Tag: Nasir Adderley

List of Chargers’ 2023 unrestricted free agents

A look at the Los Angeles Chargers’ pending 2023 unrestricted free agents.

Sitting at 10-6, the Chargers are heading to the playoffs. But even like the regular season, the playoffs will zoom by, and the offseason will be here before you know it.

With that, a handful of internal players are set to become unrestricted free agents. General manager Tom Telesco and company will have to start thinking about who is worthy of returning.

Here’s a look at the 15 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the beginning of the 2023 league year.

Chargers’ Derwin James could return to practice this week

The Chargers could be getting their star defender back at practice this week.

The Chargers could be getting their star defender back at practice this week.

According to head coach Brandon Staley, Derwin James could return to practice this week ahead of Monday’s game against the Colts.

“He’s progressing,” Staley said of James. “We are hoping to see him back in practice at some point this week. With the extra day, we’re going to make sure that we take full advantage of it, but I still consider him day-to-day.

He’s feeling better, for sure. If you were able to see him work out during pregame, he is trending in the right direction.”

James has missed the last two games due to a quadriceps injury he sustained in Week 13 against the Raiders.

Even without James on the field, Los Angeles still played at a high level in its victories over the Dolphins and Titans.

Over the past two weeks, the Bolts rank third in defensive DVOA.

Alohi Gilman, who’s filled in as the starter for James, has been playing really good football alongside Nasir Adderley.

Getting the do-it-all defender back will be huge as the Bolts hit the final three games of the season and likely into the playoffs.

Breaking down Nasir Adderley’s interception in Chargers’ win over Titans

Nasir Adderley made a big play in the Chargers’ win over the Titans.

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With the score between the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans locked at seven points apiece in the third quarter, Chargers safety Nasir Adderley flew across the field for a momentum-changing interception that quenched the Titans’ progress on their second play of the drive.

On second-and-11, the Titans lined up in 12 personnel with quarterback Ryan Tannehill operating from the shotgun. 

Left outside receiver Chris Conley settled down on a stop route. Tight end Austin Hooper and slot wideout Nick Westbrook-Ikhene executed a Drive concept, a pattern that gave Tannehill two dig routes at different levels of the field to throw to. The second tight end on the play, Chigoziem Okonkwo, was added to the play as an extra wrinkle from his place in the backfield and ran a short out to the flat.

Tannehill keyed in on the one-on-one matchup on the right side of the formation between Racey McMath and Michael Davis in press coverage. Davis was tasked with bump-and-run technique on the play and fought to keep outside leverage as he carried McMath up the seam. McMath was able to get even with Davis, wiping away the contact and stacking the 6-foot-2 cornerback on his corner route. 

The Chargers had rotated into a Cover 6 skate coverage, which required safety Alohi Gilman to fill the void vacated by Davis on the left side. 

Tannehill saw Gilman come downhill and decided to take the shot to McMath, who had gained the upper hand on Davis. This decision operated under the assumption Adderley would not be able to close the distance to challenge the route. Adderley was playing the strong safety position on the opposite hash.

Adderley naturally saw the development and flipped his hips to help Davis. Tannehill’s throw was decent, tossed well over the head of Davis to allow McMath to elevate and get his hands on the ball. However, Adderley had appeared at top speed behind McMath to pluck the ball away from McMath’s fingertips and secure a pivotal interception for his team.

McMath was also flagged for offensive pass interference on his separation from Davis.

Unfortunately for the Chargers, no points resulted from the impressive effort by the former second-round pick out of Delaware. Quarterback Justin Herbert was intercepted by Kevin Byard five plays later on a pass intended for Mike Williams.

Nevertheless, Adderley’s instincts and effort were another sign of the Chargers’ secondary continuing to be the defense’s chief strength with the playoff picture still in sight.

Instant analysis of Chargers’ victory over Titans

Highlighting everything important from the Chargers’ 17-14 victory over the Titans.

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The Chargers took care of business against the Titans in a low-scoring affair.

To recap the Week 15 bout, here is everything to know.

Chargers inactives: See who’s in and who’s out for Week 13 vs. Raiders

The Chargers ruled out six players.

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The Chargers are about 90 minutes away from kicking off Week 13 against the Raiders.

Here is a look at their inactive players today:

WR Mike Williams

C Corey Linsley

OT Trey Pipkins

QB Easton Stick

RB Sony Michel

WR Jason Moore

Chargers inactives: See who’s in and who’s out for Week 12 vs. Cardinals

The Chargers ruled out six players, including Nasir Adderley.

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The Chargers are about 90 minutes away from kicking off Week 12 against the Cardinals.

Here is a look at their inactive players today:

WR Mike Williams

S Nasir Adderley

QB Easton Stick

RB Sony Michel

OT Storm Norton

WR Jason Moore

Nasir Adderley is out due to a thumb injury. Alohi Gilman will get the start. Rookie JT Woods will back him up.

Joshua Kelley was activated from the injured reserve, so he, Austin Ekeler and Isaiah Spiller will make up the backfield today.

Film Room: It’s time to extend Chargers LB Drue Tranquill

Highlighting why Chargers LB Drue Tranquill is deserving of a contract extension.

The 2019 Chargers draft class has had a rough go of things in the league. Jerry Tillery never became the consistent starter Los Angeles envisioned when they drafted him 28th overall, and his fifth-year option ended up being declined. Nasir Adderley hasn’t found a way to refine his tackling angles. Trey Pipkins finally won a starting job this season, only to sprain and reaggravate his MCL. Easton Stick has played in one game, while Emeke Egbule and Cortez Broughton are no longer on the roster.

For a long time, this class has been considered a letdown largely. None of the players have yet earned a second contract with the Chargers. Pipkins is the most likely, considering he’s played well when healthy at right tackle, a pain point of LA’s offensive line over the past two seasons. But there’s one other draftee who deserves an extension, perhaps even more so than Pipkins.

Fourth-round pick Drue Tranquill.

Tranquill’s 2022 has been the best season of his career, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Notre Dame product, who’s in a contract year along with his draftmates. Against Atlanta on Sunday, he continued to perform, racking up ten tackles and his third sack of the season.

Let’s head to the film to see what’s made the fourth-year linebacker so good.

Tranquill has made a killing on these blitzes all season because LA does a great job disguising pressure with this six-man front. On any of these plays, Tranquill, Kenneth Murray Jr., or Kyle Van Noy can and will drop back into coverage, causing miscommunication along the offensive line if they guess wrong. On this particular occasion, there’s no glaring mistake from Atlanta. Tranquill simply bullies Matt Hennessy into Marcus Mariota’s lap.

Credit to Christian Covington here, who will play a bigger role with Austin Johnson out for the season. While Covington is the catalyst for blowing this play up, Tranquill is a key element. There isn’t another Charger consistently showing the quick diagnosis the linebacker does here. Not only that, but Tranquill is filling two gaps here: originally, it looks as though he and Cordarrelle Patterson will meet off the left shoulder of center Drew Dalman. As Covington continues to force Dalman into Patterson’s path, the vet cuts back inside, but Tranquill sees it coming and mirrors the back, coming up with the tackle for loss.

On this one, you can see Hennessy turn as Tranquill runs past him because Hennessy is supposed to climb off his double-team block on Morgan Fox to hit Tranquill next. Notre Dame’s finest is too quick to read the play, however, and he simply fills the wide-open hole. What I like most about this play is that Tranquill overruns it, forcing Patterson to cut back inside, where Tranquill has help because of the direction of the play. By turning Atlanta’s play call against them, Tranquill forces another stuff, even if he’s not the one to make the tackle.

Again, Hennessy is unable to reach Tranquill on this play. After being beaten lightning-quick a few times, the guard gets off his double team faster, expecting to meet Tranquill further upfield as he takes a linear path to the ball. Instead, Tranquill drifts slightly to the outside before hitting the hole, avoiding Hennessy and getting to Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier. Tranquill can’t finish the tackle, but occupying that gap as it’s drawn up gives his teammates enough time to rally.

Tranquill almost looks like he’s teleporting to the side of Drew Dalman here; that’s how fast he gets off this block. You can see the linebacker diagnose that he’s the only man going to get in the way of Patterson here, and to do so he needs to get off this block and get off it now. He does so, and Patterson knows he has nowhere to go, so he just lowers his shoulder to cut his losses and take the yards.

Brandon Staley’s defense asks its linebackers to diagnose plays quickly because they’re meant to be the cleanup crew. Staley likes to build his run defense – with a strong crew up front, the linebackers should have these wide-open gaps to fill. But with lighter fronts, sometimes that requires those linebackers to stack and shed blocks to make the plays they’re being asked to. This season, nobody is doing that better than Tranquill – in fact, hardly anyone else is doing it. Don’t believe me?

Murray immediately crashes into a gap that is not open, instead giving up outside contain and allowing Allgeier to gain 44 yards down the sideline. This play isn’t solely on Murray – nearly every player on the field gets beat here. But in an ideal world, a Brandon Staley linebacker sees that play coming and stays back until they see where it is going. Tranquill can do that, at least up the middle.

So, Tom Telesco, Brandon Staley, et al., if you’re reading this: get that man his money.

He’s earned it.

Chargers’ keys to victory over Broncos in Week 6

Here is how the Chargers can beat the Broncos on Monday night.

The Chargers return to SoFi Stadium on Monday night for a showdown with the 2-3 Broncos, who enter the game with three extra days of rest after playing the Colts last Thursday.

Here are the keys to Los Angeles winning this game:

Find a way into the backfield

Khalil Mack and company failed to sack Jacoby Brissett last Sunday, as the usually statuesque veteran was able to slip out of the clutches of defenders on multiple occasions. Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin are, to their credit, a very good tackle duo. Denver is not so lucky, especially after losing Garett Bolles for the season with a broken leg. The Broncos are slated to start Billy Turner and Calvin Anderson at tackle on Monday unless Cameron Fleming starts again as Turner continues to rehab from an offseason knee injury. Which spot any of them will be playing seems to be anyone’s guess right now, although I would assume Turner starts on the right side if he plays. Either way, that’s at least one backup with another backup or a player making his season debut on the other side. Russell Wilson is not immune to pressure; most quarterbacks aren’t. Make Denver keep extra blockers in and move the pocket to avoid getting Wilson’s jersey dirty.

Pass game contributors

Keenan Allen seems like he’s on track to miss his fifth consecutive game with a hamstring injury, but there’s a chance he plays after returning to practice in a limited capacity on Thursday and Friday. If he goes, it’ll be a huge boost to LA’s offense, considering that Patrick Surtain II will likely be matched up with Mike Williams for most of the game. Surtain has continued his ascension to the upper echelon of cornerback play in his second season, forcing Justin Herbert to turn his eyes away from Williams more often than not in this one. The Chargers will need someone to step up, whether Josh Palmer, DeAndre Carter, Gerald Everett, or another player.

Lock up Courtland Sutton

If Denver takes away Herbert’s favorite target from this season, the Chargers need to respond by doing the same to Wilson. Per ESPN, Sutton has 17 more targets than any other Bronco, with Javonte Williams still third on the team in targets despite missing last week’s game. Sutton’s reception total of 29 is equal to the number of targets the second option Jerry Jeudy has received all season. Bottom line: Wilson trusts Sutton and not much else so far in Denver. Whether that’s bracket coverage, trusting JC Jackson to bounce back and follow him, or leaving him in the hands of the undersized Asante Samuel Jr., Los Angeles needs to limit Sutton on Monday if they want to lock up Denver’s offense.

Keep the run game going

Last week’s 238-yard explosion against the Browns was a positive sign for Austin Ekeler and the running game, but it came against one of the worst run defenses in the league. Denver gives up 112.4 ground yards per game, putting them in the middle of the pack as a yardage defense. Still, there’s reason for optimism, as the game film shows the offensive line beginning to gel as they settle into their rest-of-season lineup. That’s positive news for Ekeler, who is averaging the most yards per carry on perfectly-blocked runs in the league this season but is among the worst on plays with non-perfect blocking. Outside of Ekeler, Joshua Kelley has repeatedly shown that he’s the team’s best RB2 option. Get him another ten carries and keep things rolling.

Wrap up the rushing attack

On defense, the Chargers have a tackling problem, namely at safety outside of Derwin James. LA benched Nasir Adderley against Cleveland for his poor performance as a tackler, only for fill-in Alohi Gilman to miss two tackles last Sunday. The spot next to James was supposed to be earmarked for third-round pick JT Woods, but he missed enough tackles in the preseason that the Chargers have not yet been confident enough to play him for a single snap in the regular season. Per PFF, Los Angeles has missed 50 tackles in total, tied for fourth most in the league through five games. This has all led to Los Angeles allowing a league-worst 5.8 yards per carry this season. The Bolts catch a break by missing Javonte Williams on Monday, but Melvin Gordon and Latavius Murray have both made a living on being physical backs. Finishing plays and limiting Denver’s progress on the ground will force the Broncos into tough third downs, an area where they are currently converting just 30.56% of the time, third worst in the NFL.

Capitalize on small mistakes

Los Angeles commits roughly five penalties a game, seventh best in the NFL, while Denver commits 8.8, tied for the worst mark in the league. That’s at least 15 to 20 yards of leeway and realistically more like 30 to 35 when you look at the penalty yardage numbers: Denver is giving away 67 yards per game on penalties, while LA is losing 35.6 per game. Neither team turns the ball over at a rampant rate, which makes capitalizing on smaller-scale mistakes much more important. The Broncos have shown a penchant for giving yards away and managing the game poorly. The Chargers must make them pay for those mistakes if they want to do away with their decade-long Monday Night Football curse. The team is just 3-8 in their ESPN appearances since 2012.

Studs and duds from Chargers’ 34-24 win over Texans

Here’s who came through and who disappointed in the Chargers’ victory over the Texans.

The Chargers got back on the winning track on Sunday in Houston, pulling out a 34-24 victory over the Texans.

The game shouldn’t have been as close as the final score indicates, primarily due to a few poor performances in the second half.

Here’s who came through and who disappointed in Week 4.

Stud: Jamaree Salyer

Give this kid all the flowers you have, man. Salyer hadn’t played left tackle as a pro even in practice until this week and then got thrown out as a starter against a Texans team with four pass rushers with a pass rush win rate of at least 12%. Yet, by my count, Salyer didn’t give up much, and the offensive line only allowed one sack to Houston’s defensive front. The rookie hardly had his name called all morning, generally a fantastic sign for an offensive lineman. Salyer also made his mark as a run blocker the same way he did in the preseason, proving to be a key cog in getting the rushing attack going for the first time this season.

Dud: Kenneth Murray

Murray has improved since last season, but it’s becoming clearer that he’s simply not a viable option in coverage. LA used him primarily as a blitzer in the second half against Houston, a role in which he could find effectiveness as a power rusher. But in coverage, Murray frequently found himself on the wrong side of plays. While it’s not fair to expect him to hang with slot receivers like Brandin Cooks, he’s being asked to at least share that responsibility at a clip that simply does not make sense. At some point, I think the Chargers need to consider taking him off the field in clear passing situations unless he’s going to be rushing the passer.

Stud: Khalil Mack

There was a bit of concern about Mack’s ability to make an impact on this game with Joey Bosa out, considering Houston was likely going to send extra help his way all morning. Despite that, Mack had his usual fantastic day, regardless of whether he was on the left or right side. Tytus Howard was bullied by the former All-Pro, while left tackle Laremy Tunsil committed at least two penalties trying to keep Mack contained. A key fourth and one sack, a pressure on Davis Mills’ interception to Nasir Adderley, and two QB hits made for another standout game.

Dud: Nasir Adderley

Speaking of Adderley, that interception was the only positive play of the day for the safety. Mills’ pass floated right to him on that play, so it’s hard to even give him that much credit for being in the right place at the right time. For the rest of the game, Adderley struggled with the thing he’s always struggled with: taking the correct pursuit angles. He overran Dameon Pierce on the rookie’s 75-yard TD run, expecting Pierce to cut inside. Instead, Pierce caught him flat-footed and beat him to the outside, outracing everyone else to the end zone. Adderley also overran a few routes in the flat; when the Chargers adjusted by making Derwin James the flat defender, Houston found no success with such plays.

Stud: Mike Williams

Williams finally had the type of game we’d been clamoring for him to have since Keenan Allen went down in Week 1. While he had the stats in Week 2 against Kansas City, he primarily won the ways he usually does: deep, contested catches down the sideline. Today, we saw the $60 million man win at every level of the field. Williams was consistently open on slants because rookie corner Derek Stingley Jr. was playing off coverage to hedge against the deep route. He won on crossers in intermediate areas because LA got the running game moving and forced Houston’s linebackers to account for the possibility of a ground attack. It resulted in a seven reception, 120-yard performance on 11 targets. This is what LA needs if Keenan Allen can’t go.

Dud: JC Jackson

Maybe Jackson still isn’t quite right. It’s only his second game as a Charger because of his ankle surgery, and in that first game against the Chiefs, it was obvious that he wasn’t 100%. But this week, Jackson was off the injury report by Friday, indicating that he’s supposed to be full go. Yet he was consistently Davis Mills’ favorite corner to target today, giving up a big catch to Nico Collins and committing a pass interference penalty. His tackling effort on tight end Jordan Akins was also poor, forcing his teammates to recover to bring Akins down by his ankles inside the Chargers’ five-yard line. Again, it’s early, and Jackson still gets his legs back under him. But the contract LA gave him to be their version of Jalen Ramsey is beginning to look like a painful mistake.

Stud: Austin Ekeler

We talked this week about how something had to give between Houston’s league-worst run defense and LA’s league-worst run offense. Although Ekeler still only had 60 yards on the ground, it was a massive improvement over the 27 yards a game he had been averaging through the first three weeks. The Chargers also made it a point to get Ekeler more involved in the short passing game, giving him seven targets for six receptions, 49 yards, and the game-sealing touchdown. Ekeler’s hat-trick will be a big confidence-building performance for him and this new-look offensive line without Rashawn Slater. And yes, it’s against Houston. But maybe this is LA’s spark to get the rushing attack back on track.

Dud: Finishing ability

This Chargers team is built to play a 30-minute game. It’s that simple. There is zero reason they should have let an inferior Texans team get back into the game after going into halftime up 27-7. You cannot score 27 points in the first half and then punt on your first three second-half drives while the Texans score two touchdowns. You cannot fumble a kickoff return and lose further momentum by allowing Houston to kick a field goal to bring it to 27-24. The Chargers went away from everything that worked in the first half until late into the fourth quarter when they had to. Perhaps the most egregious example was Joshua Kelley’s usage. Kelley looked like LA’s best rusher in the first half, consistently getting 6, 7, and 8 yards per carry. Yet in the second half, it was all Sony Michel, who continues to be ineffective. I understand you want to get Michel going in a game that should be all but won when you’re up 20. But at some point, you must ride the hot hand, which goes for the entire team. Learn to play a 60-minute game, otherwise, better teams than this can and will beat you.

Top Twitter reactions from Chargers’ 27-24 loss to Chiefs

How Twitter reacted to the Chargers’ loss to the Chiefs on Thursday night.

In the Thursday night bout between superstar quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes, Mahomes and the Chiefs escaped with a victory to kick off Week 2.

Following the game, the many people on social media reacted to Los Angeles’ loss to Kansas City.