Tag: Lombardi

Twitter reacts to Chargers firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi

Here’s how the internet reacted to the Chargers firing Joe Lombardi.

The Chargers made a notable coaching change, firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi on Tuesday. Additionally, passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Shane Day was relieved of his duties.

The move was expected, as Los Angeles did not get the most out of quarterback Justin Herbert’s special abilities, given Lombardi’s offensive system predicated on quick and underneath throws.

The Chargers were also lackluster in the run game, red zone and on third down.

Now, head coach Brandon Staley will be looking for a new offensive coordinator as he heads into Year 3 of his regime.

Let’s see how Twitter reacted to the Lombardi news.

Alabama tops all other programs with most players on NFL rosters in 2022

Alabama just continues to send talent into the NFL

It is no secret that the Alabama Crimson Tide have been as dominant in the NFL draft as they have been on the gridiron. In fact, Nick Saban shared earlier this year that his former Alabama players who have gone on to play in the NFL have accumulated more than $1.6 billion in contracts alone. Alabama has had more first-round picks and total picks during Saban’s tenure than any other program during that span.

So, it should come as no surprise when Alabama leads the way for most players on a 53-man roster ahead of Week 1 with 58. LSU comes in second with 53 and Ohio State is third at 51. Fellow SEC members, Georgia and Florida also crack the top-ten list.

Which former member of the Crimson Tide is going to go home with the Lombardi trophy this year?

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Scouting Michigan State before the Ohio State game

We take a moment to scout the next opponent for Ohio State football. This week, we give you what you need to know about Michigan State.

Ohio State takes on a very up and down Michigan State team this weekend, so before the week of talk starts to heat up, let’s do a little scouting of Michigan State. After a huge upset win against Northwestern, the Spartans are rising high as the Buckeyes roll into East Lansing. Ohio State is a huge favorite, and there are reasons why.

Struggles on the ground

Going back to look at the Spartans a few things stand out right away from all of the games up until the Northwestern game. The first thing of note is how poor the running game has looked. Michigan State ranks last in rushing by all statistical counts in the conference. Even after a huge day against Northwestern, it still ranks at the bottom of the Big Ten.

One of the biggest issues that contribute to the problem in the running game is the offensive line, which has given up six sacks but has failed to open up a lot of running lanes. In several of the games, the offensive line was pushed into gaps that forced the running backs to run into non-existent holes. It wasn’t until the Northwestern game that the offensive line was able to control things somewhat up front.

Quarterback play

The passing game has also had some ups and downs, and while some of the issues come from a lack of a running attack, quarterback Rocky Lombardi has as many interceptions as touchdowns. He’s has had moments where he just isn’t seeing the field and has thrown some questionable interceptions. Lombardi is a rhythm passer who relies on short throws based on timing. Getting him to throw deep, with touch, can be a struggle.

It certainly hasn’t helped that the Spartans have had some fumbles and miscues on special teams. However, these issues do not take away from other areas of concern with Lombardi and the running game. Michigan State did put together a better game this past week, but there are still things to address up front and at quarterback.

On defense

On defense, the Spartans moved to a 4-2-5 (4 defensive linemen, 2 linebackers, and 5 defensive backs) this season with a focus on their star linebacker, Antjuan Simmons. He’s been solid this year, but there are problems that start in front of him as the defensive line has not been able to control the line much.

The Spartans are giving up 132 yards on the ground per game, and the strength on the line is lacking when watching their games. Bigger offensive lines have pushed the front four around pretty easily. This has caused Simmons to almost disappear at times trying to make too much happen and unable to fill all the holes.

The secondary for Michigan State has Shakur Brown who has been all over making plays this season. Brown, a corner, is the only player who has interceptions for the Spartans this year. He doesn’t have the traditional length for an outside corner, but has good coverage skills, is aggressive at the line of scrimmage, and good ball recognition.

The rest of the secondary is not as adept as Brown and when teams threw away from him, and missed tackles and trailing coverage was easily noticed in all games.

The bottom line

Michigan State is riding high after beating a good Northwestern team. However, watching that game, it was clear Northwestern did not have the size up front to negate a lot of what the Spartans wanted to do on both the offensive and defensive lines. The inconsistent play week-to-week of Lombardi is an issue, and until the running game can prove it is more than a one week highlight, the Spartans will continue to have scattered results.

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