It Is INCREDIBLE How Quickly Jim Harbaugh Has Turned The Chargers Around
Brooke Sutton. Getty Images.When defensive guru Brandon Staley got canned, there were two main things I was looking for in the new head coach:
A competent defense and an actual running game. Well, with only a single offseason under his belt with new GM Joe Hortiz, they have already fixed both those issues despite still being in course-correction mode from the previous administration. Here is a pretty simple look at the numbers.
Just look at that vile shit from the Staley years. Only a single cell out of the 12 is even in the green! Just a complete and total waste of 3 years of a franchise QB.
On offense, it's worth keeping in mind that this WR corps is EMPTY. It's filled with Staley busts (QJ, Palmer), practice squad guys and then Ladd McConkey, who is being asked to do a TON of lifting for a rookie.
And despite being saddled with more Staley/Telesco failures in Pipkins and Johnson (also losing Corey Linsley to retirement), this unit is MASHING IT in the trenches.
What has been even more impressive than the quick turnaround and identity change of the offense is the turnaround of the defense. Again, this unit was PUTRID under Staley and, like the offense, was saddled with Staley/Telesco fuck ups.
- In 2020, Telesco made Joey Bosa the highest paid defensive player in the league with a 5-year, $135 million dollar contract. Since then, he has played 45 of 72 games. Only 17 games in the last 3 years combined.
- 2 years ago, Telesco made J.C. Jackson one of the highest paid CBs in the league with a 5-year, $82 million dollar contract. He played 7 total games with the team before being traded back to the patriots with a 7th rounder for a 6th round pick, incurring over $20 million in dead cap.
- Telesco traded a first and a second round pick to draft Kenneth Murray Jr., one of the worst LBs in the league. The picks they lost became Nnamdi Madubuike, one of the best DTs in the league, and Kyle Dugger, one of the best safeties.
- Telesco made a number of shitty defensive picks during the Staley era but one that really stands out is spending the 2022 79th overall pick on JT Woods. He almost never saw the field and is no longer on an active roster while other currently good safeties like Nick Cross and Kerby Joseph were available.
Even with all this baggage, Harbaugh and Jesse Minter have turned this unit into one of the best in the NFL. One that managed to keep this team in the game vs the defending champs when half the offensive line was out of the game.
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This is all to say that Harbaugh has this shit figured out. And you might be thinking "Wow KJ why are you bouncing on it? The Bolts are only 3-2!". You're correct. However, they're beating the teams they're supposed to beat (refreshing after the Staley era). And, despite losing both starting tackles vs PIT and KC(plus Derwin to suspension), they hung in late. Sucking off aside, as much as I love them, I don't see the team being a legit competitor in the playoffs this year, but next year? The league might be put on notice.