Full San Diego Chargers Report Card Heading into Week 10 Bye
The San Diego Chargers still have a lot of football left to play in 2014, but something has to change over the bye week.
As ESPN's Eric D. Williams alluded to in a recent blog post, the Chargers are at a crossroads after last week's blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins. The shutout was the first suffered by San Diego since 1999, and it was as ugly as the scoreboard implied.
Things got so bad in the second half that Philip Rivers and a handful of starters didn't even take the field for the fourth quarter. The same Chargers team that won five straight games earlier this year has dropped its last three contests, two of which came against division rivals.
Coming out of the bye, San Diego will open at home against the Oakland Raiders—who nearly beat the Chargers in Week 6—and the following week will bring the St. Louis Rams to town—a potential trap game considering the two upsets St. Louis has already pulled off in wins over Seattle and San Francisco.
Here's how the units have graded out through the first nine games of the season.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Philip Rivers drew heavy MVP consideration through the first six weeks of the season courtesy of his team's 5-1 record and a pretty impressive stat line: 15 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 1,756 yards, 117.6 passer rating.
But a good thing doesn't always last forever, at least in Rivers' case the past three games. In losses to Kansas City, Denver and Miami, Rivers has thrown six interceptions and averaged a passer rating of 69.0 during San Diego's three-game slump.
An ugly loss in Miami over the weekend was the worst performance by far from last year's Comeback Player of the Year, and Rivers acknowledged that sentiment in his postgame presser.
"I was terrible," Rivers said. "And when the quarterback is terrible it's hard to win."
Given his recent struggles, Rivers still remains the best player on the Chargers roster, and his team's outlook the rest of the way depends solely on his ability to leave the past behind and play like the elite quarterback that led San Diego on a five-game win streak early on.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 10
Life without Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead has been a challenge, to say the least. San Diego got by with Donald Brown in Weeks 3 and 4 before his concussion and Branden Oliver provided a spark in Weeks 5 and 6, but the consistency of the run game declined thereafter.
Over the course of a three-game stretch, the Chargers averaged only 60 yards a game with Oliver and 32-year-old Ronnie Brown in the backfield. The Chiefs, Broncos and Dolphins acclimated quickly to Oliver's running style and managed to shut him down in a hurry. Miami was especially active in completing that goal on Sunday by holding Oliver to 19 yards on 13 carries.
Fortunately for San Diego, the bye week comes with perfect timing as Mathews practiced on Friday for the first time since he injured his knee in Week 2 against Seattle. Mathews has missed the last seven games with an MCL sprain, but the hope is he'll be ready in time to suit up against the Raiders at home on Nov. 16.
San Diego's backfield was essentially held together by duct tape for the first half of the season, but the anticipated return of Mathews provides some reassurance along the way.
Grade: C-
Wide Receiver
3 of 10
The success of the receiving corps depends heavily on Philip Rivers, and when San Diego's quarterback has a string of bad games, so do the wide receivers. Eddie Royal had five touchdowns in the first six weeks of action, but in the past three games he's been limited to four catches for 49 yards.
Keenan Allen and Malcom Floyd have been the most consistent targets for Rivers even in losses. Against Denver, Allen snared nine passes for 73 yards and a touchdown while Floyd led the team in receiving over the weekend with four catches for 60 yards against Miami.
The production from Floyd has been good for the Chargers (a positive sign he's back on track after the neck injury he suffered last season), but the sense with Allen is that we're still waiting for him to break out like he did as a rookie in 2013.
He's been able to get his touches, but through nine games, Allen has found the end zone just once and gone over 100 yards receiving one time (he had three TDs and three games over 100 yards through nine weeks last year).
Over the bye, San Diego should look into incorporating Allen and Floyd in the red zone more.
Grade: A
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Tight End
4 of 10
Antonio Gates has managed to turn back the clock in 2014 as the chemistry between he and Philip Rivers has never looked stronger. On the eve of San Diego's Thursday night game in Denver, Gates passed Lance Alworth for the most receiving yards in franchise history, the last receiving record left standing that Gates hadn't already broken in the last 12 years.
Gates has nine touchdowns through nine games, tying him for second-most in the NFL. The success of San Diego's prolific tight end has been a positive for the offense, but Ladarius Green has been getting the short end of the stick as a result.
Before the season started, Green was primed for a breakout season in his third year with the Chargers, but he's been targeted only 15 times by Rivers. Green, who averaged 22.1 yards a catch the previous year, has caught only 12 balls for 165 yards in Frank Reich's offense, begging the question as to why he's not seeing more action come his way.
Some might suggest Gates has played so well that Green has been lost in the fold:
"Ladarius Green: "Hey, coach..." McCoy: "What do you want, Gates?" Green: "No, it's me, Ladarius." McCoy: "What's that, Gates?"
— Bolts From The Blue (@BFTB_Chargers) November 2, 2014"
Coming out of the bye, San Diego should be more open to expanding Green's role on offense, as he presents favorable matchups in the passing game for Rivers.
Grade: B+
Offensive Line
5 of 10
San Diego's offensive line was ranked 31st by Pro Football Focus in early October, and my guess is the last four performances have done nothing to move the needle since then. The loss of Nick Hardwick has really hurt the Chargers up front, and the only positive to pull from this unit so far has been the play of King Dunlap at left tackle.
Johnnie Troutman hasn't earned the trust of his coaches to stay in at right guard every snap, which is why third-round rookie Chris Watt has been incorporated into a rotation along the interior. Rich Ohrnberger did well when Hardwick's injury first came about, but the back injury he sustained a couple weeks back has hindered his play at center.
D.J. Fluker has been bothered by a nagging ankle injury, which hasn't aided his ability in pass protection. The 11th overall pick of last year's draft thrives in clearing paths for the run game, but elite pass-rushers have gotten the better of him this season as marquee matchups with Justin Houston, Von Miller and Cameron Wake didn't go his way.
This unit has been battered the past few weeks, and the reality is there doesn't appear to be any reinforcements on the way. Jeromey Clary, who was placed on the PUP list to start the year, is nowhere near practicing and the window on making him part of the active roster is closing quickly.
All the bye week can provide is some needed rest for the injured and more time with offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
6 of 10
As long as Corey Liuget continues to draw double-teams on a weekly basis, the defensive line has little chance of making an impact on a game. Kendall Reyes isn't the same player he was in his first two seasons, and the defensive tackle spot has been a three-man gig with Sean Lissemore, Ricardo Mathews and fifth-round rookie Ryan Carrethers (none have really staked their claim at the position).
It's disappointing to see a good player like Liuget get shut down, but it's even more frustrating that his teammates along the D-line aren't able to take advantage of one-on-one matchups when they present themselves.
Getting in the backfield to create pressure on the quarterback or make a play on a ball-carrier has been difficult for this group, and that couldn't be any more true than on Sunday in Miami. Ryan Tannehill had more than enough time to scan the field and deliver accurate throws from a clean pocket that received little resistance from the Chargers' defensive front.
There's not a whole lot that Liuget can do if he's doubled, but Reyes and Lissemore need to step up in the second half of the year to supply some help up front.
Grade: D-
Linebacker
7 of 10
Much like the running back position, injuries to two big contributors on the linebacking corps has made life very difficult for the Chargers defense. The loss of Melvin Ingram to a hip injury has put a lot of pressure on Dwight Freeney to be the pass-rush for San Diego, but the reality is he's 34 years old and not as fleet of foot as he once was in Indianapolis. Plus, the absence of another true pass-rusher on the opposite side has allowed opposing offenses to gameplan around San Diego's only real threat on passing downs.
Manti Te'o's foot injury has also put a damper on things, as Donald Butler hasn't been living up to his big-money contract. After receiving a considerable pay raise in the offseason, Butler has looked sluggish and uninspired at times, and the media has been quick to point the finger in his direction.
After last week's embarrassing loss to the Dolphins, Butler refused to speak with reporters and head coach Mike McCoy danced around the question of if Butler had been playing up to his price tag, via Eric D. Williams of ESPN:
"We're not putting that one yesterday on one guy at all. We all have got to play better.
There's certain things we're going to look at in his play yesterday that you've got to say, like everybody else, you've got to do better. You've got to make a tackle here or there. You've got to do those things when it's that one-on-one battle, you've got to win. But you could look at the film at every player and point out someone on every play.
"
Meanwhile, Andrew Gachkar, who makes considerably less than Butler, is putting it all on the line in place of the injured Te'o. While Gachkar may miss a tackle here and there, McCoy has taken notice of the effort:
"Guys played extremely hard. Andrew Gachkar is a great example. He played his tail off. You look at the way he was playing from the very first play until the very end. And there are a number of other guys that did a nice job in there that played extremely hard.
"
Injuries have hit this unit hard with Melvin Ingram, Te'o, second-round pick Jeremiah Attaochu and a handful of others missing time, but the bye week should again prove crucial for healing the wounded.
Ingram, who was placed on short-term IR, is eligible to return Nov. 16 against Oakland if health allows. It's also possible that Te'o begins testing out his injured foot as he looks to be back in the lineup sometime in the coming weeks.
Grade: D-
Secondary
8 of 10
At the beginning of the year, the secondary got off to a strong start with new free-agent acquisition Brandon Flowers holding Larry Fitzgerald to one catch for 22 yards in Week 1. In the weeks that followed, the secondary got even better, and first-round rookie Jason Verrett didn't take long to get adjusted in his new home.
But as has been the case for this Chargers team all season, the injury bug bit the secondary hard and forced Shareece Wright, Flowers and Verrett to all miss time at one point or another. Having all three corners on the field has been a rare occurrence, and news of Verrett's labrum tear means San Diego will have to fight on with Flowers, Wright and a crew of first and second-year players behind them.
The MVP of the secondary, and maybe of the defense as a whole, has been Eric Weddle, who leads the team with 64 tackles and six passes defensed. Weddle's partner in the defensive backfield, Marcus Gilchrist, has held his own with 34 tackles and four deflected passes. Jahleel Addae, who looked primed for a bigger role at safety, hasn't been healthy long enough to make an impact, and his recent concussion could cost him another few games if it's as bad as it looked.
Even after allowing 309 yards passing to the Dolphins, San Diego still ranks near the middle of the pack in passing defense. What the Chargers decide to do with Verrett moving forward could play a big part in how this unit fares the rest of the way.
Grade: B
Special Teams
9 of 10
It's been a good year for Nick Novak, who became the all-time leader in consecutive field goals made by a Chargers kicker. Novak conquered the feat in Week 7 against the Broncos, and his streak now stands at 31 consecutive field goals made. With 14 makes on 14 attempts, you couldn't ask more of your kicker.
Longtime punter Mike Scifres has had his number called more than the team would like the past couple games, but like he's done for the better part of his career, Scifres has delivered the goods in the punting game. His 15 punts inside the 20 are tied for ninth-best.
Special teams play on kickoffs, meanwhile, could use some work. The Chargers have allowed a total of 752 return yards on kickoffs, which is the second-most allowed this season. No team has been fortunate enough to take one back to the house, but the sloppy coverage has given opposing offenses better field position.
As for returning kicks of their own, the Chargers rank near the very bottom in return yards with 196 on kickoffs and 78 on punts. As it stands right now, Keenan Allen seems to have secured punt return duties while Chris Davis has emerged as a potential candidate to take on kick returns. In his first day on the job, Davis brought back four kicks for a total of 116 yards against Miami.
A strong kicking game and young returners are things to look forward to down the stretch.
Grade: A
Coaching
10 of 10
Mike McCoy doesn't portray the attitude of a coach that has lost faith in his team, and he made that very clear after San Diego's humiliating loss in Miami, via Michael Gehlken of San Diego Union-Tribune:
"We'll get it back on track, I promise you. I promise you, we will get this back on track. No doubt in my mind. … We have a lot of good football players, some great leaders on the football team. We've got a good coaching staff.
We've got a great quarterback. He had a bad day today, but he's a great quarterback. When you have that, and you have good players and good leaders, you've got a chance every Sunday. We'll fix this.
"
To his credit, McCoy and the rest of the coaching staff have been challenged by injuries to some of the better players on the roster, and the depth hasn't been quite there to get the job done.
It will be interesting to see if anything changes over the bye week. Will the offense continue to blank under Frank Reich, and can John Pagano's defense stop the bleeding?
Grade: B-
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