Midseason Statistical Look at the Chargers’ Defense
By BoogaP
October 15, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers linebacker Takeo Spikes (51) yells with his team in a huddle before the game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE
Now that we have reached the halfway point of the 2012 season, I feel that it would be a good time to take a quick look at how the Chargers stack up statistically with the rest of the NFL.
Ernie Padaon, editorial director for BoltBeat, wrote an article a little while back about how the Chargers have switched to a defensive driven squad as opposed to the offensive machine that they had been in recent years. He was absolutely on point with that assertion.
Although the Chargers have flashed some offensive prowess this season, the defense has stepped up and done a great job at keeping this team in games.
Despite a poor showing against the Falcons and a second half collapse against the Broncos, the defense has held it’s own for most of the season. Allowing the Saints to score 17 points in the second half of that game obviously didn’t help either.
The Bolts’ D only gave up 7 points to the Cleveland Browns on the road. Unfortunately the offense could only muster two field goals in week 8.
Although the Chargers’ pass rush has been missing in action for most of the year, there haven’t been too many categories in which the Chargers aren’t posting strong numbers. In addition to a poor pass rush, the team has had trouble getting off the field on third down. Both of these stats were areas that the Chargers struggled in last year as well.
Below I will be listing where the Chargers rank in relation to the rest of the NFL. After a defense heavy draft and a few key defensive free agent acquisitions, the Bolts were expected to be better on defense. Overall they have improved quite a bit.
Feel free to leave some comments at the bottom about what you like and what you do not like about the Chargers’ 2012 defense. I have a feeling that the cornerbacks might come up in those conversations.
Total Defensive yards allowed- 9th Giving up 321.8 yds/gm
Passing yards allowed- 18th 237.8 yds/gm
Rushing yards allowed- 4th 84.0 yds/gm
Points allowed per gm- 8th 19.6 yds/gm
Sacks- 26th 13 total sacks
3rd down percentage allowed- 21st 41% of 3rd downs have been converted
Plays of 2o yards or more allowed- 21
Plays of 40 yards or more- 5
Forced Fumbles- 11
Fumbles Recovered- 9 ( 1 recovered for a touchdown )
Interceptions- 8 ( 3 returned for touchdowns )
The Chargers have a strong, youthful nucleus on defense. Having players like Butler, Liuget, Martin, Ingram, Reyes, Wright, Gilchrist, Stuckey, Thomas etc, lead me to believe that this defense will only continue to get better. We have yet to see much of second year player Jonas Mouton or rookie Brandon Taylor.
Couple our youth with the veterans that we currently have on the roster, and there’s no reason to believe that the defense will keep getting better. We do have issues at the cornerback spots with both Jammer and Cason being in contract years. Shaun Phillips is also currently in the last year of his contract.
My feeling is that we will stick with the most of the linebackers that we have but we’ll definitely be pursuing some help at corner in both the draft and free agency in 2013.
Having said that, we have only reached the midway point of 2012. Forgive me for getting ahead of myself.
Thanks a lot for reading.
BoltUp!!!
BoogaP