Tag: Keenan Allen

Chargers 2019 end of season awards

Taking a look at the Los Angeles Chargers’ most valuable player, biggest disappointment, most underrated, etc.

The Los Angeles Chargers came up short this season, failing to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

While many fans are ready to put 2019 to bed, it’s still only right to reflect and hand out the season awards.

Most Valuable Player: DE Joey Bosa

There wasn’t another player that was as consistent and made an impact on a weekly basis like Bosa. Bosa finished with 67 tackles, 11.5 sacks and a forced fumble this season, along with 51 quarterback pressures. Bosa earned his second trip to the Pro Bowl, finishing tied for second in the AFC in sacks while also racking up the fifth-most tackles of any defensive end in the NFL. Expect Bosa to be one of the highest-paid players at his position this offseason since the former Ohio State product has proven his worth since being drafted in 2016.

Honorable Mention: RB Austin Ekeler

Offensive Player of the Year: RB Austin Ekeler

Ekeler had one job heading into the season. That was to man the starting role while Melvin Gordon held out at the beginning of the season. Ekeler shined as the team’s No. 1 back. When Gordon came back, he was still productive, accumulating a handful of rushing and receiving yards. Ekeler lined up all over the formation, creating mismatches and making it impossible for defenders to predict what’s coming. When the ball was in his hands, he nearly always made something big happen. Ekeler, a Pro Bowl snub, ranked ninth in the NFL with 1,550 total yards from scrimmage and led the team and finished tied for eighth in the league with 11 total touchdowns.

Honorable Mention: WR Keenan Allen

Defensive Player of the Year: CB Casey Hayward

Had safety Derwin James been healthy all season, then there’s a strong chance that he would have been given this award. But in a larger sample size, Hayward made his mark week in and week out. After failing to record an interception in 2018, he managed to amass two this season. On top of that, he had eight passes defensed. Even though he finished with a career-low 32 tackles, it just goes to show how little opposing wide receivers that he covered were targeted. Hayward had a solid grade of 84.2, per Pro Football Focus.

Honorable Mention: DE Joey Bosa

Rookie of the Year: LB Drue Tranquill

General manager Tom Telesco has been notorious for finding gems on Day 3 of the draft, and he managed to hit a home-run with his fourth-round selection. Tranquill made his mark as a force in the middle of the defense, finishing with 75 tackles, four tackles for loss and a pass deflected. He was also a special teams ace, tied for fourth in the league in tackles (11). Tranquill’s future is bright and fans should be looking forward to him being the starting middle linebacker for years to come.

Honorable Mention: P Ty Long

Breakout Player of the Year: OC Scott Quessenberry

The offensive line wasn’t particularly a bright spot for the Chargers due to injuries that occurred throughout the season. But when one man (Pouncey) went down, another stepped up. Quessenberry, the 2018 fifth-round selection, made an impact early on that many may have not been expecting from him when handing him the starting duties. The former UCLA product was consistent in pass protection and in the run blocking department. Depending on what happens with Pouncey, Quessenberry could be in line to start as soon as next season.

Honorable Mention: FB Derek Watt

Biggest Disappointment: QB Philip Rivers

Coming off one of his best campaigns yet, it was expected that Rivers was going to match that during his contract year. But the veteran quarterback didn’t, finishing with 23 touchdowns to 20 interceptions and leaving many in question in regards to the future of the 38-year old. Rivers surely didn’t benefit from the injuries that occurred the offensive line, but it wouldn’t be fair to say it was all on the group. Poor decision-making and belittled arm talent was a result in a handful of the close games that the Chargers lost. Set to become a free agent, whether or not Rivers will play in the blue and gold for another season remains to be seen.

Honorable Mention: CB Desmond King

Most Underrated: WR Mike Williams

After losing Tyrell Williams to the Raiders, it benefited Williams immensely. Williams finished with 49 receptions for 1,001 yards and two touchdowns. Even though his production was down in the scoring department, we got to see his emergence as a deep threat. He finished second in the NFL with 20 yards per reception. This was all accomplished while dealing with a knee injury. The best is yet to come for the former Clemson product.

Honorable Mention: G Michael Schofield

Chargers’ Keenan Allen takes shot at NFL officiating

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen resorts to Twitter to express his thoughts.

For years now, teams across the league have had their wins and losses determined from questionable calls by NFL officiating.

With the playoffs kicking off today, these contests are critical for each of the 12 teams that will be playing for a Super Bowl title, and head-scratching penalties could ultimately be the difference between moving on or going home.

For wide receiver Keenan Allen, he will be watching the playoffs since the Chargers didn’t make it this year. But he didn’t shy away from letting out his thoughts on the officiating, saying that a guy drinking coffee with his feet up in New York is gonna be making all the critical decisions.

Last year in the NFC Championship Game between the Saints and Rams, there was a no-call on what should’ve been ruled pass interference.

New Orleans ended up losing the game in overtime, stirring up a national conversation with many expressing their disbelief at the call.

Saints defensive end Cam Jordan took his own shots, arriving at the Pro Bowl wearing a shirt that said, “Blow whistles, not games.”

Here’s to hoping the referees aren’t ultimately the determining factor in the slew of postseason games that begin today.

2010-2019 All-Decade team for Chargers: Offense

Introducing the offense of the Chargers’ All-Decade team for the 2010s:

The decade is coming to an end. Even though the Chargers haven’t had a lot of success in the past 10 years, making the playoffs only twice in that timespan, they possessed a slew of players that helped them along the way.

With that said, here is my Chargers 2010-2019 All-Decade team on the offensive side of the ball:

Quarterback: Philip Rivers

Rivers is a given here. Including the playoffs, Rivers has 235 consecutive starts, which is second among quarterbacks. He is the franchise’s leader in passing yards (59,271), touchdowns (397) and completions (4,908).

Running back: Melvin Gordon

This was a tough decision between Gordon and Ryan Mathews, but the former Wisconsin product has been more productive statistically. Though it’s not by much, Gordon amassed 133 more rushing yards than Mathews and he has him beat in the rushing touchdown category, as he has 35 to Mathews’ 23 scores.

Wide receiver: Keenan Allen, Malcolm Floyd, Vincent Jackson

Allen is going to go down one of the best receivers to play in a Chargers uniform. Since being selected in the third-round of the 2013 NFL draft, he has broken a few records. In total, he has amassed 524 receptions, 6,405 yards and 34 touchdowns. Floyd, a fan favorite, totaled 321 catches for 5,550 yards and 34 touchdowns. Jackson, Rivers’ go-to deep target, had 272 receptions for 4,754 yards and 37 touchdowns as a Charger.

Tight end: Antonio Gates

Gates, the record holder for touchdown receptions among tight ends, will go down as one of the best to play the position. He is the franchise leader in receptions (955), receiving yards (11,841) and touchdown catches (116) by a wide margin.

Left tackle: Russell Okung

Left guard: Kris Dielman

Center: Nick Hardwick

Right guard: Jeromey Clary

Right tackle: Marcus McNeill

Okung is one of the three Chargers offensive lineman to make a Pro Bowl appearance this decade. Dielman earned four consecutive Pro Bowl invitations. Hardwick started 136 games for the Chargers, playing in all 16 games five times in his career. Clary never made a Pro Bowl, but he was well respected for his work ethic, leadership and consistency, taking the field for more than 2,400 consecutive offensive snaps at one point. McNeill helped the Bolts with their rushing attack, earning a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first two seasons.

Instant analysis of Chargers’ 31-21 loss to Chiefs

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez delivers his final thoughts on the Los Angeles Chargers’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

That’s all she wrote.

The Los Angeles Chargers were unable to finish the 2019 regular season on a good note, dropping to the Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 31-21.

Here is our instant analysis from the season finale:

Injury Report

Cornerback Desmond King sustained an ankle injury early in the game and he did not return.

Play of the Game: Keenan Allen’s 12-yard touchdown reception

It’s not just Mike Williams making the leaping plays. Allen made an impressive grab, showing great concentration and footwork to get both feet in bounds to put the Chargers on the scoreboard in the second quarter.

Notable Number

  • 103: Wide receiver Keenan Allen set a career-high with 103 receptions.

Quick Takes

  • Like last weekend, quarterback Philip Rivers didn’t have a spectacular game, but it wasn’t bad, either. The majority of Rivers’ success came from underneath, particularly by running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler who combined for 119 yards through the air.
  • Rivers had two interceptions today, finishing with 20 interceptions on the season, which was one shy from a career-high.
  • Ekeler fell seven yards shy from reaching 1,000 yards receiving.
  • The offensive line fared well in the first half, but the second half was not promising at all as Rivers was sacked three times and hit a handful of times.
  • The defense was mostly stout in the first half, but they looked lifeless in the second half. It all started with a punt return given up that went for a score by wide receiver Mecole Hardman and a long rushing touchdown by running back Damien Williams that was resulted in missed tackles.
  • On a positive note, the Chargers were the only divisional team to keep quarterback Patrick Mahomes under 200 passing yards in both games, intercept him in both games, and not allow a multi-passing touchdown game.

Up Next

The Chargers finish the season with a 5-11 record, 0-6 in division play. They enter the offseason with uncertainty on certain players like quarterback Philip Rivers and running back Melvin Gordon. Areas that will need to be addressed include the offensive line, wide receiver, cornerback and defensive tackle position.

Key takeaways from first half of Chargers vs. Chiefs

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez delivers his thoughts from the first half.

The Los Angeles Chargers trail the Kansas City Chiefs at the halfway mark, 10-7.

Here are some takeaways from the first half:

  • Quarterback Philip Rivers took a late hit from defensive tackle Chris Jones on the first play of the game. It was bothering him right after, but it didn’t appear to bother him on the following drives.
  • Rivers is 15-of-21 for 129 yards passing, including a touchdown and an interception. Rivers is now two interceptions away from his career high.
  • Wide receiver Mike Williams (1,001 receiving yards) and Keenan Allen (1,152) are the first Chargers’ wideout duo to each have 1,000 receiving yards since 2009.
  • Running back Austin Ekeler, who has been the check down king, needs 22 receiving yards to reach 1,000 on the season. Today, he has six receptions for 28 yards.
  • Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has 124 yards passing, with the majority of his completions coming underneath because it’s hard to go deep due to the Chargers stingy zone defense. Mahomes did manage to find success on their final drive before the half.
  • Safety Rayshawn Jenkins fell victim to the two big plays on the Chiefs scoring drive right before the half. Lack of eye discipline and late processing was the reason why those competitions happened.
  • The defense can’t get off the field on third-down. The Chiefs have converted on five of their seven attempts. Two of those could have been a Chargers interception, but they were nullified by penalties.
  • Safety Derwin James and linebacker Denzel Perryman have been the main contributors to limiting the Chiefs rushing attack. The two have combined for 10 tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage.

Pair of Chargers selected to 2020 Pro Bowl

Keenan Allen and Joey Bosa have been selected to represent the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2020 Pro Bowl.

The votes are in and there are two players from the Los Angeles Chargers that are headed to Orlando, FL.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen and defensive end Joey Bosa have been selected to represent the Chargers in the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL.

This marks the second time Bosa has been selected to the Pro Bowl. In his fourth NFL season, his 10.5 sacks lead the team and are No. 8 in the NFL, the third time in four NFL seasons he has reached double-digit sacks.

For Allen, this marks his third consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl. Allen, arguably one of the league’s best route runners, has 90 receptions, 1,046 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games.

Defensive end Melvin Ingram was named a first-team alternate and Derek Watt earned first-team alternate on special teams and second-team alternate at fullback.

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Which Chargers should be selected to 2020 NFL Pro Bowl?

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez says the eight Chargers players that should be selected to the 2020 Pro Bowl.

The rosters for the 2020 Pro Bowl are set to be announced on Tuesday on the NFL Network’s special “NFL Access: Pro Bowl Players Revealed” at 5:00 p.m. PT.

Even though it’s been a disappointing season for the Los Angeles Chargers, there are still a few players on the roster that have shown to be worthy enough to play in the prestigious game with the league’s best players.

First and foremost is defensive end Joey Bosa. Bosa is a lock because he still leads the AFC in votes at his perspective position. The former Ohio State product is fourth in tackles for loss (18) and eighth in sacks (10.5).

Opposite of Bosa is DE Melvin Ingram, who is also worthy of making the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season.

Ingram doesn’t nearly have the stats that Bosa does, but his presence is known on a weekly basis, where he’s been a force at generating pressure, stopping the run and coming up big on third-down situations.

Another player on the defensive side of the ball that should be voted in is cornerback Casey Hayward, who still isn’t getting enough attention as one of the best at the position.

Though he only has two interceptions this season, the numbers don’t do the justice to show how great he is in coverage. Opposing quarterbacks purposely don’t throw in his direction because they know they will likely have to pay a price.

On the other side of the ball, there are four players who are worthy of making the Pro Bowl — wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, tight end Hunter Henry and running back Austin Ekeler.

Allen surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving mark this past weekend (1,046), marking for a third straight season. He is 10 receptions shy from hitting the 100 mark and he has five touchdowns to go with that.

Williams is 88 yards shy from the 1,000 yard mark. He leads the NFL by averaging 21 yards per reception. It took a little bit to find the end zone after posting 10 last season, but he has a pair of scores in the last two weeks.

Henry is eighth in receiving yards at his position (565). The 25-year old also has four touchdowns. Not to mention, he did that while missing four weeks earlier this season.

Ekeler is the definition of efficient. He is nearing 1,400 yards from scrimmage and has 11 total touchdowns to go along with that, while serving as running back Melvin Gordon’s backup.

Finally, you can’t forget about fullback Derek Watt. Watt has been the team’s special teams ace, tied for the league in special teams total tackles with 15 on the season.

When the rosters are revealed tonight, we can expect between six and eight Chargers players to be named to the Pro Bowl roster.

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Trio of Chargers in pursuit of history

Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler are looking to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in 11 seasons.

Despite a season of offensive struggles, the Los Angeles Chargers have a chance to accomplish a special milestone.

Wide receivers Mike Williams, Keenan Allen and running back Austin Ekeler are looking to be the first Chargers trio to amass 1,000 receiving yards in a season since 1980.

In that year, wide receiver John Jefferson led the team with 1,340 receiving yards followed by tight end Kellen Winslow (1,290) and wide receiver Charlie Joiner (1,132).

Only five teams in NFL history have had three players with 1,000 receiving yards or more in a single season. The last team to do it was the Arizona Cardinals in 2008 with Larry Fitzgerald (1,431), Anquan Boldin (1,038) and Steve Breaston (1,006).

Allen was the first to surpass the 1,000-yard mark in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He has a team-high 1,046, followed by Williams (912) and Ekeler (892). This marks the third consecutive season that Allen has posted more than 1,000 receiving yards.

Turnovers and missed opportunities in red zone situations have been the difference between winning and losing, as they’re only averaging 21.4 points per game. But these three players, along with tight end Hunter Henry have been the bright spots on the offensive side of the ball.

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Instant analysis from Chargers’ 39-10 loss to Vikings

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez delivers his final thoughts from the Los Angeles Chargers’ 39-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

There wasn’t a lot that went in the Los Angeles Chargers’ favor against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon.

Here is our instant analysis from the Chargers’ 39-10 loss to the Vikings.

Injury Report

Left tackle Russell Okung got hurt right before the end of the half on the Vikings’ fumble return for a touchdown. Okung attempted a tackle, but he came up limping. Okung, who was ruled as questionable with a groin injury, did not return to the game.

 

Play of the Game: Melvin Ingram’s interception

Following an interception thrown by quarterback Philip Rivers, Ingram picked up his teammate by picking off Kirk Cousins with less than a minute left in the second quarter. That marked Ingram’s second interception of his professional career.

 

Notable Number

7: There was nothing positive on the offensive side of the ball. The Chargers committed seven turnovers on the afternoon. The last time they did that was in the 1999 season.

Quick Takes

  • Coming off his best performance last weekend, quarterback Philip Rivers was unable to match that outing. Rivers resorted back to his reckless ways, tossing three interceptions and wasn’t able to secure the football, which turned into a strip-sack that went for a touchdown.
  • The offensive line was a mixed bag. They allowed three sacks, but one of them was a result of Rivers holding onto the ball too long when he had plenty of time to throw. Trent Scott replaced Russell Okung at left tackle, when this would have been a perfect time for rookie Trey Pipkins, who was ruled out, to get snaps.
  • Running back Melvin Gordon struggled immensely on the ground today. Gordon only managed to amass 28 yards on seven carries, but he fumbled twice today, both of which were recovered by the defense.
  • Gordon’s poor showing was noted by the coaching staff. As a result, he was benched for a good chunk of the second half in favor of Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson. The decision to bench Gordon shows the loss of trust in the former Wisconsin product.
  • The passing defense did a great job by keeping everything underneath for the most part, not allowing explosive plays, which the Vikings have excelled at this season. Quarterback Kirk Cousins finished with only 207 yards.
  • The run defense was stellar against a dynamic Dalvin Cook. Once Cook went down with an injury, they struggled to stop his backup, Mike Boone, who went for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Their struggles came from lack of gap integrity and missed tackles.

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Key takeaways from first half of Chargers vs. Vikings

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez delivers what stood out in the first half between the Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings.

The Los Angeles Chargers currently trail the Minnesota Vikings, 19-10.

Here are some key takeaways from the first half of the Week 15 battle.

  • Have a day, Mike Williams! Williams ended his touchdown drought last weekend and was eager to keep the scoring streak alive. He did that with a leaping catch in the end zone to give the Chargers the lead. He has four receptions for 71 yards.
  • Quarterback Philip Rivers has been efficient today outside of the head-scratching interception, passing for 15-of-20 for 174 yards and a touchdown. Rivers is benefiting from good offensive line play, which has been given him time to heave it downfield.
  • Wide receiver Keenan Allen has six catches for 59 yards. Allen has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the season making it his third straight season going over 1,000 yards.
  • Running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler have been a bit of a non-factor on the ground today. The Chargers knew that the Vikings run defense is their strong suit, which is why they have resorted to the passing game.
  • Gordon had a hiccup by fumbling the football in Minnesota territory. Luckily, the defense bailed them out, holding them to only a field goal.
  • The Vikings rushing attack has been nonexistent. Dalvin Cook has only gained 23 yards on seven carries.
  • In a desperate need of a takeaway, defensive end Melvin Ingram delivered in a big way by picking off quarterback Kirk Cousins near the end of the half, marking his second interception of his career.
  • Bend don’t break defense from the Chargers as they have had their fair share of big plays given up, but they have been efficient at limiting the Vikings in the red zone and third-down, 1-of-2 and 3-of-6, respectively.

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