NFL Open Thread: this is getting Staley edition
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The most remarkable data point from this entertaining piece about the fall and further fall of Defensive Supergenius (TM) Brandon Staley:
Staley’s defense ranked 29th in EPA per drive this season, according to TruMedia. They ranked 31st in EPA per drive over his entire stint as head coach and defensive play caller.
Eee-yow. And it’s not like he hasn’t had any talent to work with.
Aside from his total inability to put an acceptable defense on the field, he should have been fired for costing his team a playoff game by playing his starters into the third quarter of a completely meaningless game:
The painful truth: The Chargers had their chance to make a deep postseason run in 2022. They battled through an injury-riddled season before rattling off four straight wins in December and January to make the playoffs. As the Chargers prepared to kick off their Week 18 matchup at the Denver Broncos, they had already locked in fifth place in the AFC. The result of the game did not matter for seeding. Staley, though, played his starters into the third quarter of the meaningless game. Williams suffered a back injury in the second quarter. He missed the collapse in Jacksonville, when the Chargers’ season ended after they blew a 27-point lead to the Jaguars.
This decision was the clear line of demarcation in Staley’s Chargers tenure. Williams could have been the difference in the second half of the playoff loss, when the offense was struggling to move the ball. Staley ultimately acknowledged he played his starters to try to maintain momentum and rhythm. He likened his decision to Tom Coughlin’s playing his New York Giants starters in the regular-season finale in 2007 against the then-undefeated Patriots. The Giants lost that game but went on to win the title, beating New England in the Super Bowl.
Still, this choice from Staley befuddled many in the organization, from the top down.
Time is always precious in the NFL, but that’s doubly so when you have a good QB on a rookie deal. The Chargers blew a year because of the coach’s vanity decision, and then blew another year bringing him back although he had very clearly lost the team. And now their cap situation is a total mess. Not great, Bob!