Brandon Staley must fix Chargers secondary before it’s too late
The Chargers’ secondary has undoubtedly not started the season as they intended to. In Week 1, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns. Tyreek Hill put on a show himself while the Dolphins exploded for 36 points. Los Angeles allowed eight explosive pass plays for over 20+ yards. Filtering it to 15+ yards, they allowed 17 such passes.
Michael Davis and J.C. Jackson got the brunt of the ambush from Mike McDaniel’s squad, but no one in the secondary played particularly well. The unit was disorganized about their coverage assignments. The middle of the field was a feast for the Dolphins as Brandon Staley kept showing Cover 6 looks. Significant press man was played on Hill.
Was the secondary as bad in Week 2? No. But there were still several miscues that killed them for big plays. The Chargers allowed three explosive pass plays over 20+ yards to a Tennessee offense that struggled mightily in the passing game the week before. Davis and Asante Samuel Jr. got beat with no safety help over the top on two deep shots by Chris Moore and Treylon Burks. Ryan Tannehill posted his highest passer rating (123.3) since an early October game against the Colts last season.
Simply put, the secondary is reeling two weeks into the season. Staley was asked a few questions about it during his Monday media availability. First, he discussed his nickel sub-package:
We’re going to go with Ja’Sir at Star. Then, those three guys on the outside will play, based on, like I said, J.C.’s ramp-up and how they are performing in practice and in the game. We would like to get those guys into a rhythm right now. It’s competitive. Like I said, we feel like we have three starting corners.
Naming Ja’Sir Taylor the starter in the slot is surprising after the Chargers acknowledged that Asante Samuel Jr. had “won” the slot competition during training camp. Pulling the plug on that experiment after two games for Samuel to go back outside is a quick pivot.
On the topic of his cornerback rotation:
The guys are in the positions that they are used to playing, so that is a good way to get them in rhythm. I felt like them being in the right spots is a key component in that. As we continue to play these games and perform, then the competition is going to express itself. Then, two guys will emerge and we’ll be able to settle on our starting two. Right now, it kind of is where it is and we need to keep moving forward.
Staley not being sure of who the two starting cornerbacks should be two weeks into the season is the issue here. A “competition” for the outside jobs entering Week 3 is somewhat symbolic of how the season has played out.
Where Staley is at fault, he is actively playing a role in preventing the secondary from finding a rhythm. The amount of press man Staley has employed relative to last season has put his corners in compromised positions. Staley benched Davis for about a quarter and a half to start the Tennessee game. Jackson has been removed from both games at various points for play-related benchings. How is this secondary supposed to find a rhythm with constant disruptions and poor schematics?
The bad news is that the next few games don’t get easier for the Chargers from a coverage standpoint. Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams will attack the Bolts’ defense in their next two games. After the BYE week, they go up against Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes.
If Staley and the teams’ corners don’t stabilize the back half of the defense soon, the defensive season the Chargers are having could get even uglier. Fast.
A final stat I’ll leave you with to accentuate the current crisis:
Through two weeks, the Chargers are 32nd in defensive DVOA with a bigger gap between them and the 31st team than between 31 and 22.
— Dan Pizzuta (@DanPizzuta) September 19, 2023
