Chargers Just Got MASSIVE News For Playoff Push

Chargers Just Got MASSIVE News For Playoff Push

Renick, let’s talk about the Los Angeles Chargers. When I think about the Chargers this season, unfortunately, one word comes to mind, injuries. Had a lot of injuries lately, and I think especially across the offensive line, they’ve been trying to figure some stuff out. But, you know, a lot of times when you think injuries, one thing you want is to get stabilization. You’re not looking for a long-term answer. You want the the line to hold up good enough until your guys get back. But, I have a question for you. What if you could get both? And I think the Chargers have found a guy in particular that looks really good that could be a stabilizing factor, but could also be a long-term piece of this offensive line as well. We’ll get into this in just one second. First, I’m Andrew. That’s Nick. And this is Saturday Morning Inspect. [Music] [Applause] All right, Nick, as I alluded to, there’s a really strong piece coming into this Chargers offensive line. If you break down the details of what they have done through their career and through the past few weeks for this Chargers offensive line, I think it’s looking very interesting for at least finishing out this season strongly and potentially the future of this offensive line as well. Let’s get into the article and we can talk more about it on the other side. So, this is from Boltbe says, “The season not only has been disastrous from an injury perspective for the Chargers offensive line, no kidding, but also from a perspective of performance. They have now missed both of their star tackles for the large majority of the season. For the most part, the players that have come in to replace them have been horrendous.” That is also very true. For several weeks, therefore, Herbert has had to make do with some of the worst pass protection in the NFL and is severely stunning the Chargers offense as a result. Yet with a new blindside protector and Jamari Sawier against the Raiders, Herbert found his form yet again. While he only threw for 151 yards on that day, he completed 15 of 20 of his passes. And Sawyers’s ability to hold off Las Vegas pass rush played a huge part in that success. And as bad as the Raiders are, they do have some talented pass rushers, especially guys like Max Crosby on that team. So, it’s not a joke of a defensive front for him to go up against. And I think that’s the key here is Jamari Sawyer has slotted in in the few times he has come to the left tackle position this year for the Raiders or excuse me for the Chargers is looking very very good which leads me uh to some interesting comments by his coach Greg Roman uh Chargers OC Greg Roman said lift tackle Jamari Sawyer he’s a really intelligent human being he’s good feel for leverage body position where his anchor his weight uh when he needs to a lot of really good traits there. A lot of nuance goes into him playing left tackle. So, Greg Roman also says, “Hey, Dear Sawyer, this is a guy who knows how to play left tackle position.” He didn’t say there’s a lot of nuance going into him playing offensive line, right tackle, guard position. He said left tackle in particular. And when Jamari Sawer has played left tackle this year, good things have happened for this Chargers team. We have here the the games that he has played this year. here. And you can see there’s a bunch of different things. Right guard, right tackle. But there’s also some games where they played left tackle. And I’m seeing here week nine verse I’ve had highlighted. And then this past week, week 13 versus Las Vegas also where he played left tackle. And you can see for him some great grades. He’s had great grades the last few weeks, but right here in particular whenever he plays left tackle, good pass blocking performances by him. Then we can also look at his whole career that this is a guy who has done his best work as a left tackle for this team. We can see got drafted by the Chargers in 2022. And if you look at these uh PFF grades here, we all know green means good, yellow, orange, red means bad. The one year he had a lot of green was 2022. played over a thousand snaps at the left tackle position for the Chargers going this is a guy who you know maybe he’s not a right guard maybe he’s not a right tackle this is a guy who can slot in more at the left tackle position and that seems to be the case and finally want to bring up the Chargers games when we see you know early on this season a lot of guys went down to injury the far right hand corner of this chart you can see the pass blocking rates and we see week one week two everything’s looking good everything is looking rosy for this Chargers team. Then boom, the injuries start to come fast and furious. A lot of really bad grades. 45 overall pass blocking grades, 27s, a lot of 50s in there. Nothing really good. And what do we go back to? Week nine verse Titans. The first thing we’ve seen good pass blocking grades for this Chargers team. What week is that? The week that Jamari Sawyer played left tackle. Again, we go uh Steelers Jaguars 4258. And then we come back to this week verse Las Vegas Raiders. 78.2 pass walking grade again the week Jamari Sawyer slots in at the left tackle position. I think there’s something to this and I think there’s a key here for this Chargers offensive line going forward. We talked about stabilization, but we also talked about strong performances. I think Jamari Sawyer is a solid player. It’s great that he can play right tackle, right guard, you know, anywhere across the offensive line pretty much. But I think we’ve seen, especially with all the injuries they’re dealing with, when this guy slots in at the left tackle position, this is a team that can have some stability and good grades, good vibes across the offensive line. I think Jamari Sawer is the guy that they should keep at left tackle going forward, at least until some guys start coming back from injury. I think there’s a future where we’ve seen Joe Alt played right tackle and I think there’s, you know, a possibility if he keeps up this level of play. You could have two dominant tackles once again in Sawyer and Joe Alt. That’s a long shot, but I’m saying you look at what’s going on here. Jamari Saw when he plays left tackle in the NFL has done some good things. He’s done over the course of a season in 2022. He’s also done it really well in week nine and week 13, respectively, as well. So, I think there’s some interesting stuff here for the Chargers going forward. And I think we’re going to see a much more at least stabilized offensive line. Curious what your thoughts are on all this, Nick. But before we get to you, Chargers fans in the comment section below, what do you want the future of this offensive line to look like? Do you think Jamari Ser is a guy who could slot in at a tackle position going forward? Or you think nah when everyone comes back from you know injury want to go back to the way things were exactly or do you think this at least piques your interest enough to think this could be a guy going forward? Let us know your thoughts on everything Jamari Sawer in the uh you know future of this offensive line in the comment section below. But nonetheless Nick what are your thoughts on everything here for Chargers? So, I do think Slater and Alter are obviously better, but I think the question with Slater is now he’s had two season ending injuries, right? And the best availability is ability or the best ability is availability, excuse me. So, I think if listen, Sawyer has done a good job. I love him. I love him as a swing tackle going forward. I think that’s an absolutely phenomenal role for him if Slater and also Joe Alt can be healthy long term. And that is the question specifically when it comes to Slater. And listen, when he’s healthy and when he’s played, he’s been awesome. He’s been fantastic. The reality is he’s now had not one but two really bad injuries and that becomes a serious concern, right? It becomes a trend. And I’m not against Slater. I’m a big fan of Rashan Slater, but you’ve got to have a plan if you’re the Chargers, right? Because that tackle position, any any team, but especially Los Angeles with how much they want to run the football and how much they have to protect Justin Herbert, they have to have that position really locked down. They have to have confidence not just with the starters necessarily, but with reserves as well. And I think Sawyer has a key role at bare minimum being their starting swing tackle for the future of this team at left or at right tackle. And there could be a role and I agree with you if Slater struggles to come back from injury or if the injury bug unfortunately I’m not I’m not wishing it to happen but it is a real issue. In fact even Alt though now has got some injuries. So there’s some concerns about health and I know it doesn’t make people comfortable or happy to talk about it but you got to have a plan if you’re an organization because I guarantee you Ortiz and company are sitting there like listen we’re playing Slater a lot of money. He’s now had two big injuries. We got to have a backup plan. We got to have something we can trust. And I think Solier has become that guy at the tackle position. He’s becoming a stabilizing force. And we did a film review about him last week talking about his performance against the Raiders. And one of the things about Sawyer that I really appreciate, if you look at him stylistically, he’s not a guy that impresses you with, you know, the the way Joe Alt does in terms of technique, long arms, great frame, everything you look at a tackle. He’s kind of a little more stumpy, right? He’s got shorter arms, looks like a guard, right? He just looks like a guard, but he actually plays at the tackle position extremely well. Runs his feet A+. Is a phenomenal athlete. He’s willing to finish blocks, pass pro, run game, checks every box. I think he actually is a starting caliber tackle in the National Football League. I mean, he’s proved it in his NFL career stepping up in key moments. But I think at a certain point the Chargers and I agree with you have to make a decision of okay Sawyers or swing tackle but when it comes to Slater and listen if you look at his contract I know he just got a massive extension but it in all reality it was essentially a three-year extension when it was in the first time. So there is a universe where if the Chargers really want to think about their future plans Saul could could kind of move into that list. But let’s just talk about this season. Let’s talk about now because the Chargers are in the thick of it right obviously they’re in second place in their division right in the wild card hunt. The Broncos separating themselves a little bit right now, but we’ll see what happens with Denver. And they’ve got a massive game against the Philadelphia Eagles, an Eagles team that’s lost two in a row, and they’re desperate for a victory. So, this is a big moment for Soulier and again, it’s an opportunity for the Chargers, an opportunity for this young offensive lineman to prove that he can step up and perform at a high level. And I think this game against Philadelphia will go a long way. Because a lot of people are saying this Eagles defensive line after surrendering in a in a comeback defeat against the Cowboys uh last Sunday or a week and a half ago almost at this point and then of course getting decimated by the Bears rushing attack. There’s a lot of people right now that are like how good is this defense and they’re going to come out really looking to turn things around and it’s going to be a challenge on Solier to step up and answer the mail. We’ve seen young offensive linemen both for Dallas and for Chicago step up and do good things against Philadelphia in the last two games for the Eagles. If Sawyer doesn’t match that trend, that’s a red flag. I think he will step up. I think when you look at his film, he’s a really good football player and all the things I love to see, footwork, foot drive, effort. You know, he’s a guy that doesn’t want to be a a puncher with his hands. He’s a big once in a wrestling match and he’s leaned into that stylistically. Tackles, you you normally want space. You normally want to, you know, keep your chest back and have a good job with your punches and keep the defensive ends at bay. Soldier said, “Listen, I’m going to embrace who I am. I’m going to be a wrestling match inside with strong inside grip.” And when he did that against the Raiders, whether it was against Coun, whether it against Crosby, he did a lot of or Wilson, he did a lot of really good things. I think that trend will continue against Philadelphia. I’m expecting this young tackle to have a nice game. I’m expecting the Chargers to do a lot of good things. I think it’s going to be a physical game. It’s going to come down to the end, but I expect the Chargers to come out on top against Philadelphia. I really do. And Herbert in that defense is probably a big reason why. But Sawyer stepping up again. I think he’s proving to be a clutch performer. And at a certain point, I know you got a lot invested in both those tackles. I think swing tackle is an important position in today’s NFL. And Sawyer is proving he is the swing tackle of the future for the Chargers. And maybe eventually if depending on contractual things work out if more injuries happen, god forbid, we’re not rooting for it, but we’re seeing a trend now with these with some of these other guys. I think Sawyer can prove himself to be a more than capable backup. I think this was a great addition back in the day when the Chargers picked him up from Georgia. the trend has continued throughout this young lineman’s career and I’m expecting big things from him this Sunday and the rest of the year. Yeah, Nick. And there’s there’s one more point I want to bring to the table to kind of highlight something that you said is talking Slater people probably like well guy’s crazy like you know Jamar Sawer over Rashan Slater. Of course, Slater is better, and he is, but I do want to bring something to your attention because, you know, very close, really devastating injuries like that, it can affect somebody’s career. And I want to I want to bring a an important story to your attention. This is a story of a young upand cominging superstar, a first round o first round number six overall offensive lineman. came into the NFL, had a stellar career uh the first four years. That fourth year really kind of like Slater, put in the work, had an 89.4 overall grade, number two left tackle in all football, and he got inked to a massive deal where he looked like the future savior of this offensive line. That guy’s name is Ronnie Stanley. And when he came to Baltimore, he was looking really good. Then 2020 injury hit struck very bad you know ankle leg and knee injuries just kind of you know really really devastating for him comes back in 2021 again injury bug strikes once again missed that season as well he’s come back and since then you know he’s been fine he’s 69 grade in uh 2022 69 or 68 excuse me in 2023 71 72 across the board he’s had fine grades but he hasn’t lived up to the contract cuz like I said when those injuries strike like you said when that that injury bug two really bad injuries already this early on in his career when you come back not necessarily the same player anymore. So that’s something to look at. Maybe he does and I hope he does. Slater comes back. He came back from the last injury played two years straight at a really high level. But coming back from this one if there’s some question there I think it’s something you keep your eye on. A guy like Sawier is just an interesting option that is on the table. I think he’s dead. I think right now probably swing tackle, but as you keep your eye on Slater, why his trade value is probably still up there really high. Something to think about if his level of play is back up to where it was when he comes back from his injuries.

The Los Angeles Chargers are heading into their most important games of the year. And to that end, it seems like the LA Chargers have solved their biggest problem. Looking at the data, this is clearly great for the Chargers. Fans of the LA Chargers should be excited by this news.

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