Chargers Morning Dump

The Chargers typically take vacations this time of year, a final respite before the long, hard season begins. Despite the ongoing negotiations to complete and ratify a new collective bargaining agreement and the uncertain timetable to do so, Chargers brass didn’t change their plans.

For teams that have built defenses to stop the big play, it takes consistent, strong fundamentals — a good pass rush, solid coverage and sure tackling — to succeed. Here’s a breakdown of the 10 best teams at limiting big plays last season:

The San Diego Chargers, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions are three teams that are rumored to have interest in Black. The flexibility that Black offers allows him to fit other defenses that are not based in the Tampa 2 like the 3-4 defense and other 4-3 systems. It would not be surprising if a team, or teams, make a strong push at re-signing Black in free agency. They could outbid Tampa Bay for his services.

I’m struggling to find a player that was as much of an enigma as Jonas Mouton. A great kid, smart, insanely physically gifted, fast, with great fast twitch relfexes who could make plays that only a handful of players in the college game could make. By that same token, he would routinely run himself out of position, take poor angles, miss easy tackles, and blow obvious coverages. After three years as Michigan’s starting SLB, he was a 2nd Round  pick (No. 61) of the San Diego Chargers. He finished his senior year leading the team with 117 tackles and countless “WTF is he doing!?” moments. All of us wish him the best and hope the good folks in San Diego can coach him into the player we all hope he can be.