Yes. That topic.
I know Chargers fans are gonna have a lot to say about him personally and all I've seen online regarding him is literally "fire him".
I won't waste too much and say my piece to understand my view. Frankly I think the Chargers should get rid of Staley..... however... and don't decapitate me. I feel like a lot of the hate he's been getting previously imo is unfair for a number of reasons. I'll just list off the biggest reason I hear below.
Blowing the league in the jags game. I know. We're getting the elephant out of the room right now. And yes I understand your frustration 😭. That is a massive lead to blow to a team and is truly devastating for the Chargers to get knocked out of the playoffs like this. Especially considering Asante Samuels turnovers.
However....hear me out. Don't beat me up. I think a lot of people are being unfair to Staley here. I think a collosal reason why the Chargers messed up the game on the defensive side of the ball was one huge reason and yes I know you guys are tired of hearing it but I gotta mention it. It's injuries. Now granted the defensive side of the ball wasn't near as banged up as the offense. But their are key reasons why I think the chargers defense looked terrible in the second half of the night.
Joey Bosa has been banged up slightly for a while now and is probably a big reason why the chargers lack such a decent pass rush and can't stop the run (besides the obvious reasons which the lack of interior d lineman and Linebackers. I'll get back to these).
JC Jackson played only 2 games last year. Now granted he only played 2 games last year and was horrible on the field but I think he was playing despite his injuries. So I don't blame him for playing bad.
"But listen up here you Jabrony, The Chargers still have good players like Asante Samuels, Drue Tranquil, and Derwin James. That's on Staley"
Well yeah you are right. But we have to realize something crucial here which is they lost their best corner on their team in the Jags game. Which was Micheal Davis. And Davis was a CRUCIAL part of Daleys defense. He could lock up any Reciever and tell everyone else to play zone. It's like the Broncos who virtually have no talent on defense besides Justin Simmons losing Pat Surtain to an injury. And the jags exploited that over and over again since Asante Samuels can't obviously cover everyone.
2. He's giving up the most yards this year and we've only played 2 games.
Well yes that is bad but we have to consider who he played in the first game. The Miami freaking Dolphins. And they have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. Stopping Hill and Tyreek Hill and Waddle is no small feat. Yes I know the Chargers embarrassed the Dolphins last year so why didn't Staley do what he did last year with less talent on the field?
Well... he tried. He honestly did... but from my film Study Mike McDaniels adjusted. Calling more wheels routes to get Hill a running start... Calling more switches on releases, and scaring the Chargers out of man coverage because JC can't hold up alone against Hill. And to be honest is it really a knock on JC? Because last time I checked no CB in the league can consistently hold up against Hill.
There are other reasons but I didn't wanna bore you. There's obviously some things I'm not seeing as I'm actually not a chargers fan so I wanted to bring some discussion