(12-15-2023, 10:24 AM)Jaguarmeister Wrote: Before you cast aspersions at Staley or the Chargers' ownership, remember we've had both Gus Bradley and Urban Meyer as our head coach.  He needs to go, but they've lost a lot of close games this year and also lost their franchise QB for the season the previous game.

-2 to the Dolphins
-3 to the Titans in OT
-3 to the Cowboys
-3 to the Lions
-3 to the Packers

They could very easily be in the thick of things in the AFC playoff picture if a handful of plays go differently this year for them.  3 of those teams are leading or tied for the lead in their respective divisions at the moment and the Packers are in the playoff picture as well, so these are competitive losses to good teams.  Unfortunately for them, Spotrac has them projected to be approximately $45M over the cap next year even with an already planned for increase in the total cap number and they'll have to start shedding talent and contracts in the offseason.  Another reason it's probably not a bad time to part ways and bring in a new coach.  I'm not sure if Kellen Moore, who is probably already on some owner's radars for a HC gig, necessarily wants an audition like this with Herbert on the sideline and a team that might mentally already be on vacation. It might be best just to let Staley finish out the year and see if he can redeem himself after this embarrassing loss, but losses like that for coaches already on the hot seat usually means the axe is coming shortly thereafter and maybe even today.

A few additional thoughts... I think Herbert isn't quite as good as previously believed by many, though I think he is still a really good QB.  Also, a lot of their offense normally goes through Ekeler and he appears to be in decline a bit as most RBs find themselves post age 27.  Lastly, Mike Williams going to IR early in the season really hindered them offensively and Quentin Johnston doesn't appear as of yet to be worth the draft capital spent on him as a suitable replacement.  They'll be in a rebuild/reload year next year.

If anything, aspersions cast should be taken with all the gravity they merit. By your own admission, we are the voice of experience here. That team is wasting their potential and the morale is gone. They need change if only to reset the mindset of the roster. We should know based on our own history, we've seen it too often - the defeatism is strong. The doubt is present. They have a daunting task playing in the same division as Reid and Mahomes, but they should be much better than their record is, and losses are losses no matter how close they may be.

They've put their chips in on Herbert, and he's a good QB with potential to be great. If they don't get things right around him, that same doubt is gonna creep into his mind and he'll regress to mediocrity. If they want to win, they are going to have to move on from Staley.

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