Tag: Corey Linsley

Raiders vs Chargers final injury report: Seriously banged up Chargers squad

Raiders to face seriously banged up Chargers squad Sunday

We on this side of things tend to focus on the Raiders’ injuries most times. For instance, all eyes have been on the statuses of QB Jimmy Gaoppolo (concussion) and DE Maxx Crosby (knee). But the Chargers may be considerably worse off than the Raiders this week.

This week, there are five Chargers starters who are either Out, Doubtful, or Questionable for Sunday’s game in Los Angeles.

Officially Out is Pro Bowl center Corey Linsley.

Doubtful are All Pro safety Derwin James and standout RB Austin Ekeler

Questionable are Pro Bowl EDGE Joey Bosa and starting safety Alohi Gilman.

Meanwhile, for the Raiders, only special team maven Curtis Bolton is officially Out.

They do, however, have five players who are officially Questionable. Along with Crosby and Garoppolo, Nate Hobbs appeared on the injury report with an ankle injury he apparently suffered in Friday’s practice. So too did Malcolm Koonce who seems to have had a groin injury flare up on Thursday, putting him as Questionable as well.

Raiders vs Chargers Thursday injury report: DE Maxx Crosby (knee) misses practice

Maxx Crosby (knee) misses practice while Jimmy Garoppolo (concussion) returns limited

Good news and bad news for the Raiders on Thursday. Good news was Jimmy Garoppolo returned to practice. He is still in the concussion protocol and was limited. Bad news is Maxx Crosby missed practice with a knee injury.

Crosby had been limited on Wednesday, but was downgraded Thursday.

The Chargers were also without their best pass rusher. Joey Bosa has missed both practices so far this week with hamstring and toe injuries.

Also missing for the Chargers the past two days are TE Gerald Everett (illness), S Alohi Gilman (heel), S Derwin James (hamstring), and C Corey Linsley (illness).

All of the players missing for the Chargers are starters, so obviously any of them missing the game would be significant.

In addition, Austin Ekeler was limited while he continued to try and return from an ankle injury he suffered in the season opener.

Other Raiders players who missed practice were LB Curtis Bolton and S Roderic Teamer. Both are special teams standouts.

Chargers announce team captains for 2023 season

Find out who will be the captains for the Los Angeles Chargers during the 2023 season.

The Chargers have selected their leaders.

Los Angeles announced its team captains for the 2023 regular season, which opens at home against the Dolphins on Sunday.

They are as follows:

WR Keenan Allen

RB Austin Ekeler

LS Josh Harris

QB Justin Herbert

S Derwin James

DL Sebastian Joseph-Day

LB Eric Kendricks

OL Corey Linsley

EDGE Khalil Mack

The Bolts’ season opener is on Sunday, Sept. 10, and will kick off at 1:25 p.m. PT.

Projecting Chargers’ offensive depth chart for Week 1 vs. Dolphins

Here’s how we project the Chargers depth chart to look for the start of the regular season.

The Chargers are just days away from their season opener against the Dolphins

The positions are set after finalizing their 53-man roster, but 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 2023 season, highlighting who is likely to start and serve as depth pieces behind them.

Quarterback

Starter Backup Reserve
QB Justin Herbert Easton Stick

The Chargers elected to roster two quarterbacks instead of three, as they have frequently done in the past.

Running back

Starter Backup Reserve Reserve
RB Austin Ekeler Joshua Kelley Isaiah Spiller Elijah Dotson

Kelley will get most of the carries behind Ekeler to start the season. He earned every bit of the backup job, flashing when he was on the field last year and during the summer. Spiller had a great training camp and preseason, too. He will be playing more snaps as the season progresses. Dotson will likely be an inactive player on game days.

Starter Backup
WR1 Keenan Allen Quentin Johnston
WR2 Mike Williams Derius Davis
WR3 Josh Palmer

Allen and Williams will be the top two receivers, while Palmer gets the majority of the snaps as the third receiver early on. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will draw up plays for Johnston to take advantage of yards-after-the-catch skills. Davis will primarily serve as the return specialist, with some gadget plays and to keep the defense honest with his speed here and there.

Tight end

Starter Backup Reserve Reserve
TE Gerald Everett Donald Parham Tre’ McKitty Stone Smartt

Nothing surprising here. Everett will be the featured tight end, with primarily receiving responsibilities. Parham is another option as a receiver and should have blocking duties, as he was one of the best in that department before dealing with his respective injuries. McKitty will strictly be a blocker, but he will need to show improvement in this area after underwhelming during the summer. Smartt will be a core special teamer, but he deserves offensive snaps after proving to be the best tight end during training camp and preseason.

Offensive line

Starter Backup Reserve
LT Rashawn Slater Foster Sarell
LG Zion Johnson Brenden Jaimes
C Corey Linsley Will Clapp
RG Jamaree Salyer Jordan McFadden
RT Trey Pipkins

The starting five have been set in stone for quite some time, so there aren’t any changes here. Sarell will be the primary swing tackle, meaning he will slide in at the left or right tackle should an injury occur to Slater or Pipkins. McFadden is the swing guard. Clapp is the swing center. Jaimes can play all interior spots.

Ohio State football All Madden 24 team – Offense

We kick off our All Madden 24 Ohio State football team starting with the offense. #GoBucks

The release of Madden NFL player ratings always ignites debates around the football world. The ratings tend to draw criticism from fans and even from players themselves.

This was no different this year as the Madden 24 ratings were recently released. While the ratings are far from perfect, they’re still a good way to evaluate players and teams. These ratings featured a total of 60 former Ohio State players. The ratings are a good way to evaluate which college program has the best alumni in the NFL.

Former alumni of college programs like Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, and Clemson all have a very good collection of former players in the NFL right now.

It’s always fun to compile a list of players that would be on an All-Ohio State NFL team based on Madden 24 ratings, starting with the offense for this year’s team. Feel free to replicate and dominate the beloved game.

Chargers OT Rashawn Slater ready to roll after season-ending injury

The Chargers will benefit immensely from the return of their star left tackle.

After one of the best rookie seasons by an offensive tackle, Rashawn Slater was set for a sensational sophomore campaign. Unfortunately, it was cut short by a torn biceps injury that he suffered in Week 3 against the Jaguars.

Slater missed 15 games in total, including the playoff.

Ten months later, fully healthy, Slater is ready to roll and return to his dominant ways. But now

“I definitely want to be like the best version of myself,” Slater said. “I think I’ve improved as a player since then, just in the way that I see the game and in my technique. I definitely think there was a lot to improve upon that year.

“I don’t anticipate taking any steps back, that’s for sure,” Slater added. “The nice thing about this is that it healed up really well, so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

Slater, the No. 13 overall selection of the 2021 NFL draft, allowed only 26 pressures and four sacks on 752 pass-block snaps while imposing will in the run game in Year 1. He was named a Pro Bowler and earned Second-Team All-Pro.

As Slater prepares to return to live-game action, he’s benefited from going up against the dynamic duo of edge defenders Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack in training camp as the team is now in pads.

“I take away a lot from those like. Joey and Khalil, they’re so smart in the way they play off of O-linemen,” Slater said. “Every training camp it’s like, if you have just one little mistake in your technique here, they’re going to find a way to exploit that. They really keep you honest.”

“The margin for error is so small, I think it really teaches you quickly what you’re doing wrong and what you need to fix because once they see something, it’s over,” Slater added. “They take advantage of it so well.”

Slater will be a key cog in what is arguably the most complete offensive line that the Chargers have had in many years.

Jamaree Salyer, who started in place of Slater last season, will be the starter at right guard, while Zion Johnson moves over to left guard. They also return center Corey Linsley and right tackle Trey Pipkins, who re-signed on a three-year deal.

The NFL’s 12 best interior offensive linemen

From Wyatt Teller to Jason Kelce, here are the 12 best interior offensive linemen in the NFL today.

Of all the players who factor heavily into a football team’s success, guards and centers are often the most overlooked. Unless you’re working with advanced metrics, there are no statistics to speak of, and unless you have access to overhead and (especially) end zone footage, it’s hard to discern what these guys are doing that is so important.

But those in the know, know better. Centers control the entire offense — they make protection calls, they align with their quarterbacks both intellectually and literally on every snap, and they have to take the brunt of the opponent’s decisions to point one or more large angry men in their exact directions.

Guards are often the athletes of their offensive lines as much as tackles are — it’s just a different kind of athleticism. Whether on the left or right side, these big guys had better be able to execute inside and outside zone, man-based snaps in which it’s mano a mano, and all kinds of combinations in which it’s important to coordinate with others.

So, in the spirit of giving these fine gentlemen more play in the court of public opinion. we continue our position lists for the 2023 season with the 12 best interior offensive linemen in the NFL today.

In a recent version of “The Xs and Os” with Greg Cosell, Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug Farrar (of Touchdown Wire) got into the attributes for guards and centers at the elite level.

Centers:

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Guards:

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In addition to this list, you can read all of our position rankings for the 2023 NFL season, on the way to our late August list of the 101 best players in the league today.

The NFL’s top 11 offensive tackles
The NFL’s top 11 interior defensive linemen
The NFL’s top 11 edge defenders
The NFL’s top 11 linebackers
The NFL’s top 11 slot defenders
The NFL’s top 11 cornerbacks
The NFL’s top 11 safeties

And now, the 12 best interior offensive linemen in the NFL today.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated). 

Ranking the AFC West by interior offensive linemen

How do the teams in the AFC West stack up along the interior offensive line

We move inside to take a look at how the AFC West stacks up on the offensive line. Who are the top maulers and who is lagging behind. Let’s rank them 1-4.

Predicting the Chargers’ starting offense before training camp

Here are our picks for the Chargers’ starting lineup on offense ahead of training camp.

Training camp is usually when teams begin finalizing their depth charts. This year, however, it seems as though the Chargers have largely set their starting lineups before players even report to camp.

Let’s run through the starters, beginning with the offense.

Projecting the Chargers’ offensive line depth chart in 2023

Projecting the nine players to make up the offensive line room to open the 2023 season.

Over the next couple of weeks leading up to training camp, I will be breaking down the depth chart for each Chargers position.

Quarterback

Running back

Wide receiver

Tight end

Next up, I project what the offensive line room will look like heading into the 2023 season.