Jason Verrett Tears Achilles Tendon Derwin James Jerseys Stitched , Saves Chargers Fromif I told you it took a torn Achilles tendon to save the Chargers from themselves?Don’t get me wrong, what happened to Jason Verrett is terrible from both a personal and a professional perspective. It sucks and I’m sincere when I say I feel terribly for him. I just didn’t care for how the team was planning on handling his return and how that plan would have effected the playing time of two much more deserving players.As we know, Jason Verrett was attempting to comeback from the torn ACL that cost him each of the last two seasons. In anticipation of his return, the Chargers were prepared to hand a starting job back to Jason at the expense of two players who performed at a Pro Bowl level in 2017 in Trevor Williams and Desmond King.The plan was to make Williams, who posted 56 tackles, 13 passes broken up and two interceptions in Verrett’s absence, the primary slot corner. That, of course, meant moving Desmond King (76 tackles, four sacks, five passes broken up, one interception), out of his role as the slot corner. In fact, there was a good chance King would have been moved off the field entirely while he fought for rotational snaps at slot corner, free safety and nickel linebacker in camp.Not to mention Youth Kyzir White Jerseys , Trevor Williams is set to become a restricted free agent after the 2018 season. That means the team was prepared to take him off the island he owned throughout 2017 the season before his first shot at a potential payday. How do you think that would have played out when it came time to negotiate a new contract?Now, with Verrett once again injured, the team won’t have to worry about botching a personnel decision by stealing snaps from two deserving players in the interest of playing favorites with a former first round pick.Trevor Williams can go back to playing outside, where he belongs. He won’t have any reason to feel angry or slighted because of a move inside, and he can focus on doing his job. And, with Jason Verrett hurt and unlikely to return to the team, he should find himself in an excellent position to avoid a restricted free agent tender and receive a new, long term deal if he plays well in 2018.As for Des King, he gets to go back to doing what he does best – playing close to the line of scrimmage, attacking the football and making plays. He will probably benefit from the largest and most immediate bump in playing time based on the simple fact that he will go into camp as the primary slot corner with little to no immediate competition. He earned that with his play last year and now the team doesn’t have to worry about the message they were sending him by robbing him of richly deserved playing time.Verrett’s injury also creates an opportunity for someone else to grab hold of a roster spot.If we assume the team will carry five corners, with Casey Hayward, Trevor Williams, Des King and Michael Davis all fairly safe bets to fill out the first four slots; the fifth spot is now up for grabs. With camp set to begin on Saturday, Tony Brown, Craig Mager and Brandon Facyson all have a legitimate shot at making the final roster. What looked like an extreme long shot for all three players just a few days ago now suddenly looks much more possible.This may be the opening undrafted free agent darling Tony Brown needs to make the team. While he isn’t ready to play corner in the NFL Kyzir White Jerseys Stitched , it wouldn’t be difficult for the team to potentially stash him as the fifth corner and use him strictly as a special teams standout, which is where he provides the greatest value, anyway.While we all feel badly for Jason Verrett on a personal level, his injury provided clarity and created opportunity in the secondary, and the team should be better for it in the long run. They no longer have to worry about alienating Trevor Williams, they won’t have to move Des King around in an effort to manufacture playing time for him, and they might have stumbled upon an opportunity to keep a potential difference maker on special teams on the 53-man roster.Like I said; it took a torn Achilles tendon to save the Chargers from themselves.Key defensive observations from the Chargers 31-20 defeat of the Bills The Los Angeles Chargers took care of business in Buffalo. It wasn’t exactly what you’d call a picture-perfect win, but they made the cross-country trek, played a solid first half of football, and rode a 22-point halftime lead all the way to a victory.On the one hand, the team bounced back from a humiliating loss to Kansas City by winning a game we all expected them to win. They stopped the run, harassed Josh Allen, recorded five sacks and forced two turnovers, and did several things you’d expect them to build on moving forward. That, in and of its self Youth Dan Fouts Jerseys , is encouraging.On the other hand, the secondary blew several coverage assignments, the pass rushers missed a handful of potential sacks due to undisciplined rush angles, and Desmond King committed a horribly bone-headed taunting penalty that extended a Buffalo possession and led to points. In other words, they were far from perfect.With that said, let’s look at my top offensive takeaways – good and bad – from Sunday’s game:Derwin does it all: Derwin James was all over the field on Sunday, recording eight tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass break up. James played all over the field and made a massive impact in run support, in coverage, and as a pass rusher. He was the best player on the field regardless of team or position.The rookies carried the day鈥gain: Uchenna Nwosu had a sack and a couple of pressures, Kyzir White recorded three pass break-ups and an interception, and we already talked about Derwin James. They were the most impactful and most reliable aspect of the defense all day long and continued to show why the team selected them in the 2018 NFL Draft.The first half game plan was nearly flawless: At least from a game plan perspective, the Chargers did almost everything right on defense in the first half. Gus Bradley cut his playmakers loose Dan Fouts Jerseys Stitched , stacked the box, harassed Josh Allen and let his corners press the Buffalo receivers. I’m still not sure why he seems to be so committed to Kyle Emanuel, but he drew up some fun blitz packages and put his best players in position to succeed.Too many blown coverage assignments: While the score may not reflect it, the Chargers secondary did not play well in Buffalo. Kyle Emanuel, Des King, and Jahleel Addae all blew several coverage assignments, leaving a variety of Bills receivers wide open downfield. Josh Allen completed five passes of 20+ yards, but he also left at least four big plays and two scores on the field because he either didn’t see open receivers or made poor throws. There is a good chance a competent quarterback cashes in on more of those opportunities, and we’re discussing a very different outcome in the days following the game.Rock bottom for Desmond King: I think it’s safe to say Desmond King suffered through the worst game of his Chargers career on Sunday. The nightmare began with a bone-headed taunting penalty that extended a Buffalo scoring drive and kept on rolling with several blown assignments. It looked like the Bills identified Des as someone who gambles on underneath routes and tried to pick on him with double moves; a tactic that worked regarding getting their receivers open downfield, even if Josh Allen failed to deliver the ball.That pretty much does it for my defensive observations. Unlike last week, I thought Gus Bradley did a much better job of identifying and attacking Josh Allen’s shortcomings, and I’m especially encouraged by the way he cut Derwin James loose in a variety of roles. The blown coverage assignments and mental errors notwithstanding, I was pretty happy with how the Chargers got after Josh Allen and felt like there is enough there to build on moving forward.What are your defensive observations from the Bills game? Let me hear them in the comments section below.
