Los Angeles Chargers resurrection

After a start to nothing short of horrible Chargers have been able to reverse the route turning an indecorous 0-4 into an acceptable (for how they had put things) 5-6. The inversion was more the result of a mental change than technical, in fact the level of the game of Californians has always been good even against high-caliber opponents such as the Eagles and the Patriots. The problem for them has always been to close the games because in the last two years the team has squandered more advantages in the fourth quarter and in the last two minutes, a statistic to say the least frustrating both for the fans and for the players who have had the merit of continuing to work despite all of them giving them as a result. The most important technical-tactical changes were: the return of Novak who despite not being a great kicker was able to give more security than Youghoe Koo (in my opinion the worst kicker in the history of the Chargers and poorly successful experiment of Telesco) , the best calls of the offensive games, Lynn being a former Runningback and runningback coach was aiming too much on the races giving little chance to a quarterback from Pro Bowl like Rivers and finally the defense started creating turnovers and scoring points in the NFL of the day today where it is played on average to other scores is almost as important as giving a few points.

The kicker problem has cost the Chargers three of the first 4 games and a lot of criticism partly exaggerated result of the frustration, the mistake was the front office that in a role of pressure like that put a player with no experience that seemed more a marketing gimmick that is an actual technical choice. Novak was the replacement but in my opinion a postseason scenario is not reliable enough, the Chargers should look for a kicker with more range and cold blood in the next draft. Although I remain dubious in many respects about coach Lynn, it must be recognized that he was able to adapt to the team and change his style of play since the first run offense had not produced acceptable results. The clear size of this team is a west coast attack given the ability of Rivers to pass the ball and its receivers, all excellent route runners, the talent regarding the receivers department is second to none in the NFL driven by a rediscovered and physically healthy Keenan Allen and an expert Gates who despite the reduced number of snap played is teaching his role to the young and talented Hunter Henry. As for running games there is also one of the NFL's most pure talents, Melvin Gordon a complete and explosive runningback capable of big plays but not always properly supported by a line devoid of Slauson and Feeney who is struggling much more than expected. As for the defensive half of the field there was a clear improvement of the cover in the secondary unfortunately again deprived of Jason Verrett but the return of the safety Three Boston has helped a lot the defense of coach Gus Bradley. The Bradley question and his way of putting the defense on the field was another key to improving the Chargers. Last year they played a 3-4 of base while Bradley a 4-3 that sees Bosa and Ingram defensive end and Liuget defensive tackle, quite different roles from those required in the 3-4 of coach Pagano. The adaptation was not easy but you can see excellent results especially against the passages where they are the fourth force of the NFL while struggling to stop the races where they are last. As for me the Chargers are now in the top 5 of the NFL and the second force in the NFC after the Patriots but for them there is still a long way to go to talk about Superbowl, the talent and the possibilities are there but they have to stay concentrated as in the last few games in order not to return to having the usual psychological declines paid dearly in the past that have excluded them from the NFL elite.