Darrell Stuckey – Special Teams 4 Life

December 9, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; San Diego Chargers defensive back Darrell Stuckey (25) on the field before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

We´ve been talking a lot about the Chargers´ secondary situation lately; and that with good reason. With exception of “Mr. Reliable” Eric Weddle, the Chargers lost all of their starters at cornerback and safety this offseason.

Shareece Wright and free agent pick-up Derek Cox are set to be the starters at cornerback. Marcus Gilchrist is making the transition to strong safety and probably will be the starter there in September. I can see Gilchrist doing a solid job at safety, but what surprises me is that Darrell Stuckey is getting very little attention and consideration when talking about the vacant strong safety position.

Recently I remembered some offseason talk last year, where it had been debated whether or not Darrell Stuckey should be given some playtime on defense. The common sense was that he should prove himself on the special teams one more year, and if he does well on that unit, then he shall get the chance to compete for the starting job at strong safety next year. Well, here we are; Stuckey had a very solid season…but where are his supporters?

I have to admit, he wasn´t and still isn´t my first option for the vacant roster spot. And that´s because Stuckey is doing a pretty awesome job on the special teams; he keeps things stable. And I said a couple of times that I don´t want him to leave that unit in order to prevent unnecessary disturbance. Because we all know they already had some very bad plays in the second half of last season – guess no one here needs another special teams season like the one in 2010.

But after all it´s very surprising to me that almost nobody within the Bolt family is considering the 25-year old Charger (will turn 26 in a few days), as legit option to gain the starting job next to Eric Weddle. Maybe we should take a closer look at the former fourth round pick (in 2010) for the San Diego Chargers.

Stuckey attended the University of Kansas. He was an All-Big 12 First Team selection, and in 2008, the college safety was named one of twelve semi-finalists for the 2009 Jim Thorpe trophy. Two years later he received the Big 12 Sportsman of the Year award.

The devout Christian was considered to be one of top safeties going into the 2010 draft; the Chargers grabbed him at 110 overall. In 2011, he racked up 12 total tackles and in 2012 he was able to repeat this number. Last year he additionally recorded 2 forced fumbles as well as 2 fumble recoveries.

In college he was considered as the best player on an overall mediocre defense. But he wasn´t yet allowed to show his potential on the Chargers´ defensive unit. And again, I also wasn´t the one who stood up and yelled “Yes, he´s the guy to build a beast tandem with Weddle in the last line of the defense”. But I do think he could help the team at strong safety; at least until Brandon Taylor – for whom the Chargers gave up a sixth round pick last year – gets healthy again.

So in the end I´m a little bit confused Darrell Stuckey gets that little support from the Chargers fans base and the new Chargers´ brass.

BoltFam, you can prove me wrong now – is there support for Stuckey among the Bolt family or did I get it right that you´d rather like him to stay on the special teams. If he wants to take on a bigger role on the Bolts defense, then this could be his chance. Otherwise, he might be a special teamer for life (at least here in San Diego).

Thank you for reading and feel free to share your thoughts on the (soon to be) 26-year old Charger.

BoltnRoll!