Oct 22, 2011; San Francisco CA, USA; California Golden Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen (21) leaps over Utah Utes defensive back Mo Lee (5) during the second quarter at AT

Good afternoon, Bolt Fam!

The draft is over… the noodles are in the pot… and they are boiling! By now, we have all had time to get over the excitement, our emotional reactions, and even read up a bit on the players we have selected. Get your kicks in now, because aside from a few more free agency signings, we’re in for a long & boring stretch of training camp updates, and filler articles… hahaha (unless you are super excited about the top 100 players list, where our players will either not appear, or be ranked much lower than they deserve to be).

I am going to start out by saying that New Orlean’s draft picks were much closer to what I thought San Diego would do (I feel the same way about the Saints, as Jerry Seinfeld feels about Newman). I will be completely honest, and say that I didn’t get one single pick right. In fact, I only hinted that I “wouldn’t be mad” if they drafted Manti Te’O. That’s as close of a sniff as I got at being correct. Clearly, I should continue forward with my policy of not trying to do a mock draft.. I am absolutely no good at it. Having said that, was ANYBODY really that close? I don’t remember seeing any mock drafts that had these picks nailed down. If so, please post, so I can follow this person in the future.

So, let’s get down to brass tax. I have been checking around the web this morning, trying to sift through the endless assessments of the Manti Te’O trade up, and there are mixed reviews on Tom Telesco’s first draft. Some are praising the man as a genius for getting 1st round talent with the first three picks. Some are absolutely livid, are saying that he completely ignored major needs, and left far better talent on the table. Some are saying he did good with some picks, and are scratching their heads on others. Draft success is measured by how many players turn into starters, players that can productively contribute, and hopefully turn into Pro-Bowlers.

Round #1: DJ Fluker (OT -Alabama) - Obviously, Jeromey Clary was a player that most fans (including myself) can’t wait to see hitting the turn-style out of Charger Park. Mainly, because he has essentially been a turn-style at right tackle himself. Fluker will most likely start, and Clary will either be shown the door, or will be moved to guard.. some are even entertaining the idea of moving him to the left side. I have seen quite a few people maintain that there was not a big enough need to draft a right tackle, and a nose tackle, or safety should have been taken at 11. Others have supported the pick, saying that he was from a great program in college, was the only starting tackle left on the board, and will at LEAST protect Philip River’s front side.. even if we couldn’t get the blind side protection we desperately needed. One thing is for sure, this guy is going to fill two needs.. protecting Rivers, and creating running lanes for Ryan Mathews. Expect him to be our pro-bowl right tackle for years to come.

Round #2: Manti Te’O (LB – Notre Dame) - There was almost no doubt that the Chargers needed an inside linebacker to fill the void next to Donald Butler. There wasn’t even a potentially good player-in-waiting, like we have with Taylor at safety. Not many people thought that having Mouton start would have been the answer. Te’O was a great player at Notre Dame, and once you get past the catfishing mess, he appears to take football very seriously, and has the desire to be a leader of the defense in San Diego… which is good news. However, there are concerns about his ability to play three downs, his ability to translate to the 3-4 defense, and his awful play at the National Championship game raised eyebrows. Most people feel like this was a great value pick. But, there are some that feel he could be a bust, and wasn’t worth giving up an extra pick, in a year when we needed every pick we had (if not more). The vast majority of Charger fans seem to feel like it was a good selection, and have hopes that he can remind us of the dominating days of the best Charger linebacker of all time.

Round #3: Keenan Allen (Wide Receiver – California) - Much like right tackle, wide receiver wasn’t a perceived need of the team, either. We weren’t really short on competition for the wide receiver spot. However, among the known talent of Floyd, Alexander, and Brown… only Alexander is even close to being a number one receiver, at this point. But, having a #1 receiver with bad knees isn’t a sure thing, especially when none of the other receivers don’t seem to be able to be that guy. So, when Keenan Allen was still there when we picked, it was almost too irresistible to pass up. There has been a longing for a playmaker at wide receiver since Vincent Jackson left for Tampa Bay. Keenan should have been drafted in the first round, but fell due to a poor showing at the combine, after recovering from a knee injury. Tom Telesco doesn’t seem worried about this, whatsoever. I agree with that. Even though I was not initially in favor of drafting a wide receiver, this was probably my favorite pick. Other than some griping about needing to fill more important holes on the roster, I think people are happy to have him as a Charger, and will be for a long time.

Round #5: Steve Williams (CB – California) - Coming out of the 2012 season, we let both of our starting cornerbacks walk. If you are like me, you really weren’t too broken up about it. Tom Telesco signed Derek Cox in free agency to take Jammer’s spot, and we still had two somewhat promising prospects in Shareece Wright, and Marcus Gilchrist. Wright, although showing signs of being promising early, spent the 2012 season on the IR list, and Gilchrist played nickel behind Cason & Jammer. One of these two will most likely take the second starting role. However, there was still a need to bring in more depth in at the position. In the 5th round, Tom Telesco signed cornerback Steve Williams…. a speedy & athletic corner who can bait quarterbacks into throwing at him, and is great at breaking up passes. The main concern is his size. At 5′ 9″, he isn’t exactly the prototypical cornerback that most of us were hoping could compete for a starting spot opposite Cox. He CAN play outside, and he had an amazing vertical leap at the combine. This could compensate for his smaller size against big receivers. There have been complaints about this signing, as well, because there were more complete CB’s like Poyer, and McGee still on the board. Regardless of this, Williams will add much needed depth and will probably be used as a nickel corner. Gilchrist is our current nickelback. I’m not trying to read TOO deep into the signing, but could this mean that TT thinks Gilchrist will be the starting corner? If so, what would happen to Wright? And, if not, what would happen to Gilchrist? Or, do you think Williams will be the 4th guy? This could also mean that Telesco is just buying insurance, as Cox & Wright have injury histories. Regardless, this will be an interesting battle to watch, heading into training camp.

Round #6: Tourek Williams (DE/OLB – Florida International) – So, Tom Telesco must like the number two. We got two Cal Bears, we got two Mormons, and we got two Williams in this draft. Also, we got Antwan Barnes 2.0. It would be fairly presumptuous to say that Williams is the second coming of Antwan Barnes, but, the guy was on the heels of the records that Barnes set at Florida International. If you can’t keep Barnes, then why not get his younger, presumably equally talented, replacement? Williams is a situational pass rusher that will add depth to an anemic OLB crew. Johnson, Ingram, and English will be starting ahead of him on the depth chart, but having some fresh talent (that can also play defensive end) was just what the doctor ordered. Williams is 6′ 3″, and weighs in at 260 pounds. In his senior year, he had 46 tackles (14.5 for loss), 6.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. He was selected to the All-Sun Belt Conference first-team the last three years. He has quick speed around the edge, but doesn’t use his hands well, and has short arms.. So, Melvin won’t be the only T-Rex OLB on the roster. He will have to make the switch to 3-4, like Manti Te’O, unless Bolt Beat writer James Fedewa is indeed correct about us switching to the 4-3. Not trying to re-hash that conversation, but it crossed my mind while reading up on the young man. Hopefully, he can give our secondary the same boost that he gave John Cyprien, who’s outstanding play made him one of the most coveted safeties in this years draft.

Round #7: Brad Sorensen (QB – Southern Utah) - The first thing I, and most people, probably thought when this selection was made… was “Huh”? A lot of us were looking to go Nose Tackle… maybe running back.. even take an extreme project of a left tackle. But, no….. Tom Telesco decided to draft a backup QB. There really aren’t any “Bad Picks” in the seventh round, because who knows if a player can make the roster, or even the practice squad. However, with all the holes we have on the team, this one was most definitely the biggest head-scratcher.. even more-so than drafting a right tackle at #11. As I read up on the kid, something immediately jumped off of the page at me. Read this, and tell me who this reminds you of.

“Sorenson gets the ball gets downfield in a hurry when it comes out of his hand, even though he doesn’t appear to exert a lot of energy when he throws. He can get the ball on a line to a receiver running a deep out, and he isn’t afraid to throw to receivers in tight coverage downfield and give them a chance to make a play. Sorensen will throw the ball into small windows, and he can make a stick throw when he wants to. Sorensen moves well enough for a big enough, including in the pocket. He can sense pressure but doesn’t get rattled by it. He scans and processes the field quickly and resets his feet as he goes through his progressions. Sorensen’s mechanics are odd. His deep ball is often underthrown, and he depends on his receivers to make plays for him a lot. Sorensen appears to aim rather than trust his arm and throwing motion, and often his passes require large adjustments from his receivers. He’s also not a great athlete and won’t threaten defenses with his mobility. On the field, he seems to be a leader, willing at times to put the team on his shoulders.”

Are they talking about Philip Rivers, or Brad Sorenson here?!!!! Not that everything pertains to PR, or that he is even CLOSE to PR’s greatness.. and yeah, Rivers is a little rattled lately, after being dropped a thousand times.. but, I was having deja vu reading this. I have never been a big fan of clipbaord, and cringed when they let Volek go, and brought Whitehurst back! If this kid can win the backup role, and learn behind Rivers, he might be a more reasonable option than Whitehurst, should (heaven forbid) Rivers go down. Not to mention, there was a LOT of people who were on the “draft a back-up QB, just in case Rivers goes down” boat. This guy is clearly not competing for PR’s job, but if he went in, it doesn’t sound like the game plan would have to change much.. if at all. Obviously, we will have to see how pre-season pans out. But, if this guy exceeds expectations, I would drop Whitehurst like a bad habit! If we were going to draft a backup QB, this was the most non-threatening guy for Philip… but, MAINLY for the fans.. who would have gone mental if it was Geno, Nassib, or Barkley. Yet he could make the most sense from a gameplan adjustment standpoint.

Undrafted FA: Kwame Geathers (DT – Georgia) - I figured I would throw Geathers in here, as we traded away our 4th for MT51, and we had a big need for a nose tackle. It appears that Cam Thomas got a pretty big vote of confidence from Tom Telesco (or Pagano) when we waited until UDFA to get some depth at nose tackle. Geathers can definitely compete for a starting role, but Cam will probably start… for now. I got a little bit irritated when we picked a backup QB in the 7th, and there was still nobody behind Thomas. Then, we signed Geathers. He would most likely have been the seventh round pick, in the first place Well played Tom Telesco, well played. Of course, I would have liked to have seen one picked earlier, but this doesn’t make me completely unhappy. Geathers, much like Fluker, is a beast of a man! He comes in at 6′ 5″, and 342 pounds. He is a space eater in the middle of the line, and can even take on two blockers, freeing up Liuget & Reyes to work their magic! He may not be as seasoned as Franklin, but he is HUGE, and will give us much needed depth at the position. He was the most NFL ready NT in UDFA, and will hopefully help spell Cam Thomas, and shore up the front three of this defense. I wouldn’t look for him to be racking up sacks, but he should be solid against the run.

So, there you have it. My assessment of the Chargers 2013 draft. Once again, it was a little long, but that’s how I roll. Please feel free to agree, or disagree, or post factoids about the players that some of us are unaware of. It seems that every article I post, there is always somebody who posts something awesome that I never thought about, so I encourage you to voice your thoughts. Just keep it above the belt, and remember that we are all Charger Fans at the end of the day.

So, which player signing was your favorite? Perhaps you think another player in UDFA will be the newest Antonio Gates? Vote below!

Jan 4, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas A

By James Fedewa

The NFL Draft is next week and the Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock. There are three top tier left tackles in 2013 NFL draft and all should be able to start day one: Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M), Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) and Lane Johnson (Oklahoma). Fans and analysts anticipate the Chiefs selecting left tackle Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M), even though they currently have a very good left tackle Branden Albert. There are seven teams that could draft a left tackle in the first round (Chiefs, Jaguars, Eagles, Lions, Cardinals, Chargers and Dolphins). Seven teams, three elite left tackle prospects…

Base on 1^st round projections and objective estimations, here are some (subjective) percentages of positional team-needs for those 7 left tackle needy teams (within the first dozen draft picks):

1. Chiefs (#1 pick): Joeckel is the consensus prediction. (60% chance of drafting a LT / 25% Defensive Line / 15% Outside Linebacker)
2. Jaguars (#2 pick): Currently have a quality left tackle in Eugene Monroe. He’ll be a free agent next season (and a franchise tag could be set for him in 2014, if necessary). Not projected to draft a left tackle, but could happen. (20% chance of drafting a LT / 50% pass rusher / 30% quarterback)
3. Eagles (#4 pick): Currently have a very good left tackle (Jason Peters), but he’s returning from a major Achilles injury. At 31 years old, Peters is expected back healthy, but Philadelphia could draft a left tackle to get younger (or BPA). The Eagles are changing defensive schemes to a 3-4 base and need to draft a defensive players early to fit their new system (20% chance of drafting a LT / 20% quarterback / 20% defensive line / 20% pass rusher / 20% cornerback)
4. Lions (#5 pick): Lost both of their tackles from retirement and free agency. Detroit did draft a first round tackle in the 2012 draft (Riley Rieff), but is he a right or left tackle? The Lions could draft another left tackle early, but have several holes to fill. They could draft a right tackle later in the draft for less. (30% chance of drafting a LT / need a 30% pass rusher / 40% cornerback)
5. Cardinals (#7 pick): Currently have a left tackle in Levi Brown, who was lost early in 2012 with a season ending injury. Brown is an average left tackle but an average left tackle is still a good left tackle. They could upgrade at left tackle and shift Brown to right tackle, but current 2^nd year starter Bobby Massie played very well and improved down the stretch. (30% chance of drafting a LT / 30% pass rusher / 20% guard / 20% Quarterback)
6. Chargers (#11 pick): San Diego cut left tackle Jared Gaither after one terrible season, signed backup left tackle King Dunlap and there is an obvious hole and need (50% chance of drafting a left tackle / 20% Guard / 15% defensive tackle / 15% pass rusher)
7. Dolphins (#12): Lost left tackle Jake Long to free agency, but drafted projected replacement Jonathan Martin in 2012. Could trade up to get a left tackle in the draft, but have several other needs. In all likely hood, the top three left tackles should be unavailable at #12(15% chance of drafting a left tackle from trading up / 40% cornerback / 30% pass rusher / 15% right tackle)

So who’s going where?

For the above 7 teams (baring any other trade, salary cap cuts or trades), based on the estimated team-need (TN) percentages and best player available (BPA), projections may look like:

• Chiefs (BPA): Luke Joeckel, LT Texas A&M
• Jaguars (BPA): Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida
• Eagles (TN): Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia
• Lions (TN): Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama
• Cardinals (TN): Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU
• Chargers (BPA): Eric Fisher, LT, Central Michigan
• Dolphins (BPA): Lane Johnson, LT, Oklahoma

After taking a long break from these interviews, I’m back with another edition of Fan Perspective.  The other night I had the privilege of interviewing Vinnie Lopez in San Diego.  He and I did this as a phone interview. 

Vinnie is a 3rd generation diehard and bleeds Charger colors.  The first Charger game he attended was against the hated Raiders during 1968.

Now that’s what I call perspective.

Let’s get this thing rolling.  Feel free to leave questions and/or comments at the bottom of the article.

BoogaP:  Give the fans a little personal bio.

Vinnie:  Born and raised in San Diego.  Born at Grossmount Hospital.  Spent a couple years in Houston but have spent all of the rest of my life in San Diego.

BoogaP:  Who is your favorite Charger player of all time?

Vinnie:  I’d definitely have to say Kellen Winslow.  It’s because of the way he played the game.  He always left it all on the field.  He acted as if every play was the last play of his career.  When he was called on to block, it was like he was a third offensive tackle in the game.

BoogaP:  Who is your least favorite Charger player of  all time?

Vinnie:  That would have to be John Jefferson.  Mostly because of the fact that he left to chase the money.  He was kind of a diva receiver.  Not to the extreme of a Randy Moss-type but you know what I mean.

BoogaP:  What is your most memorable moment as a Charger Fan?

Vinnie:  The last play of the AFC Championship when Dennis Gibson knocked down that Neil O’Donnell pass.  I will never forget that play.

BoogaP:  What moment stands out, in your mind, as a truly bad moment?

Vinnie:  The “breakup” between Marty Schottenheimer and the Chargers.  I hated the way that it was handled.  Lots of personal feelings got in the way of a business deal. 

BoogaP:  Initially, what was your impression of the free agent class brought in during the 2012 offseason? 

Vinnie:  I was really high on the Robert Meachem signing.  Not so fond of the signing of LeRon McClain.  Overall, I’d have to give this free agent class a D grade.

BoogaP:  How do you feel about the drafting of Melvin Ingram now that that season is almost over?

Vinnie:  Ingram has great upside.  Good athlete but it seems that the “game speed” in the NFL took him off guard.  He’s always a step behind.  I wish that they would move him inside next to Butler.

BoogaP:  Do you agree that both Norv Turner and A.J. Smith should be fired?  If you could only choose one to fire, which one do you think deserves it more? 

Vinnie:  It’s a foregone conclusion that they will both be fired.  Turner shows absolutely no fire as a head coach.  You have to show to everyone that you are in it to win it.  A.J. has made some hits but has missed enough times to be shown the door.  He’s let a lot of quality players walk without the team receiving sufficient compensation.  Usually no compensation. 

If I had to only choose one, I’d pick A.J. Smith.

BoogaP:  Due to their lack of production, would you cut Robert Meachem or Eddie Royal right now?

Vinnie:  No, I wouldn’t.  They are both owed too much money.  I really hope that Meachem steps it up in the last couple games and, of course, next season.

BoogaP:  Do you agree with all of the criticism that Philip Rivers receives from both the fans and the media?

Vinnie:  NO!  I think that it is just stupid.  The people that are saying that don’t know anything about NFL football.  I know he’s made some bad decisions but he’s constantly running for his life and we know he isn’t mobile.  Get him an O-line.

BoogaP:  Do you think that Ryan Mathews has been given the appropriate chance to show what he can do at this level? 

Vinnie:  He’s been given a chance.  He puts the ball on the turf too often.  His injuries are an obvious concern.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he was relegated to a third down back in the future.  If he can learn to pick up the blitz, that is.

BoogaP:  Do you think that Antonio Gates is done?

Vinnie:  Done?  No.  Is he slow now?  Yes.  Gates used to be the first option on most pass plays.  Not so much now.  I love the leadership intangible that he brings.  But, yes, he has definitely lost a step.

BoogaP:  What is your impression of Danario Alexander?

Vinnie:  I like him a lot.  He has made some great plays.  What he brings to the run game as a blocker is an added bonus.

BoogaP:  And lastly, my favorite question, how often do you visit BoltBeat.com?

Vinnie:  I check out BoltBeat everyday!  I tweet out the articles as I see them on Twitter too.  

My thanks go out to Vinnie for taking the time to do this interview.  It was great to talk to him on the phone and I really like following him on Twitter.  He’s a funny guy and a diehard Charger fan.

If you are on Twitter, make sure to follow @BigVin, Vinnie Lopez. 

Now that the Chargers’ season is coming to a close, expect to see Fan Perspective articles return to the site much more frequently.

Fan Perspective is a chance for you the fan to have your opinions on the Chargers printed in an article here on BoltBeat.com.

Thanks a lot for reading.

BoltUp!!!

BoogaP