Tag: nfl season

Chargers’ Keenan Allen included in top WR/CB battles for 2020 season

Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen will be looking to put cornerbacks on skates once again.

It’s never easy for cornerbacks when being tasked with lining up across from Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen.

Allen is arguably one of the league’s most premiere route-runners and it never fails to see him put even the best corners on skates on a weekly basis.

This season is no different as he will draw some tough competition, but Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller particularly notes the Week 11 matchup against the Bills as Allen will be shadowed by CB Tre’Davious White.

White is an underrated superstar with awesome timing, awareness and technique to hang in coverage against wide receivers both big and small, fast and powerful. He has all the footwork and agility you need in an elite cornerback. But stopping Keenan Allen will take all of that and maybe more.

Allen is the best route-runner in the NFL with excellent footwork. His moves should be cut up and put in a training video for young receivers. He’s silky smooth without being overly big or fast, but he always finds himself open while basically playing chess with cornerbacks thanks to his array of moves and his understanding of the game.

Allen vs. White doesn’t have the high-profile athleticism of the other matchups listed before them, but the art of their technique makes this must-watch.

The two have faced off twice in their professional careers.

In 2017, which was White’s rookie campaign, Allen went off for 156 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 12 receptions. The year after in 2018, Allen hauled in six passes for 67 yards.

In both contests, Allen managed to have success against White. However, White took a step forward in 2019, slowing some of the league’s best receivers. He was named to the Pro Bowl in which he tied for the league lead in interceptions with six and had a team-high 17 passes defensed.

Last season, Allen continued his dominance, finishing with 104 receptions on 149 targets for 1,199 yards and six touchdowns. He also earned a trip to the Pro Bowl.

It’s uncertain how the quarterback play will shape up with Tyrod Taylor and/or Justin Herbert under center, but one thing is certain and that’s Allen will most likely be open due to his crafty route-running ability.

Allen is set to become a free agent after this season, and with another strong season, he could be looking at cashing a big check.

Chargers set to travel fourth-most miles in 2020

Being located furthest on the west coast doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

The Chargers spent a lot of time in an airplane last season, finishing as the third-most traveled team in the NFL.

How do the Bolts fare this upcoming season with the amount of miles that’ll be tacked up?

Traveling quite a bit will once again be a common thing for the Chargers this year as they are set to travel a total of 25,455 miles, which marks the fourth-highest, right behind the Seahawks, Rams and 49ers.

Los Angeles has to embark on 9,794 more miles than the Chiefs (15,661). That’s the biggest disparity between any two division rivals in the league this season, according to ESPN’s Stats & Info.

This statistic shouldn’t come as much of a surprise because L.A. is furthest on the west coast.

While there are more local games like those against their rivals in the AFC West, the Chargers have to go all the way to the east coast to take on the Buccaneers, Dolphins, Bills, Saints, as well as the season opener against the Bengals.

Regardless of the location, the Bolts are eager to pick up as many victories as possible in hopes of turning things around after a disappointing 2019 season.

POLL: How many games will Chargers win in 2020?

Will the Los Angeles Chargers turn things around after a disastrous 2019 season?

The Chargers’ 2020 schedule was finally released on Thursday.

Coming off a year that wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows as they finished 5-11 because of a combination of injuries and struggling to close out games, Los Angeles is eager to have a quick turnaround in the upcoming season.

With their schedule set in stone, we have more information to use in order to predict how this season might shake out for L.A.

Recently, I made my prediction, projecting the Bolts to finish with a 9-7 record. Even though we don’t know how the quarterback play is going to shape up after the departure of Philip Rivers, the talent on both sides of the ball should be able to elevate them.

So what do you think, Chargers fans? What do you make of the team’s success this season?

Weigh in on the Bolts’ win total in 2020 in the poll below.

[polldaddy poll=10549418]

5 Chargers games most likely to be prime time in 2020

The Los Angeles Chargers should garner the attention of prime time television in 2020.

The NFL will announce the regular season schedule for 2020 on Thursday at 5 p.m. PT. We already know who the Chargers’ opponents will be, but just don’t know the dates and times.

From that list of opponents, we can predict which games might get national attention on prime time television. Los Angeles played in three nationally televised games in 2019.

L.A. didn’t have a lot of success last season, finishing 5-11. However, given the talent on the roster, the fact that a new era at the quarterback begins, and they’re moving into a new stadium, they should be sure to earn the spotlight.

With that, here are five games that could be prime time this upcoming season:

Chargers at Saints

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The next time that the Chargers will play the Saints will be in 2024, which is likely the same year that New Orleans will have a new quarterback because Drew Brees is nearing the final leg of his professional career.

This would be the perfect opportunity to nationally televise Brees play against the team that originally drafted him back in 2001 one last time. Since Brees took over under center for the Saints in 2006, the Bolts have suffered defeat all three of their meetings.

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Chargers win Twitter ahead of NFL schedule release day

The Los Angeles Chargers have the best social media team.

The Chargers are big winners of social media thanks to a phenomenal series of tweets on Wednesday.

We will find out when and where Los Angeles will be playing on Thursday evening.

But prior to the schedule release, the Bolts’ social media crew poked fun by creating a thread, comparing their future opponents to different flavors of Pop Tarts, normal and abnormal flavors.

Let’s take a look:

Falcons

Bills

Panthers

Bengals

Broncos

Jaguars

Chiefs

Raiders

Dolphins

Patriots

Saints

Jets

Buccaneers

Predicting what the 2020 NFL schedule will look like

The NFL is set to release the league schedule. How might player movement, new faces and the current global climate impact the schedule?

The National Football League does a tremendous job of keeping itself relevant throughout the calendar year. Part of this ability lies in how they package “hope.” The NFL draft gives each fan base the idea that with the right few picks, next year could really be the year for their favorite team. Television ratings reflect that, and this year – as the only “game” in town – ratings were through the roof.

Another bit of news the league uses each year to stay in the global conversation is the release of the upcoming schedule. Normally, logistics do not move the needle for most people, but somehow the release of the NFL schedule creates hours of conversation and endless topics on predicted win/loss records, games to watch, and the like. (Believe me, we will be doing all of that here at Touchdown Wire).

But with the current global climate and concerns over a season starting on time – if at all – the schedule release is taking on a bit more importance. To that end, what might the 2020 NFL schedule look like when it’s released Thursday at 8:00 p.m. EST?

Here are some predictions.

The Season Opener | Thanksgiving Traditions | Primetime Heroes | Strongest Schedules | Weakest Schedules | The Impact of COVID-19

The Season Opener

(Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Traditionally, the NFL opens each season with the defending Super Bowl Champions hosting a Thursday-night affair. Banners are raised, trophies are shown off and the team and its fans come together one final time to toast the success of the previous season. (One exception to this tradition was last year, when the league opened the NFL100 season by having two of the oldest franchises square off, the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears).

So in all likelihood the league turns back to the Super Bowl winners this year, with the Kansas City Chiefs opening the season up at Arrowhead Stadium. Some obvious choices for their opponent from their slate of home games stand out immediately. This year the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans are scheduled to visit Kansas City, and either a rematch of the Divisional Round last season or a contest between two teams with a growing rivalry makes a great deal of sense. The Patriots and the Chiefs opened up the season a few years back when the Patriots were coming off a Super Bowl, so we could expect New England to make the trip to Kansas City this year.

There might be a potential catch to this, as we will discuss in a moment, so a dark horse selection might be one of their NFC South opponents this year. In 2020 the NFC South and the AFC West are the teams slated to play each other in non-conference games, so you could see either the Carolina Panthers or the Atlanta Falcons scheduled to open the season in Kansas City.

The Season Opener | Thanksgiving Traditions | Primetime Heroes | Strongest Schedules | Weakest Schedules | The Impact of COVID-19

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NFL to release 2020 schedule this week, here are Chargers’ opponents

Who will the Los Angeles Chargers be squaring off against this season?

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the full 2020 NFL schedule, including preseason, will be released this week with no changes expected. The regular-season opener will still be slated for Thursday, Sept. 10, while the Super Bowl will remain as scheduled for Feb. 7 in Tampa, FL.

The league is considering alternative plans due to the coronavirus pandemic, and one of them could involve the Chargers not being able to open up the season in their new stadium (SoFi Stadium). If they do, there’s a chance that fans might not be able to spectate, just like the other 31 teams.

The good news is that there will be football no matter what.

With that being said, we are just days away from finding out the official date and time Los Angeles will be facing off against these opponents:

Home: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars

Away: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals

Jared Goff not crazy about idea of playing in empty SoFi Stadium

Jared Goff called playing in front of empty stadiums “not ideal.”

As the 2020 NFL season nears, there remains an overwhelming sense of uncertainty about when it will begin and what form the schedule will take. No one truly knows whether the season will start on time, if it will be shortened or if there will be fans in the stands when play does eventually resume.

The Rams are facing the possibility of playing home games at their brand new stadium without fans in the seats. SoFi Stadium has already had its opening event canceled – a Taylor Swift concert in July – and it remains to be seen if public gatherings will even be allowed this fall.

Jared Goff was asked this week about the possibility of playing games in an empty SoFi Stadium and he’s not crazy about it.

“Not ideal,” Goff said on a video conference call. “Not what you want to do. I understand there are a lot of bigger implications in place right now as far as health of the world. But I know that’s not the vision we had moving to L.A. and I know that’s not the vision Mr. Kroenke had, ultimately, but if that is what it is, we have to roll with it.”

Goff fully understands the severity of the situation and the uncertainty of it all, saying he has no idea if fans will be allowed to attend games whenever they do take place.

“I don’t think it’s anything we want to do, but I’m preparing for full stadiums. Is that going to happen? I don’t know. I don’t know what the percentages are. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a scientist. Where will this progress? I don’t know. You guys don’t know. No one knows. So, we’re going to see in the next three or four months and then find out.”

This is supposed to be a memorable year for the Rams as they undergo a brand refresh, complete with new logos, uniforms, helmets and of course SoFi Stadium. But the coronavirus could delay the season, and thus the new era of the Rams in L.A.

Players continue to react to Chargers’ new, unreleased uniforms

Only five more days until the release date.

It started with defensive end Joey Bosa getting his eyes on the Chargers’ new uniforms.

Now it appears that more current and even former players of the team have been able to witness the unreleased threads which will drop on April 21.

Here is a look at the reactions via Twitter from this past week:

Only five more days until we get to see what a handful are already considering the best uniforms in the NFL.

California governor doesn’t expect NFL season to start on time with fans in stands

Governor Gavin Newsom doesn’t sound optimistic about the upcoming NFL season.

The NFL is pushing forward with its regularly scheduled programming despite the coronavirus pandemic bringing the world to a halt. Free agency and the new league year started on time, the draft will still be held on April 23-25 – albeit, in a different, fan-less setting – and the expectation is that the season will start on time.

California governor Gavin Newsom said this weekend that he doesn’t expect the season to begin on time with fans in stadiums – at least not in his state.

Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN said recently that he’d be shocked if there was football this fall, which was a strong statement from the college football analyst. President Donald Trump doesn’t seem to agree with that sentiment, though and has a more optimistic view of the situation.

He thinks the season will start on time in September.

Considering the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no way to be sure sports will return any time soon. The NFL isn’t currently in season like the NBA, NHL and MLB are supposed to be, but there’s still a lot that needs to be accomplished before the season can begin. OTAs and minicamps have already been canceled and training camps are supposed to take place in July and August.

Without any of that offseason work, players will be at greater risk of injury when they do eventually start playing, nor will they be in football shape.