San Diego Chargers Pass Defense vs. Bears: 27/40, 345 Yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 100.5 Passer Rating
In my previous article, I broke down what went wrong for the Saints rushing attack. Its not fair to pick only on poor offensive phase of the game though and after watching the Monday Night Football game this week I decided to break down the San Diego Charger’s pass defense. The Chargers at first glance look like they have at least an average pass defense as they are 17th in yards per game allowed versus the pass (249.2). But this is likely due to teams attacking a rush defense that is one of the worst in the league as every other passing defense stat is in the bottom half in the league. They have allowed a 65.1 completion % (21st), 8.3 Y/A (29th), 102.3 Passer Rating (28th), and 16 TDs (T-21st) throughout the season and these struggles continued against the Bears. The Bears are not a prolific passing attack as they only average 237.4 yards per game (21st) on 6.9 Y/A (24th) so this is even more worrying for the Chargers. This film breakdown will look into why the Chargers struggled so much against the Bears and what areas need to be improved if the Chargers are going to turn in around.
1st Quarter
Pass #1
Situation: 1st and 10 CHI 27
Description: Q1-(14:54) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to M. Mariani to CHI 40 for 13 Yards (B. Flowers)
How was WR Alshon Jeffery not called for offensive pass interference on this play? It would be one thing if Jeffery was just running his route but Jeffery gave CB Brandon Flowers a forearm into his chest and knocks Flowers on his back during the rub route. Since this is man coverage on the outside, no one is on WR Marc Mariani when Flowers hit the ground and QB Jay Cutler buys enough time to find Mariani for a first down.
Pass #2
Situation: 2nd and 4 CHI 46
Description: Q1-(13:53) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to M. Bennett to SD 42 for 12 Yards (M. Ingram; K. Conner)
This is too easy for the Bears as the whole LB core gets sucked up by the play action fake of Cutler. TE Martellus Bennett leaks out short left opposite of the play action movement and is wide open underneath as CB Jason Verrett is playing man coverage on Jeffery. If I had to blame one player on this, I would blame ROLB Melvin Ingram as he is the cutback and likely flat defender (The Coverage looks like the Seattle Cover 2 where the backside CB plays man coverage while the rest of the back seven plays zone). He should of seen Bennett leaking out to the flat and followed him out there. Instead he gets sucked up inside and upfield, opening up Bennett for an easy completion and a first down.
Pass #3
Situation: 1st and 10 SD 31
Description: Q1-(12:19) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Deep Right to M. Mariani [J. Attaochu]
There are some good and bad things about this play. The good is that the blitz got to Cutler quickly forcing a poor throw by Cutler. LOLB Jeremiah Attaochu and Ingram on the stunt pin Cutler in the backfield, forcing Cutler to throw the ball to his first read or take the sack. Cutler overthrows the ball but this was a good thing for him as there was no way his pass to Mariani was going to be complete. While Mariani gets inside leverage on Flowers on his out and up, FS Eric Weddle does a great job getting over the top of the route giving Cutler nowhere to throw the ball. The bad is this coverage is a complete mess on the left and there appears to be confusion before the play. Three defenders are within seven yards of each other and no one following the crossing route on WR Marquess Wilson underneath. ILB Kavell Conner is the most at fault here as he has his head turned around and is looking at Bennett instead of being aware of what is around him and following Wilson. If Cutler has more time, he goes to Wilson underneath and the Bears get a big gain.
Pass #4
Situation: 3rd and 7 SD 28
Description: Q1-(11:41) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Deep Right to A. Jeffery (J. Verrett)
The coverage on this play is good across the board. If you want to be hypercritical, you could argue that Weddle got beat to the outside by Mariani’s out route but knowing Weddle’s skill he would be able to break on the ball and break up the pass. Verrett could of not played this pass better against Jeffery on this go route as he sat on Jeffery’s inside hip and jumped with him to break up the pass. This is even more impressive considering Verrett is 5’9″ and Jeffery is 6’3″.
Pass #5
Situation: 3rd and 2 CHI 25
Description: Q1-(5:54) J. Cutler Pass Short Middle to M. Bennett to CHI 45 for 17 Yards (E. Weddle)
The Chargers are in tight man to man coverage on the third and short and the Bears take advantage of it with another rub route. While the rub is not as blatant as the first pass play of the game, the Chargers may have a case for offensive pass interference as Mariani barrels into SS Jahleel Addae. Mariani looks like he is just trying to run his route at first glance but he does lower the shoulder into Addae, giving evidence for offensive pass interference. Either way, the rub route works and Bennett is wide open on the slant route as the Chargers have ILB Donald Butler being a QB spy instead of droping into coverage.
Pass #6
Situation: 3rd and 3 SD 48
Description: Q1-(3:57) J. Cutler Pass Deep Left to J. Langford to SD 17 for 31 Yards (E. Weddle)
I had never heard of Conner before watching the film so I went back to his scouting report to see what he he was good and bad at. One of the glaring weaknesses is that he is very uncomfortable in man coverage. This contrasts with injured ILB Manti Te’o who is very comfortable in coverage. Conner is matched up in man coverage against RB Jeremy Langford and it is a complete mismatch as Langford runs right by him. Conner is standing still waiting for Langford to make a cut instead of back peddling and reacting to a cut like he should do. Cutler sees this and takes advantage for a big play. Weddle maybe deserves a little blame as well. The Bears are in a Quads left formation and Weddle lines up in the middle of the field. If I was the defensive coordinator, I would of said he should of shaded to the quads side a bit. This would of allowed him to get over the top of Langford’s route and break up the pass. But I do not know the Charger’s rules in pass coverage so Weddle could of been correct in his alignment.
Pass #7
Situation: 2nd and 6 SD 13
Description: Q1-(2:40) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to M. Bennett to SD 10 for 3 Yards (B. Flowers)
This is a great play by Flowers to recognize the route combination and stop Bennett in his tracks. Flowers has flat coverage in the Seattle Cover 2 and initially jams Mariani on the out route. Instead of following Mariani to the flat, he sits on the slant route of Bennett and is right there to make the tackle for the short gain. If he doesn’t do this, Bennett’s slant route may go for a first down as Addae is occupied by Wilson’s seam route and Butler is sitting in the middle of the field.
Pass #8
Situation: 3rd and 8 SD 15
Description: Q1-(1:40) J. Cutler Sacked at SD 23 for -8 Yards (M. Ingram). Fumbles (M. Ingram) [M. Ingram], Recovered by SD-E. Weddle at SD 23. E. Weddle to SD 23 for No Gain (C. Leno Jr.)
Its hard to talk about the back seven when the routes don’t even have time to develop thanks to the pass rush. Ingram beats LT Charles Leno Jr. immediately and is on top of Cutler for the strip sack. If anyone was open for the Bears, it was Jeffery vs. Verrett as Jeffery got separation from Verrett on his turn of the curl route. But Cutler has no time to wait for this route due to the quick pressure.
For the 2nd Quarter passes, click on the next page
Pass #9
Situation: 3rd and 2 CHI 26
Description: Q2-(11:58) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Short Right to A. Jeffery (J. Verrett)
Verrett makes a great play to disrupt the catch but this should of been a completion with a better throw. Weddle and Flowers do a great job not biting on the play action fake and covering the front side receivers on the bootleg flood. Verrett gives up inside leverage on Jeffery though and is a step behind. If Cutler puts this high and away, Jeffery has an easy catch for a first down. Instead Cutler puts the pass low in away which makes Jeffery’s attempt at a catch much harder and allows Verrett to disrupt the catch attempt.
Pass #10
Situation: 2nd and 7 SD 38
Description: Q2-(10:11) J. Cutler Pass Short Right Intended for A. Jeffery Intercepted by J. Verrett at SD 32. J. Verrett for 68 Yards and Touchdown
Verrett does a good job of getting himself into position for the interception but a better throw is a first down for the Bears. Verrett battles Jeffery down the field but he ends up on the outside of Jeffery and Jeffery has good inside leverage. If this ball is thrown to Jeffery’s inside shoulder, Verrett has no chance to get the interception since he is out of position. The pass rush is getting close as Ingram beats LG Vladimir Ducasse with his stunt but Cutler can step into the throw so there is no excuse for why this throw is so off target. To give credit to the rest of the defense, the coverage was good across the board.
Pass #11
Situation: 1st and 10 CHI 20
Description: Q2-(9:58) J. Cutler Pass Deep Right to A. Jeffery Ran Out of Bounds at SD 33 for 47 Yards
There are two problems with the secondary on this play. The obvious one is Verrett versus Jeffery. Verrett gives up inside leverage too easily to Jeffery and his transition from the backpedal to running with the receiver happens to late. When I was in college, I was taught that “if the WR gets even with you in your backpedal, you are beat” and Verrett lets Jeffery get even with him on his backpedal. Verrett also pulls up on this play with an injury (and is out the rest of the game), making the gap between him and Jeffery even bigger. The second problem is Addae bites on the play action fake. Addae is the deep middle zone player on this play so he should be bailing during this play action fake. Instead, he stops his drop once he sees the fake. If he keeps on bailing, he could take a much sharper angle to the ball and may be able to get over the top of Jeffery’s route. His stopping in his drop though gives him no chance to take a sharp angle and instead he has to play contain over the top of Jeffery; letting Jeffery make the catch for a big gain.
Pass #12
Situation: 2nd and 12 SD 35
Description: Q2-(8:45) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to A. Jeffery to SD 23 for 12 Yards (S. Williams)
The Chargers are in a Cover 6 shifted to their left side of the field and the Bears route combination exploits this. Flowers is suppose to be the flat defender on this play but he is caught up by Mariani running the post route. Flowers trying to redirect this route opens up the comeback route by Jeffery as CB Steve Williams is responsible for the deep outside quarter of the field. Williams has to bail in his coverage because of his responsibility, opening up Jeffery in his comeback route. Flowers needs to be quicker on the reroute of Mariani and get underneath the comeback route if the Chargers have any chance to stop this play.
Pass #13
Situation: 1st and 10 SD 23
Description: Q2-(8:05) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Deep Right to A. Jeffery (S. Williams)
The Chargers get very lucky on this play as Bennett is wide open on the corner route. Bennett gets turned loose by Butler on the corner route and there is no one behind Butler to cover Bennett. There is either a mix up in coverage or its a very bizarre play call as the Chargers are bringing Weddle on the blitz and the CBs are playing man coverage but the LBs are in zone coverage. Addae is the deep safety on the play but he has his back turned to Bennett due to his drop technique and he would not have a chance to recover and get over the top of Bennett. Cutler doesn’t see this and instead sees Jeffery get a step on Williams on the go route. Cutler has to try to fit this pass in a very small window as Addae can get over the top of this route and he ends up slightly under throwing the pass. This allows Williams to catch up to Jeffery and break up the pass.
Pass #14
Situation: 3rd and 2 SD 15
Description: Q2-(7:23) J. Cutler Pass Short Middle to A. Jeffery to SD 1 for 14 Yards (P. Robinson)
The initial coverage is on this play is great as the Cover 6 takes away every route. But the pass rush does not get to Cutler and Attaochu’s stunt goes too far inside, giving Cutler an alley to step up into. When Cutler steps up, Butler loses focus on Jeffery and puts his eyes on Cutler as it looks like Cutler is going to run with the ball. Cutler sees this and tosses it past Butler to Jeffery for the first down. Butler needs to do a better job of keeping tabs on Jeffery and he should commit to Cutler only when Cutler has no choice but to run.
Pass #15
Situation: 1st and Goal SD 1
Description: Q2-(6:57) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to M. Bennett for 1 Yard and Touchdown
This is all on Addae on this play as he is undisciplined in his rules. He has man coverage on Bennett but instead he jumps inside on the play action fake by Cutler. Bennett helps sell this play action fake as he blocks LDE Kendall Reyes initially. Once the fake occurs, Bennett leaks out to the flat and is wide open as Addae has commited too hard to the run fake. This is as easy a touchdown you are going to have in the redzone.
Pass #16
Situation: 2nd and 8 SD 40
Description: Q2-(2:33) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Short Middle to J. Langford (K. Conner)
The Chargers get lucky again as Mariani is open on the post route. The Chargers are in a Cover 6 again and Butler should be sitting underneath this post route. Instead, Butler redirect and follows Bennett on his out route. This opens up a big gap underneath the safety which Mariani gets into on the post route. Weddle is following the route but a low and inside throw by Cutler gives Weddle no chance on the ball and the Bears pick up a first down. Cutler never looks at him though as he goes from the double out routes of Wilson and Bennett straight to Jeffery on the curl route. CB Craig Mager is in flat coverage so he sits on the curl route and takes it away. Cutler then has happy feet and drifts to his left, giving an angle for Ingram to get a pass rush on Cutler. This forces him to force a throw to Langford who is decently covered by Conner (who may of gotten away with a hold). If Cutler throws it away from Langford’s body, Conner has no chance to make a play on the ball. Instead Cutler throws it into the body of Langford which allows Conner to break up the pass.
Pass #17
Situation: 3rd and 8 SD 40
Description: Q2-(2:27) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to M. Bennett to SD 35 for 5 Yards (J. Wilson) [J. Attaochu]. Penalty on CHI-K. Long, Unsportmanlike Conduct, 15 Yards, Enforced at SD 35
The Chargers do a great job on their downfield coverage as all the WRs are well covered on their deeper routes. Cutler doesn’t have time for these routes to develop and open up due to the Attachou beating RT Kyle Long on a speed move to the outside so he has to dump it off to Bennett on the crossing route. SS Jimmy Wilson is on top of Bennett though and gives him no chance to get a first down.
For the 3rd Quarter passes, click on the next page
3rd Quarter
Pass #18
Situation: 1st and 10 CHI 40
Description: Q3-(13:25) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to Z. Miller to CHI 38 for -2 Yards (K. Conner)
The Chargers cover this play action pass very well as no one in the secondary bit on the fake and the linebackers do a good job locating receivers once the fake happens. Jay Cutler has no time to wait for the routes to open up as Attaochu plays perfect contain technique and is in his face. His only option is to dump it off to TE Zach Miller who is wrapped up immediately by Conner.
Pass #19
Situation: 2nd and 12 CHI 38
Description: Q3-(12:49) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to J. Langford to SD 46 for 16 Yards (J. Addae)
The Chargers secondary needs to be able to defeat a block on this play. The Bears run a swing screen to Langford and Jeffery, Mariani, and Wilson are up against Flowers, Weddle, and Mager. One of these three defenders needs to defeat a stalk block and make a play on Langford. None of the defenders can though and Langford gets an alley for a big gain. Some of the blame has to go to Conner though. Conner does two things wrong on this play. The first is Conner does not recognizes the flare screen coming and is slow getting out to the flat. The second thing that he did wrong was his pursuit angle to Langford. He is running upfield on his angle to Langford and while Conner is athletic for a LB, Langford is faster. He needs to take a more downfield angle and stop Conner for a medium yard gain instead of trying to cut Langford off for a short gain and missing.
Pass #20
Situation: 1st and 10 SD 46
Description: Q3-(12:13) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to M. Wilson to SD 31 for 15 Yards (C. Mager)
The Chargers man coverage in this game has been decent up to this point but it fails in two ways on this play. The first is Mager vs. Wilson. Mager is playing off man coverage and his goal is never to give up a deep route to Wilson. Wilson has some speed but isn’t a speed burner so Mager can try to be more aggressive on his coverage. Instead he bails the whole time and is slow to break on the comeback route of Wilson. This gives Cutler and easy pass for the first down to Wilson. Flowers also needs to be pointed out as well as Mariani has gotten over the top on him on the post route. His positioning of his hips fails him here as he is facing the outside of the field. Once Mariani cuts inside, Flowers has to flip the hips and with him already being in trail position he has no chance to keep up with him. With Addae facing to the outside of the field, I don’t think Addae could of gotten over the top of this route and Mariani has split the Cover 2.
Pass #21
Situation: 2nd and 5 SD 26
Description: Q3-(11:13) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Short Left to M. Bennett (C. Mager)
This play isn’t going anywhere as the Chargers do a good job diagnosing this screen pass to Bennett. Mager gets beat to the inside but does a good job of staying on the slant route and is going to take down Bennett as soon as he catches it. On top of that, Butler is sitting in the middle of the field and is going to tackle Bennett if he gets past Mager. This should be a completion though as Bennett is open but Cutler misses the pass towards Bennett’s upfield shoulder and Bennett cannot reel the pass in for a completion.
Pass #22
Situation: 3rd and 5 SD 26
Description: Q3-(11:08) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to A. Jeffery to SD 18 for 8 Yards (E. Weddle)
Weddle is a great safety and one of the best cover safeties in the league. But no safety in the NFL has a favorable match up against Jeffery in man coverage. Weddle is playing off man coverage thanks to the disguise the Charger run and is bailing in his coverage. He has no chance to cover the curl route of Jeffery tightly and is beaten easily by Jeffery for a first down. The pass rush has to do a better job getting to Cutler on the blitz and Conner specifically should do a much better job on his blitz as he is held up by Langford way to easily.
Pass #23
Situation: 1st and 10 SD 18
Description: Q3-(10:22) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Deep Right to A. Jeffery
Cutler makes a predetermined throw on this play and bails the Chargers out. Williams has great press coverage on Jeffery which gives nowhere for Cutler to throw this ball. Mariani on the other hand has Flowers playing off coverage on him and he opens up on the zipper route. Cutler should just pass the ball to Mariani underneath for a decent gain and maybe even a first down instead of trying to force this pass deep to Jeffery who isn’t open.
Pass #24
Situation: 3rd and 8 SD 16
Description: Q3-(9:36) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Short Left to A. Jeffery
This should be a first down for the Bears again but Cutler bails the Chargers out with a poor throw. The back shoulder fade is one of the most difficult routes to cover in man coverage and Williams doesn’t have much of a chance against Jeffery if he is going to run this route. Cutler goes after this route but throws it too far to the outside and Jeffery cannot pull it in. The man coverage across the board is good against the Chargers (Mariani does himself no favors by stopping on his slant route against Flowers) so I don’t have any real complaints about the coverage.
Pass #25
Situation: 3rd and 8 CHI 9
Description: Q3-(5:58) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to M. Mariani to CHI 19 for 10 Yards (C. Mager)
There is nothing special that the Bears do on this play. Mager is playing off coverage and is trying to react to what Mariani does in his man coverage. Mariani makes a quick out cut and Mager is slow to react to the cut. Mager’s footwork is the reason for this as he takes multiple steps to transition from the backpedal to drive phase on the out route of Mariani. His footwork has to be one step, plant his foot in the ground, and go if he is going to keep up with Mariani on the out route with inside leverage. This slow transition opens up Mariani for the easy catch and a first down.
Pass #26
Situation: 1st and 10 CHI 19
Description: Q3-(5:23) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to M. Bennett Pushed Out of Bounds at CHI 24 for 5 Yards (K. Conner)
I have to give credit to Ingram, he is playing a good game against the Bears in terms of pass defense to this point and is great position again. He doesn’t bite fully on the play action fake and keeps contain on Cutler on the bootleg. This forces Cutler to dump it off short to Bennett instead of waiting for Jeffery to open up on the comeback route on Williams. Conner does bite on the fake a bit but he does a good job to recover and find Bennett after the catch. Conner’s tackling technique is poor though as this play should of been stop for a two yard gain. Bennett does a stutter step and freezes Conner in his tracks. Conner is in great position to drive through Bennett’s inside shoulder and drive him out of bounds if he doesn’t freeze. His freeze and his poor tackling technique (he bends at the hips instead of getting low and his head is down) though gives time for Bennett to work to the outside and pick up a few more yards.
Pass #27
Situation: 2nd and 5 CHI 24
Description: Q3-(4:46) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Deep Right to M. Wilson
Mager is in good position initially on this play and forces Cutler to have to throw a perfect pass to try to get it to Wilson. Mager’s transition out of the backpedal is good as his turn ends up being even with Wilson. Mager isn’t as fast as Wilson and it shows as Wilson starts opening a gap on Mager as Wilson’s route goes deeper. Mager’s great early position though forces Cutler to try to attempt a perfect throw. Cutler actually throws a pretty good ball here but Mager’s and Wilson’s feet tangle and both of them fall over, leading to the incompletion. Conner needs to be called out again though as he react to Mariani running an crossing route in front of him very slowly. Weddle is playing deep off coverage on Mariani due to playing the disguise for Flowers blitz so Conner has to help Weddle out here. He doesn’t do this and a pass to Mariani would of led to an easy first down.
Pass #28
Situation: 3rd and 5 CHI 24
Description: Q3-(4:40) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to A. Jeffery to CHI 30 for 6 Yards (E. Weddle, S. Williams)
Williams can try to be a scrappy CB all he wants, but he is at a physical mismatch against Jeffery. Williams is 5’10”, 185 lbs while Jeffery is 6’3″, 216 lbs. Williams tries to jam Jeffery on his curl route but Jeffery just out muscles him and get him on his back. Cutler sees this and even with the very late throw timing wise, Jeffery is able to make the catch for a first down. Also I don’t know exactly what Flower is trying to do on this play. Mariani runs the slant route and Flowers looks like he is passing him off to Weddle (I guess). But Weddle is in no position to cover Mariani initially (he is focused on his man Langford instead) and Flowers stops trying to follow Mariani once Bennett and Ingram run by him. Maybe this was by design but it looks really odd on the film as the rest of the back seven which isn’t blitzing is playing Cover 1 Man.
Pass #29
Situation: 1st and 20 CHI 20
Description: Q3-(3:41) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to A. Jeffery to CHI 29 for 9 Yards (B. Flowers, E. Weddle)
This screen play should of been stopped for a much shorter gain and Conner and Williams need to take heat for this play. Conner reads this play really well and hits Jeffery close to the line of scrimmage. He doesn’t bring his feet with the attempted tackle and falls off Jeffery because Jeffery is a strong WR. Williams also deserves some blame as he barely reacts to the screen. He is initially an unblocked player in the secondary and should be screaming upfield to hit Jeffery. Instead he sit back and allows Mariani to come around the block of Flowers by WR Josh Bellamy and block him downfield.
Pass #30
Situation: 2nd and 11 CHI 29
Description: Q3-(2:59) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to J. Bellamy to CHI 35 for 6 Yards (S. Williams)
Weddle needs to be more aggressive on this play as he just lets Bellamy work back to the inside. This is a two defenders vs. one blocker on the screen pass to Bellamy so this should be shut down for a short gain. Langford lays a good pop into Williams so Weddle has to chase Bellamy down hard. Instead he sit on the outside and lets Bellamy work inside behind the block of Langford. To be fair to Weddle, he does push this play back into the inside so Williams can make a tackle on Bellamy but Weddle is a fast and tough safety. He should be the one chasing this play down and stopping this play short instead of waiting for Bellamy to make his move.
Pass #31
Situation: 3rd and 5 CHI 35
Description: Q3-(2:12) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to J. Langford Pushed Out of Bounds at SD 42 for 23 Yards (J. Wilson)
Jimmy Wilson has no chance to cover Langford out of the backfield due to positioning and I don’t think its his fault on the play. Wilson is in man coverage on Bennett based on alignment so expecting him to cover Langford on the quick flare route is ridiculous. On a blitz like this, the Chargers should have a player who is responsible for the RB leaking out of the backfield on a route. If I had to make a guess, either Attaochu or Butler has to peel off of his pass rush and cover Langford out of the backfield. Someone blew this rule though and Langford picks up a big gain for a first down.
Pass #32
Situation: 1st and 10 SD 42
Description: Q3-(1:48) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to A. Jeffery to SD 32 for 10 Yards (M. Ingram)
Williams is a small CB compared to Jeffery, but this is atrocious tackling technique. Williams is a free defender in the secondary thanks to Flowers forcing Mariani and Wilson to both block him on the screen pass. Williams does a great job rallying up and going for the tackle but he dives at Jeffery’s ankles. Jeffery spins and steps over him to avoid Williams. Conner compounds this error by completely whiffing on his attempt of a tackle. Conner when he goes in for the tackle put his head down and is looking at the turf. I have never had a coach tell me the turf will lead you to the ball carrier and Conner whiffs because he doesn’t keep his eyes up. This should of been a short gain at best but two poor attempted tackles allows Jeffery to get a first down.
Pass #33
Situation: 1st and 10 SD 21
Description: Q3-(0:23) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to A. Jeffery to SD 5 for 16 Yards (J. Addae)
I don’t know what else you can expect from Williams on this play as he is in good position in coverage. A great throw will always beat good coverage though and Cutler throws this back shoulder fade with perfect timing to Jeffery. Williams has no chance to cover this throw.
For the 3rd Quarter passes, click on the next page
4th Quarter
Pass #34
Situation: 1st and Goal SD 5
Description: Q4-(15:00) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Short Left
The Chargers have great coverage on this play as no one is open for the Bears. Langford may appear open on the flair route but Ingram is sitting in the window and any throw to Langford is going to be a pick six by Ingram. Cutler has to throw this ball away as he has nowhere to go and the Chargers stand tall on first down.
Pass #35
Situation: 2nd and 10 CHI 20
Description: Q4-(7:28) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to M. Bennett to CHI 30 for 10 Yards (B. Flowers)
Why is Flowers bailing in man coverage against Bennett? Bennett is an athletic TE with some good speed, but Flowers is a CB. He should be able match Bennett’s speed with ease. Instead he bails on his man coverage and is four yards off when Bennett stops on his curl route. Flowers gives himself no chance to cover this route and Cutler takes advantage of this questionable technique choice for a first down. Flowers may not be able to match Bennett physically but he shouldn’t be so fast to bail in coverage and instead try to mirror Bennett from a closer alignment.
Pass #36
Situation: 1st and 10 CHI 30
Description: Q4-(6:47) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to A. Jeffery to CHI 47 for 17 Yards (S. Williams)
I’m starting to feel bad for Williams at this point. He is clearly not a physical match for Jeffery. Yet he has to keep going up against Jeffery due to being the best option with Verrett out of the game. But he does himself no favors with his poor technique. Jeffery runs a curl route and Williams is initially in great position to break on the curl as he has inside leverage on Jeffery. He stumbles on his break on the curl though and his momentum carries him to the outside of Jeffery. Jeffery easily puts Williams on his back and makes himself available for Cutler. Cutler buys himself enough time and shows off the cannon to hit Jeffery for the first down.
Pass #37
Situation: 1st and 10 SD 41
Description: Q4-(5:01) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Deep Right to M. Wilson
The Chargers are rather lucky on this play as this should of been a big gain. Wilson gets Mager to bite on the double move and has a step on him going deep. Addae compounds this in his Cover 2 drop by trying to take away the Mariani post route instead of staying between Mariani and Wilson. Cutler instead of throwing it deep tries to throw the back shoulder fade. While as I have said multiple times it is very hard to cover the back shoulder fade; this is not the time for the back shoulder fade because a good deep throw is a potential touchdown. Instead Wilson has to try to adjust to the throw and Mager is able to catch up and get in the way of the throw. I have to call out Flowers again as his technique is poor. He doesn’t start his transition out of the backpedal until Mariani is even on him on the post route. Mariani gets over the top of Flowers and it takes Addae cheating on the post route to bail Flowers out.
Pass #38
Situation: 2nd and 10 SD 41
Description: Q4-(4:55) J. Cutler Pass Short Left to M. Bennett to SD 37 for 4 Yards (D. Square)
Are the Chargers adverse to making good tackles on screen passes? Bennett should be dead to rights for little gain as Weddle and Conner have clean shots on him. Weddle dives for the ankles after he ends up too far outside and Conner is lunging at Bennett instead of driving though him. As a result, Conner knocks Weddle off the tackle and both miss Bennett. Conner needs some individual coaching on his tackling technique after this game as his poor tackling has cost the Chargers yards over and over again. The great hustle by NT Damion Square and LOLB Cordarro Law is the only thing that prevents this play from being a first down.
Pass #39
Situation: 3rd and 6 SD 37
Description: Q4-(4:11) J. Cutler Pass Short Right to A. Jeffery to SD 25 for 12 Yards (S. Williams) [M. Ingram]
Jeffery is just a complete mismatch for Williams to handle. Williams isn’t in poor position and is on his hip when Jeffery makes the break on his curl route. But Jeffery is just such a big body that Williams cannot work his way around the Jeffery box out. You have to give a ton of credit to Cutler though as this throw is spot on while he is getting tackled by Ingram and Law right before the pass is being thrown.
Pass #40
Situation: 1st and 10 SD 25
Description: Q4-(3:30) J. Cutler Pass Incomplete Short Right [S. Lissemore]
The Chargers pass rush bails out the secondary as Jeffery is wide open underneath on the in route. Weddle drifts deep on his hook zone coverage and with Flowers covering Mariani on the bubble route and Willams covering Wilson on the seam route, there is no one underneath to cover Jeffery. Weddle needs to stay upfield and take away this route as the hook defender. Attachou bails out Weddle though by getting quick inside pressure on the stunt against Long. This forces Cutler to flush outside to his right where no one is open. Cutler is forced to throw it away as the pressure from Square and NT Sean Lissemore gets to Cutler.
Pass #41
Situation: 2nd and 10 SD 25
Q4-(3:24) Description: J. Cutler Pass Deep Middle to Z. Miller for 25 Yards and Touchdown
Addae is left is a terrible position as he has two deep routes on his side of the field and no one is coming to his aid. Butler checks Miller on his post route but he fails to get underneath the route. Addae cannot get over the top of this post route though because he has to respect the go route of Jeffery up the sideline. Weddle deserves the brunt of the blame though as he should be deeper in his Cover 2 drop. Instead he barely gets any depth in his deep half coverage in the Cover 2 and Miller gets behind him. If Weddle gets depth in his drop, he sees the post and takes away the route. Instead he leave Addae on an Island and Cutler burns the defense for the touchdown.
Overall Conclusions
The Chargers really missed Manti Te’o and Jason Verett in this game as their replacements were not able to step up and make up for their loss. Verrett may not be big but he has great agility and athleticism to make up for his lack of size. Verrett and Alshon Jeffery were evenly matched until Verrett pulled up with an injury. Steve Williams is not the athlete that Verrett is and could not handle the much more physical Jeffery in coverage. Te’o is very good coverage LB and while Kavell Conner had some coverage breakdowns his issues were more in the tackling department. His tackle technique was very poor and he missed multiple tackles by not bringing his feet and ducking his head. There are more issues besides missing these two good to great pass defenders. The pass rush was non-existent for large stretches of the game as the interior of the defenisve line got no push. Melvin Ingram and Jeremiah Attaochu were able to get pressure off the edge and via stunts but with no interior push, Cutler could step up into the pocket and buy himself time. There were a lot of mental mistakes and poor technique by players you expect better from as well. Brandon Flowers looked lost as he blew multiple coverages and his technique was lacking more then once. He is very lucky he wasn’t picked on more as Mariani got open a lot against him. Eric Weddle was not his usual all-pro self in this game as he blew more then one assignment in coverage and his tackling technique and block shedding left something to be desired at times. Jeremiah Addae struggled in coverage and he needs to improve if he is going to have a future in the league. He needs to sure up his technique, make sure that his shoulders are parallel to the line of scrimmage when he is dropping deep, and not bite on play action fakes in the future. There are some bright spots though. Craig Mager wasn’t completely lost at CB and that is all you can ask for from a rookie CB. Also Melvin Ingram was getting pressure on the QB and was solid in coverage when asked to do it. But without Verrett and Te’o, their backups and pass coverage struggled mightily and a lack of a pass rush could not mask their deficiencies in coverage.