Linsley next to him, but Feiler has supplied the line with a smooth-moving mauler as both a run blocker and pass protector who hardly loses one-on-one battles.

Prior to his playing days with the Chargers, Feiler helped the Steelers hold opponents to the fewest sacks in the NFL over the last three seasons. In 1,499 pass-blocking snaps, Feiler only blew 31. In 903 run-blocking snaps, he only blew eight.

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in Week 3 win over Chiefs

Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ studs and duds from the Chargers’ win over the Chiefs.

In the Week 3 of the 2021 regular season, the Chargers took care of business on the road against the Chiefs.

I chose five players that I felt made a huge impact on the game, but there were a handful of other top performers.

With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s contest, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

WR Mike Williams — 86.4

QB Justin Herbert — 85.6

OL Corey Linsley — 83.1

WR Keenan Allen — 78.8

OL Matt Feiler — 77.7

Top 5 Defense

EDGE Joey Bosa — 79.2

CB Tevaughn Campbell — 77.1

DB Alohi Gilman — 75.8

CB Asante Samuel Jr. — 68.4

LB Drue Tranquill — 67.8

Bottom 5 Offense

TE Stephen Anderson — 52.6

WR Jalen Guyton — 51.4

TE Jared Cook — 47.9

OT Trey Pipkins — 41.7

RB Larry Rountree III — 29.8

Bottom 5 Defense

DT Christian Covington — 45.8

CB Michael Davis — 45.6

DB Mark Webb — 45.3

EDGE Uchenna Nwosu — 38.5

LB Kyzir White — 28.8

Chargers OT Rashawn Slater plays well beyond his years in debut

Chargers rookie OT Rashawn Slater exceeded even the highest expectations in his debut in the professional ranks. 

In need of quarterback Justin Herbert’s blindside protector, the Chargers selected offensive tackle Rashawn Slater with the No. 13 overall pick.

The selection of Slater was adored by many, included myself, who had him as the No. 2 tackle in this year’s draft class.

“While many believe he should get kicked inside at the next level, Slater is technically sound and has the athleticism and smarts to overcome any measurement concerns, projecting as a top-notch blindside blocker,” I wrote.

Leading into the draft, there were rumblings that Slater was going to have to play guard due to his height and length not being to NFL standards. This all came after he dominated elite competition at the position at Northwestern

Los Angeles did not think so.

The team knew they were going to have him protect the edge all along, and his regular season as a professional against Washington showed why Slater was destined to be an NFL offensive tackle.

Drawing two tough matchups in edge defenders Chase Young and Montez Sweat, Slater’s play resembled one similar to a veteran Pro Bowler returning for his fourth season in this league.

Slater handled everything thrown his way, showing great technique with his upper and lower half, functional strength and agility to keep rushers at bay, as well as the athleticism to take advantage of positioning and angles to get the job done in the run blocking department.

On the afternoon, Slater did not allow a single pressure to arguably the stiffest competition that he will face this season.

There was a lot of hype surrounding Slater coming out of college, and it’s safe to say that the former Wildcat exceeded even the highest expectations in his debut in the professional ranks.

Chargers OT Bryan Bulaga on track to start Week 1

The 32-year old is on track to start this Sunday against the Washington Football Team.

Entering the week, head coach Brandon Staley said that offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga’s (hip flexor) availability for the season opener would depend on how he looked at practice.

Fast forward to now and it appears that the 32-year old is trending towards starting this Sunday against the Football Team, according to head coach Brandon Staley.

If anything changes, Storm Norton will start at right tackle.

The health of Bulaga is something to be monitored this season after coming off an injury-plagued in which he only played nearly 38% of the offensive snaps.

If and when he’s on the field, the Chargers boast a stout offensive line. If not, things could get a little bit shaky.

Projecting Chargers’ offensive depth chart for 2021

Predicting the Chargers’ offensive depth chart heading into the 2021 season.

The Chargers are just a little over a week away from their season opener against The Washington Football Team under new head coach Brandon Staley, and with that, the positions are set after finalizing their 53-man roster.

The team has yet to release the official depth chart, so let’s dive into how the offensive side of the ball could shape up heading into the 2021 season, highlighting who is likely to start and serve as depth pieces behind them.

Quarterback

Starter Backup Reserve
QB Justin Herbert Chase Daniel Easton Stick

Herbert is QB1 while Daniel will likely be the other active signal-caller on game days. Even though Stick will be inactive, he gives the team flexibility in case of any COVID-19 related emergency.

Running back

Starter Backup Reserve Reserve
RB Austin Ekeler Justin Jackson Larry Rountree Joshua Kelley

Ekeler will continue do it all out of the backfield, lined up in the slot and out wide. Jackson figures to get the bulk of carries behind him, assuming he stays healthy. Rountree gets the nod over Kelley after outperforming him in the summer. Nonetheless, both will be featured in short-yardage situations for the most.

Fullback

Starter
Gabe Nabers

Nabers is the only fullback on the roster. His primary responsibility will be to serve as an additional blocker and special teams ace, but he could get some targets through the air when short yards are needed.

Wide receiver

Starter Backup
WR1 Keenan Allen K.J. Hill
WR2 Mike Williams Jalen Guyton
WR3 Josh Palmer

The hope is that Williams is fully healthy by next weekend. Palmer sits above Guyton on the depth chart after proving himself as a reliable WR3 this summer, showing the ability to consistent get open and catch everything thrown his way. However, Guyton should still see the field quite a bit due to his speed. Plus, Joe Lombardi rotates his receivers on a consistent basis based on the defensive scheme. Hill will be a primary return specialist.

Tight end

Starter Backup Reserve Reserve
TE Jared Cook Donald Parham Tre’ McKitty Stephen Anderson

Nothing surprising here. Cook and Parham will be the primary pass-catching tight ends, while McKitty serves as an in-line blocker. Anderson brings receiving and blocking chops, but he was kept on the roster to be a key special teamer.

Offensive line

Starter Backup Reserve
LT Rashawn Slater Trey Pipkins
LG Matt Feiler Brenden Jaimes
C Corey Linsley Scott Quessenberry
RG Oday Aboushi
RT Bryan Bulaga Storm Norton

The starting five have been set in stone for awhile, so there aren’t any changes here. Norton will be the primary swing tackle, which means that he will slide in at the left or right tackle should an injury occur to Slater or Bulaga. Pipkins is still developing. Jaimes is the swing guard. Quessenberry is the swing center, with the ability to play any of the guard spots if needed.

Six former Ohio State football players listed in the 2021 NFL Top 100 list

The NFL Top 100 list is out for this season, and this time, six former Buckeyes appear. Can you name them without looking?

It’s become an annual tradition of sorts, the NFL Top 100 players as judged by and voted on by the players themselves, and published on NFL.com heading into a season. In the past, we’ve seen plenty of former Ohio State players appear on the list, and it’s no different in 2021.

Al told, there are six former Buckeyes appearing on this year’s version of the best 100 players in the NFL and we’re going to run through them for you. Keep in mind though, it was an interesting year last season with a slew of injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, like every other year, players that are on the list fall, gain, and even no longer appear, all because of mostly unforeseen circumstances. Still, six players from one school in the top 100 among the highest league in the world isn’t too shabby.

Here are all six former Buckeyes appearing in the NFL Top 100 list for this upcoming2021-2022 season.

3 Chargers make bottom half of NFL’s Top 100 players of 2021

A good portion of the annual player rankings were unveiled, and the Chargers had three players that made the cut.

We’re still weeks away from the start of the regular season, which means national sports websites are still putting out their player and team rankings.

On Sunday, NFL Network released the first part of its Top 100 list with players 100-41. And as far as we can tell, three members of the Chargers were unveiled.

First up, center Corey Linsley checked in at No. 60 overall.

Named first-team All-Pro in 2020, Linsley didn’t allow a sack or a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage vs. the run. He allowed just four total pressures on 437 pass-blocking snaps — the lowest pressure total in the NFL.

Linsley made quarterback Aaron Rodgers very happy during his time with the Packers, and he’ll now do the same for QB Justin Herbert.

Speaking of Herbert, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year came next on the list, landing No. 56 overall.

Herbert set rookie records for total touchdowns (36), passing touchdowns (31), completions (396), multi-passing touchdown games (10), games with 300 yards passing (8) and three-passing touchdown games (6).

Heading into 2021, Herbert could be in for an even bigger season, given the revamped offensive line, a promising group of skill players and a new offensive coordinator in Joe Lombardi that will cater specifically to him.

Among the weapons that Herbert will have to distribute the wealth to is wide receiver Keenan Allen, who checked in one spot ahead of him, being ranked No. 55 overall.

After dealing with injuries early on in his career, Allen has stayed relatively healthy since then and has shown why he’s one of the league’s most underrated wideouts.

Averaging 100 receptions and over 1,000 receiving yards making four Pro Bowl appearances in the past four seasons, defensive backs have struggled to find an answer to Allen’s crafty route-running.

Updates to Chargers’ Corey Linsley, Kenneth Murray

The Chargers had a slight scare at practice on Sunday.

There was a couple of slight scares at SoFi Stadium during the Chargers training camp practice, as linebacker Kenneth Murray and center Corey Linsley both got banged up that had to be tended to by trainers.

Murray’s occurred when he was pushing tight end Jared Cook out of bounds. He appeared to roll his ankle and was walking gingerly afterwards. He remained on the sidelines the rest of practice.

Linsley, on the other hand, came up with a foot injury. He left the field with the team’s trainers and never returned to practice.

The good news is that both injuries are minor. Head coach Brandon Staley said they were pulled for precautionary reasons and that they would have likely played through it.

“We are being careful. If this is a ball game might be a different story,” Staley said.

Los Angeles does not practice on Monday, and it remains to be seen if they will on Tuesday.

Chargers’ Corey Linsley leaves training camp practice early with trainers

The injury bug showed up to SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

The Chargers have managed to stay healthy through nine practices, but the injury bug might have showed up at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

Nearly halfway through practice, center Corey Linsley left the field and walked to the locker room with the team’s trainers.

His injury and the status of it remains to be seen.

That wasn’t the only injury of the afternoon, however.

Linebacker Kenneth Murray tripped on the sideline trying to push tight end Jared Cook out of bounds, with what appeared to be an injury on his right leg.

Murray was able to walk off the field under his own power and after being tended to by trainers, he has remained on the sideline since then.

Head coach Brandon Staley will likely have an update with the statuses to both players following today’s practice.