LAC Ends Season in Divisionals
by ArkLaTex | 7 years ago | 0 Comments
The Chargers season ended in the AFC Divisional Round at the hands of the current champ and SB winner, New England Patriots 29-26. It was an exciting game which saw LAC jump out to a 14-0 lead but the Pats fought back and secure the win when a Philip Rivers pass went to the wrong target with less than 2 mins remaining in the game. Much like the first game between these 2 teams, there were some wild moments including a holding against LAC that gave NE a safety and a returned 2 pt conversion by the Chargers to make it 29-26. "It always sucks to lose but it stings a little bit more losing the way we did to the future champs. They really didn't have a close game the entire playoffs except for us. You can always talk about shoulda, woulda, coulda, but the bottom line is we didn't get the job done and we missed our ultimate goal, said Coach Gambler."
YEAR END REVIEW
The Los Angeles Chargers (still weird typing that) finished the regular season #2 in the AFC and #3 in the NFL with a 13-3 record. Winning the AFC West was one of the highlights of the season, the next closes team was the KC Chiefs at 9-7.
Offensively the Chargers played pretty conservative because of scores from Special Teams and Defense. "Once we saw our ability to generate stops AND points from ST's and Defense, we knew we just had to get out of our own way on offense, said Gambler. I thought we underacheived in some ways on offense because of our conservative approach but ultimately we just want to win."
- LAC was led on offense by RB Melvin Gordon. Gordon had 224 carries for 1020 yards and 12 TDs. He also was the teams #1 receiving target with 96 receptions for 904 yards and 8 TDs.
- QB Philip Rivers passed for over 4k yards and 26 TDs while backup QB Cardale "Shotgun" Jones passed for 328 yards and 4 scores, while adding 125 yards and 1 TD on the ground.
- Outside of Gordon the receiving was spread around, WR Tyrell Williams had 41 catches for 1014 yards and 3 TDs, TE Antonio Gates had 49 for 718yds and 7 TDs, and WR Travis Benjamin had 44 for 711yds and 5 TDs.
The biggest issue with the Chargers was OL play. Outside of Philip Rivers the offense is pretty young. When talking to coach Gambler he said their plan this offseason and draft is to fix the OL and bring in a young TE to play alongside new star, Henry Hunter. The long term plan for LAC is to acquire a top 5 pick and select QB1 in the 2020 draft.
On defense the Chargers flew around the field like their hair was on fire. Finishing in the top 3 in Yards allowed, top 5 in Passing Yards allowed, and #12 in Rushing Yards allowed. Bad news for the SFL is every starter and backup will return in 2019. "I can't say enough good things about the defense here, said Gambler. These guys come to work every day with business-like mindset and it shows. They are relentless."
- CB Casey Howard led the defense in tackles and 2nd in Int's from his CB position, 42 tackles and 8 picks. LB's Jatavis Brown and Jeremiah Attaochu were close with 40 and 39 tackles respectively. Brown added 7 Ints and Attaochu had 5 Ints.
- The "Goon Squad" made a splash in the SFL. Melvin Ingram totaled 21 sacks, Joey Bosa added 18, Attaochu made 11, and DT Corey Liget registered 9. All told the Charges totaled 71 sacks as team, good enough for 11th in the SFL.
- The big MO for the Charger defense/special teams was scoring. The Chargers defense snagged 44 Ints this season, ranking them 5th. Also between the 2 units, 7 non offensive TDs were scored, 3 from Rookie SS Rayshawn Jenkins, who always seems to be in the right spot.
The best thing about the Chargers defense is that none of them are 30+. They will all be back next season and expectations are very high with this unit. Rookie CB Desmond King and SS Rayshawn Jenkins were pushed to starting roles and flourished. With a season under their belt, the sky is the limit for these 2.
Coach Gambler made it clear OL/TE was the biggest need for the Chargers but don't be surprised to see them take a CB/LB/DL late in the draft if they fit the Chargers needs.
Season 2 of the SFL is probably less than 2 weeks away and I can't wait to get back and defend my AFC West title and make anothe push for that elusive SB trophy.
