December 2, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers defensive tackle Antonio Garay (71) prior to the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Chargers are set to release DT Antonio Garay to free up some room on the salary cap. Garay was due $3.5M in 2013.

@rapsheet Actually, they WILL release him. Was guaranteed on day he signed contract last year. Due $1.5 mil roster bonus + $3.5 mil salary.

— UTKevinAcee (@UTKevinAcee) February 28, 2013

Garay wasn’t the best fit as a nose tackle for the defense, but he was a clubhouse favorite and leader. He also was the clubhouse joker. The rest of the youngsters on the defensive line looked up to him.

There could be a possibility that he re-joins with the team at a cheaper deal. It just depends on how Tom Telesco and Mike McCoy thinks he fits in with the team. He is pretty involved around San Diego and may want to stick around.

Dec 16, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers cornerback Antoine Cason (20) runs out of the smoke during pregame introduction before a game against the Carolina Panthers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Chargers’ offseason  has just begun and we’ve already over-talked the team’s need to revamp it’s offensive line.  I won’t bore you by regurgitating the obvious.  Not in this article.

Many believe that if the offensive line is fixed, thus the Bolts are fixed as well.  Unfortuantely, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Despite a defense that features young, up and coming studs such as Donald Butler, Corey Liuget, Kendall Reyes, Cam Thomas, and Melvin Ingram, there are still some holes to be filled on what became an exciting defense toward the end of the 2012 season.

I didn’t even mention the emergence of both Shareece Wright and Marcus Gilchrist.  It appears that Gilchrist has cemented himself as the team’s starting nickel cornerback, while Wright has made a case to start at one of the soon to be vacant cornerback spots. 

That being said, the team still has issues in it’s front seven at inside linebacker- opposite Butler- and depth at outside linebacker.  Depending on what happens with Aubrayo Franklin and Antonio Garay, there could be a serious need to add depth along the defensive line also. 

It’s looking as though Takeo Spikes has played his last down in lightning bolts after another failed attempt at making the playoffs.  Part of me feels for Spikes.  The other part of me realizes that he is still earning royalties from his inventing of the wheel. 

Due to the obvious fact that Spikes has been a liability because of a lack of gas in the tank, Butler has been forced to over-extend himself in an effort to compensate for Spikes’ shortcomings.  TKO is just plain too old.  His heart, leadership, and intagibles have certainly helped earn his place on this team.  But other leaders are emerging and father time has finally caught up with, well, father time. 

The thought of losing Shaun Phillips in free agency bothers me quite a bit.  Despite the fact that he is no longer an elite pass rusher, if he ever was elite, he still manages to find his way to the quarterback and disrupt plays. 

Let’s assume we do lose SP95. We’ve all been witness to the failure that is the Larry English experiment.  Antwan Barnes has completed the final year of his contract.  That leaves us with only Jarret Johnson, Ingram, and recently acquired Gary Guyton at the outside linebacker position. 

That’s certainly not going to cut it.

And then there’s the secondary.  Despite the high tackle numbers by Atari “Greensleeves” Bigby, he has proven to be just another guy at the strong safety position.  He dropped in excess of 5 “gimme” INTs, one of which I saw firsthand in Cleveland.  Although he is not expected to have good hands while playing on defense, his drops were just one of the many issues created by the former Green Bay Packer.  He refuses to wrap up and bites on play action like a fat kid at a buffet. 

As we’ve all known for the past decade, the Chargers haven’t had an impact player at the position since Rodney Harrison.  I still believe that we have more pressing needs on the roster, but strong safety needs to be addressed in either free agency or the draft. 

It saddens me to say that this is most likely Quentin Jammer’s last year as cornerback for the Bolts.  He has been one of my favorite players of recent years.  However, if the new regime sees what the majority of the fanbase does, perhaps Jammer can be re-signed to man the strong safety spot.

It’s been talked about for the past few years.  After seeing his interview with Hank Bauer on Chargers.com, I am of the belief that Quentin would do almost anything to remain a Charger.  That includes a position transition to strong safety. 

That brings us to the cornerback spots.  During my interview with Kevin Acee, I asked him if either Wright or Gilchrist were poised to make the jump to being starters in the secondary.  He said that he expects Wright to start at corner in the base defense.  He added that Gilchrist looks to be the option at nickel cornerback, as I mentioned earlier. 

With the shuffling of both the head coach and general manager, there were no inseason re-signings.  Antoine Cason is set to become a free agent in 2013.  I know that a good number of you will be devastated if he receives a new contract with the team.  I, on the other hand, truly find it to be necessary. 

Considering all the holes on this team, I think it would be a mistake to lose Cason, who isn’t nearly as bad as some of you might think.  He obviously has some flaws to his game, but I believe that he is set for a breakout campaign in 2013.

All of that being considered, if Cason and his agent are asking top dollar to re-sign, then you absolutely let the door hit him where the good lord split him. 

That does it for the defensive holes on the Chargers.  Stay tuned for my article of what the team needs to do to address the offensive side of the ball.  The offensive line is not the only thing that needs fixing.

Thanks a lot for reading.

BoltUp!!!

BoogaP 

Arguably the most important position in a 3-4 defense is that of the Nose Tackle.  Quite frankly, there is little argument to be had, in my opinion; it is the most important position.

In the past, we were all spoiled by the play of Jamal Williams.  The guy was an absolute beast.  Constantly devouring blockers which, in turn, forced opposing defenses to send two, sometimes even three, blockers at J Will.

All that being said, the Chargers have Antonio Garay and Cam Thomas playing NT in the middle of the Bolts defense.

Talk about wearing out the opposing team’s center.  Garay and Thomas are listed at 6’4″ 320 and 6’4″ 335, respectively, on Chargers.com.  Far be it from me to question either listing.

After being re-signed to a two year contract this offseason, Garay will now be playing in his fourth season as a Charger after being picked up in 2009.

He was a great find by A.J. Smith.  His contributions to the team both in the stat column and in the locker room will only continue to grow.  I expect #71 to have a great year and I feel confident saying that he believes so as well.

My favorite play of Garay’s is shared by millions.  That play is when he sacked Peyton Manning by “Hulking” Jeff Linkenbach into WoManning knocking him ferociously to the ground.  I am not concerned that he received no credit in the stat line for that sack.  We all saw what happened.

Due to the fact that I my follow him on Twitter, I would like to add that I feel comfortable stating that Antonio Garay is one of the funniest people alive.  #JustSayin

And then there is Baby Zilla.  Short for Baby Godzilla.  Calm down people of Tokyo; he’s a football player.  But, don’t make him angry.  You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.

I’m talking about Camaron Thomas.  Cam for short.  Talk about a beast!  The guy uses Godzilla AND The Incredible Hulk while combining both with his Twitter screen name and Twitter background.

I think that this season will prove that all opposing quarterbacks will indeed come to view him that way as well.

Thomas had 4 sacks last year while only starting two games.

Speaking of Jamal Williams, that sack total ties Jamal’s career high.  I know that I have stated that in the past.  Just a simple reminder.

There were two players that I wanted in the 2010 NFL draft.  They were Ryan Mathews and Cam Thomas.

I’m not going to get into how the heck Thomas fell into the fifth round.  In a limited role he has proven that he is not only capable of playing at the NFL level he can, indeed, dominate in the league.

On another Twitter note, this time speaking of Thomas, I had a Chargers Fan that follows me send me a direct message to me and ask that I send out a tweet to ask for prayers and positive thoughts for him and his family.

So, of course, I followed through requesting both prayers and positive thoughts for him and his family.

Although I had many, many #BoltFam members send positive thoughts and prayers via tweets, one direct message stood out to me.

It was from Cam Thomas.  He was sincerely concerned and found a way to contact the #BoltFam member.

I was only told one detail about the conversation that they had.  It was about real life.  Not football.

The individual having the tough time had said during the direct mesage request for positive thoughts and prayers, and I quote, ” it’s nice to have one of your heroes care.”  He had said so prior to having heard from Thomas.

I did not relay that information to Cam until after I had heard that he had conversed with said #BoltFam member.  He didn’t do it because he thought he was a hero.  He did it because he was genuinely concerned.

An NFL player that truly cares about the Fans?  Although I believe that is the case more often than not, I know this to be a fact as far as Cam Thomas is concerned.

Michael Gehlken, of the San Diego Union Tribune, has projected that Garay will most likely be the starter at NT when questioned in the UT mailbag.

My belief is that Thomas will definitely see significant snaps.

The only question at NT is how long it will take Cam to see the majority of the first team snaps.

Realistically, it could be something to watch in the 2013 season.  I am not proclaiming that 2012 will be the year that Thomas takes over the starting duties.

Both have proven that they are more than capable of manning the center of our 3-4 defense.

Did someone say Manning?  Twice a year now Peyton.  You chose the AFC West as the easiest place to obtain your second Superbowl ring.

I have a feeling that both Thomas and Garay will take that very personally.

Although I completely disagree with the commenter that said it does not matter who starts on the d-line, due to our rotation; our depth will prove to be extremely beneficial to the entire front seven.

Ask the starters and the backups if it has a bearing on that contract money.  Again, #JustSayin.

I would encourage all of the readers/commenters to get on Twitter and follow both Antonio and Cam at @antoniogaray71 and @Baby_Zilla76 respectively.

These two behemoths in the middle only add to the dozens of reasons that this will be a special year.

If you don’t believe me…..  Just ask me.

Thanks a lot for reading.

BoltUp!!!

BoogaP